Captain America: Civil War Actors Review

This post is going to be quite the change from the dramatic artists’ work I have been reviewing lately. In this post I will review my top 3 actors and actresses in Captain America: Civil War.

1. Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow

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We all know the Scarlett Johansson has killed it as Black Widow since the Avengers first assembled and this movie does not change it at all. From the first opening fight scene and her awesome stunt fighting to the Iron Man vs. Captain America fight, she was amazing. I would just like to take a moment and applaud the casting crew of the  Avenger movies for casting Johansson in the first place, because it was the right move. Not every actor or actress can play a superhero, but Johansson is one of the few who definitely knows how.

 

2.  Tom Holland as Spider-Man

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I am definitely not going to lie here and confidently say that Tom Holland was my absolute favorite actor in this movie. I’m also giving a lot of credit to the writers here who gave a whole new look and attitude to the Spider-Man we have always known. Tom Holland successfully made Spider-man a completely not whiny  bug that we’ve all known. He gave Spider-Man the attitude that was originally intended for this superhero. He gave it the high-school genius nerd kid that we all now love. Am I the only one that’s secretly hoping for him to come back to the avengers? Props to this kid for bringing humor to a dramatic cinema movie. The movie really did need him.

 

 

 

3. Chris Evans as Captain America

Well, there isn’t much I can say other than it is literally his movie. Of course he was going to be in my top 3. This 34 year old has been with the Avengers team since day one, and was even the leader. This has since change, and there are even rumors of his retirement coming very soon. I guess we will see. Chris Evans gave us everything and more that we expect of Captain America. He gave us fight scenes to die for, and more of those dramatic scenes that we see literally every five minutes from Chris Evans’ character. Whether it be his emotional 20 minute uneventful scenes with Wanda, or his more 20 minute uneventful scenes with Black Widow, he gave us what we expected. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying he was a bad actor or character. If I thought that he sure wouldn’t be in my top 3 now would he? Even though *SPOILER ALERT MULTIPLIED BY TEN* Captain America probably won’t be coming back, we at least saw what development his character has gone through since Marvel Phase 1.

Grey’s Anatomy: Season 2 episode 16 & 17 Review

SPOILERS AHEAD – Like seriously, this post is legitimately full of spoilers. Spoilers you probably wouldn’t want to read if you haven’t reached these two episodes. Then again, you probably wouldn’t want to read this anyway if you haven’t gotten there. But fair warning, there are spoilers.

These two episodes had everything you would predict of Grey’s Anatomy. You had a Miranda-in-labor, a traumatic event at Seattle Grace, and a whole lot of tears. Now, this was a turning point for the series.

We start the episode with something we don’t see too commonly in the world of Seattle Grace, but the episode opens with George having a dream about the intern women showering, which foreshadows the consequences of later events.

We see Meredith refusing to go to work, because – pause for the dramatic Final Destination moment – she believes she is going to die.

Please, let me inform you of what you have to look forward to. You can look forward to Meredith being partially right, when a trauma victim arrives at Seattle grace with a wound in his chest and a paramedic named Hannah who has her hand in the chest.

Watch as this paramedic begins to fear for her life, and later in the episode forces Meredith to switch places with her and place her hand on the unexploded explosive.

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The acting part of these two episodes is what really brings me to writing this. This episode includes Miranda (Chandra Wilson), Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), Meredeth Grey (Ellen Pompeo), George O’Malley (T. R. Knight), Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), as well as many others that we know and love.

Chandra Wilson does everything we know and expect of her when she goes into labor. She is stubborn and quite frankly, she’s a brat. Addison Montgomery and George O’Malley are on the case though, and provide to her story an aspect of emotion aside from the “bomb”-shattering events happening elsewhere. Not to mention Miranda is also being kept from the information that her husband got in a car accident on the way to the hospital and was now being operated on by Derek Shepherd.

A bit cruel now isn’t it, writers?

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Meanwhile, (yes, there is still more going on) Cristina Yang, Meredith Grey, and Preston Burke are working with the explosive patient. Let us flash a few minutes back when the paramedic Hannah had her hand in the patient. The woman who played Hannah was Christina Ricci. Ricci could not have shown more commitment to her emotions than she did in this episode.

I myself found it unbelievable that she was able to make us feel so much for a one-episode character. From the minute they opened the ambulance door to the crying in the stairwell scene, Hannah held the attention of everyone watching.

On a less happy note, there was another supporting character that played an anesthesiologist that we all grew a very love-hate relationship with. But, if we are being honest, more hate than love.  This anesthesiologist also successfully showed us emotion in a way that he played with our anger.

