tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54728690144826676442024-02-19T20:12:06.926-05:00UrbanRhetoricUrban: adj. Characteristic of the city or city life.<br>Rhetoric: n. Verbal communication; discourse.urbanrhetorichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428762264141674847noreply@blogger.comBlogger291125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5472869014482667644.post-83783539537382758082018-08-15T22:47:00.002-04:002018-08-15T22:47:33.191-04:00BlacKkKlansman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjUyOTE1NjI0OF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMTM4ODQ5NTM@._V1_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="Related image" border="0" class="irc_mi" height="377" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjUyOTE1NjI0OF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMTM4ODQ5NTM@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="254" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Literally... I have <i><b>never</b></i> been in a movie theater and said - <i>Damn, I need to see every single movie in these trailers - </i>until Monday<i>. </i>They showed the trailers for Widows, Monsters & Men, and If Beale Street Could Talk - that's right, the James Baldwin novel (the same one my dad tried to make me read when I was like 10 and I lied and said I did, and got smacked when I thought I could trick him into thinking I read it by just reading a paragraph here or there - memories.... Anyway, I'm so effing in those movies I might need protection - <i>too much?</i>). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Back to the flick - I kid you not, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7349662/?ref_=nv_sr_2" target="_blank">BlacKkKlansman</a> (or Black Klansman) is the most poignant and overall satisfying Spike Lee feature film since Malcolm X (and, arguably, Do the Right Thing) and I LOVED that Malcolm X flick - that was the first Oscar they stole from Denzel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Usually, I don't do this, but I went and read some of the critiques of BlacKkKlansman online before I finalized my own review and I really don't understand some of these critics' issues with this film. I mean, the nerve of some of these asshats. Interestingly, a one of these so called fill buffs credited<b> </b>movies like Django and directors like Quentin Tarantino (notwithstanding that flick being pure fiction) for it's "historical accuracy" but only with respect to the use of the 'n-word.' Another of those clowns is giving Spike Lee crap about his fictionalizing of a true story because Spike takes liberties with whether the kkk actually hated a Jewish undercover cop <b style="font-style: italic;">(why, you ask, does this genius take issue with that? Well, because in the real life version of the story, there's no mention of whether the cop was Jewish... </b>Yup, so BlacKkKlansman missed the mark for that?) </span><br />
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<a href="https://static.vibe.com/files/article_images/Screen%20shot%202013-01-05%20at%203.36.22%20PM-640x403.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="Image result for ed lover c'mon son" border="0" class="irc_mi" height="252" src="https://static.vibe.com/files/article_images/Screen%20shot%202013-01-05%20at%203.36.22%20PM-640x403.png" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm looking at you real sideways and straight up Kevin Hart clapping as I say this @JamesDawson from The Federalist - 'You loved that <a href="http://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-hateful-eight-rantings-before.html" target="_blank">Hateful Eight</a> bullshorts, but couldn't stomach this... okay. We don't believe you. You need more people.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">VITALS</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Spike Lee (if you don't know Spike's work... stop reading now and go grab a mirror and take a look at a dummy) - Writer/Director</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Other Writing Credits got to - Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, and Kevin Wilmott</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">John David Washington (upcoming Monsters and Men and TV's Ballers) - Ron Stallworth</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Adam Driver (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Frances Ha) - Flip Zimmerman</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Laura Harrier (Spiderman; Homecoming) - Patrice Dumas</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Topher Grace (Spider Man 3, Interstellar) - David Duke</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Alec Baldwin (Glengarry Glen Ross, Boss Baby, Schweatty Balls Alec) - Dr. Kennebrew Beauregard</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Michael Buscemi (who I totally thought was Steve for about 30 seconds... ) - Jimmy Creek</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: center;">Robert John Burke (Miracle at St. Anna, Limitless, Safe) -</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Isaiah Whitlock (who I think you all know better as Clay Davis from the Wire... you know... this guy</span><br />
<a href="https://thumbs.gfycat.com/WellgroomedAlarmingKite-small.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="Image result for shiiiid isiah whitlock" border="0" class="irc_mi" height="268" src="https://thumbs.gfycat.com/WellgroomedAlarmingKite-small.gif" style="margin-top: 43px;" width="360" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The rest of the notable cast includes Frederick Weller, Paul Walter Hauser, Damaris Lewis, and Corey Hawkins as Kwame Ture.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">IF YOU MUST KNOW</span><br />
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<a href="http://d279m997dpfwgl.cloudfront.net/wp/2018/08/0808_blackkklansman4-1000x667.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="Image result for blackkklansman" border="0" class="irc_mi" height="213" src="https://d279m997dpfwgl.cloudfront.net/wp/2018/08/0808_blackkklansman4-1000x667.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ron Stallworth, a college graduate joins the Colorado Springs Police Department. When hired, they call him the Jackie Robinson of the CSPD. Stallworth has to endure the bigotry and racism of some of his fellow officers as he integrates that police department (I'm sure that never happens anymore), but like many of us... we know what we're getting into so racism doesn't phase us too much - we find ways to get back... Stallworth took the route of becoming one of the best detectives in the CPSD. That's one way to go, I guess.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, Spike takes us on this Officer Stallworth's journey as he initially tries to do the work he's assigned, but soon his desire to do something more substantial than retrieve files for men who lack moral character but are given badges and guns. Like most of us who have had to be the only vanilla bean in the vanilla ice cream (of an office, class, etc.), we just hope that what we're sacrificing ends up being worth it.</span><br />
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<a href="https://thumbs.mic.com/ZTNmMDE1ZGRlYiMvanYxSWxrMlYzdmUtb3kyUzFSRTZrc1llTm1BPS8xOTB4MDoxMjQ2eDU5NC84MDB4NDUwL2ZpbHRlcnM6Zm9ybWF0KGpwZWcpOnF1YWxpdHkoODApL2h0dHBzOi8vczMuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9wb2xpY3ltaWMtaW1hZ2VzL3p1dmlpYnZjdmpkaWFrb3Nyd21jOWRjZ3pqZmhpdHRrYXdzZ2c2dGp2emp5aXdrcHdienZhbXRvZXJqaWZvZ2suanBn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="Image result for blackkklansman" border="0" class="irc_mi" height="225" src="https://thumbs.mic.com/ZTNmMDE1ZGRlYiMvanYxSWxrMlYzdmUtb3kyUzFSRTZrc1llTm1BPS8xOTB4MDoxMjQ2eDU5NC84MDB4NDUwL2ZpbHRlcnM6Zm9ybWF0KGpwZWcpOnF1YWxpdHkoODApL2h0dHBzOi8vczMuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9wb2xpY3ltaWMtaW1hZ2VzL3p1dmlpYnZjdmpkaWFrb3Nyd21jOWRjZ3pqZmhpdHRrYXdzZ2c2dGp2emp5aXdrcHdienZhbXRvZXJqaWZvZ2suanBn.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Spike, in true Spike fashion has some interesting scenes of straight speechifying. For example, the scene where Stallworth is assigned to go undercover and ends up meeting the outspoken female President of the Black Student Union at an event where the controversial ex-panther, Stokley Carmichael/Kwame Ture is set to address the community. His mission is to go wear a wire and listen to Ture, and gauge the crowd's reaction. Would they be roused to violence? With that "all power to all the people" business and "black power" and "black is beautiful" craziness, the police was concerned that he might encourage black folk. They could end up being proud to be black and therefore dangerously emboldened and whipped into a frenzy. Black Panthers didn't walk around with <a href="https://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2018/02/black-panther.html" target="_blank">dope tech</a>, fresh handshakes, and screaming Wakanda Forever. They walked around with pistols, shottys, and were versed in the gun laws of the local jurisdictions, the knew the Constitution, they fed hungry people, and - they were largely killed for it by the kkk and the some government sponsored "law enforcement."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But, I digress. I'm starting to channel my Pops on this review. Don't get me started. I'm still vexed that there are idiots out there that think that it is even possible to be hyperbolic about the breadth of the kkk's racism and the lengths to which they <i>still go</i> to protect their deadly ideals.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Stallworth, after hearing the eloquent words of Ture, decides - on a lark - to give a call to the kkk. Surprisingly, he gets a call back. So, when he gets the go-ahead to take a look under the hood (pun intended) of the local kkk chapter, he is assigned a white partner because somebody had to do the meet up with the klan. Flip Zimmerman (interesting choice of last name to use in a film like this - all things considered) played by Adam Driver - who I genuinely dis-enjoy watching mess up my <a href="https://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2015/12/star-wars-force-awakens-episode-vii.html" target="_blank">Star Wars</a> movies, but was really good in this flick - is the white cop designated to stand in for the black cop who the kkk was interested in recruiting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Alec Baldwin's amusingly disgusting racist rant was a lighthearted and interesting tone to set off the film. Watching Topher Grace play David Duke... I mean, it's David Duke so you hate him, but then you love how much of an idiot he is, so... you kinda like him (and you can still kinda see that Forman face from <i>That 70's Show</i>). It's great casting (I know that might sound like shade, but I have nothing but respect for Topher - aside from his name... I can't cosign that, bro. That's a choice.)</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-07-at-10.08.31-AM.png?w=780" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="Image result for blackkklansman" border="0" class="irc_mi" height="241" src="https://www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-07-at-10.08.31-AM.png?w=780" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yet, if you paid attention, there was a lot of seriousness to this movie. That's what makes it a bit of a gem. The speech by Kwame Ture (Hawkins) was one of the highlights of the film. So was the fact that the Stallworth and his lady had their dramatic tension over the issue of whether you can change the system from inside the system. I happen to agree with Stallworth, but it's damned near impossible. And damn, that last convo with that long time kkk'er who a certain orange guy at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, DC claims to have not known anything about (although he really did!) was satisfying even if it never ever really happened.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If I say too much more about the things I like in BlacKkKlansman, you wouldn't have to see it. And you really should go and see it. It was smart. What else are you going to go out and see Octogenarian Secret Agents accepting impossible missions? If you're woke, you have to see this movie. If you're not, you may well be afterwards. You find yourself shaking your head and kissing your teeth at the historically consistent statements made in this Civil Rights Era- based film that are astoundingly relevant and echoed over, and over again today. Stop me when this sounds familiar, kkk/white supremacist rallies in major towns, shouts of "America First" by idiots who think they're losing "their" country... There were some people that were visibly uncomfortable in that Brooklyn theater when they showed the Charlottesville footage in a clear juxtaposition of the fictionalized kkk versus the neo-nazis who showed up in Virginia last year. That's the sign of a good movie people are disturbed by the fact that reality is just as bad as the fiction. So, to the critics of BlacKkKlansman, I say - STFU ya might learn something.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">No, it's not perfect. But it is really good. Really good.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="color: black;">IMTHATDUDE gives BlacKkKlansman: 4 </span></i><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">RATING SYSTEM:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">ASIDE: Of course, this whole film had me thinking of this classic Chappelle joint -</span><br />
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IMTHATDUDEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01695523648854928934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5472869014482667644.post-56203484070006812622018-06-16T23:32:00.000-04:002018-06-16T23:47:59.675-04:00Ocean's 8<br />
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<a href="https://ksassets.timeincuk.net/wp/uploads/sites/55/2017/12/Oceans-8-poster.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://ksassets.timeincuk.net/wp/uploads/sites/55/2017/12/Oceans-8-poster.png" style="user-select: none;" width="400" /></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm a fan of the original Oceans 11 (the one with Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, and Sinatra) and the reboot with Clooney
and Brad Pitt. Now, I'm a fan of Ocean's 8... well, I'm more a fan of the
concept of Ocean's 8. Don't get me wrong, it was pretty good, but it was also entirely too predictable. Aside from that, it was a good
introduction to this Ocean's crew of thieves and it was exceptionally
entertaining. Sometimes (with how many movies I've watched, critiqued,
analyzed, and fanboy'd) I get bogged down and miss the forest for the
trees... I ran the risk of doing that here, but fortunately the woman I was with kept that from happening - she was more exuberant about the little things than I was - <i>wait... </i>what I mean to say is that she was more excited about things like the casting and discovering what I thought were thinly veiled plot twists than I was. </span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ocean's 8 is the first real date movie I've enjoyed in some years</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">. </span><br />
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<a href="https://cdn01.cdn.justjared.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/rihanna-janitor/rihanna-goes-undercover-as-janitor-on-oceans-eight-set-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for ocean's 8 rihanna" border="0" class="irc_mi" height="377" src="https://cdn01.cdn.justjared.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/rihanna-janitor/rihanna-goes-undercover-as-janitor-on-oceans-eight-set-02.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">SIDE NOTE: In other news... Rihanna is arguably the sexiest woman
breathing right now (with only Lupita Nyongo #WakandaForever challenging her)… no disrespect to my
lovely date (but I can't really respect her opinion since she went out with me and is in love with <i>Alex Rodriguez</i>...?).</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">VITALS </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Gary
Ross (Free State of Jones, The Hunger Games) - Director (Free State
of Jones, The Hunger Games)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">Gary
Ross (Free State of Jones, The Hunger Games) & Olivia Milch
(Dude) - Writers<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.gannett-cdn.com/media/2018/04/09/USATODAY/USATODAY/636588298785985546-Oceans-8.jpg?quality=10" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for oceans 8" border="0" class="irc_mi" height="212" src="https://www.gannett-cdn.com/media/2018/04/09/USATODAY/USATODAY/636588298785985546-Oceans-8.jpg?quality=10" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?view=Actor&id=sandrabullock.htm" style="background-color: white; color: navy;"><span style="background: white; color: navy;">Sandra Bullock</span></a> - Debbie
Ocean</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?view=Actor&id=cateblanchett.htm" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="background: white; color: navy;">Cate Blanchett</span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> - Lou</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">
<a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?view=Actor&id=annehathaway.htm" style="background-color: white; color: navy; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background: white; color: navy;">Anne Hathaway</span></a> - Daphne
Kluger</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?view=Actor&id=rihanna.htm" style="background-color: white; color: navy; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background: white; color: navy;">Rihanna</span></a> - Nine Ball</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?view=Actor&id=helenabonhamcarter.htm" style="background-color: white; color: navy; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background: white; color: navy;">Helena Bonham Carter</span></a> - Rose
Weil</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?view=Actor&id=sarahpaulson.htm" style="background-color: white; color: navy; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background: white; color: navy;">Sarah Paulson</span></a> - Tammy</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background: white;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5377144/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Awkwafina</a> - Constance</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?view=Actor&id=mindykaling.htm" style="background-color: white; color: navy; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background: white; color: navy;">Mindy Kaling</span></a> - Amita</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0179479/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1" target="_blank">James Corden</a> - Insurance Investigator<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0035514/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t19">Richard
Armitage</a> - Claude Becker </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">IF YOU MUST KNOW<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(SPOILER ALERT)</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
Debbie Ocean is out of prison on parole (see Ocean's 11) and she’s been
plotting her next job every minute she spent in the hole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s the first connection we have with Danny
Ocean (Ocean’s 11).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We quickly find out
after she gets out that Danny’s no dead -<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">
maybe.</i> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Danny’s little sister and she
has mapped out everything down to the kind of crew that she needs pull off a
job that will bring in so much money, they should never need to pull another
job again… at least, not until Ocean’s 9 – and I hope they find a way to fit in
Julia Roberts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">First, Debbie seeks out her old ace, Lou
(Blanchett) who is basically the Rusty (Brad Pitt) of the crew. Lou is the one
who compiles the talent and helps Debbie figure out the logistics of her high-handed plan to rob the MET Gala for the great gobs of jewels that the celebs and celebutants. Then, they go out and solicit the talents of old friends (some semi-retired, some otherwise occupied) and new friends - all of whom are enticed by the idea of either working with Ocean and Lou or by the value of the loot to be divvied up at the end of the heist.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Long story, slightly shortened - everybody they look for is in. They have a hick-up here and there (most of which were so minor as to be unworthy of mention) and Ocean (just like her brother, Danny) has a side mission attached to this jewelry heist; unlike Danny, she is working an angle to screw over the guy who snitched on her and broke her heart, </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Claude Becker (Armitage).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The heist happens, shenanigans ensue, and Debbie Ocean's 8 walk away with plenty of booty to spare. <i>See what I did there?</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Aside from the cute-siness of the tagline "Every con has its pros," the biggest problem I have with this movie is that there is only one twist that is not predictable as hell and even that twist is relatively meaningless. I'm not a complete bastard, so I won't tell you what it is, but let's just say the payoff for this particular twist doesn't really make much of a difference to me. Maybe it's a function of the fact that this is officially the fifth Ocean's '#' movie and after a certain point, you kinda get it. Ocean plans caper, Ocean gets crew together, crew makes Ocean's idea into a plan, crew's plan works despite Ocean, Ocean's crew walks away scot-free with a crap load of loot. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<a href="https://timedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/oceans-8-cast-women.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for oceans 8" border="0" class="irc_mi" height="215" src="https://timedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/oceans-8-cast-women.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="400" /></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now, like I said, I was fortunate to go see this with a particularly savvy woman (besides, I am too old to be hanging out with dummies) who </span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">summed it up pretty well…
