by Kush Bansal | Sep 23, 2019 | Opinion & Reviews
I don’t need to talk much about this movie. It’s the sequel to 2017’s It. It’s 3 hours long. It’s also double the budget. And it is one of my most disappointing movies of the year.
The plot: Defeated by members of the Losers’ Club, the evil clown Pennywise returns 27 years later to terrorize the town of Derry, Maine, once again. Now adults, childhood friends have long since gone their separate ways. But when people start disappearing, Mike Hanlon calls the others home for one final stand. Damaged by scars from the past, the united Losers must conquer their deepest fears to destroy the shape-shifting Pennywise — now more powerful than ever.
This movie was okay. The acting, however, was great. Bill Hader as Ritchie was hilarious as well as James McAvoy who brought his best in portraying the best version of Bill. The acting kept me riveted and interested throughout the film. The special effects (well most of them) were very good. The makeup for Pennywise was fantastic and brought chills when you saw him on screen. The music was fitting and overall cinematography and look of the movie was fitting for the setting and was excellent, and while the runtime was long, the pacing was well done.
My main issues with the movie were the adaptation from book to the screen — it focused too much on subplots that were not relevant to the overall plot of the movie. I do know that a 6-hour supercut of the movie will be released at some point, but I’m reviewing what we got, not what we will eventually get. Another issue was the fact that I was never scared throughout the movie and expected more thrills for a longer movie. Also, the lighting was atrocious in some scenes because the action set pieces, flashing lights and constant movement distracted me from the scene and it could potentially cause seizures for those with epilepsy. The reason why these aspects of the movie disappointed me is that I expected more from a longer runtime as well as the fact that It: Chapter 2 was a sequel to the far superior It. Still, not everything can be perfect and what we got was acceptable.
Overall, while I don’t think the movie is awful, I did expect more and was ultimately disappointed in the final product. I’m going to give It: Chapter 2 a B. Thank you for reading my review and be sure to be on the lookout for more coming soon.
by Kush Bansal | Sep 13, 2019 | Opinion & Reviews
Week 2 is officially over and hence begins the 38-week countdown. This week has been busy for some and lax for others; however, we can all agree that the weeks leading up will be eventful.
Starting out, Homecoming is coming up with Spirit Days already being planned as well as the official ticket date approaching. Be sure to check out the Daily Announcements page and stay up to date with your Gold Block and emails from Mr. Hein.
Extracurricular Activities: Next up is that multiple clubs have started their first meetings. FBLA, Mock Trial, and Creative Writing Club have started meetings with sign-up and club information and even a chance to meet new people! If you are interested in the Saber Slate, I recommend you join one of our Monday meetings. We also have sports going on too, with Cross Country, Football, Swim, and more. Be sure to come to the different meets in order to cheer on Franklin!
One last note is to check your PowerSchool in order to see if any grades are in so you can see what you have.
That’s the weekly update for this week! Stay tuned for more news about Homecoming and Spirit Days next week!
by Kush Bansal | Mar 12, 2019 | Opinion & Reviews
It’s that time of the year, Marvel released a brand new movie. Yay. Going off of the new trend of female leads, they created a movie about Captain Marvel. Who is Captain Marvel? Let’s just say that she’s that one character in a video game that is overpowered, but never gets nerfed. All jokes aside, this movie has recently been getting lots of hate. Captain Marvel is pretty controversial to some, with some reviews on Rotten Tomatoes even protesting to boycott this movie. While some reviewers say that this is the weakest of the Marvel movies, I believe that this movie is enjoyable.
The action, dialogue, music, and most of the special effects were fantastic. From scene one, I was captivated, as the protagonist Captain Marvel, played by Oscar-winning actress Brie Larson, is wrapped as a mystery. As the movie proceeded, we get bits and pieces of who she is, as well as what really happened in an incident which causes her to lose her memory. The movie is also the set-up Avengers: Endgame which is coming out next month, and while this is done in a post-credits scene, it still flows very well.
The main flaws I have with Captain Marvel is that the movie could have been shorter by about 10 minutes, as nothing was done in that 10 minutes to progress the movie. Another issue was some of the CGI isn’t as good as I hoped it would be, which is an issue, as Marvel has million dollar assets to improve this. Finally, the main villain is slightly predictable, and Captain Marvel did not have the focus to create a compelling antagonist of the film. All that being said, I still really like this movie.
This is my final opinion on Captain Marvel and I am going to give it a B+. Thank you for reading my review and have a great day.
by Kush Bansal | Mar 2, 2019 | Opinion & Reviews
Netflix. Netflix. Netflix. Hm. Interesting. Killed Blockbuster. Brought streaming to all mobile devices. Has great shows like Friends and The Office. Canceled every Marvel show. Hm. But they did spend billions of dollars on original content. I mean, who wouldn’t want to watch Bird Box? The best movie of 2018?
No. No. No. This movie was subjectively and utterly terrible and a sin to mankind.
Bird Box is about Russian aliens who, when they look at you, make you commit suicide. Weird premise but okay. Sandra Bullock (who won an Oscar) is pregnant and goes around avoiding these monsters, and eventually seeks shelter at John Malkovich’s house. Then the alien gets in, kills everyone, and Sandra has to run. Will she survive?
I don’t know. I switched off the movie after an hour.
This movie was bland, unoriginal, and dull. Sure, it looked nice and all, but nothing made sense. It was too convenient and the acting was awful. Now, I’m only reviewing this movie because people told me to. And to that, I said, “Thanks guys, you really are amazing!” All sarcasm aside, I need to get better friends, and also, I need to give this movie an F.
I apologize for being so negative, but I hated this movie. All that being said, thank you for reading my article and I hope to see you next time.
by Kush Bansal | Feb 16, 2019 | Community, History, News
Every February, we celebrate Black History Month. In this time period, we honor African American representatives, world leaders, and people who changed our society. Famous leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman are all just a few out of the thousands of people we honor. To commemorate this time of celebration, FHS is hosting a Mini Juneteenth event on Monday, February 18th from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. This event will be full of different cultures, educational material, and lots of fun. See Mrs. DeClark if you have any questions. But now, I will talk about some of the figures and why they are honored.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a black activist whose work was to end racism and segregation in America. From the 1940s to the 1960s, many places such as schools, restaurants, and buses were segregated. King worked to lead peaceful protests against segregation, gathering worldwide media attention. His most famous work was his “I Have A Dream” speech, where he talked about what he wanted to see in America for the future. Unfortunately, he was assassinated on April 4th, 1968. However, his dream was accomplished today, as now we live in a society with less segregation built all on the ideas from Martin Luther King Jr.
Harriet Tubman was an African American abolitionist who worked through the underground railroad in order to free slaves. During the 1800s, when slavery started to slowly end with the Civil War, African Americans, former slaves, and those in the Union worked hard to free slaves. Harriet Tubman was a former slave who was freed, but she also aspired to free all of the slaves in the south. In the end, she freed over 300 slaves, which was monumental as it presented her as a historical figure who worked for the betterment of others.
The last figure we will mention here is Rosa Parks. She became known for not giving up her bus seat during the time of segregation. Back then, buses were split into 2 parts, one for the whites and one for the blacks. Even though Parks sat on the white side of the bus despite being black, she did not give up her seat to a white person. No matter what, she still said no. Parks’s recognition rose because at that time, she showed the world that even though black people were being oppressed, they still had equal and natural rights. Therefore, it would be only true to honor that by defending yourself.
This month, I want you to do some research on other historical figures to see their commitments to society. I also want you to recognize their importance to our history and to stand by in a future where we can all treat each other respectfully. Thank you for reading and have a great rest of your day.