As if Hannah wasn’t already stressed enough, the anesthesiologist got scared because he had a family at home, and made Hannah also perform the breathing on the patient, putting her in an unbelievable amount of anxiety situation.

I would be stressed too if I were her!

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All the interns of these episodes really took this opportunity to show their commitment. None of the interns left the hospital when they were given the option because none of them felt like they could leave Meredith’s side. This was one of the first episodes we saw that the interns were so much more than just colleagues to one another.

These two episodes, “It’s The End of The World” and “As We Know It” were two of the most phenomenal episodes of Grey’s Anatomy to date, and really gave an acting aspect we haven’t seen from much of the cast in the past.

Grey’s Anatomy: Top 5 Characters

For this list, I have put together my top 5 Grey’s Anatomy characters and their actors and actresses. This list does not exclude deaths and characters who have left. Enjoy!

5. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo)

Ellen Pompeo has been portraying a main character since season one of Grey’s Anatomy. Oh boy, has her character gone through a lot of acting trauma on this show. She has had to cry more times than anyone could count. Like, we’re talking about basically every episode of this show. I don’t even know how she’s able to cry anymore.  She’s gone through best friends, she’s even had old lovers die. Ellen Pompeo was chosen for the number 5 spot on this list because of how much work she has put into making Meredith Grey the character we all know how to love — but we’ve also all had experience not liking too much. Ellen Pompeo is one of those actresses that even if Grey’s Anatomy ends, she will always be known for this remarkable character. Photo Credit.

4. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey)

Oh, Derek. We are not going to talk about the obvious thing here, because this list ain’t about the events of the show. Please, feel free to binge watch and enjoy Dr. Derek Shepherd. Derek, played by Patrick Dempsey, has gone through as much as Meredith if not more. Dempsey is quite the brilliant actor. He has successfully transformed from the lovable McDreamy to the doctor we all aspire to be – even if we aren’t planning to be doctors. Patrick Dempsey is one of the reasons to watch this show, and seeing his character develop is absolutely amazing. Patrick Dempsey deserves every future role he will get. Photo Credit.

 

3. Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh)

Cristina Yang, played by Sandra Oh is a character to get emotional about. Sandra Oh is a woman who knows how to really bring out a character’s personality, even when it is initially deep down and sometimes hard to identify.  Ever since Preston Burke – no spoilers! – Cristina has had these deep down emotions. Seasons pass and Sandra Oh’s capability as an actress never stops developing. Through the tears and heartbreak, Cristina Yang is a doctor to be. Cristina Yang is a woman who you know can be in pain sometimes, but she can always put what is most important first. Whether this important thing is her career or her relationships, you can count on her. Thank you Sandra Oh, for being one of those brilliant actresses that gives someone perspective. Photo Credit.

2. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson)

Chandra Wilson is charming, talented, and one of the most spectacular actresses I’ve witnessed in my life. She portrays and equally talented Miranda Bailey, who is probably one of the characters who has grown the most over the course of Grey’s Anatomy. There are so many moments where I find myself crying and saying, “Miranda, strongest woman alive.” Ever since day one when she was first introduced as the Nazi, to all the moments up until now. Its hard to explain how amazing Miranda is without spoilers but I think I can do it! Miranda is a woman I respect. It blows me away sometimes that she is a character I always have to remind myself is actually just an actress. Chandra Wilson is unbelievable and I could not imagine Grey’s Anatomy without Chandra Wilson as Miranda Bailey. Photo Credit.

1. Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh)

 I will for sure TRY and not get emotional talking about Kate Walsh’s Addison, but I can’t make any promises! When Addison arrived to Seattle Grace in season 2, it was pretty obvious that the intent was for us to hate her. I’m trying so hard not to spoil anything. Well, we all hated her at first. Unless you think she was a good person at first, which in that case I need you to rewatch the series. It was amazing how fast the audience came to like Addison Montgomery though. She raced to the top in my books. I genuinely did not know how to react when Private Practice started, and although I was upset about the Grey’s Anatomy side of Addison, it was exciting to see Addison grow into new things. Kate Walsh really belongs to Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice, she knew exactly how to make fans adore and love her. I can’t explain how hype I get when I see her back in Seattle. Photo Credit.

 

 

 

Did Leonardo DiCaprio deserve his Oscar?

After my Leonardo Dicaprio profile review, I found myself re-watching just about every popular DiCaprio movie he has. This included Catch Me If You Can, The Aviator, Romeo + Juliet, Titanic, The Great Gatsby, The Wolf On Wall Street and The Revenant. It made me think about a question I was asked after I wrote my previous post; did you think he deserved the Oscar for best actor this year?

I found myself talking to the people around me about this question. Most of them are hardcore DiCaprio fans, so they all thought I had lost my mind when I told them I didn’t believe he deserved it for The Revenant. Quite honestly, most people would probably think I’m out of my mind for this. Now let me explain why.

