FILM REVIEW
Spider-Man far from home was one of the most anticipated films at the box office this summer. This anticipation was due to the movie taking place right after the highest grossing film ever Avengers Endgame. Spider-Man far from home follows Peter Parker mourning the loss of Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man. Peter and his classmates and along with their two teachers decide to take a school trip away which was hinted at in Avengers Infinity War. Peter needing a break from the masked hero lifestyle decides to leave the iconic Spider-Man suit at home only to have Aunt May have her pack the suit for him. This leads to a particularly funny scene in airport security where Peter thinking he left the suit at home, gets stopped, the security guard opens the suitcase gives Peter a funny look and then lets him go.
The film at its core is light-hearted and involves themes of love and friendship. These scenes can be seen with Peter and his love interest MJ. The two have some very awkward and funny moments, these mainly have Peter being socially awkward around MJ. These scenes are not only hilarious and also relatable but make the film feel genuine.
Later on, we get introduced to fan favourite Nick Fury played by notorious Samuel. L. Jackson. Prior to the school trip away we are told that Nick Fury has been trying to contact Peter Parker to help save the world from a group of monsters from a parallel universe called the “Elementals”. While Peter is in Venice, we see that one of the Elementals arrives in the form of Hydro-Man. Peter fails to defeat this monster and then we are introduced to Quinten Beck also known as Mysterio. Beck takes in Peter as a friend from the get go and they become quick best buds.
Nick Fury then gives Peter the E.D.I.T.H glasses. These glasses are the last gift Tony Stark left for Peter. The acronym stands for “Even.In.Death.Im.The.Hero”. This is a big throw back to Tony Starks pompous attitude, which I must admit was a big tear jerker for the audience. We then see that the glasses give Peter full access to Stark Industry’s acrinol of weapons, these take form in the shape of drones and at one-point Peter nearly kills one of his classmates due to him using bad phrasing.
Eventually we see Peter give the glasses to Mysterio due to the fact that there is pressure on Peter to be the “next Iron Man”. It turns out that Quinten Beck is an ex-employee of Tony Stark and was using Peter to get the E.D.I.T.H glasses and he was the one behind the Elementals, using advanced Holographic technology to display these monsters in real life. This technology was first introduced to us in Captain America Civil war.

The films climax is an epic one, we see Peter battle it out with Mysterio in a battle of advanced drones using the same holographic technology to trick Peters mind into not knowing what is real and what isn’t. In the end Peter triumphs using his Spider sense or as Aunt May calls it in the start of the play “Peter tingle” a moment which made the full cinema laugh.
Overall the film is by far the best Spider-Man story on the big screen since Sam Rami’s masterpiece Spider-Man 2. Not only did it deal with the consequences of Avengers Endgame well it delivered a very well told and written story. I would rate the film a 9/10 not only for its comedy but for how it blends so well within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The films two endings had me also jumping out of my seat as a long time Spider-Man fan.
I am sad though, to report that this may be the last we see of Spider-Man within the MCU. Due to negotiations between Sony and Disney the faith of our favourite masked hero is unknown but for now we are to see a revamp of the character within Sony’s live action Spider-verse (Venom, Carnage and Morphias). These new films will keep Tom Holland, who is by far the best Spider-Man we have seen in recent times, in the Spidey suit but I am saddened that we will not see Spider-Man interact with any of the new line-up of characters we will see in Phase 4 in the MCU. If this be the end of Spider-Man within the MCU then it will most definitely end on a high note.
By Olan Corcoran

By Olan Corcoran

The Lion King (2019) review

The Lion King 2019 is a beautiful recreation of its 1994’s masterpiece . The film is directed by Jon Favreau who recreated the Jungle Book in 2014 .This film takes photorealistic animation to the next level above and beyond the Jungle Book , at times the film even falls into the uncanny valley(used in reference to the phenomenon whereby a computer-generated figure or humanoid robot bearing a near-identical resemblance to a human being arouses a sense of unease or revulsion in the person viewing it.).

Having grown up with this film in my Nana’s house on VHS this film holds a special place in my heart . The 2019 counterpart sticks to its predecessors beautiful visuals, now .  The level of detail on each character, background or center screen is phenomenal and in one scene imparticular the film shines though and through in the level of detail . Those who have seen the film will know that this is the where Rafiki (a guardian of the Pride lands ) finds out that Simba (price to the throne) who was presumably dead is alive .

The score in the film is outstanding and all actors in the new remake have brilliant voices especially James Earl Jones who reprises his role from the original, but it is Hans Zimmer’s  beautiful score that connects the whole film to the original , it is like being back in my Grandmother’s house re-watching the original film. Without that score the film wouldn’t have made me feel the nostalgia that I felt.

 Overall  while the film is an almost shot by shot remake of the original 1994 classic , it lacks a certain charm and color that the original had . This is due to the films textures which are more realistic , yet are more plain and dull in some scenes but are jaw breaking in other parts . For instance the circle of life is a shot for shot recreation of the original and it is by far the highlight of the film. Where as “I just cant wait to be king “ lacks the blast of colors that the original had in its scene. There is also a lack of the song “Be Prepared “ which is one of my favorite Disney villain songs . This is due to the reimagining of the role of the hyenas . In the original they were very effective comedic relief and seen as “slobbering mangy stupid poachers “ . In the remake of the film they have less comedic purpose and are more threatening. This is sticks to the more realistic approach of the film .

The comedic aspect to this film really works due to two characters who in my opinion were spot on . These would be Billy Eichners “Timon” and Seth McFarland’s “Pumba” who worked brilliantly as a team in the film as a comedic duo. The comedy at times can be dark and crude with innuendos thrown left , right and center but it had the audience laughing ever time .

Overall my verdict is that the Lion King 2019 is a brilliant film , it is visually stunning and is by far Disneys best remake this year , although I must account for my bias towards the film , I think that film is definitely a 8/10 and a must see for fans of the original .

Avengers: Endgame

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Avengers Endgame by the Russo brothers is a sequel and finale of the Avenger Infinity War. The movie takes place after Thanos snaps half of all existing lifeforms in the universe. The avengers only try to undo the snap after help from Scott Lang who was stuck in the quantum realm for five years.

The main characters try once again to save the world from Thanos and save their loved ones. Overall this movie is one of the bestselling in the franchise at the box office since its release on April 25^th.

The only factor to bear in mind is its length. It has a running time of three hours but it flies by. I give it ten out of ten.