Ocean's 8 is fun and it has “all my favorite people in it” – well, it may have all of
<i>her </i>favorite people, but definitely multiple of <i>my </i>favorite female actors are in
it. Helena Bonham Carter, Cate Blanchett, </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sandra Bullock,</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Anne Hathaway, and the magnificent Sarah Paulson. I was missing Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Nicole Beharie, Zoe Saldana, and the incomparable Lupita in this flick - if they added 2 or more of these women, I would have
been there twice on opening night day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Not exactly groundbreaking or as slick and twisty as any of the Clooney Ocean's movies, but it was solid. It was a great date movie, light and entertaining with a talented cast. I definitely detected a few Thomas Crown Affair-type nods (either one McQueen or Brosnan). Good enough to watch again - when it comes out on one of those streaming services. And, in my humble nerdy opinion... it was at least as good as Avengers: Infinity War (Pt. I) - snap that sh#, Thanos!</span><br />
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PS: Did I mention she's in this too (even tho</span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ugh they </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">tried </i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">to
make her not sexy)...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="color: black;">
IMTHATDUDE gives Ocean's 8: 4 </span></i><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">RATING SYSTEM:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by
now… Well… GET! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my
paper back.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I
know it has a pulse, but…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I
played myself.</span></div>
IMTHATDUDEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01695523648854928934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5472869014482667644.post-38985776577850107632018-02-18T03:44:00.001-05:002018-06-10T11:44:34.188-04:00Black Panther<div style="margin: 0in;">
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<a href="http://bostonreview.net/sites/default/files/styles/br_hhog_featured/public/LeBron%20Black%20Panther.jpg?itok=UVCUpX52" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for black panther movie photos" border="0" height="270" src="https://bostonreview.net/sites/default/files/styles/br_hhog_featured/public/LeBron%20Black%20Panther.jpg?itok=UVCUpX52" width="400" /></a></div>
Way back in July 2017 (before anybody outside of the studio execs saw more than the teaser trailer) I said that <a href="https://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2017/07/spider-man-homecoming.html" target="_blank">I expect Black Panther to be "effing dope!"</a> I may have been wrong. It was better than that. It was SOFA.KING.DOPE it's not even fair. It's been a long time coming... Black Panther is the first comic book movie/superhero film that actually means something AND it is absolutely top notch in terms of its quality. It isn't "good... for a black movie" or "good, but it should have been better if they had blah blah blah..." It is legit better than best Iron Man (I) movie, better than the best Avengers (I) movie, better than the best <a href="https://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2016/05/captain-america-civil-war.html" target="_blank">Captain America (Civil War)</a> better than <a href="https://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2017/06/wonder-woman.html" target="_blank">Wonder Woman</a> (which was the best DC movie in recent decades), and it kicks <a href="https://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2016/02/deadpool.html" target="_blank">Deadpool</a> in the nuts - <b><i>and these are all movies I like!</i></b><br />
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Black Panther was stellar from the dead on perfect casting to the action and comedic writing. The only thing that gave me pause prior to seeing it was whether the script would hold up to the expectations from <a href="https://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2016/05/captain-america-civil-war.html" target="_blank">Captain America: Civil War.</a><br />
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Shout out to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for creating a black superhero like this back in the 1960s. I wont dig too deep into their motivation for creating Black Panther, I'll just say... good call. #WAKANDAFOREVER Fast forward and we find Ta Nehisi Coates (a journalist and one of the most influential black authors of our time) has a graphic novel version of the re-imagined Black Panther that I suggest real fans pick up - it's a good read. It was a little bit of concern to me that the names attached to this movie were relative newcomers to the big screen. Ryan Coogler, the director, who had done <a href="http://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2015/11/creed.html" target="_blank">Creed</a> and <a href="http://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/ishould-warn-you-this-is-much-more.html" target="_blank">Fruitvale Station</a>; both exceptional films, but nothing on this scale. It was also written by Coogler and another newbie to this type of film, Joe Robert Cole. Nothing they did was this kind of action and they were super dramatic. Not to mention... they're both BLACK! Say whuh? Yup. A predominantly black cast, black writers, black director, and it wasn't a movie about sports, civil rights, or big mama... <i>and there's nobody in the major credits whose name rhymes with Pyler Terry?</i> Already sounding awesome to me.<br />
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<a href="https://cdn.24.co.za/files/Cms/General/d/6937/322ae1f61bb04eb1bb989c0f0d92bc35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for DORA MILAJE" border="0" height="187" src="https://cdn.24.co.za/files/Cms/General/d/6937/322ae1f61bb04eb1bb989c0f0d92bc35.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Damn near every performance is a breakout performance. I would go so far even as to say that this should be nominated for multiple Oscars next year. As much as I think the Oscars ain't all they're cracked up to be (otherwise Denzel would have won for Roman J. Israel and Malcolm X) - hence the birth of the Shammi Awards.<br />
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: cambria, serif;">VITALS</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">Ryan Coogler (<a href="http://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2015/11/creed.html" target="_blank">Creed</a>, <a href="http://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/ishould-warn-you-this-is-much-more.html" target="_blank">Fruitvale Station</a>) - Director</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">Ryan Coogler (Creed, Fruitvale Station) and Joe Robert Cole (American Crime Story) - Writers</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">Chadwick Boseman (42, Marshall) - T'Challa/Black Panther</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">Michael B Jordan (Creed, Fruitvale Station) - Killmonger</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">Lupita Nyongo (12 Years a Slave, ) - Nakia</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">Danai Gurira </span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">(The Walking Dead, ) </span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">- General Okoye</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">Letitia Wright </span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">(The Commuter, and Black Mirror) </span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">- Shuri</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out, ) - W'Kabi</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">Sterling K. Brown (This is Us, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Marshall) - N'Jobu</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">Matin Freeman (The Hobbit, TV's Sherlock) - Agent Ross</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">Angela Bassett (Notorious, This Means War) - Queen Ramonda</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">Winston Davis (Person of Interest, Modern Family)- M'Baku</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">Florence Kasumba (Captain America: Civil War, Wonder Woman) - Ayo</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;"><i>Cast also includes Forrest Whittaker, John Kani, and Andi Serkis</i></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">WARNING: </span></b><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-weight: 700;">THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN A SPOILER OR TWO </span><b><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;"> - READING FURTHER MAY NOT SUIT SOME</span></b><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;"><i>IF YOU MUST KNOW</i><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="http://bostonreview.net/sites/default/files/styles/br_hhog_featured/public/LeBron%20Black%20Panther.jpg?itok=UVCUpX52" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">King T'Chaka is dead and Prince T'Challa (Boseman) must return home to be crowned king of Wakanda, a nation believed to be a "third-world" country made up of farmers and tribes of little significance. What should be an easy ascension to the throne becomes complicated by rivals in the time of political uncertainty -<i> sounding familiar... if not, don't worry, you'll get there. </i> First, the prince is challenged by the leader of another tribe who believes T'Challa to be weak and unworthy of the mantle of Black Panther. By way of brief background, the Black Panther is the protector and leader of Wakanda. This title is not one that is merely bestowed based upon lineage, but there is an opportunity for worthy warriors to challenge the putative king for his spot and the Black Panther mantle - kind of like what Diddy tried to do with his show <i>The Four</i>. </span><br />
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<a href="https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/black-panther-danai-gurira-lupita-nyongo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for black panther movie photos" border="0" height="266" src="https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/black-panther-danai-gurira-lupita-nyongo.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">T'Challa has the powers of the Black Panther (heightened strength, reflexes, healing power, stamina - you know... Black people stuff) stripped away to from him to face this warrior-challenger on equal footing. Of course he wins, but then he receives advice that all good leaders should adhere to - surround yourself with good people that you trust. So, he does precisely that. He has the faithful General Okoye </span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">(Gurira) </span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">of the Dora Milaje, the warrior women sworn to protect the throne that make the Amazons in <a href="https://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2017/06/wonder-woman.html" target="_blank">Wonder Woman</a> look like Girl Scouts, mom dukes (Bassett), and bae - Nakia (Nyongo). Interestingly, he didn't really surround himself with a bunch of dudes. Bruh... neither would I, but we'll have to delve into that at another time. </span><i style="font-family: cambria, serif;">ASIDE: The sheer number of beautiful black women in this one film does make you think, how come you don't get more of them in movies that aren't written and directed by black/brown folks? I mean, com'on son. These women looked good with MY haircut. They gotta be poppin.</i><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-weight: 700;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-weight: 700;">WARNING: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-weight: 700;">SPOILER ALERT </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-weight: 700;">- READING FURTHER MAY NOT SUIT SOME</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">No sooner than he handles his first test does the next adversary step up; this one is much more unexpected than the first and it hits a lot closer to home. This test of </span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">his leadership also comes as he also has to face internal questions of his own worthiness.</span><br />
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<a href="https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--iXOIFKQa--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/kel80en1hdk2jyqpi6mq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for black panther movie photos" border="0" height="225" src="https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--iXOIFKQa--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/kel80en1hdk2jyqpi6mq.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">In every hero film, there's the all is lost moment. Of course, the stakes have to be really high - not just a loss of a title, or his powers; there has to be more at risk. If T'Challa loses this second challenge to his position, it means that he conceded or he's dead. And either way, it means he doesn't get to do this with fam anymore:</span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://media2.giphy.com/media/l378hTnSHp8EI0la0/source.gif" style="color: #0000ee; font-family: "Times New Roman";" width="400" /></span></div>
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Anybody with a special handshake and salute will tell you that if anybody messes with that, that person is really violating and should expect trouble. But no, that's not the only thing at risk here if T'Challa loses. If his new nemesis, Killmonger (Jordan) happens to be successful, the once reclusive nation of Wakanda will change forever. Change is good if you're talking Obama, but not so good if you're talking Orange grown man babies from Queens - ya dig? Killmonger will move Wakanda into age of war and interventionism (taking their knowledge, resources, and technology to the outside world for the first time) the likes of which they have never seen before.</div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fc01ztrRqyg/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fc01ztrRqyg?feature=player_embedded" style="clear: right; float: right;" width="320"></iframe><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">Ordinarily, there's enough about a movie that tickles my sardonic compulsion to clown it or belittle pieces of it. Black Panther had a couple of moments that could have pushed it right into that realm if they lingered just a hair too long or appeared more frequently. Fortunately, that did not happen. Although a couple of my Blue and White Brothers had a couple of solid jokes about Keenan Ivory Wayans popping up in the movies shouting "Message!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">Truth - </span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">this movie could not be better timed or executed. The kingdom of Wakanda is the most technologically advanced nation in the world and richer than the outside world knows. The creators of the comic and the writers of the movie could not have anticipated comments that would be made by 45 about "s-hole" countries in Africa, Latin America, or the Caribbean when they were writing the script. </span><br />
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There's more to Black Panther than just a bunch of fights and special effects - everything from the barking Jabari tribe giving CIA Agent Ross (Freeman) the business when he tries to speak in their presence, to Killmonger's "hey, Auntie," to Shuri referring to Agent Ross as a "colonizer" in the way brown women can say things playfully whilst cutting your throat (gotta love that), to the Dora Milaje busting that a$$.<br />
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<a href="https://static.highsnobiety.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17155536/black-panther-movie-watch-reasons-01-480x320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for black panther movie photos" border="0" height="266" src="https://static.highsnobiety.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17155536/black-panther-movie-watch-reasons-01-480x320.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://static.highsnobiety.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17155536/black-panther-movie-watch-reasons-01-480x320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>Killmonger is an excellent villain. He's a madman with a vision and a hell of a vendetta. More importantly, his mission is something that kind of makes sense and even resonates with people like me. He wasn't trying to watch the world burn like most of those ridiculous Bond villains. He was trying to give a forgotten people a fighting chance to flip the tables on a world that has oppressed them for hundreds of years. You can almost cosign him. Villains that have twisted good intentions just enough to be sinister and if they happen to match up well against the hero... that's a great villain. Black Panther vs. Killmonger made for exceptional dramatic interplay against the backdrop of all of the socio-political issues that this movie addressed at times with a little tongue and cheek approach. The end result is that there's really nothing to pick apart with this movie. I'm doing my best not to give away the story and the meanings behind some of the more important lines in the movie that had this woman next to me say "Yassss" every ten seconds. Aside: Yes, she was stereotypical, but the white girl in the row behind me wasn't much better. <i>I could have used the Dora Milaje at iPic. </i><br />
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<a href="https://akns-images.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/2018116/rs_1024x682-180216060346-1024.black-panther.21618.jpg?fit=inside%7C900:auto&output-quality=100" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for black panther movie photos" border="0" height="266" src="https://akns-images.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/2018116/rs_1024x682-180216060346-1024.black-panther.21618.jpg?fit=inside%7C900:auto&output-quality=100" width="400" /></a>So what the Wakandan accents were all over the place for a couple of folks; there's a bunch of tribes that make up the kingdom, maybe it's like having a Brooklyn accent vs a Jersey accent. So what there were clear messages being dropped in this flick; more movies need to do the same. In fact, all hero movies should be about that something important. So what they tokenized the white dudes; it's about damned time. This movie is culturally relevant without being a strictly FUBU. It is pro-feminism (see Shuri, the General Okoye, and Nakia). It's anti-empirical. On top of all of that, it was a hell of a lot of fun to watch. I'm looking forward to seeing it again... and then at least one more time after that.<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">WARNING: </span></b><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-weight: 700;">THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN A SPOILER OR TWO </span><b><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;"> - READING FURTHER MAY NOT SUIT SOME</span></b><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">There were two post-credit scenes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">The first post-credit scene was very much a throwback to the movie that launched this whole MCU takeover, Iron Man. It was so obvious it had to be an homage. Now King T'Challa has a Tony Stark moment of his own. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">The second </span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">post-credit </span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">scene was not really worth staying for unless you are a real fan or movie nerd, like me. The second post-credit scene just lets you see that one of the pivotal characters from Captain America: Civil War ended up in Wakanda. No biggie... yet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">Black Panther comics have been around since the 60s which makes pictures like this all the more poignant - </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;"><img alt="Related image" height="266" src="https://africanholocaust.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Black-Panther-ape.jpg" width="400" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;"><i>IMTHATDUDE gives Black Panther: 5 </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">RATING SYSTEM:</span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "cambria" , serif;">5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!</span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.</span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.</span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.</span><br />
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IMTHATDUDEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01695523648854928934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5472869014482667644.post-2936432581142993232017-11-05T01:44:00.001-04:002017-11-19T00:29:35.426-05:00Thor: Ragnarok<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://img.vidible.tv/prod/2017-04/10/58eba476cd4fed5d4136e9d5/58eba4769efa89366115e5dc_o_U_v1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>I was out doing a little book shopping in the Chelsea area and decided to catch <a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=marvel2017.htm" target="_blank">Thor: Ragnarok</a> sooner rather than wait. I'm glad I did. Best thing about <a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=marvel2017.htm" target="_blank">Thor: Ragnarok</a> is that it is by far the most entertaining Marvel movie since they broke ground with Iron Man (I). Also, one of the trailers before Ragnarok had an obligatory nod to another upcoming Marvel flick - the one most anticipated by every brown person I know in Nerdom - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjDjIWPwcPU" target="_blank">Black Panther!</a> Coincidentally, Black Panther promises to be THE coolest Marvel flick of all time... I'm calling it now.<br />