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DiCaprio has been in countless works in his documented years as an actor, and he has provided his audience with every emotion an actor can have on screen. Catch Me If You Can got DiCaprio nominated for one award which he ended up winning – but the Teen Choice Awards is definitely no Oscars. This film was good for DiCaprio, and he was brilliant actor in it based on how much acting he did prior to it.

The Aviator was the first movie Leonardo was nominated for best actor in the Academy Awards. He lost to Jamie Foxx for his performance in Ray. The Aviator was definitely a good movie for DiCaprio’s first nomination.

Alright, so now let’s talk about the movies I re-watched that he was never nominated for. Romeo + Juliet was one of DiCaprio’s movies that he was not nominated for in the Academy Awards. Quite honestly, I have never questioned why he wasn’t nominated for that. That movie was a long dragged out rendition of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. I’m not saying that the reason this movie was bad was because of DiCaprio, but I am saying that between the awkward, unrealistic relationship between Claire Danes Juliet and DiCaprio’s Romeo and the unfortunate Capulet-Montague basis for the film, the movie was a bust.

Romeo + Juliet is yet another movie of DiCaprio’s that super fans say was one of his best even though if they really analyzed it thoroughly enough, they would know its not. Titanic was very similar to that thinking in many respects. Look, we all managed to cry during Titanic (and if you didn’t I will never understand why) but this was another movie that I definitely did not question when it came down to be not being nominated for best actor.

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DiCaprio was still finding how to be an actor in the up-and-coming world when Titanic came out. It was a huge upgrade from Romeo + Juliet in the acting and story department, but it still wasn’t worthy of a best actor nomination. Clearly he wasn’t nominated for best actor in this, which I am glad he wasn’t. He had his moments throughout the dreadfully long 3 hour and 15 minute movie, (I mean, we all knew what was going to happen, over three hours was completely unnecessary) but he also had some really weak spots.

It is absolutely beyond me why DiCaprio didn’t at least get a nomination for the still-talked-about The Great Gatsby. Ironically on my side, this movie was not actually rated so highly among most review sites and critics, but I love it. I felt that this movie alone showed how much DiCaprio had grown since his early 2000s movies.  

DiCaprio was nominated twice for The Wolf of Wall Street at the Academy Awards, one of which was Best Actor, which he lost yet again. This was a movie I completely believe he should have won for. That year he lost to Matthew McConaughey.

Finally, we have The Revenant, which DiCaprio actually did win Best Actor. I do not believe he deserved it for this movie. I conducted an experiment to show other people’s’ reactions to my unpopular opinion. I told people my opinion and they would all say, “I totally disagree with you.” So I would say, “Oh, so how did you like The Revenant?” And they they would say to me, “well I didn’t actually see it but he is an amazing actor.”

So you’re saying that you haven’t even seen the movie he won for, but you think he deserved it for this movie?

Leonardo DiCaprio is truly a clever actor, and trust me, if there was an award for overall amazing actor of the last two decades, I would tell him to go for it! But at the Academy Awards, there isn’t. This award was for the best actor for a specific movie, and I don’t believe there was enough consideration into the other movie actors.

Courtesy of Tech Insider

I believe that DiCaprio got this award for one reason. We all know that the Academy Awards is quite aware about the controversy and jokes around them *cough* Chris Rock’s constant race jokes *cough* so why would I put it past the Academy from seeing the constant jokes made about DiCaprio not ever getting an Oscar prior to the awards?

Don’t get me wrong, either. DiCaprio’s body went through some serious damage in the making of The Revenant. So, to clarify, I do believe Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the top actors of his time, but I do not believe he won the Best actor award for The Revenant itself, but instead for the constant jokes. If this was true, this would make the award given to DiCaprio unrightfully and unfairly won. But, then again, who am I to judge the Academy?

Gilmore Girls: Alexis Bledel and Lauren Graham

Very few actors can play a mother and daughter as well as Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. Two women who had never met before spent seven seasons of WB’s Gilmore Girls portraying a mother and daughter who do such a good job at showing the ups and downs of a mother-daughter relationship that it has the capability of confusing the audience into believing they are who they are portraying.

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Of course the relationship that Lorelai and Rory have is 50% due to the creativity of creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and her co-writers for the show, who incorporated a pop culture reference in just about every other line of the show’s 153 episodes. The other 50% was due to the talent of Graham and Bledel. These two actresses portrayed a mother and daughter better from day one than most can play in a lifetime.

