Movie: Black Panther
Nominated for: Best Picture, Best Costume Design, Best Original Song, Best Original Score, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, Best Production Design
How I watched: Theatrical Release
When I fell asleep: Not a chance
When it had me: It had me back in Civil War when I first met T'Challa
When it lost me: Never
What I have to say: I find it so hard to separate this movie out from being a super hero movie. I had to re-watch it so I could try to judge it as a stand alone film. It's still a struggle. First off, I love this movie! It is an important film because of representation and it is important for bringing issues of social justice to the pop-culture fun-time world of comic book movies. After being told for so many years that a black centered movie couldn't entertain anybody but black audiences it was a triumph to watch this be the biggest mainstream success of all time. A total, glorious, win!
As a stand alone film, it has a lot to accomplish. Exposition feels a bit heavy at times. We have to learn a new world, new culture, new tech and powers. It feels like we wait a long time for the plot to get going. However, that exposition pays off in terms of relationships that have a believable richness to them and the feeling of deeply held cultural traditions. This movie has so much heart, so much love for where you come from while still acknowledging past mistakes and striving to always make things better. I like how when Killmonger shows up with his beef about how he was wrongfully treated, T'Challa doesn't tell him that it was a long time ago and he should be over it by now. T'Challa doesn't say "Not All Wakandans did that to you!" T'Challa doesn't tell him it wasn't his fault so he shouldn't have to hear it. T'Challa acknowledges the injustice, grieves for the mistakes of his ancestors, shows respect to the one who was wronged, even ultimately offering to heal him. I wish that was some kind of metaphor we could use for real life...
Oh my gods, I think this IS the best picture of the year.
It has great action sequences, beauty everywhere you look and really fantastic heroes. Also, it is my kids' pick for Best Picture, so that weighs heavily in its favor.
Movie: Avengers: Infinity War
Nominated for: Best Visual Effects
How I watched: Theatrical Release
When I fell asleep: Nah
When it had me: So many heroes meeting each other!
When it lost me: Emotional brutality.
What I have to say: First of all, it is really rude for the MCU to draw me in with these charming, silly characters and then make me feel real sadness. Gah! These are dumb, sarcastic superhero popcorn flicks. When did I start to care? It feels unfair to judge this film as a stand alone. It hits the ground running hard because all of its exposition has been done over the course of how many movies? I've lost count, but the internet says 18. Thanos is a calm, rational, bad guy. A zealot who wants to help everyone by simply culling the herd. He is seemingly not driven by lust for power, glee at killing or any outward maniacal madness. It somehow makes him all the more frightening and inevitable. This movie becomes a Marvel-ous (see what I did?) mash up of all of the previous casts we've met before. And it sure sets us up for one helluva bittersweet and wild victory!
No comments:
Post a Comment