Film Review: Doctor Strange

Directed by Scott Derrickson, Doctor Strange is the fourteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). It follows a brilliant but arrogant surgeon named Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) who, after his career is destroyed, goes on a journey of physical and spiritual healing. Under the tutelage of a mystic known as the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), Doctor Strange is drawn into the world of the mystic arts, as he trains to become a powerful sorcerer. Taught to defend the world against evil, he soon finds himself facing one of the Ancient One’s former students, Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen).

Film Review: The Martian

Directed by Ridley Scott, with screenplay by Drew Goddard and adapted from the 2011 book of the same name by Andy Weir, The Martian follows a manned mission to Mars when Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is left behind by his crew after he is presumed dead. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meagre supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA, headed up by Teddy Sanders (Jeff Daniels), and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring “the Martian” home, while his crewmates, commanded by Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain), plot a daring rescue mission.

Book v Film: The Martian

“If a hiker gets lost in the mountains, people will coordinate a search. If a train crashes, people will line up to give blood. If an earthquake levels a city, people all over the world will send emergency supplies. This is so fundamentally human that it’s found in every culture without exception. Yes, there are assholes who just don’t care, but they’re massively outnumbered by the people who do.”

Directed by Ridley Scott, with screenplay by Drew Goddard and adapted from the 2011 book of the same name by Andy Weir, The Martian follows a manned mission to Mars when Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is left behind by his crew after he is presumed dead. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meagre supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA, headed up by Teddy Sanders (Jeff Daniels), and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring “the Martian” home, while his crewmates, commanded by Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain), plot a daring rescue mission.

Film Review: 12 Years A Slave

Based on a true story and in part on Solomon Northup‘s memoirs of the same name, 12 Years A Slave, directed by Steve McQueen, follows the remarkable true story of a free black man from upstate New York, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who is abducted and sold into slavery. Forced to work on a plantation in New Orleans in the 1800s, experiencing the brutalities of those who believe they have the right to abuse their slaves such as Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender) and carpenter John Tibeats (Paul Dano), and ignorances of the population, including that of plantation owner William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch), will Solomon ever make it back to his family and home?

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