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<a href="https://img.vidible.tv/prod/2017-04/10/58eba476cd4fed5d4136e9d5/58eba4769efa89366115e5dc_o_U_v1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Image result for thor ragnarok" border="0" class="irc_mi" height="221" src="https://img.vidible.tv/prod/2017-04/10/58eba476cd4fed5d4136e9d5/58eba4769efa89366115e5dc_o_U_v1.jpg" style="margin-top: 1px;" width="400" /></a><b>WAR</b><b>NING - THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS, SO... Skip everything after the vitals if you have a problem with reading spoilers.</b><br />
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You know how you see a movie trailer and there's a really funny or cool looking part of the movie in the trailer and when you finish watching the movie you realize that you got suckered into paying for some sh# you've already seen the only highlights worth seeing when you watched the trailer... <i>fortunately, this ain't one of those movies. </i>Thor: Ragnarok is everything its trailers advertised and then some - a straight up superhero action comedy.<br />
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VITALS</div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0169806/" target="_blank">Taika Waititi</a> (What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople) - Director</div>
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Newbies <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3069408/?ref_=tt_ov_wr" target="_blank">Eric Pearson</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1219736/?ref_=tt_ov_wr" target="_blank">Craig Kyle</a> - Writers</div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1165110/?ref_=tt_cl_t1" target="_blank">Chris Hemsworth</a> (<a href="https://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2016/08/ghostbusters-answer-call.html" target="_blank">Ghostbusters: Answer the Call</a>, Blackhat) - Thor </div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1935086/?ref_=tt_cl_t6" target="_blank">Tessa Thompson</a> (Dear White People, Creed) - Valkyrie</div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1089991/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Tom Hiddleston</a> (Midnight in Paris, Thor: The Dark World) - Loki<a href="http://digitalspyuk.cdnds.net/17/29/1600x800/landscape-1500771670-thor1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Related image" border="0" class="irc_mi" height="197" src="https://digitalspyuk.cdnds.net/17/29/1600x800/landscape-1500771670-thor1.jpg" style="margin-top: 22px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000949/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Cate Blanchett</a> (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Blue Jasmine) - Hela</div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000164/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Anthony Hopkins</a> (Silence of the Lambs, Hitchcock) - Odin</div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0252961/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Idris Elba</a> (Star Trek: Beyond, The Dark Tower) - Heimdall</div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000156/?ref_=tt_cl_t5" target="_blank">Jeff Goldblum</a> (Independence Day, The Switch) - Grandmaster </div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0749263/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Mark Ruffalo</a> (Avengers, Now You See Me) - Hulk/David Banner</div>
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The cast also includes appearances by Karl Urban (<a href="https://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/star-trek-into-darkness.html" target="_blank">Star Trek</a>, Dredd) as Skurge and Benedict Cumberbatch (<a href="https://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/star-trek-into-darkness.html" target="_blank">Star Trek: Into Darkness</a>, The Imitation Game) as <a href="https://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2016/11/doctor-strange_5.html" target="_blank">Doctor Strange</a></div>
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IF YOU MUST KNOW<br />
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Thor picks up about two years after <a href="https://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2015/05/avengers-age-of-ultron.html" target="_blank">Avengers: Age of Ultron</a>. Thor has been back on Asgard, fighting the visions/nightmares of the destruction of Asgard and the coming of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragnar%C3%B6k" target="_blank">Ragnarok</a>.<br />
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<b>SPOILER ALERT</b></div>
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Ragnarok is coming for Asgard and the conveniently named Hela (Blanchett), goddess of death, is coming with it. She is more powerful than Thor, Odin's son and shows it when they first meet. Mjolnir, Thor's hammer, doesn't last 2 minutes in her presence (I know how that sounds, but it's literally true in this movie). Even Odin bugs out and leaves this battle to Thor and Loki (Hiddleston) to figure it out how to deal on some <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FjWe31S_0g" target="_blank">F* this Sh# I'm Out </a>type business.<br />
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Thor gathers up some very reluctant compatriots and is forced to battle with Hela and try to stop what is the foretold destruction of Asgard and it's people. He accidentally crosses paths with his fellow Avenger, Hulk/David Banner (Ruffalo). He enlists the help of Valkyrie (Thompson), an off-world Asgardian warrior. He even gets Loki to get involved... for a minute, before Loki goes all Loki. Of course, since this is a hero's journey, it hits all the major story elements of the classic hero's tale.<br />
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<img alt="Hero's Journey - Mythic Structure - Monomyth" src="https://www.movieoutline.com/images/features/mythicstructure.gif" /></div>
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Hero tale or not, Asgard gets it's a$$ kicked but good. In fact, just before he bounces, Odin warns Thor and Loki that the only thing Holding Hela back is Odin - the Allfather has some horrible parental habits. When Hela gets to Asgard her power reaches its height and Thor and his crew do not have enough fire power to stop the goddess of death from laying waste to the entire world. So... Hela destroys legions of Asgardians and slaps up the god of thunder, but the story really is in what Thor learns about Mjolnir, his family, and especially himself. No, there was nothing esoteric, but he did discover some things previously unknown to him and tapped into his the depths of his power as the god of thunder. Summoning all of his power and some pretty cool allies, Thor's crew still can't defeat Hela, so what do they do... well, that I will leave for you to see in the movie.</div>
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<a href="http://www.trbimg.com/img-5974006a/turbine/la-et-comic-con-2017-1500770538" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="161" src="https://www.trbimg.com/img-5974006a/turbine/la-et-comic-con-2017-1500770538" style="background-image: linear-gradient(45deg, rgb(238, 238, 238) 25%, transparent 25%, transparent 75%, rgb(238, 238, 238) 75%, rgb(238, 238, 238) 100%), linear-gradient(45deg, rgb(238, 238, 238) 25%, white 25%, white 75%, rgb(238, 238, 238) 75%, rgb(238, 238, 238) 100%); background-position: 0px 0px, 10px 10px; background-size: 20px 20px; user-select: none;" width="400" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Hemsworth is funnier than you might expect, but still very much the Thor we all like in the MCU. Cate Blanchett is always brilliant - don't recall anything she has done when she wasn't stellar. She was delightfully wicked and amusing (like all of my favorite ex-girlfriends). Tessa Thompson needs to be in every movie in the MCU - she's fun to watch from the second she shows up in this movie. Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster was so freaking weird that you had to like him. Nobody played the comedic "straight man" - everybody did something or said something silly or funny. I can only imagine what this set must have been like for the months they took to film it. Well, Idris Elba and Anthony Hopkins weren't in it long enough to joke or jape.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The fight choreography could have been better, but it was comic book-y; so, it was fine for what it was. There's no reason to see this in 3D, but whatever they converted that wasn't shot in 3D still looked good in 3D. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ASIDE: Interestingly, with all the silliness, there's one thing that has always bothered me about Thor. There's little to no thunder to be heard. <i>Lightning... yes</i>, but thunder... too much to ask, I guess. Theoretically, the thunder would follow just one of the lightning bolts flying around this film. You have everything from Thor's sparkly hands to giant bolts of lightning - one would think they could throw some thunderclaps in the movie at some point, but that's just me. I mean, at least throw a Asgardian Yardie in the background somewhere and let them do a proper thunderclap. Give me something, boss.</span></span><br />
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As much as I wanted to give the writers credit for a funny movie that makes you laugh and even makes grown folk giggle throughout, the stars have been talking up how much of the movie was improv or ad-libbed - if that is indeed the case, the writers only deserve credit as far as they crafted the story line and framework for this flick. Waititi, the director, deserves plaudits for piecing together an entertaining and cohesive film that had a crap-ton of action (the good kind, not the Transformers BS that drags on and on) and was tongue and cheek without being lame.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It's definitely worth seeing. It's a good date movie </span></span> (I hope the one I was going to see this with doesn't realize and read this until long after its on cable - she never does read my stuff, so I should be good money) - assuming your date likes to laugh and isn't one of those posh, I only watch Indie film, I roll my own cigarettes after hot yoga, skinny jean & fedora wearing folks - not that there's anything wrong with that.<br />
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<b>Note:</b> Stay for the mid-credit scene, but don't bother staying for the post-credit scene.<br />
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 20.2222px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">IMTHATDUDE gives Thor: Ragnarok: 4</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">RATING SYSTEM:</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;">5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…</span></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.</span></span></span></span></div>
IMTHATDUDEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01695523648854928934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5472869014482667644.post-10835227207593068052017-07-10T00:13:00.000-04:002017-07-21T09:35:37.542-04:00Spider-Man: Homecoming<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Back when <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001497/" target="_blank">Tobey Maguire</a> was introduced to us as Spider-Man (cerca 2002) in the early days of Marvel's box office barrage, it's fairly safe to say that no one thought there could have been a better choice for Peter Parker. After <i>Spider-Man: Homecoming</i>, that is entirely up for debate. - Maguire is still the best American-bred actor cast to play Spider-Man, now that we've had a brief stint with Andrew Garfield (a Brit) as the Amazing Spider-Man, and now Tom Holland (another Brit) as a fourteen year old high school Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Homecoming.<br />
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So far, I have to say, DC still beats Marvel this year despite the excellent casting move of bringing in Holland to play your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. By that I mean, <a href="https://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2017/06/wonder-woman.html" target="_blank">Wonder Woman</a> is still leading the pack, but this is very, very different kind of superhero movie with a lot less weight on its shoulders. But I'll get into that a little bit later.<br />
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VITALS<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0326246/?ref_=tt_ov_wr" target="_blank">Jonathan Goldstein</a> & <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197855/?ref_=tt_ov_wr#writer" target="_blank">John Francis Daley</a> (Horrible Bosses, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2) - Writers*<br />
<a href="https://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2016/05/captain-america-civil-war.html" target="_blank">Jon Watts</a> (Cop Car)- Director<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4043618/?ref_=tt_cl_t1" target="_blank">Tom Holland</a> (The Lost City of Z, <a href="https://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2016/05/captain-america-civil-war.html" target="_blank">Captain America: Civil War</a>) - Peter Parker/Spider-Man<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5637553/?ref_=tt_cl_t10" target="_blank">Laura Harrier</a> (The Last Five Years, 4th Man Out) - Liz<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000474/?ref_=tt_cl_t2" target="_blank">Michael Keaton</a> (Batman, Birdman) - Adrian Toomes/Vulture<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000375/?ref_=tt_cl_t3" target="_blank">Robert Downey, Jr.</a> (Iron Man, Sherlock) - Tony Stark/Iron Man<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0269463/?ref_=tt_cl_t5" target="_blank">Jon Favreau</a> (Iron Man, The Wolf of Wall Street) - Happy Hogan<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3918035/?ref_=tt_cl_t7" target="_blank">Zendaya</a> (I only know her as some youngin on DWTS) - Michelle<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2868110/?ref_=nv_sr_3" target="_blank">Hannibal Burress</a> (Neighbors, Baywatch) - Gym Coach<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0940158/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Bokeem Woodbine</a> (Riddick, Black Dynamite) - Herman<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm8188622/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Jacob Batalon</a> (North Woods...? <i>never heard of it and won't be seeing it, but w/e</i>) - Ned<br />
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*The writers' filmography explains a lot about this movie.<br />
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IF YOU MUST KNOW<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/56cefca4e7d49745c87e93f1df10ae25554a839c/r=540/https/videos.usatoday.net/Brightcove3/29906170001/201703/1215/29906170001_5370774184001_5370766160001-vs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/56cefca4e7d49745c87e93f1df10ae25554a839c/r=540/https/videos.usatoday.net/Brightcove3/29906170001/201703/1215/29906170001_5370774184001_5370766160001-vs.jpg" width="400" /></a>We first saw this new (younger model) Peter Parker as Spider-Man in <a href="https://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2016/05/captain-america-civil-war.html" target="_blank">Captain America: Civil War</a>, but now he is being fully introduced in his own flick with a few tweaks to his story line. In this version of Spider-Man, we meet him as a nerdy - bordering geeky) high school student. He has just fought alongside the likes of Iron Man, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxWvtMOGAhw" target="_blank">Black Panther</a> (Aside: I expect his movie to be effing dope! If you haven't seen it, take a look at the link at the bottom of this page.) but is back in Queens... <i>if that don't make you feel bad for the boy, you might be heartless.</i><br />
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Parker, a high school freshman, is struggling with finding his place in life; sounds like a typical coming of age story, but it isn't - although bits are thrown into <i>Spider-Man: Homecoming</i>. This centers around Parker's handling of what to do post-Avengers linkup. Along the way we see that Parker is teen crushing on the lovely Liz (Harrier), a senior who is as smart and ambitious as she is cute. By the way, we're supposed to suspend our disbelief and accept that this "girl" is just a high school senior and not just a slim, yet full-grown woman <i>21 Jump Streeting </i>as a high schooler -<br />
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In Parker's quest to prove himself to Tony Stark (RDJ) and become a real Avenger, he ends up trying to thwart what seems a to be local arms dealers trafficking in the sale of converted alien technology (left over from the Avengers battle in New York). That tech has been converted into weapons that are way too powerful and way too advanced for the men using them in low-level robberies and heists of the brand usually manageable by local heroes like Spider-Man. When Parker attempts to bring this information to the attention of the Avengers, he gets boofed and silenced because nobody is trying to hear a 14-year old yap about what they know that no one else does (and 9/10 times boofing these kids is the right way to handle that sort of thing). This puts Spider-Man in direct line of conflict with the leader of the arms dealing crew, Vulture (Keaton).<br />
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<a href="http://nerdist.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Zendaya-in-Spider-Man-Homecoming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://nerdist.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Zendaya-in-Spider-Man-Homecoming.jpg" width="400" /></a>Parker accidentally exposes his secret identity to his buddy, Ned (played artfully and accurately by Jacob Batalon), who literally volunteers to be Spider-Man's quintessential sidekick, or as he calls it <i>"the man in the chair."</i> He's also flanked by the likes of a weird and snarky but darkly comedic Michelle (played by the almost unrecognizable and mononymous, Zendaya), who proceeds to make comments that most of us cynics would probably have thought or said if we saw our friends doing the same things as Petey Parker and Ned. Michelle strikes the broodingly realistic tones of Ally Sheedy in <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088847/" target="_blank">The Breakfast Club</a></i> or Raven from <i>Teen Titans</i>.<br />
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I try not to spoil movies by giving too many details about what happens, but I think you get it. Spidey is a teenager, with teenage problems that are complicated by his abilities. He's had a taste of the big time and wishes for more, which further complicates his life. Parker's surrounding crew of friends, family, PE coaches, etc., contribute both to his desire to be more than just a teenager in Queens or an obscure neighborhood hero, and also to Parker/Spidey's eventual realization of who he is and what is most important. <br />
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So, what makes this movie good, better, or meh...? Casting was pretty good. Liz, <i>eh</i>. Not so sure about that one. Good actress, but the combination of Harrier* and Holland makes it a bit tough to believe that there could be a romantic relationship. Keaton played a pretty good villain. The plot landed and the script was pretty strong. Given the writers' movie history, it makes a lot of sense why this movie was more funny than anything else. Where the first Iron Man and Thor were witty, this movie was definitely youthfully comedic. It was a good call to incorporate other marvel characters throughout so that there is support and continuity. More importantly, we didn't have to see the whole Spider-Man origin story in Homecoming. <i>Thank you, Sweet Baby Jesus! </i><br />
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Overall, it was entertaining and better than the last three Spider-Man movies, easily better than Andrew Garfield's (no disrespect he is a stellar actor, but those movies fairly mediocre). Tough call between Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but I would give Spider-Man: Homecoming the edge over Guardians. It was not as much of a heavy lift as <a href="https://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2017/06/wonder-woman.html" target="_blank">Wonder Woman</a> was and there was nothing groundbreaking about it (plus, there was no Gal Gadot which automatically makes this a little bit less than...), so Wonder Woman wins the day. We'll see if Marvel can top DC's latest when they release their next film in the MCU (for the uninitiated, that's the Marvel Cinematic Universe), Thor: Ragnarok - which will be premiere just before the Justice League movie in November. <i>Looking forward to that battle.</i><br />
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<b>Note:</b> If you are on a tight schedule, both the mid-credit scene and the post-credit scene are not worth your time. One was amusing and one added very little to the story or experience. I waited and watched both and as much as the post-credit scene was clever and all that good stuff it was several minutes of waiting for nothing; so, if you skip it, you'll live and no one will look at you as though you missed some super important reveal if you tell them that you left and they happened to have been foolish enough, like me, to have stayed.<br />
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* Post Review Addendum: It turns out, all of the main actors playing high school kids were born in 1996... except for one - Ms. Harrier (Parker's love interest) - she's a youngin, but let's just say -<i> as I told my my ex-girlfriend, "you and I both know I'm always right even when I'm wrong." - </i>I knew one of these kids was doing their own thing.<br />
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 20.2222px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">IMTHATDUDE gives Spider-Man: Homecoming: 4</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">RATING SYSTEM:</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"></span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;">5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…</span></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>AFTER REVIEW EXTRAS</b></span></span></span></span><br />
