Teodora's Blog

This year’s summer kicked off quite beautifully with the hit movie Top Gun: Maverick (and this comes from someone who hadn’t watched the prequel from 36 years ago). I only set off with a concise synopsis and awaited the development of the story (and was occasionally told by my mother, during the screening, that certain scenes were almost – or entirely – replicas of ones from the 1986 film). The echoes start right away, with the intro being shot from the same angles, in the same setting, with the same soundtrack (the Top Gun theme song, soon changing to the invigorating Danger Zone from Kenny Loggins). For some reason, whether you are familiar with Tony Scott’s 1986 motion picture or not, the theme track’s chime seems to instantly enthral people of different generations, one way or another. For whom does the bell toll? Apparently for us all. In time, it has become only partially clear why Joseph Kosinski’s sequel has had quite a resonant impact on individuals who had barely heard...

*Spoilers will be discussed (spoilers for this movie and other films belonging to Phase 4 of the MCU)* The fourth instalment. Of Thor . The latest addition. In Phase 4. Given the massive success of Thor: Ragnarok back in 2017 (for the movie did ensure some comic relief within the Marvel universe and provided us with a fresh perspective of Thor himself), plenty were eager to know where Love and Thunder would be heading to and whether it would preserve a similar tone. This time around, the director, Taika Waititi, was also in charge of the script, amping up the entire atmosphere – and it showed. His visions, somewhat clashing with Marvel’s trademarks, definitely sparked some heated opinions from comic / MCU-savvy fans (in opposition to Waititi’s separate devoted audience). Some belong to both of these categories – and they might just notice how Love and Thunder manages to equally be a Marvel production and a Waititi film, blending characteristics from each side in a curious, but c...

There is something alluring about crime series / movies, no matter how many narratives we’ve been exposed to already; although, admittedly, tinkering with new compelling elements is a prerequisite at this point, so as to stand out in a conglomeration of mystery stories. We are at liberty to question whether the hit Hulu series Only Murders in the Building (created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman) is nothing but a clever gimmick or happens to be an actual novelty – and it turns out it may be both at the same time. There are numerous factors contributing to the show’s appeal, the most obvious ones being its mixture of mystery and comedy, and its diverting self-referential nature (which will be looked into shortly). The action takes place in New York, mainly in an extravagant apartment building called Arconia (supposedly based on the real-life Ansonia), where two of its residents are murdered throughout the first two seasons (the show having premiered last year, in 2021). One such sp...