By Eric Z.
           
Thor Ragnarok is another movie made by Marvel Studios, and is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is the third Thor movie, and the best one. It was directed by Taika Waititi, and stared Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Tessa Thompson, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo, Cate Blanchett, and Anthony Hopkins. This movie took a risk by taking this hero to more of a comedic route, but it paid off. It seemed to make you care more for the characters and was absolutely hilarious. The entire theater (which was full, by the way) was laughing so hard! The action was great, the acting was great, and the script was amazing.
            The story is that Hela plans to destroy Asgard (Thor’s home), where Thor and his people live. This causes Thor to be transported to a world called Skaar where he is a gladiator, fighting against his will. He meets up with new and old allies to escape Skaar and to retake Asgard.  
            I think this movie is the best superhero movie since Logan, and shows how Marvel Studios still are putting a lot of effort into their films. They do a great job of investing you into the story and introduces great characters, especially Valkyrie who was very interesting. It has some small flaws of sometimes being a little too funny when it should be more serious, and Odin (Thor’s father) was not needed in the story. Above all, this movie was fun, which I think is a good thing.
            Overall, I loved this movie. It is not the best Superhero movie or Marvel movie, but it is definitely a standout and very impressive. I recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys movies. I rate this movie an 8.5 out of/10.

By Eric Z.
            One of the best movies of all time, The Shawshank Redemption should be  a mandatory movie everybody should see. It has a realistic sense of hopelessness and perseverance. It stars Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, and Bob Gunton, and is directed by Frank Darabont.
            As it is said in the title, it is a story of redemption. It is based on a short story by Stephen King and is about Andy Dufrense, a man accused of murdering his wife. He is innocent, but he is sent to prison anyway because nobody knew that. He seems like a depressed and frail man when he walks into prison, but he is actually a strong presence not to be messed with. He meets an old prisoner named Red, who is currently trying to get released via parole. The movie shows prison life and how these two characters become close friends. You can watch the characters getting older as it spans over many years, and it has such a sense of detail. It is filmed beautifully, making you feel like you are in the prison.
            The performances by all of the actors are spot on. Morgan Freeman gives perhaps his best performance, and Tim Robbins is so amazing as well. You relate to these people and you want it to end well for them. The story is fantastic, with so many twists and sad deaths. I would say my favorite scene but I honestly can’t because each and every moment of this movie is perfect. I give this movie a 10/10.

​By Eric Z
     Star Wars: The Last Jedi is the second movie in the new Star Wars Trilogy. It is directed by Rian Johnson and it stars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Oscar Isaac, and Adam Driver. I won’t give spoilers, but it is basically about Rey training and the Resistance trying to escape from the First Order.                                                   The performances were spectacular. All of the returning actors from Force Awakens are still great.  But Mark Hamill gives what may be the best performance of his whole career. He stole every scene with his grimness, and he pulled you into this movie. Now for the story lines. Rey and Luke training was an amazing part of this movie. Their banter and beliefs collided but they knew they had to work together, and it was very interesting. The Resistance being chased by the First Order was riveting and was constantly intense. Kylo Ren, and Snoke were great, and I love how unpredictable they were. The one flaw was the story line of Finn and this girl named Rose. Their story was boring and it slowed the pacing down whenever the movie came back to them.               
     This movie took so many risks. They had risks in basically every scene, and I liked about 95% of them.  Some fans may not like some of them, and I understand that. I am a huge fan of this franchise, but everybody has a different opinion. This caused controversy. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 92% critic score and a 54% audience score. This is an extreme case where fans among themselves and critics are arguing.                                                            
     In conclusion, I think this movie should be seen. The movie is very interesting and original. It has some of the best action scenes in all of the saga. Even though one story line is boring, and there are a little too many risks, I loved this movie. I give this an 8.5/out of 10.                                              

My Ranking of all the Star Wars movies from best to worst:

1. The Empire Strikes Back              
2. A New Hope
3. The Force Awakens
4. The Last Jedi
5. The Return of the Jedi
6. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story               
7. The Revenge of the Sith
8. The Phantom Menace
9. Attack of the Clones