Thinking of watching the newest blockbuster in the DC universe? Well, think again. Here’s three films better worth your time.
After subjecting myself to what I thought would be a very cool, very contemporary woman-led superhero movie- much like Wonder Woman (2017) proved to be -I was utterly disappointed to find out that Wonder Woman: 1984 (2020) was none of these things. Not only did the filmmakers take the whole 80s thing quite literally in that the characters were truly living up to completely outdated and, quite frankly, gross gender roles, but the film was just all-round not very…good. And if you want to hear what I really thought of it, you can read my full review of WW84 here: https://vocal.media/geeks/5-reasons-why-wonder-woman-1984-sucks. Otherwise, here’s three VERY cool, VERY contemporary, woman-led and woman-made (and woman-SLAYED) films that are better worth your time.
1. Hustlers (2019)
Cardi B! Lizzo! Constance Wu! Need I say more? Well, if so, then… J-fucking-LO (!!!). This band of hustling woman flip the tables on their clients to show them all their worth. They scam, they trick, and they play their way to make a whole lotta cash off the gross men who are too used to doing the same to women. Hustlers is probably the closest we’re going to get to see Jenny from the Block as a superhero, one that although perhaps doesn’t save the day, does teach a lesson about looking out for those you love. All the glitz and glam and slay-dies aside, this film at its core is about female friendship, the overwhelming love and utmost respect that women hold for each other, even when things turn for the worst. The villain isn’t who you think it is in this film, nor is it one singular character. But the heroes shine warm and bright, leaving you the desperate urge to give all your female friends a tight hug.
2. Marie Antoinette (2006)
A literal queen, and one that has been condemned to history by the men who have succeeded her as a royal bitch, Sofia Coppola makes sure to set the record straight with this slow-moving, pastel-painted fictional portrayal of Marie Antoinette. From disputing the rumour of some supposed talk about cake-eating, to a nod to the fact that Marie was really just a teenage girl with a pair of purple Converse, Coppola weaves her way in and out of historical fact to show us a film that, when it comes down to it, is really just about some young kid forced into a life of grandeur adulthood. Perhaps hero may be an ill-fitting title for the Marie Antoinette we know through the history books, but the Marie we see through Coppola’s lens fits the title more snuggly. We see the reality of this supposedly obnoxiously naïve queen being really just a young girl trying to figure out her place in the world. And we also see a shit ton of cake.
3. Lady Bird (2017)
The sort of badass women that I’ve always been attracted to and amazed by are the ones that come a little closer from home. Christine ‘Lady Bird’ McPherson is perhaps a slightly more eccentric, slightly louder, (quite a bit) funnier version of a lot of teenage girls surviving high school, but there’s something in the normality of her experiences, of her not getting along with her mum, of her trying to figure who her friends are, of her tolerating the heart ache of some teen boy that barely cares, that kind of makes her a hero for all us normie teen girls (and boys). She doesn’t have a cape and she doesn’t save the day, but Lady Bird is brave and courageous in a world that feels a whole lot scarier than that of the superhero universes: high school.
Comments