Captain Marvel may be the superhero to end all superheroes, but Shazam is the clear winner

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been on a record-breaking streak for 10 years now, and this marvellous (pun intended) train seems unstoppable. However, if you look at how many female superheroes this universe has introduced over the past decade, you’re in for a shock. Apart from Black Widow (played by Scarlett Johansson), the MCU does not have any other bona fide female superhero, which is quite strange. No, Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) does not count in this comparison, and neither does Gamora (Zoe Saldana). Technically, Black Widow doesn’t count either, as she has never starred in her own movie and ...

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Mechanical and repetitive, ‘Tomb Raider’ is yet another failed video game adaptation

In recent years, it seems as if the question of what it takes to adapt a good movie from a video game has eluded Hollywood studio executives more than anything else. At first, it seemed as if they weren’t even trying. Films like Silent Hill, Doom and Max Payne, all releasing in the mid-2000’s, had the low-budget appeal of a direct-to-video movie, and felt more like a means to making a quick buck than faithful video game adaptations. However, when movies like Prince of Persia, Warcraft and most recently, Assassins Creed started bombing – both critically and commercially – the aforementioned question really started to emerge. After all, these were films ...

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Pakistani documentary makers are getting nominated for Emmys, but their own country does not give them any recognition

In Pakistan, documentary films are to cinema what hockey is to sports. We don’t see a lot of hockey on TV, just like we don’t get to see any documentaries screened across the country. Even if our documentaries or hockey make it big, they don’t get as much recognition as popular genres of entertainment or sports do. To me, this phenomenon seems like the proverbial case of the child who cries the most and gets the most toys. If the Oscars are anything to go by, Pakistan has a couple of them, and that too in documentary filmmaking and by the same filmmaker. Deep ...

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Why Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman is a slap on the faces of Palestinian girls in Gaza

This past week, viewers from all across the globe flocked to their nearby cinemas to catch the first female superhero movie, Wonder Woman. People leaving the cinema published accounts of inspiration and motivation. Some even spoke of a rekindled sense of purpose and drive in their individual feminism.  Yet in the same news cycle, you could also find a piece or two decrying some ban on this blockbuster placed by Lebanon and then followed by a suspension in Tunisia and Algeria. Naturally, as every ban does, it piqued the reader’s interest. After all, what would the Lebanese, Algerians or the Tunisians have against women empowerment? It made little sense until you opened the closet and ...

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Wonder Woman is just another run-of-the-mill superhero movie with hyper-feminist overtones

Another month and yet another superhero movie hits the theaters. Okay, another superheroine movie if you are hell-bent on being such a pedant. Oh and by the way,Gal Gadot, this larger-than-life female character, is a former Israel Defense Force (IDF) officer. Why is that even relevant, you might ask? Well for starters, we as a nation have this strong aversion to all things Isareli, and secondly, one of our brotherly Muslim state Lebanon has banned the screening of Wonder Woman on accounts of Gadot serving time in the Israeli military, who lest we forget are responsible for the crime of apartheid against the Palestinian people. Okay now just to be absolutely clear, ...

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Will DC Comics’ Justice League be the answer to Marvel’s Avengers?

One thing I can never wrap my head around is the bizarre fact that all of Zack Snyder’s DC Comics’ movie adaptations are shot in the dark. Do they not experience daytime in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU)? With this slight moan out of the way, let’s turn our collective attention towards DC Comics’ answer to Marvel’s Avengers. The first full Justice League trailer just dropped and the entire internet world is in a state of meltdown. In a world where ‘The Avengers’ already exist, you’ve got to seriously up the ante if you plan on introducing a rival, and by the looks of it, this is ...

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Will Wonder Woman turn things around for DC Comics?

Superman, who? Batman, I don’t care! Wolverine, too macho for my liking! Are you sick and tired of the male bravado being present on the big screens all around you? Feminists around the globe, rejoice! You guys finally have someone you can truly root for while sticking to your principles. Enter, Wonder Woman! Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman (2017)Photo: IMDb With her cameo during Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice deemed not long enough, we will finally get to feast on the Amazon princess in all her unadulterated glory this coming summer. DC Comics posted the latest—and possibly the ...

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Batman v Superman: From Superheroes to Super Zeros?

After years of speculation and film production, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is now finally a reality. The film portrays two of the most iconic characters in the comic book universe, delighting fans and general audience alike. The story takes place 18 months after the events of Man of Steel (2013). An enmity has ensued after billionaire Bruce Wayne from Gotham City saw his Wayne tower get destroyed during the combat between Superman and General Zod that resulted in chaos. Now Bruce Wayne’s alter ego, Batman, has decided to bring Superman to justice because he believes that Superman is ...

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