Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

The trailer for Mamma Mia 2!!!

I loved the first movie and I can't wait to see the sequel that has Lily James playing young Donna back in 1979 where it all began!

X-Men: Apocalypse

     The third (and possibly final) installment in the the revamped X-Men prequel series, this was possibly the strangest and, dare I say, weakest of all of the films. I hate saying that, but it's truly hard to top Days of Future Past. While I'm not saying the film was bad at all, it was wonderful in many elements, but the storyline itself tended to drag a little and the main villain, Apocalypse, was very confusing and hard to understand. If you can't understand your villain and what he's actually trying to do, they you have a weak script.

     That out of the way, the rest of the casting was wonderful! We finally get to meet our primary X-Men from the first trilogy (Scott, Jean and Storm) as young and gifted, but very unsure and awkward students as well as mourn the loss of a former first recruit. And like with anything X-Men, Charles and Erik continue to fight on the tightrope of good and evil. 

~ ~ ~

 The X-Men

Charles/Professor X, Jean, Scott/Cyclopes, Peter/Quicksilver, Kurt/Nightcrawler

     1983, ten years after Days of Future Past, due to Mystique's unexpected act of humanity in Washington D.C., society has begun to have a more tolerant attitude toward mutants. However, that doesn't mean they are considered equals. Many still hide in fear or they must survive by using their abilities to make money for others. Raven or Mystique starts to track down defenseless mutants and care for them or take them to Charles' school, a place she normally tries to avoid.

     Meanwhile, Charles Xavier's School for The Gifted is starting to thrive as more young mutant children walk through his doors in hopes of learning how to live as ordinary humans. Several of these students include newcomer Scott Summers (younger brother of Alex Summers/Havoc) who, like his brother, can fire optic blasts only they are from his eyes. Shy and reclusive Jean Grey who has telepathic ability as well as telekinesis and Austrian Kurt Wagner, a odd blue half creature/half human who can mentally transport. 

Apocalypse and The Four Horsemen

Apocalypse, Erik/Magneto, Orora/Storm, Angel, Psylocke 

     On the other side of the world, in a buried pyramid in Egypt, a great evil has woken. En Sabah Nur or Apocalypse, is considered to be the first and greatest of all mutants. He possesses multitude of abilities including turning matter into dust, augmenting the powers of other mutants as well as heightening mutant abilites. When Apocalypse returns to the land of the living, he has one agenda. Gather four of the most powerful of mutants, advance their strengths and use them to take over the world, thus creating the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse.

     One of these mutants includes Erik Lensherr/Magneto who has lived the last ten years in a quiet Polish village with his wife and daughter. Yet, no matter how hard he tries, Erik's can never live an ordinary human life. After his family is killed, Apocalypse finds him and teaches him to reignite his abilities. Erik then returns as Magneto, his old prejudices in place and ready to kill anyone who stands in his way of revenge.

     Soon the forces of good and evil come to a final battle for the either the destruction of mankind or its salvation. All of these mutants, from Charles on down are faced to challenge themselves and their powers and try to understand their primary purpose for being created as they are. 

     While it may not have been may favorite storywise, Apocalypse was wonderful with its characters! James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender once again nailed their roles as the opposing leaders of Charles and Erik. Charles himself has an incredible scene where he takes on Apcalypse with his mind that is nothing short of epic! The new cast members playing the next generation X-Men recruits were fantastic and really brought about the unique nuances in their characters. And X-Men certainly wouldn't be X-Men if a certain grouchy clawed character made his cameo appearance.

    

     A good ending to a good story. I'm not sure exactly where the X-Men universe is heading now, but I can say that its prequel trilogy has been superb, well written and well acted. X-Men continues to be a consistent favorite among comic book fans and probably because the stories themselves are so fluid and can be told multiple ways. We love the X-Men because I believe that deep inside most of us is the desire to use our gifts and talents to better the world around ourselves, to want to bring about change and always have a strong sense of justice. What X-Men truly teaches us is that our abilities can either gifts for good or weapons for evil and every person spends their whole life trying to decide which. 

