Women are powerful.

I am not usually one for mystery films - mainly due to the fact that they tend to have convoluted plots - but when I saw the preview for Enola Holmes, directed by Harry Bradbeer, I simply could not resist!

Taking place in Victorian England, 1884, the film follows a young lady by the name of Elona Holmes - played by Millie Bobby Brown - as she tries to find her mother who left without a trace. On the way, she gets wrapped up in another situation pertaining to a young man named Tewkesbury - played by Louis Partridge - who is on the run. It does not help that her brothers, Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes, are hot on her trail.

This film was a decent watch.

One of the strong suits of this film is the choreography, especially during the fight scenes between our main heroine and one of the many antagonists. When they interact on screen, it is never a dull moment. These scenes are action-packed and have certain movements that leave the audience wanting more. Not to mention, Millie Bobby Brown is in a dress with a corset underneath! Considering she still can fight while having her internal organs squished together, we know that this young woman is no one to mess with. It is amazing to see and leaves me speechless just thinking about it.

I would normally sing more praises towards a film before going on to my gripes but, unfortunately, that is not the case this time.

One of my main issues with this film is the pacing. The film starts off with basic narration in which Enola tells the audience about herself and the life she has with her mother. As nice as that it is, it feels as though the film jumps too quickly into the “mystery” of Enola’s mother's disappearance. The audience barely even knows who her mother is which is not good because, without proper character development, we cannot feel the weight of this event. We cannot connect with Enola to see why she is so upset when we do not even have a connection with her mother. Her motivation to find her mother is now blurred and the audience just assumes this is something she wants to do solely because that is her mom as opposed to any strong bond the two may have. The film rushes to get to the “good stuff,” and this causes the film to suffer a bit.

Now, I would have been able to forgive the pacing issue if the film did not do the one thing I had a feeling it was going to do: force a love story between Enola and Tewkesbury. When I tell you this is not only a forced love story but a ridiculous love story, I mean it! When we first meet Enola’s love interest, I had hope that the filmmakers would leave them as friends because of the way she was towards him, cold and distant. Instead, we get an oddly placed romance in which these two characters have no chemistry. I think what was most upsetting about this was the fact that it seemed to be placed in the film haphazardly and added nothing to Enola’s character. Female characters do not always need to have a love interest to be interesting, and I wish the filmmakers knew that.

Overall, the film is pretty entertaining and had many scenes that made me smile but lacked proper pacing and threw in a useless romance. Since I had more negative thoughts towards the film, I would have to give it a C+.

Women are beautiful.

When reminiscing on middle school, most people feel a sense of relief for the simple fact that they realize they have come a long way. Most people realize that their awkward ways are, for the most part, in the past. We realize that, even though it might not have been the greatest experience, it shaped us into who we are today.

A coming-of-age film that captures what it is like to be in middle school - more specifically in eighth grade - during the age of technology is Eighth Grade, directed by Bo Burnham.

The film follows Kayla Day - played by Elsie Fisher - as she navigates through her last week of eighth grade. While attempting to balance school and home-life, we see her create and post videos on the internet about “being yourself” and “feeling confident” but realize that the sentiment she puts into the world is not one she puts into herself. This film takes the audience on Kayla’s journey to self-confidence and self-fulfillment.

There is no other film that feels quite as real as Eighth Grade.

What makes this film so relatable and enjoyable is the casting choice. Elsie Fisher makes the character of Kayla Day everything she is, bringing the shy, awkward girl to life. From the opening scene of the film, we get a sense of who Kayla is as a person and how her internet persona is not who she really is in the regular world. It is a very raw look into what it is like to be young during a time where image is everything and “faking it til you make it” is just something people have to do in order to receive recognition. Kayla is the kind of character that feels very real, as if she is someone you went to middle school with. From her line to delivery to her facial expressions, Elsie Fisher brings complexity and layers to this, otherwise, "normal girl."

As much as I love Kayla, I have to give credit to her dad - played by Josh Hamilton. As a single parent, we realize from the get-go that he is figuring it out just like his daughter. The emotion that is put into this character is just amazing; the audience can feel the pain he has when Kayla shuts him out of her world, and we can feel his anger when Kayla flat out disobeys him. This film is able to make every audience member, older or younger, sympathize with Kayla’s dad and understand that he just cares about his daughter.

The acting in this film is phenomenal but would not be much without the script.

Coming-of-age films about teenagers can be enjoyable but sometimes contain clichés and/or predictable writing that can make it feel like it was written by someone twice their main character’s age, which it most likely was. Luckily, Eighth Grade was taken care of and written with love. There is not a time in the film where I do not believe that any of the characters are not the age or person they say/portray themselves to be. It is truly a testament to the writers, who took the time to get in touch with the child they used to be. The overall message tucked within the script is also one that I feel should not go unnoticed. Kayla must learn to accept every part of who she is and find that true happiness lies beyond a computer screen or magazine cover. It was quite the introspective experience for me, as I began to realize that what Kayla goes through is what I and so many others went through. It takes time to accept yourself but this film does such a beautiful job of letting the audience know that that is just fine.

