TP 2 - Movie Review

My Movie Review

Typically, I do not watch movies. Every once in a while, I watch a movie at home, but as I said, that's not a common occurrence. I guess normal people watch movies so I tried not to dread being in the small, four-walled, crowded, dark room known as a movie theater. I looked at the most popular movies coming out and I found 'The Woman King'. I thought I might like it. It seemed to be very diverse and feministic. I had never been to Texarkana before this experience, so I asked some of my Chi Alpha friends if they wanted to come along because I didn't want to drive.

While on the trip, I listened to music on Spotify, and I either zoned out or slept. My friends tried to talk to me, but my headphones were noise cancellation. I couldn't hear a thing, so they had to tap me or try to get my attention. It became hilarious because almost every time I put my headphones back on, they needed to talk to me again. I have always loved road trips. We decided on eating a bit first before going to the movie theater because we were starving. The restaurant served cajun food, and I had gotten crawfish etouffee. I hadn't had cajun food in a very long time, and it reminded me of home and my dad before he passed away. I ate all of it, and to drink I had a virgin pink lemonade; it was to die for! They made the cup fancy as if I was drinking alcohol. I felt so much like an adult. 

This movie was a beautiful masterpiece. It was the most unique movie I have seen in a while with its ideas and concepts. I like how it doesn't copy other movies or try to force you to feel any type of political way. It's only subtly political. I have not seen a movie like this that touched so many people. I believe representation is important, and this movie won my heart over and will make me consider watching more movies. I recommend this movie to everyone. It was my best first time in Texarkana. 

We thought we would have enough time to go shopping, but we ended up not having enough time. We made it to the movies, and I thought the place was kind of big. I remembered that Texarkana has an Arkansas side and a Texas side, so I asked my friends which side we were on. When they told me Texas, I thought it made a lot of sense because I hadn't seen a nice movie theater in Arkansas quite like this. The theater was called Cinemark. It was beautiful and huge. I guessed everything was bigger in Texas. We were still full from the food we just ate, so I just ordered a large Cherry Coke even though I was not thirsty. I noticed that the popcorn bags there were larger than any of the ones I had seen in the El Dorado movie theater; it was so crazy. The food and drinks were relatively cheap as well. It was not as expensive to me as it used to be. We got in while they were still playing commercials, and I noticed how the chairs were so comfy. I started texting my boyfriend to let him know I made it safely and that I was excited to see the movie. I noticed that the advertisements were about other movies, food and beverages, and other places to see in Texarkana. There was this one commercial that came on that was made by Amazon Prime that talked about watching movies at home during quarantine and such and how we are transitioning back to a movie theater. It urged us to not be on our phones or talk because it isn't like watching movies on Amazon Prime. I wouldn't know because I not only rarely watch movies, but I also don't have Amazon Prime. 

The movie finally started, and it began like a Star Wars intro with the person speaking while there also being white words on a black canvas moving upwards a bit fast. Beforehand, I thought this movie might be a bit politically undertoned from what I had seen in trailers, but what was cool was that there was an idea of a woman king in Africa that I had researched. There was also a woman army that I was aware of. It focused on the slave trade, too, which was a very dark time in history. I noticed the main people around me were dark-skinned women, so I feel like this movie targeted a certain group of people. I thought that the diverse representation was beautiful, but for some reason, people do not like that. 

Throughout the movie, I noticed that Viola Davis tried her best with an African accent, and it sounded real. There was also another character that I liked that was a mentor for the main character who was an orphan girl. I resonated with the abuse of the orphan girl and Viola Davis' characters and what they went through, and you could sometimes see that they might not have been just acting when they talked about pain and suffering. Their costumes, too, were realistic, and I feel like they trained so much for these roles. It was really beautiful, and the cinematography was unique. 

Towards the end, I noticed a shift in the main characters, and there were so many unexpected plot twists. It touched on a thing very political, though, and I feel like that was its undertone with that conversation. Viola Davis' character touched on how the baby she ended up with from a very disturbing encounter was her baby and no one else's and how she finally is letting herself grieve from the loss of herself that she endured. I feel like that goes back to abortion where the baby you could end up with from those types of scary encounters is your baby, not that person's baby who harmed you. It was a beautiful statement.