Evermore - Disney rock cover by Jonathan Young

I was looking for some good covers of Evermore from Beauty and The Beast and I came across this unique performance that is just incredible!

So...

I think I'm in love...

But we can talk about it later

A United Kingdom

     I have always believed that the best kind of stories are the real life ones we have never heard of. Then upon discovering theses true accounts we are left with a sense of amazement and shock that we were so ignorant of their existence. Especially when they changed the world. The 2016 film A United Kingdom is based on the extraordinary interracial marriage of Prince Seretse Khama of Botswana, Africa and Ruth Williams of England. History and romance are weaved together in a beautiful, heartbreaking and ultimately happy ending testimony of black v white, Africa v England and family v family that is utterly unforgettable. 

     In 1947, London, young Seretse Khama seems to be an ordinary law student from South Africa. In complete truth, Seretse is heir to Bechuanaland and future hope to the Bamangwato tribe. Seretse and his younger sister, Naledi, were orphaned as children and raised by their uncle Tshekedi Khama who acts as regent of Bechuanaland until Seretse is ready to take his rightful place as king. 

     Seretse has a great deal of pride for his royal heritage and an overabundance of love for his close family and strong people. However, Bechuanaland is under English Colonialism and ranks as the third poorest country in the world. The English living in apartheid South Africa rule the country with no regard to the natives of the land, seeing them as subhuman and 'savages' in need of saving. Seretse faces smilar prejudices and racism while in England and believes that there can never be unity between the two polar opposite people groups. 

      All those doubts dissipate when he meets Ruth Williams, a shy, but intelligent young typist who sees the world as it can be if people look past the exterior. Seretse is immediately taken with Ruth and her with him. They soon begin a secret whirlwind romance which leads to Seretse asking for Ruth to marry him. While Ruth immediately accepts, her family does not accept the relationship giving them no choice but to disown their own daughter.

     Matters only get worse when Seretse returns to his home to find his own family furious at his choice of bride which causes conflict between Seretse and his uncle, and division of the tribe. England doesn't waste time in trying to separate the young couple and soon Seretse is exiled from his country. Ruth must cope with a hostile tribe and a new baby on her own. Overtime she not only wins over her sister-in-law with her kindness and respect, but eventually the whole tribe who want her stay and fight to bring her husband home.

      Seretse and Ruth are finally reunited together, but changes must be made to secure their union is accepted by all. Seretse ends his kingship and declares the Bechuanaland is no longer a monarchy, but a free republic with the will to become a modern country to be ruled by a modern people. Seretse becomes the first president and together he and Ruth transform the once poor and destitute Bechuanaland into the Republic of Botswana. 

      Botswana is now a thriving country with a rapidly growing economy and has one of the highest standards of living in South Africa. Seretse's and Ruth's marriage changed their country and shook the world, but it was not without sacrifice and suffering. I found Ruth's name to be interesting as her own story is quite similar to that of Ruth in the Bible and her famous words, "Where you go I will go." A true testament of God's neverending truth in the lives of his people. 

     A United Kingdom is a wonderful film that opens your eyes to a history you may not have known of before, but leaves you thankful that it happened. Sereste's and Ruth's love story went beyond their own love for each other and flowed into the hearts of both Africans and the British. They found the strength to challenge the powerful, the hope to unite a proud tribe and the courage to end prejudice and hate.

New layout!

Happy New Year everyone!

Winter is here and it's freezing!

My mom has gotten me obsessed with NetFlix's drama series, The Crown starring Claire Foy and Princess/Queen Elizabeth and Matt Smith as Prince Philip (pictured in the middle). If you love ITV's Victoria then I highly suggest The Crown for your wintertime watching. 

Happy New Year!

Hope and faith flower from the cheerful seeds of the old year to the sprouting garden of the new year's dawn. 

~Terri Guillemets, "Annuals," 2004