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    Eight-Minute Empire

    Eight-Minute Empire

    Games and Entertainment

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    !! Release SALE -17% !! The official version of the board game - Eight-Minute Empire, by Ryan...

Black Panther (2018)
Black Panther (2018)
2018 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
The latest film in the Marvel Universe has arrived with “Black Panther” and it continues the tradition of big budgeted event films from Marvel. The film follows T’Challa (Chadwick Bodeman), as he prepares to assume the throne of the country of Wakanda after the death of his father. He is destined to lead over a nation that to the outside world seems impoverished and rural, but is secretly a very technologically advanced society thanks to their Vibranium resources. The resources allow them to keep their capitol city hidden from the world.

As T’Challa attempts to assume the throne and rule over the various tribes of his country; a threat from his past both known and unknown arises. Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) surfaces, T’Challa mounts and effort to bring him to justice which in turn sets a chain of events into motion. A mysterious and deadly figure known as Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), plans to obtain the Vibranium to exact a plan of revenge so severe it will lead to the nations of the world being subjugated and will divide even the most loyal citizens of Wakanda.

T’Challa must use his powers as The Black Panther and guardian of Wakanda to save his people and the very world from a threat that holds the fate of the world in the balance.

The film takes a while to get going as Director/Co-Writer Ryan Coogler takes his time introducing audiences to the world of Black Panther and especially the various characters. The strong supporting cast features Lupita Nyong’o, Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira, Forest Whitaker, Martin Freeman, and so many others that it is great to see such well-rounded characters.

The film does take a while to get up to the action but when it arrives; it delivers making the wait worth it. What I really liked was that the characters were well-defined as were their motivations. You did not have some cartoon mega-villain with some insane scheme, but rather a realistic and believable threat whose motivations were understandable though misguided.

Marvel has again delivered a very thrilling story that fits well into their extended universe and you will want to make sure to stay through all the credits for the two additional scenes which sets up future events for the Marvel Universe. “Black Panther” is a rousing success all around continues Marvel’s Cinematic Universe in grand style.

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    Finance and Utilities

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    Easily split multiple bills and checks between a group of people with intuitive and powerful...

Fruitvale Station (2013)
Fruitvale Station (2013)
2013 | Drama
Here is another movie that was put up for consideration for my upcoming book 21st Century Cinema: 200 Essential Films. It didn’t quite make the final cut, but is part of the long list of honourable mentions – movies that are easy to like and recommend, but aren’t quite of the very highest quality in their respective genres.

Borderline superstar Michael B. Jordan owes his career to Ryan Coogler, which began in earnest in 2013 with the strong effort of true story Fruitvale Station, highlighting the life and final moments of Oscar Grant, who was one of a tragically long list of innocent young men murdered by the police in modern America. Since then he has gone on to star as the eponymous Creed and as the popular Erik Killmonger in Black Panther, making him more or less the most famous black actor under forty currently at work.

I mention him first because having seen the other two films first, I have to admit I wasn’t quite getting it. I mean he is fine in both movies, but nothing world beating. Then you go back to his acheivement in the earlier film and begin to see what he might be capable of given the right scripts. He pretty much embodies Oscar Grant to a degree you believe you are watching a documentary. Which is the major plus point of Ryan Coogler’s direction also.

By pulling us in to the family life of Oscar, as if we were a fly on the wall, we become connected to their story as if we were part of that inner circle, making the inevitable horror of events hit home all the harder. We watch mundane events and conversations take place with a shadow of foreboding that never crosses over into foreshadowing or signposting. The balance is very nicely done.

Melonie Diaz, as girlfriend Sophina, and especially the ever wonderful Octavia Spencer, as loving but grounded mother Wanda, offer solid support, but the camera clings to Jordan by choice, asking us to place ourselves in his shoes and feel the empathy first hand. It is a sober journey, almost totally devoid of directorial flair, which is both a strength and a weakness, ultimately.

With such an awful, heart-rending subject, it can be difficult to remove yourself into a dispassionate view of a film artistically, as the message overpowers your emotions. The best thing that can be said in this case is that the drama never crosses the line of sentimentality or overkill; it merely presents events as they were and asks you to draw your own conclusions. Having said that, I can’t over-praise it simply because the subject needs to be seen, heard, discussed and acted upon with total immediacy in the real world.

This film is already seven years old, and the issues are more pertinent than ever before, as the BLM movement rages all over the world, but especially in the USA, where the culpability and violence of police officers must be addressed and resolved before the loss of one more innocent life. The message delivered by the film is clear and unambiguous – it has to be heeded. And in that sense it is an indespensible film of great power, I would advise you to see.

And with that, it seems a moot point to criticise it, because there isn’t anything negative to say that would say anything useful. I would just say again that it doesn’t quite make the grade of the best 200 films since the Millennium. Whereas, BlacKkKlansman does. An unfair comparison in many ways, but an obvious one in others. See both. Think about them, do what you can, and help make hatred and prejudice a sad fact of history.

Decinemal Rating: 70