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IMTHATDUDEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01695523648854928934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5472869014482667644.post-19108983051420540212017-06-13T01:39:00.000-04:002017-11-08T00:58:13.577-05:00Wonder Woman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Let's be clear, Gal Gadot is straight fire. I mean she could have been onscreen, sitting on a plain ole chair slowly reading Tolstoy in the original Russian - <i>backwards</i> - and I would be enthralled from the opening credits to the post-credit extras (if there were any... but there are not, so dont stick around <i>Wonder Woman</i> for that). She's that sexy. With all the hype and anti-hype by so-called "purists" (better known by their clinical term "<i>maxima haterificus</i>") that Gadot is too thin to play the amazon warrior princess, I went into the movie with a healthy dose of skepticism as to whether it really could be pulled off by someone so striking but relatively unproven as a headliner.<br />
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When <i><a href="http://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2016/03/batman-v-superman-dawn-of-justice.html" target="_blank">Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice</a> </i>dropped, I was sure the best part of the movie would be Batman busting Superman's Kryptonian a$$ets, but (although Ben Affleck sucks as Bruce Wayne/Batman) I was never so happily wrong as when I found out that Gadot had completely stolen the show. Her scenes were BY FAR the best of the film. It should be no surprise that Wonder Woman is doing so well in the box office. She crushes the competition out in theaters (Mummy, Pirates of the Caribbean, Alien: Covenant, and even Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. II) and demolishes every female comic book superhero, sci-fi action I have ever seen - no exaggeration. Then again, that is not exactly the highest of hurdles. At the charter school I work at, they ask the kids to write and cite their pieces of evidence, so please see (or do not see) the following:<br />
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<b><i>Elektra</i> (Verdict - WEAK all WEEK and 2x on Sunday)</b></div>
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<a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/3e/32/69/3e32693ced10011bf4730bbf1be91804.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/3e/32/69/3e32693ced10011bf4730bbf1be91804.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<b>Aeon Flux (Verdict - Wack AF)</b></div>
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<b><i>Ghost in the Shell </i>(cultural misappropriation aside - I skipped this bs 'cuz it looked lame) </b><br />
<b>Verdict - Exit polls say... this lands squarely in Wack County, Wackland </b></div>
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<b><i>BloodRayne</i> + <i>Ultraviolet</i> + (Halle Berry's prank of a film) <i>Catwoman</i></b></div>
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<i><b>Verdict = WACK, WACK, and Supremely TRASH (respectively)</b></i></div>
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VITALS<br />
<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0420941/?ref_=tt_ov_dr" target="_blank">Patty Jenkins</a> (Monster) - Director</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0374302/?ref_=tt_ov_wr" target="_blank">Alan Heinberg</a> (if you ever saw a Shonda Rhimes show, you know his writing)- Writer</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0811583/?ref_=tt_ov_wr" target="_blank">Zach Snyder</a> (300 and Sucker Punch) - Story By</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2933757/?ref_=tt_cl_t1" target="_blank">Gal Gadot</a> - Diana Prince/Wonder Woman</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1517976/?ref_=tt_cl_t2" target="_blank">Chris Pine</a> - Steve Trevor</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001567/?ref_=tt_cl_t3" target="_blank">Connie Nielsen</a> - Hippolyta</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0396812/?ref_=tt_cl_t5" target="_blank">Danny Huston</a> - Ludendorff</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000705/?ref_=tt_cl_t4" target="_blank">Robin Wright</a> - Antiope</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0025745/?ref_=tt_cl_t11" target="_blank">Elena Anaya</a> - Dr. Maru</span><br />
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IF YOU MUST KNOW:<br />
(And I'll keep this part brief...) Steve Trevor crashes and finds himself being rescued by Diana, Princess of Themyscira. If ONLY... He brings with him tales of a war that that endangers humanity. Diana, much to the chagrin of her mother, Queen Hippolyta (Nielsen) leaves her Amazonian sisters and paradise home to fight the great war. Of course, Diana is convinced that Ares, the god of war, is behind this great war - <i>I said she was fire, I didn't say she was perfect... </i>(She's Gal Gadot, not Jade Eshete - if you don't who she is, check out <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4047038/" target="_blank">Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency</a>). Having spent most of her life, from adolescence to full grown womanhood, training harder than any amazon has ever been trained, Diana ready to fight whoever.<br />
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SPOILER ALERT<br />
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<a href="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8622071/Wonder_Woman_5.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img alt="Image result for antiope wonder woman" border="0" height="240" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8622071/Wonder_Woman_5.png" width="400" /></span></a>Antiope (Wright), Diana's aunt and chief trainer - the baddest warrior woman on the island -catches a bad one and the war (WWI) is brought directly to the Amazon's shore. Diana feels compelled to join the fight to save humanity and her big fish out of water story begins there as she begins to scratch the surface on the breadth of her powers. She works with Trevor (Chris Pine) to uncover and foil a plan by the sinister Ludendorff (Danny Huston) to use a new weapon of mass destruction that could slaughter millions.<br />
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<i>Wonder Woman</i> has always been one of my favorites, but for absolutely no feminist reasons. Sure, I was in love with Linda Carter's Wonder Woman reruns when I was a kid because she was half-naked; but I had respect for Wonder Woman since she was flying her invisible jet on retrospectively lame, and occasionally racist, Super Friends -<br />
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There's about a million reasons to love Wonder Woman. She's a woman. She's not some alien who comes to earth and basically is a better human than humans. She's a princess, but not a spoiled little rich brat (in the way Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark are... no shade). She gets her powers from birth - albeit by via deities. Wonder Woman was a dope AF superhero because she stood for the best of humanity and always fought for what was right and could always do whatever her male counterparts - especially if that counterpart was lame ass Aquaman - could do, and often do it better - and look good doing it. I have always had an affinity for strong women in comics, films, literature (fiction or fact).<br />
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This film could be summed up in the scene when Diana poses this question -<br />
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And, back in ye olde London, England, when Trevor's secretary explains to Diana Prince what she does as a secretary, Diana quips poignantly. What's awesome about this superhero is that she doesn't walk into the world of men assuming the cultural gender roles are rules to be obeyed or honored. She just does what she does and she's unapologetic about it. That... reminds me of my closest female friends and relatives. The men around her, who were also relatively heroic in their own right, failed to act when facing seemingly insurmountable odds, but Diana literally pops on a headband, pulls out a sword and gets busy. It's this sort of dichotomy that smacks you upside the head and makes Wonder Woman so incredible as a character and more than tolerable despite her genuine goodness. When anti-heroes and anti-heroines abound (Batmans, Ironmans, etc.), Diana Prince/Wonder Woman is the truth. She's the reason why my smartest and coolest female have "always loved WW" and even dressed up like her for Halloween (I see you, <a href="https://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/search/label/pemora" target="_blank">pemora</a> - that pic on IG is priceless!); even for those who didn't read comics at all, they know, respect and love WW. <br />
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<i>ASIDE: Superman cannot beat Wonder Woman, you dig? Some may argue it, but he can't. SUPERMAN... and his only weakness is Kryptonite - and possibly corny women. Wonder Woman bests Superman, who is supposedly the best of us and she does this after being trained by a bunch of kickass women in a paradise shrouded from the realm that contains men. There's something something poetic and compelling about a character like that. It's no wonder (pun unintended) that this movie resonates with men and women.</i><br />
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<a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZThlOWM5NTQtNDEyNy00ODI4LWExYzktMzkxZWIyZGIwNjk2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjczMDc2NDQ@._V1_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZThlOWM5NTQtNDEyNy00ODI4LWExYzktMzkxZWIyZGIwNjk2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjczMDc2NDQ@._V1_.jpg" width="320" /></a>Thankfully, this film was directed by a woman who understands that no one (men or women) enjoy one-dimensional characters or one-dimensional movies enough to make it a success across demographics. Patty Jenkins captures the right amount of humor, drama, and nuance. The film isn't perfect, but it really is very good. Impressive even because of all that it managed to do. It redefines a genre without being pretentious, self-aggrandizing. or smug in it's own political correctness. It goes a bit off with the Steve Trevor-Diana Prince romantic piece near the end (but those concerns are merely stylistic). It also drags a bit with the big fight scene. The twist is good, but it was not unpredictable which is really a writer + director problem - it's tough to camouflage that kind of thing without completely avoiding any foreshadow, but they have a lot of screenwriting power behind the movie, so it would have been awesome for me to be properly misled.<i> I was not. </i>Nevertheless, Wonder Woman is the second best movie of the year (and the only one I've seen better is a different genre). Aside from <i>Get Out, </i>I haven't seen a movie better than <i>Wonder Woman</i> this year, but the summer is just beginning...<br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">IMTHATDUDE gives <i>Wonder Woman</i>: 4</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">RATING SYSTEM:</span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;">5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.</span></span></span></span></div>
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IMTHATDUDEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01695523648854928934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5472869014482667644.post-54328922022226118732017-05-20T20:35:00.002-04:002017-05-21T11:01:31.331-04:00Alien: Covenant<a href="http://cdn3-www.comingsoon.net/assets/uploads/gallery/alien-covenant/alien-covenant-scared-with-guns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;"><img alt="Image result for alien covenant" border="0" src="http://cdn3-www.comingsoon.net/assets/uploads/gallery/alien-covenant/alien-covenant-scared-with-guns.jpg" height="276" width="400" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, I wisely went to peep this flick last night (sans my expected company, since she has issues with seeing scary movies after a certain time of night and I have issues with people who are still scared of movies when you're more than a decade past drinking or voting age). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I usually prefer to see movies alone because of my well documented history of film snobbery. It's a good thing too because I really wanted to grab a pen and start writing down all the random stuff I saw that either made me scratch my freshly shaven, bristly dome, or bite my lip in utter confusion. </span><a href="http://digitalspyuk.cdnds.net/17/01/768x470/gallery-1483460290-so-noomi-rapace-is-coming-back-should-we-be-worried-about-alien-covenant-we-did-get-1038436.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="clear: left; color: black; float: left; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For fans of the franchise, I'll say this - no Ripley or Dallas, no Sgt. "Look into my eye" Apone, no Vasquez, no Hicks or Hudson, and no James Cameron, but at least it was No PROMETHEUS! For that, salute - Ridley Scott (Director). If you had a bunch of big ass bald pale alien giants doing things that didn't make a hell of a lot of sense again, I'm convinced you would have murdered this franchise. This movie could be best be called Redemption.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">VITALS</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator, American Gangster... but also Exodus: Gods & Kings - <i>Yikes!</i>) - Director</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">John Logan (Gladiator, Skyfall) - Writer</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dante Harper - Writer</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Michael Fassbender (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Assassin's Creed) - Walter/David</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Carmen Ejogo (The Purge: Anarchy, Selma) - Karine</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Katherine Waterston (Taking Woodstock, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) - Daniels</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Billy Crudup (Almost Famous, Watchmen) - Oram</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Danny McBride (Pineapple Express, This is the End) - Tennesee</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Amy Seimetz (You're Next, Upstream Color) - Faris</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">IF YOU MUST KNOW</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://digitalspyuk.cdnds.net/17/01/768x470/gallery-1483460290-so-noomi-rapace-is-coming-back-should-we-be-worried-about-alien-covenant-we-did-get-1038436.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for alien covenant movie art" border="0" src="http://digitalspyuk.cdnds.net/17/01/768x470/gallery-1483460290-so-noomi-rapace-is-coming-back-should-we-be-worried-about-alien-covenant-we-did-get-1038436.jpg" height="244" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, I believe we left off just a bit after this happened - </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So after the Prometheus flick fiasco, we find ourselves watching the crew of the Covenant, a ship full of dumb ass colonists (mostly white folks), head towards an extremely remote but habitable planet they are to terraform and prepare it for future generations of humans. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Clearly, there is no way </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">they're </i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">getting my people on a space slave ship. You can add all the Carmen Ejogos you want to, we not falling for your Jedi mind tricks. I'd be staying my black ass right here on Earth - you can keep your interstellar gentrification. It starts off all artesenal shops and log cabins with no curtains in a new, rustic world, and ends up like this -</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 20.2222px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>*** SPOILER ALERT ***</b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Anyway, the crew of the Covenant gets abruptly awakened by a tragically unexpected event in deep space. The event threatens the mission of the Covenant to bring its cargo of thousands of dumb ass colonists to their distant destination. Fortunately, they discover a planet that is far closer with a much better likelihood of successful colonization - it cuts seven years off of hibernation from them. What could possibly go wrong? </span><br />
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<a href="http://digitalspyuk.cdnds.net/16/21/768x432/gallery-movies-prometheus-xenomorph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It is there that the real danger begins. David (Fassbender) has survived and plays host to the intrepid crew investigating the planet, but not long after, they find these things waiting for them >></span></div>
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Again, SPOILER ALERT...<br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The planet ends up being a planet filled with the dead bodies of the giant bald white aliens. It's where David and Dr. Shaw headed to at the end of Prometheus in search of the ancient race of aliens they believed to be responsible for the evolution and development of human beings. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You can guess the results. <i>Yes... damn near everybody dies. </i>Stop acting like you thought people would get out of this okay. When was the last time somebody walked away from an encounter with the Aliens?</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The writers couldn't resist the urge to connect antiquity with a mythology it began developing in <i>Prometheus</i> (I can respect that, even if I don't like it); they had David citing Shelley's <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/resources/learning/core-poems/detail/46565" target="_blank">Ozymandias</a>. Interestingly, there are a bunch of different little tweaks and twists that they give us in this movie that make it worth seeing for fans of the series. If you are not a fan, it probably doesn't do much for you. In fact, there was nothing remotely scary about it. The scare factor in this movie was far below that found in <i>Get Out</i> (which is AWESOME, buy it or see it if you still can in the theater).</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The best thing about <i>Alien: Covenant</i> was the fact that the movie returned to its roots of stomach popping, evil synthetics, butt kicking female leads, and space colonization. The lack of action allowed everyone to be actors and not let the special effects smother the generally exceptional talent level of the actors in the movie. <i>That's good...right? </i>Yes and no. The lack of action in an Aliens movie makes for a fairly boring movie and this was only saved by the abilities of Ejogo, Crudup, Waterston, and a couple of others. <i>Alien: Covenant</i> ends up on that directly on the borderline between drab and semi-compelling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The bad things were the little details (like how Walter was stitching himself with the stapler which made a lot of sounds of staples, but when they showed what he was stitching... nada), or people doing stupid stuff, or how the foreshadowed deaths, betrayals, and twists were not remotely surprising (like how they all but told us what the end would be as soon as we see David). More importantly, there was not one sympathetic character; by that, I mean I didn't give AF if they all got mercked and they basically did. The thing about the first two movies was that they made the characters so well-rounded that you actually liked a few of them and disliked others. In <i>Alien: Covenant</i>, everyone but David - <i>who we already know was a turd from the time he put his nasty finger in that glass of water in Prometheus </i>- was good at heart, caring, willing to risk their life for each other, and blah blah blah. Yet, there was not one line from <i>Alien: Covenant</i> that is memorable or quotable. People who never saw Aliens can quote lines from it:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> - Get away from her you, b!tch!</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> - So, why don't you put her in charge!</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> - Is this a bug hunt?</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> - He's coming in... gee, I feel safer already.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> - There's some juicy colonists daughters from their virginity.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> - It was a bad call, Ripley. It was a bad call. </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> - Is there anything I can do?/I don't know, is there anything you can do?</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"> -</span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span>Hey, maybe you haven't been keeping up on current events, but we just got our asses kicked.</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And one of my personal favorites:</span><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></i><i><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b></i></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"> -</span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span>Did IQs just drop sharply while I was away?</span></b></i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The list goes on.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Go see it if you're a fan. If you aren't a fan, skip it and wait for it to pop up on-demand. It's not a rush out and see flick (like I did), so I guess I'm going to have to find a way to let my friend slide for chickening out on this not-scary scary movie. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">IMTHATDUDE gives Alien: Covenant: 3</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">RATING SYSTEM:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.2px;">5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.</span></span></span></span></div>