As much as I thought I would have complaints about this film, I do not. I thoroughly enjoyed it. This film will make you laugh, cry, cringe, and think deep into who you are. It would be a crime for me not to recommend this film and give it an A+ rating.

Women are intimidating.

In the media and in the world as a whole, it has been expected of women to smile big and look pretty. The concept of being “lady-like” for women has been something that has not gone away, even in recent years. That is why I always have a special place in my heart for films that make leading ladies with a bit of a mean streak, such as I Care A Lot directed by J Blakeson.

Starring Rosamund Pike as Marla Grayson, the film is about a woman who scams elderly people out of money by becoming their legal guardian, putting them in a nursing home, then selling their property. Marla thinks her next victim, Jennifer Peterson - played by Dianne Wiest - is going to be taken advantage of easily, until she realizes Jennifer has ties to a gangster.

I have to say, this film was great!

A strength that this film has is the idea of the “love/hate” relationship it has with its lead. From the beginning, the audience knows the intention Marla Grayson has, which is not one that should be celebrated and is, quite frankly, terrible. Bamboozling the elderly is something the audience knows is wrong and yet, in the end, we still want things to work out for our main character. We want her to get away with stealing from Jennifer. I think this is because Marla is witty and a bit wild, which makes her enjoyable to watch and, in turn, leads to the audience hoping that we see her come out alive at the end of the film. Marla has a very intimidating air to her that truly adds to the appeal of her overall character.

Stylistically, this film was easy to view. Each scene had great cinematography which, with most films, can be hit or miss. The brighter, more richer colors really popped on screen and that is something I really liked a lot, mainly because it makes the characters and film as whole stand out. Filmed in Boston, it is enjoyable to watch for more than the story.

I thought the film had many strengths, but there is a weakness that I could not overlook. I will not spoil anything but you may be an unsatisfied audience member. Certain circumstances lead to certain outcomes and, depending on who you are, it might take away from your viewing pleasure.

I would definitely tell more people to watch this film because it tells a compelling story with impressive acting and well-written dialogue. The characters are awesome and the film is one that will be enjoyed by anyone in to comedic thrillers. I will give this film a B+ rating.

Women are ambitious.

There is so much strength in watching women who have the drive to achieve their dreams, large or small. To face adversity head on and come out on the other side of it is amazing and most certainly refreshing to see on the big screen. A film that takes that sentiment and goes above and beyond with it is Hidden Figures directed by Theodore Melfi.

Based on a true story, the film takes place in the 1960s and follows three African American female scientists who work for NASA and attempt to win the space race. With Taraji P. Hensn portraying Katherine Johnson, Octavia Spencer portraying Dorothy Vaughan, and Janelle Monáe portraying Mary Jackson, Hidden Figures not only has our characters face adversity for their gender but also for their ethnicity. Even though the odds are stacked against them, these women continued on and paved the way for more brilliant female minds.

I simply loved watching this film.

I would say the most amazing thing about this film is the representation. Representation is so important in all forms of media, especially film. That is why it brought joy to my heart to see three beautiful African American women sharing the big screen. I feel as though taking on a true story of this nature was just wonderful, as the audience gets to learn about people who they may not have known prior to watching the film.

In my opinion, the message is what stands out far more than any other aspect of the film. In a work setting, women have a disadvantage and, even to this day, it is something that continues to be addressed. From the wage gap to the amount of opportunities to become more than just an entry-level employee, women tend to get the short end of the stick. That is why when films like this come out I cannot help but be inspired to pursue my goals, even if the world is not necessarily on my side. The ambition in each of these women is far beyond most people's and that is why this film should be viewed by more and more people. Not only did they go into careers that were insanely tough but they were women and they were African Americans: two things that, during this time period, made others see them as less than. They each pushed their way to positions that even most men could not get to and the only thing they relied on was their minds.

The only issue I had when watching this film was the historical inaccuracies. There are scenes that make it into this film that did not actually happen and that left a bad taste in my mouth because it made certain characters look like saviors even though they were not. I prefer for directors to portray real-life events correctly because it paints a proper picture of the time and does not mislead the audience. If it was not for my own research, I would not have known that one of the most iconic scenes in the film did not actually occur. Despite that, the film is still worth your time.

I appreciate the filmmakers for bringing this story to light. It is one that is inspiring and amazing in every possible way. This film demonstrates the importance of ambition and how, even though certain dreams may seem untenable, you are a lot closer to achieving them than you think. My rating would have to be an A-.