The Ocean Waves Are Coming IN

As the year is coming to an end, producers are coming up with more ideas for new movies for 2017. Some are going as far and starting movies that will be released in 2018. Oceans 8, an original film that was released in 2001, will be remake into Oceans 11. This time, the cast will consist of only female. Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Sarah Paulson, Rihanna, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Mindy Kaling, and Awkwafina will be starring the movie.  It's fair enough that this cast should only consist of females, Oceans 8, had a cast of only male actors.  However, there are rumors that Matt Damon will be making a slight appearance in the new film. According to The Christian Times, there's a possibility that somehow the films will have a connection that will bring both of them to be part of the same time period. Making this connection between both movies will be amazing because it just adds more excitement to it.

Sarah Paulson at the Premier of 12 Years a SlavePhoto credit: GabboT via Foter.com / CC BY-SA

Photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tonyshek/9730559341/">GabboT</a> via <a href="http://foter.com/">Foter.com</a> / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">CC BY-SA</a>

Pretty Strange

Marvel's new movie, Doctor Strange, has been an ultimate success. Just coming out in the beginning of November, it is already nearing $400 million in the box office. The movie is appreciated for its great actors, special effects, and story of course, but one thing seemed to aggravate fans. One of the characters from the original comics was an old asian made known as The Ancient One; he was Strange's teacher. In the movie though, they cast him as a white woman. The creators of the show backed up this division by saying they wanted to move away from the stereotype of an old asian man always being the wise teacher; they said they wanted some diversity especially since there weren't many strong female roles in the movie. Some people still don't find this a good enough excuse saying that it is asian culture that a someone who is a teacher is supposed to be old and wise since it is a role of high respect.

The Critics of The Lighting Thief

Alexandra Daddario, plays the role of Annabeth Chase
in The Lighting Thief movie
Photo credit: Naud/ via Foter.com / CC BY-ND

Many fans were excited when it was announced that The Lightning Thief, a novel by Rick Riordan, would be made into a film. Both the film and the novel take place in the famous Camp Half-Blood. According to the website, IMDb, the film didn't include many details that are described in the novel. The most pointed error was the fact that in the book, Annabeth Chase is described as having blond hair, but in the movie Alexandra Daddario, plays the role of Annabeth with brown hair. Many other things are changed in the movie, making the movie differ from the novel. Many of the things that were changed were quite important to the plot because it makes the story more interesting. The fact that Percy Jackson and Annabeth aren't 12 years old in the movie, really takes the humor out of everything. Overall, the movie doesn't reflect what's described in the novel. This really upset many fans who were expecting their imaginations come to life. Should movies be like the novel or should they be different?

Photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/histardis/9384321993/">Naud/</a> via <a href="http://foter.com/">Foter.com</a> / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/">CC BY-ND</a>

Apocalypse of Angry Fans?

American superhero film X-Men: Apocalypse based on characters from Marvel comics dealt with controversy over their billboard. Many found the billboard offensive, as it shows Mystique played by Jennifer Lawrence being on a chokehold by the main villain, Apocalypse. Those who found it offensive believe that this billboard portrays and approves violence against woman, according to this article. Fox came out with an apology statement saying that they would never condone violence against women. However, many also agree that this billboard is not offensive at all, in fact, it shows how women can take the lead role of playing the victim. 

White-Washing

Hollywood has been known for, "white-washing," its movies. Also referred to as," race-bending," whitewashing happens when most, or all of the characters in movie, or television show, are portrayed by white actors. From Elizabeth Taylor playing Cleopatra in 1963, to Joseph Fiennes playing Micheal Jackson, white-washing has been a problem for a long time. Recently, Lions Gate Entertainment released "Gods of Egypt." The movie focuses on the ruthless battle between the god of darkness, Set against a mortal named Bek, and powerful god Horus. Each character is supposed to be an Egyptian native, but almost all of the actors were far from, "Egyptian." A mixture of, French, Danish, Australian, and English actors, who were white, bombarded the cast, upsetting millions of viewers. Realizing that they had upset a lot of people, Lionsgate released an apology saying," We recognize that it is our responsibility to help ensure that casting decisions reflect the diversity and culture of the time periods portrayed. In this instance we failed to live up to our own standards," as well as, "We have, can and will continue to do better."  Movies should reflect diversity, not only to create an accurate depiction of the time period in the movie, but  also to reflect the audience watching the movie. Giving people the opportunity to see people that look like them on a large screen is important, because it shows them that they are capable of doing big things as well.  

Mu-Lyin

Disney was about to make a Mulan live action movie with a white male lead. This news angered many people since the main focus of Mulan has always been a Chinese female who disguises herself as a man to save China. The alleged first draft mentioned a European trader who comes to China and falls in love with Mulan while protecting her and saving her empire, but Disney now mentioned that this draft will not be any part of the live action film. They stated that they will keep Mulan as the main character as well as include an all Asian cast. This big statement relieved many people's worries about Disney casting white actors to play Chinese roles.

Fans Hunger a Real Character

Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

Photo credit: ansuz_magazine via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

As The Hunger Games'  novel series became so popular, many fans were excited when they heard that the series would be made into a film. Many were against the decision of Jennifer Lawrence playing the role of the main character, Katniss Everdeen. According to Screen Rant, many fans argued that Lawrence didn't resemble Katniss the way that it was described in the novel, the one with "olive-skinned [and] dark-haired tomboy." In this case, it does matter how the person playing Katniss looked because even though there are not a lot of physical traits that are given about her, there are some. For example, the person playing Katniss should at least have brown hair because there is no excuse for this. The fact that Lawrence changed her hair color for the role shows how much she valued this character and this was a big plus for her. Overall, this casting decision impacted the film in a way that no one can replace her. Why do you think Suzanne Collins only provided a few physical traits about Katniss?

Photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/128277633@N05/15845867908/">ansuz_magazine</a> via <a href="http://foter.com/">Foter.com</a> / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a>

The Great Obstacle

Matt Damon at the Jason Bourne Premiere in Japan

Photo credit: Dick Thomas Johnson via Foter.com / CC BY

Another American actor will be playing the role of an Asian man. Matt Damon will be part of the best force to defend The Great Wall of China against a monster in The Great Wall, a fantasy movie that takes place about 1,000 years ago. Lately, many people have started to trash-talk about this casting decision. According to International Business Times, actress Constance Wu, argues by writing "...We like our color and our culture and our strengths and our own stories." She doesn't think that Damon is the best person to play this role. She isn't alone, as many other Asian-Americans also express their feelings about this outrageous decision. It seems like Hollywood is struggling with overcoming this obstacle of starring people that are from a different ethnic group than the role they portray. This film is directed by Yimou Zhang, a Chinese film director and producer.  It is set to release in February 2017.

Photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/31029865@N06/28888837590/">Dick Thomas Johnson</a> via <a href="http://foter.com/">Foter.com</a> / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC BY</a>