<br />IMTHATDUDEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01695523648854928934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5472869014482667644.post-60535364163334175492016-11-05T23:01:00.003-04:002016-11-13T02:28:06.860-05:00Doctor Strange<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://media.comicbook.com/2016/10/doctor-strange-end-credits-scene-mordo-sequel-villain-207966-320x180.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://media.comicbook.com/2016/10/doctor-strange-end-credits-scene-mordo-sequel-villain-207966-320x180.jpeg" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You almost have to </span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">see Doctor Strange in 3-D. It's the closest thing to a required 3-D viewing since Inception (before that it was Avatar - every other 3-D film is probably just a regular movie in a 3-D theater).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There are no surprises and this review contains no spoilers... well, maybe not, but you'll have to finish reading it to find out - I wouldn't want to spoil it for you if you make it through the review.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, my big concern - before I walked into the theatre - was that Tilda Swinton played The Ancient One... Let me repeat that TILDA SWINTON played the Ancient One. I know black don't crack, so at a minimum they should have cast a brown person to play the Ancient One if they were going to veer away from the actual original background of the character that is supposed to be from the Himalayas.</span></span><br />
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<img alt="Image result for the ancient one" class="irc_mi i1gomwvMw5Ck-pQOPx8XEepE" height="291" src="https://uproxx.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/tilda-swinton-the-ancient-one.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="400" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But then again, Marvel has flipped a lot of things - for example, Ojiofor plays a Transylvanian Baron (translation - rich, probably kinda creepy white dude)... when you hear that do you envision a black Afro-Brit named Chiwetel in that role? Me either, but it worked.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img height="192" src="https://media.comicbook.com/2015/11/baronmordo-158416.png" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" width="400" /></span></span></span></span></div>
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VITALS</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Scott Derrickson (Sinister, The Exorcism of Emily Rose) - Director/Writer</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">C. Rober Cargill (Sinister) - Writer</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Benedict Cumberbatch (TV's Sherlock, Star Trek: Into Darkness) - Doctor Stephen Strange</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Chiwetel Ojiofor (Serenity, American Gangster) - Mordo</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Rachel McAdams (Wedding Crashers, Spotlight) - Dr. Christine Palmer</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Tilda Swinton (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Chronicles of Narnia) - The Ancient One</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Mads Mikkelson (Casino Royale, The Three Musketeers) - Kaecillius</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Benedict Wong (Sunshine, Promethius) - Wong</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Benjamin Bratt (Snitch, Ride Along 2) - Jonathan Pangborn</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">IF YOU MUST KNOW</span></span><br />
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</span><a href="https://img.cinemablend.com/filter:scale/quill/3/2/3/c/4/d/323c4dbff4429c348ae1d6e9b9d4119b11590fa2.jpg?mw=600" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Here's the gist of the story of Doctor Strange. (Mind you, I never read the comics. I'm a nerd, but my nerd-dom has it's limits. I wasn't the kind of nerd that never got girls - it was just a lot less frequent than some of my friends, so I didn't have time to read <u>every</u> comic. I'm exactly nerdly enough to have read too many comics to be have been a player back in ye olden day.) Where was I...? Stephen Strange... Right... there's a movie to talk about... Steven Strange, M.D., Ph.D., is a brilliant surgeon who loses his ability to operate when he has a car accident that causes substantial damage to his money makers (<i>the hands</i>, people). Doctor Strange (not <i><b>Mister</b></i> Strange) seeks out any way of healing that might be available and finally turns to a mysterious possible source in the Himalayas at a mystical place called Kamar-Taj. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://fsmedia.imgix.net/0b/7c/65/08/f776/4ea8/824d/4ab707f9058e/doctor-strange.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for doctor strange fight scene" border="0" class="irc_mi iAhHGHVxK1JQ-pQOPx8XEepE" height="210" src="https://fsmedia.imgix.net/0b/7c/65/08/f776/4ea8/824d/4ab707f9058e/doctor-strange.jpeg" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dr. Strange finds himself in Nepal looking for the way back to his posh life as a hotshot, arrogant surgeon. <i>Aside: Interesting how Cumberbatch seems to be able to play arrogant bastards so effortlessly... it does make you wonder a bit about who the guy is, or maybe it is just his face. What's the dude equivalent of RBF? Anyone know?</i></span></span></span><br />
<a href="https://fsmedia.imgix.net/0b/7c/65/08/f776/4ea8/824d/4ab707f9058e/doctor-strange.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Anyway, Doctor Strange discovers that there is more to the world than what he has ever imagined and becomes an promising apprentice of The Ancient One in his search for healing. You know as well as I do that superhero movies need the stakes to be world shaking. There's rarely a superhero TV show or movie that focuses on a very specific locality and the inherent dangers faced in that particular area - unless you've been watching Netflix's most recent dopeness, Luke Cage.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img alt="Image result for Luke cage" class="irc_mi iYe55SDgddd8-pQOPx8XEepE" height="225" src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ymw5uvViqPU/maxresdefault.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="400" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Quickly, Doctor Strange gets enmeshed in a fight that he never anticipated and nothing but the fate of the entire world depends on him fighting the good fight - a fight that finally forces him to be concerned with something that is not about him. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now, if you thought you were gonna get all the action of the Avengers, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, etc. from the guy that plays this cat...</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://img.cinemablend.com/filter:scale/quill/3/2/3/c/4/d/323c4dbff4429c348ae1d6e9b9d4119b11590fa2.jpg?mw=600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://img.cinemablend.com/filter:scale/quill/3/2/3/c/4/d/323c4dbff4429c348ae1d6e9b9d4119b11590fa2.jpg?mw=600" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Think again. Tilda (that's either short for Matilda or her parents really liked that little thing in Spanish that goes over the 'n' in words like "<i>n</i><span style="background-color: white;"><i>iña" </i>but absolutely not in words like "empanada" which I learned one drunken night in D.C. whilst searching for grub at 3am in Adams Morgan) </span></span><span style="background-color: white;">gets more action than Benedict Cumberbatch. </span><i>ASIDE:</i><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><i>Shouts to Julia's Empanadas on 18th Street, NW, D.C.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Moral of the story - 1) don't think for a second that your drunken 11th grade Spanish will get you anywhere with a Latina from NYC at 3am and, <i>less important & more relevantly</i>, 2) do not go in expecting to see an action-packed Marvel movie. Oh, let's be clear - there's a lot of <i>activity; </i>by that, I mean that there was a lot of just stuff happening on the screen - buildings spinning and folding, teleportation portals opening up, and hands waving back and forth like an ethnic argument gone awry. There was <i>not</i> the kind of action that one might rightfully expect in a superhero film. No epic battles. No cities dropping from the sky... wait... well, that kinda happened, but you get what I'm saying. There are a few fights there, including an astral projected fist fight, but the fight choreography is weak as all hell.</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://nerdist.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/20160727_n_nerdistnews_drstrangebreakdown_feature1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://nerdist.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/20160727_n_nerdistnews_drstrangebreakdown_feature1.jpg" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The most interesting parts of this movie are visual effects and strong acting. Never before have you seen so many people who could just as easily transition from saving the universe from invading dimensional immortal overlords to reciting the most poignant lines of the Bard at the Globe Theatre in London.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222;">Cultural whitewashing aside (See, Tom Cruise in "The Last Samurai" or Jake Gyllenhal in "Prince of Persia," Jennifer Lawrence in "The Hunger Games" - okay, I never read the Hunger Games, but I heard she was supposed to brownskinneded, or even Elizabeth Taylor in "Cleopatra"), Tilda Swinton gave a great performance as The Ancient One and every major character enhanced the work of the other characters. Chiwetel was not the Transylvanian Baron from the comics with the pea green leotard; instead, they opted to call him just plain Mordo and make him a bit more understated - still, he's pretty damned good in everything from "12 Years a Slave" to the enigmatic agent hunting down the crew of Serenity in the movie of the same name. And the winner of the weirdest name in show business, Benedict Cumberbatch, was a exceptional as Doctor Stephen Strange. I would go as far as saying he was as good a cast for the role as RDJ was for Tony Stark. <i>Maybe better! </i>Yeah, I said it. As awesome as RDJ was as Iron Man, I think Benedict might be an even better pick for this role because who would've thunk this Brit could have pulled it off...? But I will hold off on the final verdict until Doctor Strange II drops. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<a href="https://imguol.com/c/entretenimento/ea/2016/10/25/cena-do-filme-doutor-estranho-1477418532933_956x500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://imguol.com/c/entretenimento/ea/2016/10/25/cena-do-filme-doutor-estranho-1477418532933_956x500.jpg" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The special effects were dizzying at times, but it begs to be seen in 3-D. Even though there was a crap ton of green screen effects, it doesn't bug you the way some movies do because the mystical world that they try to draw you into requires you to feel like you just had puffed some <i>Purple </i>& sipped some <i>Lean </i>(from what I hear...). Unfortunately, the story was just set up for a potentially good story. But they hit on every other aspect of the film, so there's that!</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 20.2222px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Go see it. It's worth the distraction for a couple of hours (and it's better than Suicide Squad) and stay for BOTH post-credit Marvel Cinematic Universe teasers.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 20.2222px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">IMTHATDUDE gives Doctor Strange: 4</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">RATING SYSTEM:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;">5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.</span></span></span></span></div>
IMTHATDUDEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01695523648854928934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5472869014482667644.post-85804353078859962002016-08-03T01:02:00.001-04:002016-08-08T01:23:38.796-04:00GHOSTBUSTERS: Answer the CallTHIS IS A MICROWAVE REVIEW<br />
<br />
<a href="https://i.imgur.com/DhUEzug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" class="irc_mi ibAdEPBrmO5o-pQOPx8XEepE" height="267" src="https://i.imgur.com/DhUEzug.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="400" /></a>Look, the first one was a classic; I can still watch Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II it's hard to beat classic (unless the classic was classic because of how bad it was - for example, whenever there is a remake of "Big Trouble in Little China" it would be REALLY difficult for the remake to be outshown by the original.) But Ghostbusters is the good kind of classic. You can watch either one of them today and they would still be good, family-fun movies. I love Kristen Wiig (she was dope on SNL and her bit role in Knocked Up upstaged everybody) and Melissa McCarthy (she's just so likable in almost everything, except The Heat - that sucked) and Kate McKinnon (google her SNL stuff) and I'm beginning to like Leslie Jones (but I don't need to hear anymore jokes about her difficulty finding a man - her comedic aggression is a little unsettling, and I've dated women her size before... nearly her size); but this was like watching your old, lame uncle try hard to be funny in front of your friends who have never met <i>this </i>side of your family. <br />
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VITALS<br />
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<a href="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/07/09/arts/11GHOSTBUSTERS2/11GHOSTBUSTERS2-master768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" class="irc_mi ibAdEPBrmO5o-pQOPx8XEepE" height="265" src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/07/09/arts/11GHOSTBUSTERS2/11GHOSTBUSTERS2-master768.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="400" /></a>Paul Feig (Spy, Bridesmaids) - Director<br />
Katie Dippold (Parks & Recreation, The Heat) & Paul Feig (The Heat, Spy) - Writers<br />
Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids, Spy) - AbbyYates<br />
Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids, MacGruber) - Erin Gilbert<br />
Leslie Jones (Top Five) - Winston Zedmore aka Patty Tolan<br />
Chris Hemsworth (Avengers, Thor) - Kevin<br />
Kate McKinnon - Jillian Holtzmann<br />
Neil Casey - Rowan North<br />
Steve Higgins - Dean<br />
<br />
IF YOU MUST KNOW<br />
4 ladies reluctantly join forces - 3 of them scientists, the other was black (I know... you do a relaunch and you still make the black one the obvious kid doing their own thing). Okay, not to get on my Huey Newton (or even Huey Freeman), but that did kind of annoy me. Clearly, Leslie doesn't have the comedic visual depth to look like a serious scientist, but neither did Kristen, or Melissa or whoever the other one was. Anyway, these new Ghostbusters link up to convince the naysayers that ghosts exists. Then, almost immediately afterwards, they engage in a fight to save New York from a ghost invasion set in motion by the weird, disgruntled possibly bipolar man Rowan (played by Neil Casey). Rowan tries to bring ghosts across the inter-dimensional plane in a strange and surprisingly well orchestrated, albeit unexplained, and this batch of Ghostbusters try to stop him while avoiding .<br />
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<a href="https://www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/ghostbusters-2016-cast-proton-packs-images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/ghostbusters-2016-cast-proton-packs-images.jpg" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" width="400" /></a></div>
There were a couple of laughs, but they were widely spread out and none of them were particularly hearty. Overall, I just couldn't get with the direction of the movie, but I appreciate the effort. They had pretty good chemistry (as one would hope given that 3 of them have worked on SNL at overlapping times). There's a comedy in there, fo'sho. Hemsworth added new levels to the dumb blonde stereotype and Kate McKinnon's role provided enough smirk-able moments that the movie was not intolerable and made for some decent laughs. But, not for nothing, I don't get how these underemployed scientists and the big black chick could afford all of the tools they had and equipment they build (even with the stuff they stole from their low-budget to no-budget college jobs). If you're on a budget, Ghostbusters: Answer the Call is only good enough to watch on-demand although I have every confidence that they will tweak this enough to get the comedic balance right in the next one... I hope.<br />
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 20.2222px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">IMTHATDUDE gives Ghostbusters-Answer the Call: 2</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">RATING SYSTEM:</span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;">5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.</span></span></span></span></div>
IMTHATDUDEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01695523648854928934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5472869014482667644.post-65966456003853113012016-05-08T06:11:00.000-04:002016-05-12T23:34:26.682-04:00Captain America: Civil War<a href="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dfba14e4b0793ae31d10c9/55f305d4e4b081f2800fecfd/570c72dd8259b5ddbb950503/1460466014322/Captain-America-Civil-War-Key-Art.jpg?format=1000w" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" class="irc_mi iG09pNtRofTE-pQOPx8XEepE" src="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dfba14e4b0793ae31d10c9/55f305d4e4b081f2800fecfd/570c72dd8259b5ddbb950503/1460466014322/Captain-America-Civil-War-Key-Art.jpg?format=1000w" height="225" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I didn't expect the movie to be what it was and that's a good thing. It turned out to be more than watching Marvel mastur... well, let's call it self -gratify (after all, this is a public site) onscreen. It was surprisingly poignant and even a little - very little, but still - thought provoking. It stood clearly in contrast to the X-Men franchise where evil was very clear and had a clear face, it flies in the face of <a href="http://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2016/03/batman-v-superman-dawn-of-justice.html" target="_blank">Superman v Batman</a> in only as much as it appeared to accomplish the mission whereto it was sent out into the theaters.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The <b><u>spoiler alerts</u></b> will start in a quick second, so... there's the obligatory warning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">VITALS</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (Chronicles of Narnia, Pain & Gain, Thor: The Dark World) - Writers</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Anthony & Joe Russo (You, Me & Dupree, Captain America: The Winter Soldier) - Directors</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Chris Evans - Captain America/Steve Rogers</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Robert Downey, Jr. - Iron Man/Tony Stark</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Scarlett Johansson - Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Chadwick Boseman - Black Panther/Prince T'Chala</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Don Cheadle- War Machine/Lt. James Rhodes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Paul Rudd - Ant Man/Scott Lang</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Martin Freeman - some government dude</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Tom Holland - Spiderman/Peter Parker</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Anthony Mackie - Falcon/Sam Wilson</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Paul Bettany - Vision</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Jeremy Renner - Hawkeye/Clint Baron</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">IF YOU MUST KNOW</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Captain America: Civil War starts with an event that is basically nobody's fault, but due to the actions of these "enhanced" humans like like Captain America and Scarlet Witch, there is collateral damage in the form of human casualties. Several of the victims happen to be Wakandan citizens. (Wakanda, of course, is the fictional nation in Africa known for it's technological prowess and for being basically the only place on Earth where enterprising thieves and thieving nations would go to steal... Vibranium. But you all knew that.) Remember, Shield has fallen - which is important because it means I finally get to see a movie without Samuel L. Jackson in it... <i>You can't tell me God doesn't answer prayer. Can I get an Amen!? </i> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Anyway, Wakanda aint happy about the Avengers running around the world with zero supervision and little oversight - neither is the rest of the world. After Thor's appearance, and Ultron, and the Avengers involvement in an incident where a whole city dropped out of the sky, and the New York invasion thing, Thor's appearance, etc., the world has had enough of Capt. America, Iron Man, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Thor, and the Hulk jacking crap up. Much like Batman's fake beef with Superman in their movie, the United Nations have a problem with extremely powerful people not being held accountable for the damage wrought on their respective citizenry. But Civil War is significantly better than <a href="http://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2016/03/batman-v-superman-dawn-of-justice.html" target="_blank">Dawn of Justice</a>. It is not quite as clever as Iron Man (I) or Avengers (I), and it's not remotely as funny as <a href="http://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2016/02/deadpool.html" target="_blank">Deadpool</a> (although, that would be a really tall order). </span><br />
