Recently Seen Movies - 10 - Page 89

This film definitely meets the sky-high expectations set forth by the critical acclaim. 

Set in the immediate aftermath of T'Chaka's death, Black Panther follows the journey of T'Chala into becoming the next Black Panther -  King and Protector of Wakanda. Black Panther is a very mature film in the MCU in that it deals with complex subject matters like racism, righteousness, and responsibility. It is the coming of age of T'Chala, a genesis of sorts where a young man finds out what kind of king he wants to be. 

The design of Wakanda is mesmerizing. The Afro-futuristic country is pretty mind-boggling and well designed. The filmmakers have done very well in giving a nod to many indigenous African cultures. It also strikes a stunning balance between futurism and cultural preservation. Even though Wakanda is technologically advanced, the nation has not lost its Afro culture roots. 

All the characters are bad ass. Especially T'Chala's sister Shuri who is the tech genius. She is to the Black Panther what Q is to James Bond. Another delightful character is Okoye. Danai Gurira is bad ass as Michone, but she kicks it up a notch with Okoye. Lupita Nyong'O is also good as Nakia the spy. I was unsure about changing Ape-Man Gorilla God to Hanuman, but I thought it was well done. Winston Duke did well as M'Baku. Of course Chadwick Boseman does well as T'Chala. 

But the show stealer is Michael B Jordan as Erik Killmonger. Both the Erik's in Marvel Comics are great characters. They are supervillains, but their fight isn't exactly unjust. 

X-Men's Erik Lehnsherr is a holocaust survivor. The series opens with Erik as a horrified child dumbstruck by the atrocities of the Nazi's. He has first hand witnessed the darkness of humanity and it makes him skeptical. He grows up to see humans have the same bias against mutants that Nazis had against Jews. He is not wrong in his assessments. Sometimes you cannot help but sympathize with him. 

Similarly, Erik Killmonger is a survivor. As a child he sees his father being killed by T'Chaka. The Black Panther who is supposed to be a protector takes a life dear to him. Instead of taking him back to his homeland his uncle abandons him in LA. These events take place around the time of the Rodney King riots. So Erik not only experiences a great betrayal but grows up in a highly volatile time period and place where odds were stacked against black people. He is not wrong in his assessment and ideals. You wish he could make a deal with T'Chala rather than become a rival. I really would have loved to see Killmonger be a longtime fixture like Loki or Magneto. 

Also, I don't know why people are griping about diversity. Wakanda is an African kingdom. White men make no sense there, just like they don't make sense in Mahishmati. 

Planning to watch get out? I would say get out! Don't waste your time.

Garbage.

Oscar marathon continues next is:

WoooW... Give this movie oscar please... 

I think after TZP this movie made me cry.😭

and forgot to add VIVA COCO!

Simply beautiful movie. I love Rajkumar & Kirti but loved them together more in this movie! Intense story,  amazing performances, plot twist, the music - everything is just perfect! The romance as well as the tashan was on point!

8.9/10 from me❤️

Good movie. Vidya Balan at her best. This woman slays. 

7/10 from me. 

Ayushman is always graceful. The concept is good. Bhumi is good. Their pair rocks! I loved the movie. 

7/10 from me.

Not as good as I expected. I loved Golmaal 1 the most. overall okay for me. Parineeti Chopra is bae❤️

5/10 from me.

PS: Watched few Hollywood movies recently, "The Butterfly Effect series", "Orphan". Loved "The Butterfly Effect 1" & "Orphan" so much!

Finally got around seeing the film and had to speak about it somewhere. It's so average and highly derivative. There are some good things. The lead and his sister are fantastic. Killmonger is the star of the film though. Wakanda looks beautiful and the Korea action scenes are really well done. The music is good too. 

But there are so many problems with this. The pacing is horribly slow given they were going for a superhero-spy thriller mashup. The bad CGI is clearly visible at times, much like Justice League. They atleast credited James Bond but lot of other sequences are just lifted. The ending fight scene is childish. 

The biggest problem though is how unnecessary the entire character arc was. He already had civil war, so the entire character development just seems unnecessary. And the plot line being a mashup of Lion King 1/2 doesn't help much either. 

