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Ryan Hill (152 KP) rated Black Panther (2018) in Movies

May 11, 2019  
Black Panther (2018)
Black Panther (2018)
2018 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
9
8.3 (282 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Chadwick Boseman as Tchalla/Black Panther Michael B Jordan as Erik killmonger Letitia wright as shuri Danai Gurira as Okoye Wakanda's world building The ancestral planes sequences (0 more)
The cgi isn't that great considering the budget of the movie (0 more)
"Bury me in the ocean with my ancestors who jumped from the ships, 'cause they knew death was better than bondage"
Full of life, joy, sorrow, and hilarity; Ryan Coogler's Black Panther just has a vibrancy you rarely find in the superhero scene, let alone blockbusters. Enriched with a deep, abiding love for African culture and Afrofuturism; the movie just feels purposeful. Important. Meaningful. Context matters here, as Black Panther will become one of very few films populated by African Americans not dealing with slavery or black history to thrive financially. And that cast is phenomenal. Boseman's soft-spoken panther-of-few-words is the rare MCUer to opt for a moment of silence rather than a snarky comment. Michael B Jordan brings an unmistakable swagger to the perpetually weak slate of Marvel villains, conveying a crushingly sad and challenging story that could just as easily be regarded as the true hero of the film. Letitia Wright as the genius tech maestro was a blast, a character who could give Tony Stark a run for his money both technologically and charismatically. And these are just three of Coogler's creations; drawn from a slate of inspired, unique and wonderfully represented roles for black actors...many of whom will deservingly use this as a career springboard of sorts.

I remember years ago I read a book about the cultural significance of various comic book locales, and the Wakanda entry struck me as uniquely sad and inspiring. Wakanda, a place busting with innovation, tradition, and pride...hidden from the world. Sort of an alternate-timeline Africa which wasn't poisoned irreparably by colonialism and all its horrors. There's a sad duality obvious in this Wakanda, that being for it to exist, it must be hidden. Must be quietly nurtured, developed and treasured. It's an apt metaphor in relation to black pride, culture, and history; something constantly being reworked, reshaped and reimagined to put a sordid past (and present) in the rear-view mirror by those who perpetrate it, knowingly or not. This idea, that for something to thrive it must be isolated, is at the heart of Black Panther. You can understand why T'Challa, and generations before him, sacrificed anything to preserve the myth of Wakanda. But you can also understand Killmonger's feeling of betrayal. The profound moral objections inherent in a small community turning it's back on a larger suffering population in the name of self-preservation. There's no heroes and villains when Black Panther is at it's best, just two sides to a terrifying moral question *loaded* with historical weight.

Because Killmonger isn't really a villain. The best illustration of this is the contrasting "dream" sequences, in which T'Challa shares a promise with his father within a transcendentally beautiful African landscape, and Killmonger is confronted by all his pain, suffering and moral rigidity in the vast concrete jungle of Oakland, in the tiny apartment where his father was murdered for trying to make a difference. They both wake up with tears in their eyes, some from pain and some from catharsis. Coogler marks the chasm between T'Challa's and Killmonger's pasts so perfectly, and illustrates exactly why they feel the way they do with such wisdom. Black Panther so clearly empathizes with Killmonger and understands where his pain was born, and the horrors that nurtured it.

And so there's no hero and no villain to this movie. Just two men in nearly identical black panther suits, clashing over how Wakanda ought to venture into a new era. Nobility and passion, conservation and sacrifice, incremental change against a vengeful redistribution of power and oppression. Both men are correct in their aspirations, being "right" here doesn't matter. it's tough for a good man to be king. Killmonger made T'Challa the hero he is, by instilling in him a mission, a perceived duty to turn around, face an oppressed people and finally lend a hand. But more than that, there's something miraculous here. An apology from a good man. A recognition of a sin even when it's perpetrator was, until now, helpless to prevent it. A declaration that not contributing to hate and prejudice doesn't equate to actively working to prevent it. A plea for a humble brand of superheroism, for countless ghosts of the past to be heard and change to erupt in their name. Divides to be bridged, chasms to be crossed and wrongs to be righted.

Black Panther has a complex, meaningful and profoundly challenging thematic framework; offering a fresh dissection of what it means to grapple with the sins of those who came before. Sure, there are some technical issues along the way, the machinations of Marvel storytelling are evident and errors could be found; but if you understand that superhero stories were meant to ask these sorts of questions and push boundaries since their inception; Black Panther is a dream.
  
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Lee KM Pallatina (951 KP) rated Extraction (2020) in Movies

Apr 27, 2020 (Updated Apr 27, 2020)  
Extraction (2020)
Extraction (2020)
2020 | Action
9
7.2 (28 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Action, stunt work, choreography, timing. (0 more)
Little dialogue (0 more)
Action man
A hard hitting action packed gritty and violent movie that goes full adrenaline junkie in a very short time, that even when the plot slows, it isn't for long and doesn't feel any slower.
The movie is very 'John Wick' with its melee combat which is a bonus & Hemsworth has nicely shrugged off the thor status and adjusted to action star nicely.
Although an excellent movie it isn't without its downside, in this case it's the lack of dialogue/communication between the "hero team" during an extraction which felt a little odd in my opinion.

Plot:Chris hemsworth stars as A black-market mercenary who is hired to rescue the kidnapped son of an imprisoned powerful crime lord. But in the chaotic underworld of weapons dealers and drug traffickers, another brush with death is just around the corner.
  
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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated American Assassin (2017) in Movies

Jun 26, 2019 (Updated Sep 25, 2019)  
American Assassin (2017)
American Assassin (2017)
2017 | Action, Thriller
6
6.4 (35 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Mitch and his girlfriend are on a love filled holiday in Spain. He's just proposed, she's just said yes, and now they're going to celebrate. But the happy event is cut short when a radical Islamist jihadist cell appears at the resort and attacks. Wounded, and filled with rage at being unable to prevent her death, Mitch finds his new purpose in life.

Eighteen months pass and he has managed to gain an audience with the terrorist responsible for the death of his girlfriend. Vengeance has consumed him, but US Special Forces swoop in and kill everyone denying him the chance to settle the score.

He is debriefed and recruited into a black ops team, Orion, by the CIA's Deputy Director. Here the recruits will be trained by ex-Navy Seal and Cold War veteran Stan Hurley in asymmetrical warefare.

Weapons grade nuclear material has gone missing. Their mission is simple, but who is the operative who seems to know their every move?



Seemingly the critics panned this one. Would I ever need to see it again? No. Was it bad? No. It was a perfectly entertaining action movie... buuuuuut... there's not really much else to say about it. The best bit about this film for me was Michael Keaton. Definitely stream it, if it's under a fiver and you like this sort of film then it's worth buying.