A Star Is Born Aims for the Awards

If A Star Is Born is nominated for any awards this year (which, let’s be honest, it probably will), I hope someone in their speech talks about how it also deserves the award for “Most Rebooted Movie”. The story told in 2018, starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, is actually the fourth time that the title A Star Is Born has been used. In 1937, the story starred Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, telling the story of a farm girl from North Dakota who dreams of making it in Hollywood and falls in love with a famous actor. In 1954, Judy Garland and James Mason took the title roles, also telling the story of actors. It wasn’t until 1976, with Barbara Streisand and Kris Kristofferson, that the story switched to the music industry, where Cooper and Gaga have picked it up in 2018. Though the same basic story (and ending) is used in all four movies, the idea is that audiences will still see enough differences because of the time period changes that the basic story will still hold true and touch hearts. Much like the musical that dominated the 2016 award season – La La Land – A Star Is Born plays on the public’s love of music and stargazing, admiring the life of the arts that most dream of, even if it’s a secret, impossible dream. And, like La La Land, this vision of the arts and the life surrounding them is fine to watch, but doesn’t make quite the impact that it intends to.

Ocean’s 8: Proof Reboots Can Be Fun

Many of the summer blockbusters you’ll see this year are superhero flicks – fun, even when they’re animated, but not everyone’s cup of tea. Alongside those movies come a series of reboots and sequels, which is a bit dry in its own way, since we know at least a little bit about the stories as we walk into them. So, how to combat this? Well, the reboots and sequels must do their best to bring a fun, fresh twist to the story in order to keep us entertained, since that’s really what we’re asking for in a summer blockbuster. Ocean’s 8, an early contender for the summer movie crowd, is a great example of this. Not only is the reboot of Steven Soderbergh’s heist film a twist on the original story – a team of women committing the crime – but all the elements of a good heist film are played to perfection. The plan is complex but fun to follow, the characters form a seamless and amusing team as they execute the heist, and no matter how you may expect the story to end, the film will still keep you on edge wondering how the ending will come about. Summer blockbusters are there for you to have fun indoors, and you will definitely have fun sitting through the antics of the newest Ocean team.