At age 19, Alexis Bledel scored the role of Rory Gilmore while 32 year old Lauren Graham landed Rory’s Mother, Lorelai Gilmore. Lorelai and Rory were polar opposites from one another while still effectively being “best friends before mother and daughter”. Rory was a shy, book loving 16 year old and Lorelai was a fast-paced Inn owner who had Rory at age 16.

These actresses weren’t the only factor that added to Rory and Lorelai’s relationship, either. It might have been the storybook Connecticut town Stars Hollow that provided quirky characters that let us see how Rory and Lorelai grew up or it might have been the overwhelming Friday night dinners of the home of Lorelai’s parents, Emily and Richard, who were always questioning Lorelai’s morals.

Alexis Bledel was – previously to Gilmore Girls – most famously seen as Winnie Foster in Tuck Everlasting. Prior to Gilmore Girls, Bledel did not have a long filmography list. Gilmore Girls really was a factor in launching the career of Bledel, with a filmography of over 25 credits.

On the other hand, Lauren Graham had been in 25 different credited productions prior to Gilmore Girls. Graham has a total of 45 productions she has been credited for.

The character development within these two characters was tremendous over the seven seasons it lasted. Both Lorelai and Rory had several relationships over the course of seven seasons, but both of them always managed to put one another first. The character development from these actresses definitely showed by season seven. Graham and Bledel were able to create enough emotion within these characters to create thousands of tears and laughs for the audience.

 
Both Graham and Bledel as well as the cast and crew of Gilmore Girls had sure made an impact on viewers. So much so that it was announced in January 2016 that a revival titled Gilmore Girls: Seasons was picked up by Netflix and started filming early February. A date has yet been announced for the premiere on Netflix.

Profile: Leonardo DiCaprio

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Countless jokes later, Leonardo DiCaprio finally did it: he won an Academy Award. It only took six nominations in 23 years. DiCaprio won best actor for his movie The Revenant. In light of his newest win, it’s only necessary to go back and relive the DiCaprio days. All of the tear-jerking, ridiculously funny, and straight-up silly movies that made DiCaprio a man that millions pined over and made jokes of since that first nomination have all lead up to this moment.

27 years ago the world was introduced to Leonardo DiCaprio on a show called The New Lassie. He played a young boy named Glen who starred in only four episodes of the show. The New Lassie preceded other shows like The Outsiders, Roseanne, Santa Barbara, and Parenthood in which DiCaprio played only minor roles, his biggest one being 12 episodes in Parenthood.

Come 1993 DiCaprio starred in a film titled This Boy’s Life, where he acted opposite Robert De Niro. This was not his first actual film (his first was Creepers 3) but it was his first well-known film and definitely provided for DiCaprio’s future career.

Between 1993 and 1996 DiCaprio starred in six films. but in 1996, he scored a role as Romeo in – you guessed it – Romeo + Juliet. This was a wild, modern interpretation of Shakespeare’s play of the same name that emphasized violence within gangs and racism. This was far more popular than This Boy’s Life and was an instrumental point that helped him land his next film.

1997 was possibly a bigger year for Leonardo DiCaprio than 1996 was. It was this year approximately 17 years ago that DiCaprio got cast as Jack Dawson in the tragedy of Titanic. Titanic was by far the most popular movie Leonardo DiCaprio had starred in throughout the entirety of the 90s. Titanic explored the new love between Jack Dawson and Rose Bukater (Kate Winslet) aboard the RMS Titanic. Titanic received a 69% audience must-see rating according to Rotten Tomatoes.

Although DiCaprio emerged in the 90s, the 2000s began a legacy of movies that are remembered to this day that starred and co-starred DiCaprio. He has been credited for a total of 16 productions between the years 2000 and 2012, some of which including Gangs of New York and Catch Me If You Can in 2002, The Aviator in 2004, and Django Unchained in 2012. It was by this time that DiCaprio had been nominated for three out of six of his Academy Award nominations, all of which he lost. One of the awards he was nominated for was best supporting actor in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape in 1993, while the other two award nominations were for best actor in The Aviator in 2005 and Blood Diamond in 2007.

In 2013, Leonardo DiCaprio starred in two more hit movies that both won 5+ awards; The Wolf of Wall Street and The Great Gatsby. Both of these movies were a turning point for DiCaprio’s career, being two of the most awarded movies of his career. That was until 2015.

DiCaprio won best actor for the first time thanks to his 2015 movie, The Revenant. This is the first Oscar he has won in his entire career for any of the films he has done.

Leonardo DiCaprio has been destined for greatness from playing little Glen on The New Lassie, Jack Dawson on the tragic Titanic, to Hugh Glass on The Revenant, and here’s to the many more films he will do in the future. Here’s to you, Leonardo DiCaprio, and to many more Oscars (hopefully you won’t have to wait too long!).