Meet Capri, a 17-year-old from sunny Florida who brings a wealth of talent and passion to this year’s summer teen takeover team. Capri’s diverse interests include film, music, business, and literature. Her Mom is Chinese and her Dad is American making her a child of two very unique cultures. She enjoys listening to music artists from the 70s like Fleetwood Mac and also loves playing the piano, ukulele, and guitar. Further, she loves watching movies and adores the film industry her top pick would be the Marvel great, “Infinity War”. Additionally, she has taken classes on film production at school which have fuelled her love for movies even further.

We asked Capri how she feels about her return to Beijing and she said, “I find myself feeling a sense of familiarity as I return to Beijing, and it’s great to be back in the bustling city atmosphere once again. After living in Florida which is mostly suburban, I am excited about exploring all the restaurants, stores, and activities that this vibrant city has to offer. One of my favorite restaurants here used to be Annies, so it will be fun to dine there again. Although it can be challenging at times being back in a Chinese-speaking environment after getting used to English for some time now.”

Capri recently traveled to Europe in June where she visited London and fell in love with its old mansions as well as the countryside. As an AP student taking rigorous courses such as Biology and Environmental Science; she excels in AP English class (she’s predicting a 5) but struggles with Chemistry. She’s also a SAT icon and scored 1570 which is exceptional. We are thrilled to welcome Capri to our team here at Jingkids Magazine!

Image: Capri Wayne

I only had one wish this summer with respect to movies and that was to watch Marvel’s latest offering of Guardians of the Galaxy when we visited the USA. Alas, we returned to Beijing before the much-anticipated film arrived. Thinking the release dates might have aligned, we checked the listings only to find it absent on screens in Beijing. September rolled by with no news, until now. On 10 October, Guardians will open in Beijing. I don’t think I’ve been this excited about a science fiction offering since the Matrix, and this promises to be a lot more family friendly.

Marvel comics have brought a lot of iconic superheros to the screen lately with multiple Spider Man releases, X-Men, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and the crew of the Avengers. As Nell Minow, the Movie Mom, points out, they are often anguished, even tortured characters. That makes for good drama, but can take some of the fun out of what tends to be, well, a fun film genre. The unlikely lead in Guardians, Peter Quill takes the screen with all the charm of a swashbuckling pirate. From all reports, his character feels like a mash up of two of my favorite unlikely heroes from my own childhood, both played by Harrison Ford – Han Solo from Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

Guardians held the top spot at the box office in the USA for three weeks and still sits in the top 10. It has received a 92% rating on the peer review site Rotten Tomatoes, and the Movie Mom gave it an A-. Mark Kermode of the BBC described Guardians as largely an extraterrestrial comedy that is laugh out loud funny and completely nuts. What more could you ask for? With so few English offerings to choose from on Beijing’s big screens, this is one film you and your kids won’t want to miss.

Guardians of the Galaxy received a rating of PG-13 in the USA and is suitable for middle school children and up. It does have scenes of intense sci-fi violence and action, and a couple of uses of the F-word. For an in-depth review from the Movie Mom, visit her bog here.

Like all Marvel films, be sure to sit through the credits until the end.

Photo: fanpop.com