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<a href="http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Captain-America-Civil-War-Trailer-1-Iron-Man-War-Machine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" class="irc_mi ivbYHZ___TIo-pQOPx8XEepE" src="http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Captain-America-Civil-War-Trailer-1-Iron-Man-War-Machine.jpg" height="200" style="margin-top: 6px;" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The world backs the Stankonia Accords (I think the actual name is Sokovia, but I prefer Stankonia). Iron Man then tries to sway his friends to sign the Accords which would subject them to the authority of the United Nations. All of these enhanced individuals would only go where they were sent and would be held accountable for their actions. Those who continued to conduct unsanctioned activities would be subject to arrest and branded criminals. The dividing line is between Iron Man and his new found willingness to cooperate with the world's leaders, believing that they failure to do so makes the Avengers no better than the bad guys they fight, and Captain America who thinks that decision making coming from a governmental body like the U.N. doesn't mean the decision will be the right one. Cap thinks it would be better for the Avengers to manage themselves. Fair points all around, easy to find agreement with either Tony or Cap, hence... the Civil War. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Captain America enlists Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, the Winter Soldier, and a few others, whilst Tony brings heavy hitters like Vision, War Machine, Black Widow and Black Panther.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYIXGJFQkQq1S96miXFa7ZyuoVQL2hF0h42hAy5DJFfI3zciPtKlKEX2dK-AXKGaWnwmNUEby_GdXeqz7Uo4k8Hct2kFOsfnmfIhQ4-vminW4UTNgSdSDikdmorh7GkW97ZhRaMp4klevg/s1600/BP.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img alt="" border="0" class="irc_mi iG09pNtRofTE-pQOPx8XEepE" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYIXGJFQkQq1S96miXFa7ZyuoVQL2hF0h42hAy5DJFfI3zciPtKlKEX2dK-AXKGaWnwmNUEby_GdXeqz7Uo4k8Hct2kFOsfnmfIhQ4-vminW4UTNgSdSDikdmorh7GkW97ZhRaMp4klevg/s320/BP.JPG" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="309" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">BY FAR, the highlight of this movie is the newly anticipated stand alone Black Panther film. Chadwick Boseman (who has played Jackie Robinson in 42, James Brown in Get On Up, and Thurgood Marshall in the upcoming biopic Marshall) was excellent as Black Panther. From what I remember about the Black Panther character, he was a real bad ass. He had toys like Tony Stark and the finances to match, he had skills like Captain America, but he wasn't genetically enhanced; he's just naturally superior. (Can you tell I'm raising a black fist in the air right now?) As far as I'm concerned, you can call this movie.. Captain America: Introducing Black Panther. They downplayed his badassery, so as not to upstage the others, but they managed to give him his due.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://pm1.narvii.com/5851/5ef8fa84e43fcb1d2a8dc33811bccbdf8630db26_hq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" class="irc_mi iL0ZiYNFrG88-pQOPx8XEepE" src="http://pm1.narvii.com/5851/5ef8fa84e43fcb1d2a8dc33811bccbdf8630db26_hq.jpg" height="300" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="400" /></a><a href="http://pm1.narvii.com/5851/5ef8fa84e43fcb1d2a8dc33811bccbdf8630db26_hq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, long story, slightly shorter... They fight... A LOT. Most of it is cool. Not the long fight sequence in the beginning. Some of those moves were the chopped and sped-up to the point of ridiculousness (yes, I am aware of the irony of calling something ridiculous in a movie that has a paramilitary sniper guy who only fires arrows, a witch, a kid bitten by a radioactive spider and capable of catching cars, two men flying around at supersonic speeds in metal personal suits and lights on their hands, feet, and chests, and a woman who looks like Scarlett Johansson and does what she does exists - all bananas, I know). Unfortunately, as much fun as a good fight scene is, I know I have mentioned it before, I like a good villain in my action movies. The villain in this movie was not up to par for the level of damage he helped usher along. He was junior varsity at best and somehow managed to baffle major league players like Tony Stark (with all his security and tech). Good actor. Actually, all the acting was laudable. It's the story that was a bit difficult to accept. You get the explanation of the opposing sides, but you don't really walk away caring or disliking the position of either of them. I would have preferred them to go-in, but it felt like the characters and writers were all pulling their punches up until the very end of the movie - and then when they could have really done something dramatic, they pulled the final punch instead of letting them swing like Gennady Golovkin. They incorporated a fair amount of superheroes in this including Spider Man and Ant Man, but there were a few that were noticeably excluded. I can only assume that the budget for the including big, angry green guy would have broken the bank. There were no X-Men, Hulks of any gender, Punisher, Fantastic 4 or really anyone significant in the Marvel Universe aside from Spidey. It would probably have been tough to give them all something to do. But what they did do was mostly fun to watch. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This was a decently crafted story with some real emotional gravitas that you don't expect. In no particular order, the best things about this movie were 1) there was NO Sam Jackson; 2) Spiderman was a fresh set up for a relaunch that even had Marissa Tomei as Aunt Mae; and 3) T'Challa/Black Panther got busy in this flick! It's good enough to see in IMax. Hell, it's good enough for you to pay for at least one additional 3D IMax ticket. It's not perfect, but it's a nice way to start the summer blockbuster season (looking forward to Z-Men: Apocalypse, Star Trek: Beyond, Now You See Me 2, and even The Final Master). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 20.2222px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">IMTHATDUDE gives Captain America: Civil War: 4</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">RATING SYSTEM:</span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;">5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.</span></span></span></span></div>
<br />IMTHATDUDEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01695523648854928934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5472869014482667644.post-65277397914602490652016-04-30T23:38:00.000-04:002016-05-07T15:12:11.804-04:00KEANU<br />
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<a href="http://cdn3-www.comingsoon.net/assets/uploads/gallery/keanu/keanu_1sht_main_vert_2764x4096_dom_master.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></a></div>
<a href="http://cdn3-www.comingsoon.net/assets/uploads/gallery/keanu/keanu_1sht_main_vert_2764x4096_dom_master.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" class="irc_mi in6uCh_S8H_Q-pQOPx8XEepE" src="http://cdn3-www.comingsoon.net/assets/uploads/gallery/keanu/keanu_1sht_main_vert_2764x4096_dom_master.jpg" height="320" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="216" /></a><a href="http://www.newsobserver.com/entertainment/movies-news-reviews/cz8i43/picture74405687/ALTERNATES/FREE_640/knu-02566r" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b>MICROWAVE REVIEW</b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm not exactly sure how I felt about sitting in a Williamsburg, Brooklyn theatre full of white millennials laughing hysterically at the comedic use of the N-word by <a href="http://www.cc.com/shows/key-and-peele" target="_blank">Key and Peele</a>. It was a little disconcerting. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And full disclosure - I don't like cats... more specifically, I don't like house cats. That said, Keanu was a little cute in an "I still don't want one in my apartment" kind of way. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But, once I put those things aside, I was able to laugh a sufficient amount to consider this a legit flick and worth seeing. I wouldn't recommend making plans around seeing it. It's not as good as some of the more recent comedies like </span><a href="http://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2014/08/lets-be-cops.html" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Let's Be Cops</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, <a href="http://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2015/06/dope.html" target="_blank">Dope</a>, Trainwreck, </span><a href="http://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2016/02/deadpool.html" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Deadpool</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, or </span><a href="http://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2015/02/50-shades-of-grey.html" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">50 Shades of Grey</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">. It is, however, funny enough to see in the theatre or to pay and rent when it hits Amazon Instant or On-Demand in a couple of months.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">VITALS</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Jordan Peele & Alex Rubens - Writers</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Directed by Peter Atencio </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Keegan-Michael Key - Clarence</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Jordan Peele - Rell Williams</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Tiffany Haddish - Hi-C</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Method Man - Cheddar</span><br />
<a href="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2pIQVzn57is/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" class="irc_mi in6uCh_S8H_Q-pQOPx8XEepE" height="225" src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2pIQVzn57is/maxresdefault.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Luis Guzman - Bacon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Will Forte - Hulka</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">IF YOU MUST KNOW</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Rell Williams (Peele) has just been dumped and loses the only thing he has going for him - Keanu, his kitten. His cousin and best friend, Clarence (Key) decides to join him in his quest to find and reclaim Keanu. They end up posing as drug dealer/assassins, which cause them to get in just a little bit of trouble with real drug dealers/killers known as the Blips (folks who've been kicked out of the Bloods and the Crips - funny). There's a little bit of character growth for both Rell and Clarence in this comedy that gives a slightly different twist to the "fish out of water" theme. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There were some amusing George Michael bits that ran throughout the film. Peele is still the funnier of the comedy pair in my book (Obama translator aside). Good amount of laughs, lots of N-Words - but all within a context that made sense from a black improv comedic point of view, and the character arcs that take Rell and Clarence from somewhat pathetic man-boys (in different ways) to full grown men. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's worth a look, but not if you're expecting hilarity. It's a slow Saturday afternoon or date night flick that is sufficient for sh#s and giggles as they say (probably a better laugh if you get lit first, but I won't make fun of you for spending your bread on it anyway. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 20.2222px;">IMTHATDUDE gives Keanu: 3</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;">RATING SYSTEM:</span></span><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;">5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.</span></span></span></span></div>
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IMTHATDUDEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01695523648854928934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5472869014482667644.post-49065221400263036182016-04-23T23:35:00.000-04:002016-04-30T23:15:41.857-04:00Miles Ahead<a href="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQhbtJuRG3u36KHIWvI2obi57DO7eT6GAtHUZnaR5bu4A0BNYYA" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img alt="" border="0" class="irc_mut ipG629sbWtC0-HwpH6ZlgJaI" height="320" src="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQhbtJuRG3u36KHIWvI2obi57DO7eT6GAtHUZnaR5bu4A0BNYYA" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="320" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Don Cheadle's big screen directorial debut... Miles Ahead. Truth is, I love Miles Davis's music but I know precious little about the man himself. I own copies of Kind of Blue, Birth of Cool, You're Under Arrest, and Bitches Brew. I don't have the album they refer to most in this movie, so I'm going to have to cop Sketches of Spain.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">VITALS</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Steven Baigelman (Get on Up) - Co-Writer</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Don Cheadle (Talk to Me, Avengers, Devil in a Blue Dress) - Miles Davis</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: center;">***</span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: italic; text-align: center;">Cheadle also Co-Writes, Directs, and Produces Miles Ahead</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Emayatzi Cornealdi (Addicted, Middle of Nowhere, The Invitation) - Frances Taylor</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ewan MacGregor (Moulin Rouge, Big Fish, Mortdecai) - Dave Brill</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Keith Stanfield (Dope, <a href="http://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2015/09/straight-outta-compton.html" target="_blank">Straight Outta Compton</a>) - </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Michael Stuhlbarg (Steve Jobs, Blue Jasmine) - Harper Hamilton</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">IF YOU MUST KNOW</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEiWB8lXyldigRyGyrywHrenllaAS61XOuUQfBVA-idvuZD_Tp93vZrbBOaKMnYSxsqsmAQehOF5WjpOpNt9rNkUIrQTbpl88FiKDmDr130cW_cbnvUbHBDoThUden46VXF7eB7NVcNZ_CxZq2wcy0P_oJ6E6YOP4gV2qVvranxAe1loiI4Nj7ksrexnYSlfDMKk6VSKNrTujBOhp73dH1XlTSc=" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img alt="" border="0" class="irc_mi iNx9pAB0wVkQ-pQOPx8XEepE" src="http://dl9fvu4r30qs1.cloudfront.net/c6/35/faa4ac014c53ab570ef82bc13fdc/miles-ahead-don-cheadle.jpg" height="281" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This was a movie about Miles Davis, but seems to have avoided being a biopic. It was more like watching Don Cheadle brilliantly portray someone who has largely been a famous but mysterious musical legend. Miles Ahead is a snapshot of a glance of the music icon's life. The good news is that you want to learn more about Miles after watching this movie, but the bad news is you almost need to do it. You don't get much more than what we already know. He was as talented as he was brilliant and he was brilliantly flawed. He walked that fine line between genius and insanity and may have crossed back and forth a few times. He loved a woman (and then some more of them). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Cheadle does an incredible job of portraying the enigmatic jazz virtuoso/iconoclast, but as a writer and director, he tells us next to nothing. In fact, the movie was a little weird. There were multiple fights, a gun fight or two, and even a car chase with a gun fight - none of which were things that I heard about Miles when my Pops forced me to listen to Jazz 88's Rhythm Revue way back when I was travelling back and forth to the barbershop or during those Saturday early mornings or late evenings for Prep for Prep - I was forced to listen to the Rhythm Revue and eventually developed a love for "old-timey" music. The drugs, I knew about, but nobody ever mentioned him in a reckless car chase through the city. I feel like I would have remembered that. </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/csp/mediapool/sites/dt.common.streams.StreamServer.cls?STREAMOID=_cB5HUEHX0e0p8JwBOeeO8$daE2N3K4ZzOUsqbU5sYvj6FXIT9DXWOOa7jtFzkFxWCsjLu883Ygn4B49Lvm9bPe2QeMKQdVeZmXF$9l$4uCZ8QDXhaHEp3rvzXRJFdy0KqPHLoMevcTLo3h8xh70Y6N_U_CryOsw6FTOdKL_jpQ-&CONTENTTYPE=image/jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.sltrib.com/csp/mediapool/sites/dt.common.streams.StreamServer.cls?STREAMOID=_cB5HUEHX0e0p8JwBOeeO8$daE2N3K4ZzOUsqbU5sYvj6FXIT9DXWOOa7jtFzkFxWCsjLu883Ygn4B49Lvm9bPe2QeMKQdVeZmXF$9l$4uCZ8QDXhaHEp3rvzXRJFdy0KqPHLoMevcTLo3h8xh70Y6N_U_CryOsw6FTOdKL_jpQ-&CONTENTTYPE=image/jpeg" height="400" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" width="266" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Like many male driven movies, the highlight is often the female lead. Sometimes what is supposed to be window dressing can really save a movie (see my comments about Wonder Woman in the <a href="http://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2016/03/batman-v-superman-dawn-of-justice.html" target="_blank">Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice</a>). So, she may have appeared in one of my previous posts... then again, maybe not. In any event, she would have been my choice for the Nina Simone movie they did with my ex, Zoe Saldana. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As much as Cornealdi (Taylor) is talented and incredibly beautiful (I would totally karaoke Prince's "<a href="http://www.jukebo.com/prince/music-clip,the-most-beautiful-girl-in-the,lf8lv.html" target="_blank">The Most Beautiful Girl in the World</a>" to her if she were in the vacinity - hell, I'd do it a cappella), she doesn't elevate this movie in the way Gadot/Wonder Woman elevated Dawn of Justice. She is, obviously easy on the eyes and remarkably talented - every bit Cheadles acting match, but she didn't have a hell of a lot to work with here. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Nevertheless, this is still a fairly good directorial debut. The odd matching cuts that Cheadle has throughout the film give it a certain feel - I think he was going for something jazz-y - forced. I thought it was a pretty good film, but not a good biopic. There are many facets to Miles that clearly were not explored, but the overall movie came off as a bit of a short story that left you wondering why they picked this particular period in his life rather than do something that was more encompassing and generally more engrossing. It's Miles FREAKING Davis. An audience interested enough to see a movie that no one expects to have car chases could totally have sat through a 150-180 minutes of his life story. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This movie was just not aggressive enough in its breadth or depth for me to recommend going out to see it. It is worth watching, just not something you need to spend 12-15 bucks on. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Should be on Amazon or Netflix pretty soon, so feel free to save your dough. Or, if you're a real Miles aficionado... save your bread. You'll get nothing out of this flick. Movie lovers can enjoy the acting talents of Cornealdi and Cheadle (they should totally team up again... they have an interesting on-screen chemistry that should be explored further), but do not expect to feel enlightened or fulfilled on any level when the end credits roll.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.2222px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.2222px;">IMTHATDUDE gives Miles Ahead: 3, <i>by a hair</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;">RATING SYSTEM:</span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;">5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;">4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;">1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.</span></span></span>
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They created a startling crap load of story problems going forward, but I'm gonna skip those for now and just say that this is your one and ONLY SPOILER ALERT...SPOILER ALERT...SPOILER ALERT.<br />
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VITALS<br />
Zac Snyder (300, Watchmen, Man of Steel) - Director<br />
David S. Goyer (Dark City, Blade II, Batman Begins) and Chris Terrio (Argo) - Writers<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjDXn1KECUnj2IBxNQxMEg0UOMju1AExzgmA-TKTbxLjfTKt-vDmF3j1z_rBXlRV3otfR5DNVKb1RANbQTbBOloSEVX4x-v6DDvnhlZs2x7o3Ychyphenhyphene8pYtYv0YEouEi4h2CMzs_4aqU7BUhPOP8W7BTKmSG6IHaIKX1AhugF9wiclcgqspRSDT9-kc5N57xS1Ytp4YBuhk7sZdC8Ur9iCyRFnuzQ9d45ZeWdnz9=" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.irishexaminer.com/remote/www.clickonline.com/Images/Content/2015/351/Large/12395154.jpg?width=500" height="223" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" width="400" /></a>Amy Adams (The Fighter, American Hustle) - Superman's Boo Thang<br />
Henry Cavill (Immortals, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) - Clark Kent/Kal El/Superman<br />
Gal Gadot (Fast & Furious, Triple 9) - Diana Prince/Wonder Woman<br />
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Ben Affleck (Gone Girl, The Town) - Bruce Wayne/Batman</div>
Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland, The Social Network, American Ultra) -<br />
Jeremy Irons (Kingdom of Heaven, Beautiful Creatures, Race) - Alfred<br />
Holly Hunter (The Piano, The Firm, Won't Back Down) - Sen. Finch<br />
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Tao Okomato (Wolverine, and Amazon's The Man in High Castle) - Mercy<br />
Honorable mention to <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000401/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t6" target="_blank">Lawrence Fishburne</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000178/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t5" target="_blank">Diane Lane</a>, and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4839129/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t49" target="_blank">Rebecca Buller</a>.<br />
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IF YOU MUST KNOW:<br />
