Thunder Force Fails to Bring the Thunder
Thunder Force brings much-needed diversity to the superhero genre. Unfortunately, it's also an uninteresting and unfunny mess.

A musical short based on Bernardo Pasquini's Arietta antica. The film debut of Lia Franca.
Thunder Force brings much-needed diversity to the superhero genre. Unfortunately, it's also an uninteresting and unfunny mess.
A chilling return to the Final Destination franchise with a terrifying twist on fate. Bloodlines explores whether Death can hold a grudge across generations—and what happens when the past won't stay buried.
The social issues The Half of it takes on are handled well, between the antagonization brought on to Ellie for her race and the conflict that arises from her being gay. Both aspects of her character are built up over the course of the film and don’t seem abrupt or rushed. The film shows racism towards Ellie and her and father in varying levels, from having her schoolmates specifically address her as "Chinese girl” to the fore mentioned way her Dad is treated due to language barriers. The same can be said about Ellie being a lesbian. While she never truly “comes out” in the narrative, that does not undermine her journey of self-discovery from being meaningful. These ideas aren’t thrust upon the viewer in a preachy manor, the scenarios that occur feel believable given the rural setting. The film presents watchers with problems whom those like Ellie may face, and leaves us to sit with them and reflect.
Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion is a fan-favorite, as are some of the more science fiction angled movies like 28 Days Later or World War Z. I recently watched the 1995 Wolfgang Peterson-directed movie, Outbreak for the first time, which is currently available on Netflix.
Cord Jefferson's hilarious and thought-provoking film continues a long-standing cinematic tradition, expanding the conversation around the impact of systemic racism in today's media.
How powerful can a story be when it is stripped to the bare essentials of just a room, a handful of people and raw human voice?