I honestly don't understand the praise apart from people being afraid of characterized as racist or giving brownie points because of the diversity involved. Much like Wonder Woman.

Also, I like that they tried to incorporate social commentary in terms of black-white conflict and Rich black people mot giving back to their community. But it was so superficially done, it could be a spiritual sequel to Katy Perry's Chained to the Rythm

Enjoyable movie.

Looked like PKP sequel at some part.

Aloo nath shined and hope that Karthik Nusrat get some big movies now.

Fun time movie.

Oscar Marathon

Round 4

"Phantom Thread

Couldn't resist watching The Post... Wanted to keep it for last round for my obvious bias with the movie...Its has everything i love in HW.. Tom Hanks Meryl Streep Steven Spielberg...

Round 4 and 5 left. 

My bets so far is on: Three Billboards.

I'm glad Netflix revived this classic. It's campy. It's fun. It's really enjoyable. The show is pleasantly uplifting with its conversations about confidence and self-care. Also, be prepared for waterworks as the Fab 5 try to win over rednecks and pro-Trump cops. 

A fun crime caper. This is no Ocean's 11, but the Logan brothers charm and grab your attention. The biggest delight was Daniel Craig with a southern accent. I also like the touch of showing southern rednecks as sympathetic. 

A lovely documentary of chef Shashank Joshi who elevated Marathi cuisine to fine dining. His journey is heartwarming. I enjoyed the blend of nostalgia with the modern. His ability to deconstruct and build cuisine was interesting. 

Review has spoilers

A woman approaches the businessman who has the rights to three Billboards outside Ebbing in the state of Missouri in US . She pays real money to have them painted with words provocative to Sheriff Willoughby ( Woody Harrelson ) . The words ask him to take action on the case of the rape and murder of her daughter , because nothing has been happening in the case after some investigation which reached a dead end . One of the billboards says 'raped while dying' .

The sheriff is outraged , his deputy is outraged , and indeed the whole town is outraged . That's because the sheriff is respected locally and also because he is dying due to cancer . But that is not going to deter Mildred Hayes ( Frances McDormand ) . When the local priest tries to coerce her into removing the billboards , he gets blasted off by a tirade by her about churchmen screwing altar boys . The leftists' opponent ( the church ) thus gets a lambasting , and God is brushed aside as nonexistent .

Earlier when deputy Dixon ( Sam Rockwell ) of the police station tries to get Mildred remove the billboards , he is shown his place by Mildred with taunts of being a black hating racist . From this point one has to assume that the rapists of her daughter must be white , even though they are not yet found ( and are not ever found in the movie ) . For it is obvious from the movie's tone that it is going to be politically correct and that demands a white rapist . Sure enough , a white suspect is found but he is not the daughter's rapist . Never mind , Mildred and deputy Dixon then set out to kill him instead because the deputy has overheard him boasting about a rape when drunk .

Participation in this killing is part of the redemption of Deputy Dixon ; redemption for being a black hating racist . We have to presume that he is racist due to verbal accusations flung on him mostly by Mildred . But scenes of him actually practising this racism are not really shown . That would have tarnished his image beyond redemption . But his violence is shown in a scene where he throws the guy who owns the billboards from the first floor after he has heard news that Sheriff Willoughby committed suicide by shooting himself by a gun .

At first we definitely sympathise with Mildred while seeing the movie . The lady is feisty and has tough words for anyone who tries to strike a verbal duel with her , or even anyone who doesn't . The dialogues in the movie are sharp and laced with dark humour that keeps in splits even in grim situations . But later her persona goes out of control by burning down the police station with petrol bombs after it has closed down in evening . She does not know that Dixon is there , but he escapes only to help her later even though he has got burns on his face due to the attack .

The director could have chosen to have a conventional ending by showing the man overheard boasting about rape as the real culprit . But the real culprit is never found , and the movie is thus about the effects of the rape on a very active mother and how she manages to shake up things in her town when she does not get justice .

There is some violence in the movie and foul language ; cuss words are regularly used . There is no denying that the proceedings are gripping . Background music and photography are decent , but it is in acting and dialogue delivery that the movie scores .

Verdict---Good .

Three stars out of five .

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