April, 2023
By Camila Juarez and Dannarys Gutierrez, Staff Reporters
Every year, hundreds of thousands of movies make their premiere. Some leave a long lasting effect like Titanic, but some aren’t even in the spotlight for long. Today, we are going to be looking at those movies that deserve a spotlight and those that have had enough hype. *Spoiler Free!*
Starting off, The Batman has become one of the most famous Batman movies of all time, making 770.9 million USD. It’s been a global phenomenon since it came out in 2022, having millions of fans watching the movie and buying merchandise. The 3 hour long movie starring Robert Pattinson and Paul Dano takes place in Gotham, where Bruce Wayne is trying to deal with his existential crisis all while the riddler is terrorizing the city. As Batman tries to find the riddler and stop his killings, he’s dealing with thoughts of not being enough. Alfred tries to be a father figure to him, but Bruce is shutting him out and focusing on fighting crime. Crime rate is still high and the riddler is obsessed with him. The cinematography in this movie is amazing, and it leaves you at the edge of your seat. However, this isn’t the case for many moments of the movie. One major aspect that makes people dislike the movie is the fact that it’s 3 hours long. The movie loses the viewers by making them lose interest. This movie was also a let down for those who were hoping for more of a superhero movie, since we saw more of an emotional Bruce Wayne.
For our underrated pick, we chose Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma, a 2018 2 hour film set in 1970-71. Actress Yalitza Aparacio plays Cleo, a mixteco housekeeper who works for an upper middle class Mexican family. As the movie starts, we learn that the family’s dad has left the family to pursue his own dreams. We then see how this affects Cleo, the wife, and the kids. In this movie we see a lot of symbolism, some representing lower class and upper class and how different their lives are. They also show the racial divide between light and dark skinned mexicans. Like The Batman, this movie also has good cinematography and it even earned them an Oscar for Best Cinematography back in 2019. In total they won 3 Oscars that year including Best Directing and Best International Feature Film. Director Alfonso Cuaron uses great camera work in Roma, by never really having close ups on the characters. Instead, we get a wide range of the setting which lets us appreciate the details and hidden symbolism/meanings in the environment. It also makes us empathize more with Cleo and the family by making us feel like we are there.
Please remember that overrated does not mean bad. If you are interested in any of these movies we recommend you watch them so you can form your own opinions.
The Cardinal Post 