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Okay, I lied, this is your last warning - SPOILER ALERT! <span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 20.2222px;">You had your chance... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.2222px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.2222px;">Bruce Wayne (Affleck) witnesses one of his office building destroyed and some of his employees die tragically in the wake of the big fight scenes, spliced into this film from Man of Steel - when Superman and General Zod (Michael Shannon) go toe-to-toe through Metropolis. The seeds of Wayne's disdain for the son of Jor-El were hatched on that day. Fuel is added to that fire by billionaire wunderkind Lex Luthor (Eisenberg), who is bananas and mangoes in this film - and not the hilarious, yet brilliant criminal mastermind that Gene Hackman was in the original Superman movies or even the dude that played Luthor in Smallville. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 20.2222px;">The best parts of this movie, by far, were the ones that involved Wonder Woman/Diana Prince. I think that is incredible given Gal Gadot was eviscerated in the blogosphere when she was announced as the next Wonder Woman. They said she wasn't tall enough, or thick enough, or whatever. But when you look back at </span><a href="http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/39100000/Wonder-Woman-lynda-carter-39158663-1280-1610.jpg" style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif; line-height: 20.2222px;" target="_blank">Lynda Carter</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 20.2222px;">, you have to think that those critics were morons. Gal Gadot has some depth in her acting that a lot of pretty girls that fit the bill (like Megan Fox) in Hollywood don't have at all. Her and Amy Adams save this movie. Eisenberg as Lex Luthor was weird and weak. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 20.2222px;">First Mistake - Ben Affleck was the most wooden-emo Batman since Val Kilmer. Not as cool as Keaton or as grounded as Bale. Plus, he will always be <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/daredevil/" target="_blank">Daredevil</a> to me - not the cool one with the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3322312/" target="_blank">dope show on Netflix</a>; the one that put the breaks on the entire DC comic book movie experiment. Much like he had to do in this interview, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 20.2222px;">Henry Cavill had he unenviable task of trying to carry Affleck and make the shi#y casting of Ben look halfway decent. Superman failed. I just don't think Affleck is suited for this sort of stuff; the acting (particularly in action films) should be left to Matt Damon (said in my Team America World Police voice).</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_603927778"></span><span id="goog_603927779"></span><br /><iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kpaJNw68iKA/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kpaJNw68iKA?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 20.2222px;"><b>Side Note:</b> Daredevil and Elektra were two of my least favorite superhero movies in life (that includes thehighly garbage Flash Gordon and post-Keaton/pre-Bale Batman movies). </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 20.2222px;">Anyway, Wayne and Kent meet, battle lines are drawn, and in short order there is beef and no secrets between them. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 20.2222px;">One thing leads to another and Lex, in the interest of protecting the planet against the potential tyranny of Superman, gets his hands on some Kryptonian technology and builds what he calls a Doomsday weapon to fight and destroy Superman. For Superman fans, you know what Doomsday means for Superman. And if you aren't fans, well... use that obviously sharp mind of yours (and we know you are smarter than smart because you are reading UrbanRhetoric). Doomsday = Superman dead. If he dies, Clark dies. Hence the story line issues for movies going-forward. Obviously Supe's coming back - </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 20.2222px;">like he did in the comics. He has a couple of </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 20.2222px;">Justice League movies to do. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 20.2222px;">Let's be clear. Dawn of Justice isn't straight garbage; it's just lame and a bit disappointing. This movie seems to have done the impossible - I began thinking Superman is better than Batman. He was in the movie. Batman was easily manipulated. They didn't give us enough of what this should have been. There should have been more fighting between the titular characters. Ironically, there's better fight choreography in a single episode of Daredevil, than there was in this entire film. This would have been better if we had less Lex. Better use of Amy Adams. More Wonder Woman. A lot more Wonder Woman. In fact, I'm officially looking forward to when she gets her own origin story on the big screen soon. The only other highlights are when the other Justice League members (Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg) make an appearance by way of the Inhuman Files.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 20.2222px;">PS: They didn't have the decency to give us a tiny glimpse at what the next movie is going to be about or even to throw a scene from the upcoming Wonder Woman movie. What kind of utter disdain must the studio have for them to not even bother with a easter egg on Easter weekend? I call BuSh!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 20.2222px;">IMTHATDUDE gives Dawn of Justice: 3 (BARELY - because Gadot brings this up by one full point)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">RATING SYSTEM:</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;">5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.2px;">4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.2px;">3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.2px;">2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.2px;">1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.</span></span>
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<a href="http://s3.foxfilm.com/foxmovies/production/films/103/images/gallery/deadpool-gallery-06-gallery-image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" src="http://s3.foxfilm.com/foxmovies/production/films/103/images/gallery/deadpool-gallery-06-gallery-image.jpg" height="215" width="400" /></span></a><a href="http://ecowallpapers.net/wp-content/uploads/morena-baccarin-vanity-fair-magazine-2013-03_Starbeat.ru_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></a><a href="http://cdn2-www.comingsoon.net/assets/uploads/gallery/deadpool/deadpool_ver8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This joint right here... ain't your every day Marvel Comics superhero movie.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now, I may not have read a single word from a Deadpool comic, but I heard about him through friends who were fans. He always seemed like a cool idea. I didn't think it would be remotely as successful as the X-Men or Spiderman (or anything of that ilk). I was right. But I was so intrigued by Ryan Reynolds taking another stab at the superhero thing given the horribleness of that piping hot garbage of a movie called Green Lantern. The movie is ridiculous and it is from the very start. It doesn't take itself seriously and that is the perfect tone for this particular character. It's like what Clive Owen and Monic Bellucci's <a href="https://youtu.be/jlx4n_ibNZE?t=1m26s" target="_blank">Shoot'em Up</a> would have been if it were actually a good movie with better action and wittier, comedic dialogue.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>VITALS</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Tim Miller (was most notably the creative supervisor for visual effects on Scott Pilgrim vs The World, which basically makes him a newbie) - Director</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick (Zombieland, GI Joe: Retaliation) - Writers</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ryan Reynolds (Green Lantern, R.I.P.D., Woman in Gold) - Wade Wilson/Deadpool</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ed Skrein (The Transporter Refueled, Sword of Vengeance) - Ajax</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1072555/" target="_blank">Morena Baccarin</a> (Serenity, Spy, and TV's Homeland) - Vanessa</span></div>
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<a href="http://cdn.pcwallart.com/images/morena-baccarin-homeland-gif-wallpaper-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.pcwallart.com/images/morena-baccarin-homeland-gif-wallpaper-5.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b>ASIDE: I've been in love (well, in-crush) with Baccarin since her days on the entirely too short-lived Joss Whedon series Firefly back in 2002/3 and she is STILL fire (no pun intended) and talented as all hell.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">TJ Miller (Transformers: Age of Extinction, Rock of Ages, and TV's Silicon Valley) - Weasel</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Brianna Hildebrand (Prism, First Girl I Loved - in fairness, never heard of either of those movies, which makes Brianna a newbie as far as I'm concerned) - Negasonic Teenage Warhead</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Leslie Uggams (Sugar Hill, and Kizzy from Roots - not to be confused with The Roots) - Blind Al</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Gina Carano (Haywire, Fast & Furious 6) - Angel</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>IF YOU MUST KNOW</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The movie's opening credits clue you into the type of irreverent tone the film will have. Wade Wilson (Reynolds) is not the quintessential anything. He's an ex-special forces cat who has a crap life. a smart mouth that runs non-stop, and a cynical approach to life that naturally masks the tiny sliver of a heart that he has buried deep... deep... deeeeeeeep down below his cantankerous exterior. He meets Vanessa (Baccarin) a woman of let's call it "questionable" repute and falls in love... just in time to find out he's dying. Set in the same world where the X-Men exist... Reynolds is given a not-so classic new lease on life. He loses everything, including Vanessa, but his sense of humor in the process. </span></div>
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<a href="http://fcbahistory.pbworks.com/f/Morena+Baccarin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgKkWlKUTkQLrdXBPR6OXyY3JjVKxXW7rCiCh1qVShen-Qwu99qqVckFrlINzBtJm96zCY8Utm4xAJ6PVKjoZWXpgg2YLbEL1INfxJwzH5t7s41lVPoqPGDlkL18BUXsCx30oQqC9VLYqzEAyRyqjH4N7DFEg=" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" src="http://fcbahistory.pbworks.com/f/Morena+Baccarin.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This Valentine's Day movie has all the right </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">elements for a date movie, but with a dark rated-R twist to it. Sex, constant graphic violence, adult humor, a bit of nudity and some grown up language would lead you to believe that ya better not brang ya kids... yet, that didn't stop the nominees for "Parent of the Year" in the theater I went to last night after 9pm from bringing the rugrats to see six strippers stripping, four Reynolds butt shots, 3 bullets in a-holes, 2 heads cut off, Baccarin get schtooped and a a partridge in a pear tree. Fly as Morena remains so many years post Firefly... this is no movie to drag your kids out to as it may lead to more questions than you want to answer in the movie theater.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://ecowallpapers.net/wp-content/uploads/morena-baccarin-vanity-fair-magazine-2013-03_Starbeat.ru_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Anyway, the movie tells you everything you need to know in the opening credits. They forego the usual names and tell you what role each person in the film plays (e.g., instead of saying Edward Skrein, they just say "Villain with British Accent"). Yes, it is that kind of movie. Ajax is a mutant making war profiteer that has messed with the life of our antihero.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgluJSqzEslco1F8L2uwOQtUIMXq4_8pHBhAzPmBHciP1KEKRxbcZDBgx0etX8LILEJaiix1H0Ar_ItLph1q_Wh5ip5CH8FwS0g5RtnLFV6weORObzN1nlPeh15kGwvndOBp9tqvLVEN0Hd719nPL9Cqf9au4nSDOr0axcLbx1eqanR1YsYN85VzKwPiOE5WEc=" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn2-www.comingsoon.net/assets/uploads/gallery/deadpool/deadpool_ver8.jpg" height="400" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" width="273" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The comic book version of Deadpool did not just break the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_wall" target="_blank">fourth wall</a> (for those who don't know, that basically means he spoke directly to the readers as if he were stepping out into the real world/audience and away from the fictional story), he shattered it. In the movie, Deadpool is not just a narrator; apparently, he is a self-aware character - to the extent that he lets us all know that he knows we're watching and every time he does it we laugh.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://cdn2-www.comingsoon.net/assets/uploads/gallery/deadpool/deadpool_ver8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's impossible to tell you what you should think about this movie (usually, I'm quite comfortable telling people that they should agree with me as I am firmly of the belief that life would be better if more people did agree). It is a thoroughly irreverent flick with some terribly crude potty-mouthed humor. It is ultra-violent for the sake of simply being violent. And, majestically, the only N-word dropped in the entire film was from a DMX song in the soundtrack - hmmm, I guess you can be edgy, have gratuitous violence, without having characters unnecessarily do that. <i>Could some one call <a href="http://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-hateful-eight-rantings-before.html" target="_blank">QT</a> and let him know?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Deadpool, is not for the kiddies. Hell, it may not even be a good date night movie - unless, you're like me and date someone who has a little bit of a dark and twisted side of their sense of humor. Nevertheless, it is fun and funny. Skip the after movie scene and just google it. It was more of an announcement than a legit-scene. <i>Aside 2: Shout out to Regal Cinema Battery Park for handling that insane crowd so well and for putting their security to work keeping people from skipping lines. That job looked like it sucked (and I'd wager you get paid in buckets of popcorn, so it must have sucked hard). </i>This was bound to be pretty good given that I've never disliked anything Baccarin has done (I choose to forget that absurd V remake), Reynolds was able to successfully find a character with the humor balance, and most importantly - the guys from Zombieland (awesomeness) wrote the doggone film.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.2222px;">IMTHATDUDE gives Deadpool: 4</span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.2222px;" /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">RATING SYSTEM:</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;">5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.2px;">4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.2px;">3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.2px;">2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.2px;">1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.</span></span>
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Rarely do I take time out to write about a movie when I'm not writing a review. The Hateful 8 calls for such an occasion. I had the chance to see The Hateful Eight (the almost 3 hour version) a little early - preview, fell off the back of a truck, I had a hook up, whatever... I saw it. But for the last few years, Quentin Tarantino has been on my list of celebrities/personalities on the edge (along with the likes of Donald Trump. Justin Bieber, and Carrie Underwood - people who say things that make me wonder if they secretly utter what Tarantino so freely writes in his scripts). Django Unchained (as technically good as it was) started my recently raised eyebrow on its upward trajectory. My problem is two-fold. First, Tarantino is a "n!gger" lover - by that, I mean he LOVES that word. He loves it so much, he probably has had biblical knowledge of it in his dreams. Seriously, you can't find that word as much on a damned Drake and Future album as you can in one of his movies. If you think I am tripping and being overly sensitive, that's fine. Click on this <b>NSFW</b> link and watch the Gawker compilation on youtube - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLDmyt6SSrdi_KJjjxSGY3sJXSgOrZwIof&v=_5REfYPlGJk" target="_blank">Gawker Compilation</a> (I could only tolerate 11 minutes of it before my irritation began to border irate. Second, he seems to have no problem putting black male masculinity in jeopardy. I know in today's world, that statement leaves room for ample debate and discussion, but forgive me I am fairly old-school. Emasculation, in my book would include what happened to Ving Rhames in Pulp Fiction, what almost happened to Jamie Foxx in Django Unchained, and what happened with Sam Jackson in The Hateful 8.<br />
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Let's be clear, I don't think Quentin is a racist. Although, it is a little hard to tell the difference between him and racists. One might argue that his movies are the flip side of Birth of a Nation. He's no racist, but he is a self-satisfied idiot who strongly believes that if anyone having a problem with his work, can go screw themselves; it's his "art" so FU, don't watch it. That, makes him either an ass or the hole indicative of one. <br />
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Let's keep it 100... Tarantino has an issue that he seriously needs to come to grips with eventually. Here's the problem in his own words, <i style="font-weight: bold;">“But when the black critics came out with savage think pieces about Django, I couldn’t have cared less. If people don’t like my movies, they don’t like my movies, and if they don’t get it, it doesn’t matter.”</i><br />
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Contrary to popular belief, there's no such thing as post-racial America. There's a reason why at damned near 40 years old (yikes!!!) I would never use certain words in front of my grandfather or my mother. I have too much respect for them to make them uncomfortable with hearing me say certain things. My grandfather would be offended if he understood that a white guy was writing that word with this level of proliferation and we were patronizing him and giving him accolades because it was "so real" or "ground-breaking." For the record, there's precious little that is ground breaking about a white dude saying or writing the word nigger with impunity. It's an all too familiar refrain. Tarantino's callousness (despite his lunches with Sidney Poitier) demonstrate the zeitgeist of those who feel that because they have black friends, they should receive some sort of a pass for their sh#y lack of deference and respect to racial issues. Oh no, it's cool. That's how people talked back then... that's not an acceptable response. Verisimilitude is not a shield when you also have anachronisms in your film or you allow <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/may/14/django-unchained-censored-china-opening" target="_blank">certain cuts</a> and edits so as not to offend the Chinese and have your film seen in that country (that isn't artistic integrity, it's pecuniary commitment). Interesting justification, but how frequently did you use anti-semitic terms in your rip-off... eh ehm! I mean REMAKE of Inglorious Basterds. That joint was set in Germany and Nazi occupied France, but the derogatory terms didn't even approach Django levels - not even the same ball park, playboy. So, don't feed me the "that's how they talked" line when yo decide to use nigger 100+ times in one flick. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgfWYiC0igQjUmMZJFwSh63P5o1owxoSYl9ZhG7aZDWmwfsFdRO4UsXPlklRrU5jbVu5B-rfRPwjt7brHYmkC0Q_-Cf9tw6eSgANNJUHJpoT_wzhNvNbg4Q5UK4Kv7otceoFteezT5yLSuSIzk466-nI2asxSyRpmjjayM3=" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://cdn.movieweb.com/img.news.tops/NEG1MiFuhbOXKG_2_b.jpg" height="210" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" width="400"></a>No, he didn't break the 100 mark in H8, but he did get about one in every 90 seconds or so by my best guess. I'm not on my soapbox like I was with Skids and Mudflap in that Transformers crap, this is a pattern of - at minimum, oddly manifested and unhealthy infatuation with black male-ness and masculinity, which is often demonstrated by his over use of the N-word and the relative objectification of us via that unnecessary usage as well as the completely out of place sexual jeopardy that he seems hell bent on putting his important black male characters in (see, Pulp Fiction, Django Unchained, and to a reverse degree - the Hateful Eight). No, there isn't an rape scene in every Tarantino movie; but I defy you to find a Tarantino film with a black character of any significance, and the film does not include at least 3 uses of that word. So what, Sam Jackson keeps working with him. Sam Jackson, mercenary that he is, will defend any role he plays (see, Black Snake Moan, Snakes on a Plane). Besides, he's kind of a bully and I would give him as much deference on social issues as I would give his commercial-mate Charles Barkley - ABSOLUTELY NONE.<br />
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Look at Pulp Fiction... Even in a scene where there's no apparent reason for him to use the N-bomb, given that his character (a white dude helping out Jules, his black friend - played by Jackson) is married to a black woman, he still uses it with reckless abandon - something that multiracial couples know is a no-no. My sister's been married to a white dude for a decade and as much as he may love her, he knows that he would receive an beatdown of the royal variety posthaste, if we even thought <i>he thought </i> to utter the phrase "dead n!&&er storage" even if the name of the storage container had a sign on it of the same name while he was watching Pulp Fiction.</div>
