8 Mile (2002)

I was about eight when I first heard of Eminem and fell in love with his music. I didn't understand the lyrics as I didn't speak English at the time, but I loved them nevertheless. So I was pretty excited when 8 Mile aired on TV a year later —no way my parents would bring me to see this. Also, I doubt my tiny town showed this— and I loved it. I rewatched it many times over the years, I rewatched it now and I still love it. 

Set in 1995 Detroit, the story follows Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith Jr. (Eminem), a young, unhappy white blue-collar worker who, after breaking up with his girlfriend (Taryn Manning), returns to his mother's (Kim Basinger) trailer park home and her young boyfriend (Michael Shannon). While struggling in every single aspect of his life, he tries to make a name for himself in the African-American dominated underworld hip-hop world. 

12 Strong (2018)

I'm not the biggest fan of war movies and I usually avoid them, especially when I haven't heard much about them, whether it's good or bad things. 12 Strong stars Chris Hemsworth though and there's also Michael Shannon in it so I gave it a chance. 

The film tells the true story of a US Special Forces team, led by Captain Mitch Nelson (Chris Hemsworth), who, weeks after 9/11, was sent into Afghanistan to retaliate. There they form an alliance with an Afgan warlord, Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum (Navid Negahban), in order to fight a common enemy, the Taliban, and secure the strategic city of Mazar-i-Sharif. And they have to face off tanks and rockets on horseback.

Fahrenheit 451 (2018)

I read Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 last year and to say that I loved it is a little reductive. I'm not the only one who feels that way about Bradbury's novel and therefore turning it into a good movie was not easy. That said, I had high expectations for HBO's Fahrenheit 451 because of the network's resources and the cast, especially the cast. Unfortunately, it's a misfire.

Set in a distant future, when books are banned and firefighters, in order to destroy them, start fires instead of putting them out, the film follows Guy Montag (Michael B. Jordan), a young fireman who does his job without questioning believing that's the right thing to do. One day, while on his job, Guy witnesses something terrible and begins to question his task.