It's easy to forget how powerful movies can really be. Their ability to stir up emotions and inspire change is unmatched, which is why movies are so effective as propaganda—or simply as motivating stories. One of the most important messages in all of cinema is the value of justice and the importance of law upheld. There have been so many films about these themes, tackling subjects spanning racism, sexism, discrimination, corruption... the whole nine yards. Justice is a wide thematic scope and can include anything from The Batman ("I'm Vengeance") to Kill Bill ("That woman deserves her revenge ..read more

What is it with movies and orphans? It seems like every other kid protagonist has lost their parents in a car crash or been left on a stranger's doorstep for whatever reason. Well, it all comes back to the simple fact that films are essentially character arcs. The Hero's Journey must be undergone, step by step, from problem to catharsis to reestablished equilibrium. Orphaned characters provide gaps in the protagonist's identity for filmmakers to ponder and fill in. They provide questions for the narrative to answer, and they often lead to some search for meaning, roots, or concept of self. Pl ..read more

You may have heard of femme fatales, but what actually are they? Are they just female villains? And if so, why not just call them that? The femme fatale is a very specific type of female character, one who utilizes her charisma, magnetism, and sexuality to get what she wants. Often harboring a dark or violent side, the femme fatale seduces her way out of trouble and often persuades lovers to do her bidding. The femme fatale originated as a stock character, with the French term translating as "lethal woman." This deceptive female archetype has roots in history and folklore, but it wasn't solid ..read more

In One Piece, the main source of special character abilities are Devil Fruits, which are rare consumables that grant all kinds of supernatural powers depending on the type of Devil Fruit eaten. Zoan Devil Fruits allow transformation into giant or mythical beasts. Paramecia Devil Fruits allow conjuration or manipulation of various substances. Logia Devil Fruits allow one's body to shift into an element like fire or water. However, One Piece also has the concept of Haki, which brings balance to the system and helps maintain power scaling in the later parts of the series. Haki is a concept that ..read more

Natural disaster movies have a reputation for being... well, terrible. Too many of them are all action and zero character, propped up by cheap thrills and expensive actors without much substance. But that doesn't mean there aren't some excellent disaster flicks out there! You know, ones that build a connection between us and the story so that when that world comes crashing down, we actually care! Lots of natural disaster films are fine enough to be enjoyable on a sheer entertainment level, but here are the best natural disaster movies that offer much more depth, character, and significance. 1 ..read more

The more confined the space, the more the tension can build. That's why movies set on trains feel so different from most movies. Train carriages can double or even triple the suspense of a murder investigation or bomb threat, forcing characters to face each other with no way to escape their conflicts—whether that be from archenemies, hitmen, or siblings they've been avoiding. Not to mention cabin fever... From silent era comedies to classic whodunits, here are my picks for the best movies that take place on trains or subways and fully make use of their cramped, restricted settings. 13. Murder ..read more

You know a film has done its job well when it generates a strong emotional response. The wetter your cheeks from tears or the more your sides hurt from laughing, the better the film. Right? But sometimes a film is so emotionally complex, dark, and heavy that you simultaneously understand it to be a great film yet have absolutely no desire to ever watch it again. Indeed, some of the greatest films ever made are so bleak, dreary, and hit so close to home that you wonder why you even watched them. Here are my picks for the most depressing movies that are so well-made that you won't want to watch ..read more

For as long as cinema has been around, all kinds of bizarre films have been made. Sure, viewers in the 1920s didn't have films like The Human Centipede, but they still had their own forms of strangeness to contend with (like the Dada art movement). In cinema, "weird" doesn't mean fantasy or science fiction, although those elements can often come into play. Weird means nonsensical, surreal, trippy, dreamlike, and random. Weird films challenge our logic and often make us feel uncomfortable or confused (in a good way). They range from Freudian fever dreams you wouldn't watch with your parents to ..read more

In My Hero Academia, the all-out war between the Pro Heroes and All For One, Tomura Shigaraki, and the many other villains is thrilling because we're treated to so many awesome characters along the way. Ever since the overall story shifted into its do-or-die theme, the characters have regularly gone beyond their limits and exceeded their potentials, showing us who's truly the strongest of the strong. Even characters who only appeared in the background during the early arcs have stepped up and started contributing significantly to the story, leading to all kinds of memorable and impactful scen ..read more

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