Tag: Black Panther

6 Degrees: Friday Flix

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6 Degrees of Film

Greetings movie buffs! We have an interesting line up of both old and new films in April In the list of films that turned fifty this year we find one of the most famous sci-fi movies of all time, pre-Star Wars, and it is Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Also turning fifty is the campy original classic The Planet of the Apes with Charlton Heston. There’s some good articles on both of these films in 6 Degrees magazine this week.

At Cannes: The Penelope Cruz/Javier Bardem thriller: Everybody Knows will open Cannes film festival, And we are excited to hear that Ron Howard’s film, Solo: A Star Wars story, is going to premiere at Cannes..,stay tuned

The Superhero Watch: Wonder Woman was named the most ‘profitable’ superhero movie of 2017. That is news, because the film that has jumped to the top ten list of highest grossing films is Black Panther. This film has been phenomenally successful, and ‘has legs’ as they say in the buz. I update the highest grossing films list periodically, as it gives us a good window into what the public wants in terms of films, and in some ways, it shows us where we have been and where we are going in terms of culture:

As of 2018:

black panther 2018

• Black Panther is Number Ten– Telling us Black Lives DO Matter (but it’s better in Wakanda!)
• Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017- the latest film) is Number Nine
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -Part II (2011- the last one) is Number Eight
• Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) is Number Seven – hence…the latest entry is out soon!
• (Fast and) Furious 7 (2015) is Number Six
• Marvel’s The Avengers (2012) is Number Five…We GET it!
• Jurassic World (2015) is Number Four…The new one is also out this summer-see list
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) is Number Three-much better than Number 9, by the way!
• Number Two: Hanging on for dear life…is TITANIC from 1997-which is ancient for this list!
• Number One: Avatar from 2009, both Numbers 1 & 2 directed by James Cameron, both feature love stories, so perhaps with The Shape of Water winning Best Picture, we realize love may come in different forms, but romance is not dead at the movies!

Avatar movie

At the movies; Ready Player One, Spielberg’s offering based on the Video game, has garnered mixed reviews. The film depiction of Ted Kennedy’s tragic scandal Chappaquiddick is also in theatres now. Also set for re-release in theatres in July: The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine which I predict will do well in this era and climate of protests as well as the MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements.

There’s a good review of the new Joaquin Phoenix thriller: You Were Never Really Here from Rolling Stone featured in 6 Degrees magazine this week. Isle of Dogs, from director Wes Anderson has also received good reviews. The film starring John Krasinski,  A Quiet Place has just opened to good reviews. The novelty in this one is the spider creatures who are attracted to sound, which means much of the movie is viewed in silence, which makes for an interesting premise…

Coming Soon: We will be out with the Summer Movie News in May, but to preview, some of the openers this summer include:

• Avengers: Infinity War opening on April 27th
• Life of the Party: May 11- a comedy with Melissa McCarthy
• Solo: A Star Wars Story opens May 25th, and as stated above, directed by Ron Howard
• Ocean’s 8- June 8th, is the female version of the franchise
• Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom opens June 22nd
• Sicario: Day of Soldado opens June 29th
• Mamma Mia! Here we go again is on July 20th…here we go again…
• Mission: Impossible-Fallout on July 27th
• Christopher Robin opens August 3th- and is a live action version of the well-known children’s story
• The Spy Who Dumped Me on August 3rd stars Mila Kunis in an ‘international espionage comedy’
• The Meg on August 10th stars Jason Statham in an action version of “Jaws” with a megalodon monster that measures 70 feet
• Slender Man is a horror flick debuting August 24th

So…lots of variety and a return to good solid storytelling and creative and inventive plots. Of course I’m kidding, this list is a short list with mostly sequels and standard Hollywood fare. Every now and then, there’s a standout like a Juno, or Her, or once in a blue moon you’ll see something wonderful like 2001: A Space Odyssey. Even Planet of the Apes, in its original format, was cheesy but interesting enough to spawn a generation of sequels.

As for me, I want to see how Ron Howard handles the Star Wars mythology. And from this list, I have to admit there’s not a whole lot that looks exciting or different to choose from. However, there’s a part of me that loves to see something deliciously bad from time to time....Gidget Goes Hawaiian always makes the cut for me in terms of really bad movies we love to watch against our better judgement. I’m sure everyone has some films on that short list…

Gidget is playing this weekend on TCM, so we can indulge in the short term, and celebrate some of the classic masterpieces that don’t come around often, like 2001: A Space Odyssey, as it celebrates its fiftieth anniversary. Check out 6 Degrees to read up on this classic film. Have fun and till next week, see you at the movies! ML

 

 

 

 

 

6 Degrees: Capsule Review:The Black Panther

black panther 2018

I’ve seen so many reviews of this film that center around the ‘feel good’ politics of Black Panther. I’ve seen the fantasy politics of Black Panther listed, as well as the spoiler alerts tying the film into the Marvel Universe. There’s the record breaking box office numbers, as well as the stories of the many groups of young African American children going to see this film. And others who see it are wearing traditional African garb. In short, it’s a phenomenon…a ‘thing’.

And the film has been well received. Of the films in the superhero universe, this one is a cut above the rest. The plot centers around the rise to the throne of T’Challa, who is the new king in the fictional African country of Wakanda. Wakanda has hidden its amazing and superior technology from the outside world, and this is the central debate later in the film. Should they share this knowledge, or continue to keep it hidden…?

Without too many spoilers, the film is driven by the rise to the throne of the new king, played by Chadwick Boseman.  The Black Panther’s super powers include not only superior intellect, but his strength which is derived from the special formula that is given to the king to drink. And then there’s the technology, similar to James Bond’s, where he dons a special suit made of the miraculous fictional metal mined only in Wakanda known as Vibranium.  The Vibranium  makes him impervious to bullets and other weapons of dastardly origins.

But in my estimation, the thing that sets this superhero apart is the fact he is touted as a man with a heart. His father talks to him from beyond the grave, telling him, “You are a good man, and that is something that may bring trouble for you”, which is a wise thing to tell your son, if you only have a few moments with him in the afterlife. The film centers not entirely on the concept of this superhero saving people and thwarting dastardly deeds, but also working to help others, to find himself and to find his true love.

In other words, it may depict the life of an ordinary man in an extraordinary world, or the reverse of this. That is the debate in history: Are great and exceptional men made so by the times they live in, or is greatness thrust upon them due to the circumstances in which they find themselves? We think of our Founding Fathers and the greatest Presidents and leaders of the Civil Rights era. These men all had great hearts, and although most had their share of flaws, they were able to rise above and to grasp the moment and meet the occasion to prevail.

In this film, T’Challa may or may not be the one who is the strongest fighter, but he is the one who is the ablest, the wisest, and the one who will prevail. This is the takeaway that is most heartening for any of the superhero films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Perhaps, in the end, at least according to the laws of this fictional universe, not the strongest but the wisest will be the one who prevails. It’s a good lesson in life.