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The fact is between the ball-gagged rape of Marsellus in Pulp Fiction, Django hanging naked, upside-down with a buck knife at his genitals, and the scenes in Hateful 8 where (SPOILER ALERT) another emasculatory act occurs, Tarantino is batting way too high an average for his film count. I'm vexed by the amount of effort he puts into justifying his issues. He didn't need to use it when Dennis Hopper gave his famous speech about the Moors and Sicily to Christopher Walken in True Romance, but he dropped it in English and Italian (just for good measure). I'm annoyed by the pass that I gave him for all the times he has done this before. He's an exceptional story teller and he doesn't need to rely on a term that would make the blood curdle of the civil rights activists still living in my family. I mean, it wasn't that long ago that my dad was called that in the military, it was within my lifetime that James Byrd was lynched, that black folks are getting shot on the street for wearing hoodies, or shot in the back by cops... but we're giving this cat a pass because... we don't have to see his movie? Come on, son. I don't have to be the cat getting shot to be affected by it. As much as I don't like the majority of Spike Lee films I've seen since X, I am inclined to agree that Tarantino should be checked if for no other reason than he is using a word that has a powerful and negative history deeply embedded in it as a literary device. <br />
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Black Lives Matter, Quentin, he's dead right on that one. But show me they matter. Recognize that you can do damage by throwing that word around haphazardly. Tarantino can't dismiss that and hide behind claims of historical accuracy in a FICTIONAL FILM. A film where we are to suspend our disbelief on so many other things, but on your n-word count, we have to accept that because it may have really happened like that? One tenth of that wretched excess you so readily embrace could have been more powerful. He made the conscious decision to write what he wrote. He could have easily have opted not to. <br />
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As always, his movie had some really cool elements all of which were overshadowed by the pervasiveness of his abuses and the wretchedness of his excesses. But <i>this</i> particular n!gger, is not going to cosign Tarantino's playful or artistic emasculating of yet another brother or his whimsical abuse of a term that even I barely use.<br />
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IMTHATDUDE gives The Hateful 8: 2 (because I would cuss QT out)<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">RATING SYSTEM:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">VITALS</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">JJ Abrams (Armageddon, Mission Impossible III, Super 8) - Director/Co-Writer</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">Lawrence Kasdan (Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark) - Co-Writer</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine, Hunger Games: Catching Fire) - Co-Writer</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">The old cast is back with Harrison Ford as Han Solo, </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca, </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.mrmovie-review.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/star-wars-the-force-awakens-review-rey-and-bb8-700x467.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.mrmovie-review.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/star-wars-the-force-awakens-review-rey-and-bb8-700x467.jpeg" height="266" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" width="400" /></a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">Lupita Nyongo (12 Years a Slave, Non-Stop) - Maz Kanata</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">Adam Driver (Inside Llewyn Davis, Lincoln) - Kylo Ren</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">Daisy Ridley (don't front like you watched Scrawl or Mr. Selfridge- No, </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">you never saw her before</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">) - Rey</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">John Boyega (Junkhearts, Attack the Block) - Finn</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">Gwendolyn Christie (Game of Thrones, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2) - Captain Phasma</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">Max Von Sydow (Shutter Island, Flash Gordon - a movie dying for a remake!) - Lor San Tekka</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings, Planet of the Apes) - Supreme Leader Snoake</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">Oscar Isaac (A Most Violent Year, Ex Machina) - Poe Dameron</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">Also seen in The Force Awakens were the kicka$$ martial artists from The Raid 2, Yayan Ruhain and Iko Uwais.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">IF YOU MUST KNOW</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">Last chance - SPOILER ALERT, you've been warned... </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">The Force Awakens starts some time after Return of the Jedi. So, if you thought the Galactic Empire was devastated or destroyed when Luke, Han, Leia, and the rebel alliance killed the Emperor and Darth Vader was done-zo, then you're mistaken. The empire has not collapsed. In fact, the "civil war" (as it was referred to in the text crawl for A New Hope) rages on. Like most failed corporations, it seems the Empire's decided to re-brand itself as the Third Reich... I mean, the First Order. Luke Skywalker is... well, let's just say... he's about as active in the ongoing war as Jabba the Hut would be at a Blink Fitness. The story centers around the accidental conscription of Finn and Rey in the fight against the First Order and the search for Luke. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">If you saw Episode IV: A New Hope, this movie will not hold many surprises for you <i>at all</i>.</span><br />
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<a href="http://a.abcnews.go.com/images/Entertainment/HT_star_wars_force_awakens_trailer_02_jef_150416_4x3_992.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="PHOTO: Scene from the new Star wars:The Force Awakens trailer released during Star Wars Celebration Anaheim, April 16, 2015." border="0" src="http://a.abcnews.go.com/images/Entertainment/HT_star_wars_force_awakens_trailer_02_jef_150416_4x3_992.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">Episode VII lacked the originality of Episodes IV, V, and VI, but it was still really, really good. In fact, I might go out on a limb and say that... eh ehm... people will go out in droves and see Episode VII. And they will like it a lot, they may even go back to see it again. Neil deGrasse Tyson has ruined my ability to suspend disbelief in a lot of sci-fi movies and I'm sure he would have a serious problem with the major danger element created for The Force Awakens; still, you have to give it to George Lucas, Disney, LucasFilm and anybody else with a points on this movie. It is likely to have moviegoers raving and running back to see it on 3D, Imax, and every other expensive format they've created even though it's just an introduction of new characters doing the same thing. A solid movie all around and one of the top 3 in the series, but it wasn't without issues. My first concern was that JJ Abrams didn't really create a whole new story, so much as rehash one and add the newbies. Hopefully, this is all a set up for what's coming. Kylo Ren struck me as a weird combo of Hayden Christensen's annoying Anakin Skywalker and that kinda weird tall, long haired guy from Girls... which I later found out, that's who played Kylo Ren - <i>I never actually saw the show Girls for longer than the few seconds it took me to identify the show and find my remote control.</i> Another issue with the flick is that they didn't shoot it like Cameron did Avatar. I'm no expert but the 3D quality wasn't remotely as good as Avatar, which suggests that it was not filmed completely in 3D or that JJ Abrams didn't upgrade on the frame rate - either way, it could have been visually better than it was (and I know they had a budget through the roof). No, The Force Awakens is not a perfect film and aside from there being a heroine and a black male lead, there is nothing novel to it. The Force Awakens is more of an homage and relaunching of the Star Wars brand after the debacle that introduced us to Jar Jar Binks (me'sah thinks George still regrettsa dat... AND HE SHOULD). </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEg61zE8jHwRZ9lx0Rz05FBrN5ivEvDdmUGQZevJluU8tlRlXAGI3HHrP8VXckd5n8FIBwGZz00rFGUVz8-9thvd6zqvtjMQpd4Q8ID5TPqhopKUKUNvsmgxU2k0GUjEECRxLPiYi4HVF-1b8bW1DZMUtwqx5ZyduPb1WceI=" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.movieweb.com/img.news.tops/NEAPVs7cuBBvEB_1_b.jpg" height="210" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" width="400" /></a>It is nice that they have Rey (Ridley) and Finn (Boyega) doing the heavy lifting. I do love a female action hero (like Zoe in Colombiana). I grew up around a lot of tough women, so I have an affinity for women who can kick butt and keep it moving. Rey has that potential. They tease us with glimpses of her back story, which will need to be fleshed out in future films and if they hold to form, in the next episode, we'll find out who Rey's father and/or mother are. Female leads in action and sci-fi are always fun even when the movie sucks, and better when the movie doesn't suck. Daisy Ridley is a fresh face and a fresh change of pace. I like that about her. Time will tell if she gets to be in the upper echelons of female action leads like Scarlett Johansson, Qi Shu, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Ann Moss, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, Anjelina Jolie, Linda Hamilton, or even Pam Grier. (SPOILER ALERT 2!!!) Although a buddy of mine (we used to call him "Wheels" Muhammad) points out that bringing in a female lead/jedi - as well as making the black male lead a possible love connection in a sci-fi mega series like Star Wars - translates into a major funding opportunity because it makes the series more accessible to two demographics that typically do not get much to look for in these kinds of movies. Now, you have a reason for women and non-white guys to go see movies that generally whitewash race to the extent that brown folks do not exist in fictional distant futures or universes or alternate worlds - see everything from Dune, to Blade Runner, and the Hobbit (sorry to the #BoycottStarWarsVII racists, but I hope JJ Abrams makes more history in the next Episode by incorporating Marvin Gaye in the score by having BB8 play "Let's Get It On" while Finn and Rey get busy on the Millenium Falcon).<br />
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<a href="http://www.fashiongonerogue.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Daisy-Ridley-John-Boyega-ASOS-December-2015-Photoshoot05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.fashiongonerogue.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Daisy-Ridley-John-Boyega-ASOS-December-2015-Photoshoot05.jpg" height="400" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" width="344" /></a><br />
The salient points about The Force Awakens are 1) true Star Wars fans should love this movie, if for no other reason than it gives them another look at something they already love + they do it so well that it is almost a remake, 2) the graphics are far superior to what was available back in my infancy (when the A New Hope dropped, I was almost a full year on this earth and just 40 years away from taking over the world... I'll send out a memo when I do), 3) there's a black Storm Trooper, son! I don't think you heard me... A BLACK STORM TROOPER. Although, I don't understand why he had to lose the accent for the role? We seem to cast an awful lot of people from across the pond, just to have them lose their posh English accents, but I digress.<br />
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BTW: Shout out to PAJ1 for calling out the similarities to <a href="http://i.imgur.com/pFHTzYq.gif" target="_blank">Spaceballs</a> (if you never saw Spaceballs, it's a freaking Mel Brooks classic - your life won't be right until you see it.<br />
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Anwya, if the Force Awakens happens to be too full, or sold out... I strongly suggest that you check out <a href="http://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2015/11/creed.html" target="_blank">Creed</a> or even <a href="http://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2015/12/chi-raq.html" target="_blank">Chi-Raq</a> (but not with the kiddies).<br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">IMTHATDUDE gives Star Wars: Episode VII (The Force Awakens): 4 </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">RATING SYSTEM:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.</span>
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<a href="http://i1.wp.com/teaser-trailer.com/wp-content/uploads/Chi-Raq-New-Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1.wp.com/teaser-trailer.com/wp-content/uploads/Chi-Raq-New-Poster.jpg" height="400" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" width="268" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Damn. I really had to think about this one. <i>(Truth, I'm still thinking.) </i>Whenever you base a movie on a satirical play by Aristophenes - as I'm sure you were all planning to do - and that movie comments on real issues that hit close to home with a great many people in our culture, you are bound to get some harsh critiques. In fact, you would be wise to expect more than a little outrage. (POINT OF INFORMATION: You may recall, I'm not a critic, IMjustTHATDUDE.) I understand that Chi-Town rappers - Chance the Rapper (who will likely make a scene on SNL tonight), Twista, and Rhymefest (who co-wrote Jesus Walks, but didn't make half the bread off that song that Yeezy did - then again, he doesn't have to be married to a Kardashian, so... let's call that a push) - have criticized this movie with particular vigor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">No peace, no "piece." Given the times, this may well be the most serious satire I have ever seen (or read, and I was a philosophy major - forced to read some of this Aristophenes type stuff) on so many levels. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">VITALS</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Spike Lee - Director & Co-writer</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Kevin Willmott - Co-writer</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Angela Bassett (Black Nativity, Olympus Has Fallen) - Miss Helen</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Teyonah Parris (TV's Mad Men, Dear White People) - Lysistrata</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Nick Cannon (Drumline, Day of the Dead) - Chi-Raq</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls, Black Nativity) - Irene</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Steve Harris (Takers, Minority Report) - Old Duke</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Samuel L. Jackson (approx. 28% of all movies since 1963) - Dolemides (a.k.a. Dolemite)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">John Cusack (The Ice Harvest, Hot Tub Time Machine) - Father Mike Corridan</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">DB Sweeney (Taken 2, Miracle at St, Anna) - Mayor McCloud</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Harry Lennix (Man of Steel, State of Play) - Commissioner Blades</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Wesley Snipes (Brooklyn Finest, Expendables 3) - Cyclops</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dave Chappelle (Chappelle's Show Dave, but on that ill Creatine diet) - Morris</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">IF YOU MUST KNOW</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhtzeR_LAuNQpYtjgm-Pn1xDcM0cGvTo463RgQe-Ha8-0pzVrEg-HxdCsaCzW3i5aqFf95ueswzQTjZTjHSwuwKTAkQPZWrJxKEJ0CSsKDPr6RDewJ88aZBO5E4pxozmAqkh9nYqaJG9rLMdxFSdKKebDTP6P9D0N9r1RTRq_nzC4xDQcRcJxtJcs4OSGShXCQ=" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhtzeR_LAuNQpYtjgm-Pn1xDcM0cGvTo463RgQe-Ha8-0pzVrEg-HxdCsaCzW3i5aqFf95ueswzQTjZTjHSwuwKTAkQPZWrJxKEJ0CSsKDPr6RDewJ88aZBO5E4pxozmAqkh9nYqaJG9rLMdxFSdKKebDTP6P9D0N9r1RTRq_nzC4xDQcRcJxtJcs4OSGShXCQ=" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.thebachelorproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/CHI-RAQ-600x250.png" height="166" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lysistrata (Parris - who might actually be the sexiest actress alive - real talk, no joke) is with a gang-banger who goes by the name Chi-Raq (which also happens to be the nickname of Chicago). As you may know, the murders and gun related violence that happens in Chicago is UNHEARD of anywhere else but in the war zones and conflict ridden areas in places significantly East of here. So, after the accidental shooting of a little girl on the South Side of Chicago, Lysistrata - <a href="https://www.ted.com/speakers/leymah_gbowee" target="_blank">encouraged by Leymah Gbowee and the African movement that did the same</a> - removes herself from Chi-Raq (not the city, her boo) by moving out and putting the 'snappy' on lock and enlists all the women directly and indirectly involved in that life to to do the same in order to stem or stop the violence occurring on the streets of Chicago. NOTE: Ladies, this is a terrible, horrible, no good idea. Long story shortened... the movement becomes a worldwide phenomenon and begins to have positive repercussions (depending on who you ask). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://rollingout.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/TeyonahParris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" class="irc_mi" src="http://rollingout.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/TeyonahParris.jpg" height="400" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="267" /></a>Yo, Spike... they ain't ready for this one. I'm not even sure I'm for this one. But when it is all said and done... this movie is Oscar worthy (most likely, it will not even be nominated), but it is soooo provocative and fresh that it makes all those Shakespeare in Love type flicks look hackneyed. It's too bad Nick Cannon (acting and rapping) and Wesley Snipes make it mediocre. It's smart, but preachy. The dialogue is so true, but nobody wants to admit things like... men do most of what we do for money and sex (and usually, the money thing is related to the perception that having it puts you in a position to put someone else in a position, yah feel me? <i>no pun intended</i>). Jennifer Hudson was great, Angela Bassett (black don't crack, for real) and she is never off, Harry Lennix is the man, John Cusack made you forget all the great comedies (Hot Tub Time Machine, Better of Dead, Grosse Pointe Blank), and Teyonah Parris... aside from being gorgeous, she should be the next <i>IT </i>girl (well, for chocolate women - I know Hollywood is only infatuated with lightskinneded women, but every so often there is an Angela Bassett, Lupita Nyongo, or Teyonah Parris). <br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Problems? Sure. 1) The dude from the Wire (the cat that played the Clay Davis) was in it with his, now famous, one word line that starts with - Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.... Well, he was in the movie for 2 minutes. 2) Nick Cannon was a humongous mis-cast. Okay, so that should be the first problem, but right now I'm going stream of consciousness. 3) The ChiRaq sex scenes had no chemistry and should have just been implied rather than as explicit as they were - one of my friends actually commented that in a certain scene it looked like Nick Cannon did had never seen a "piece" from that angle before - I found that hilarious. I'll let you all jud</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">ge, but I agree. 4) Wesley Snipes was annoying; he was supposed to be a little bit, but... okay, that's a personal one. I just can't stand that idiot. 5) Sam Jackson doesn't need to be in every Spike Lee movie. Chappelle would have been better as the Narrator/Dolemides (based on Rudy Ray Moore's Dolemite). SJ may sound like Rudy, but Chappelle is a comedian who would have made a much better Dolemides and made the movie feel less like a Spike Lee flick and more like the bold, experimental film that it was. 6) Back to Nick Cannon. He can't rap. Why, oh why!? Did they let him wrap for the entire intro to the movie. Bad call, Spike. I was tempted to bounce when the song wouldn't stop. The opening was literally 4 minutes of reading and listening to the lyrics that I hear were written by Nick Cannon and performed by the same, which makes you feel </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">a bit violent and violated at the same time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhKW452c8HG58tzikrP8wgWybQa5E7ojBmFPmKj9_7x7hHaCnWoP6sN2pzL79VwqLSpTeJljOWjSWorncJF_JCxtAHOw4iCv2AMhsU6920_cDnfQoG59O-FJY1xiIyJYSnrY7HeaSXXQ3u0sHohIxpaikThPed_fdksTIqFYVEuIkAWa2iWMQ4Uuohtff_Q_CkkjjGkvpRIM8QSqFdKf7z3s5w=" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" class="irc_mi" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/06/20/06/29CBC78800000578-3132360-image-m-86_1434779096835.jpg" height="211" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">I am looking forward to watching this movie again in a few months, and again in ten years. Look, I hated She's Gotta Have It, and it still isn't a "good" movie, but there is a rawness to it that makes it stand out as good film-making and it stands alone. This movie is ahead of its time. Maybe a little too much ahead of its time, but it is worth seeing. I do enjoy movies like this and I may be in the minority, but it is worth seeing even if you are a Chicago rapper or native. Historically, meaningful satires always had difficult and serious present day issues as their subject; flawed as it may be, this is a meaning and poignant satire. Chi-Raq Spike Lee's most brave endeavor since X (the movie that should have earned Denzel and Spike the Oscars they deserved), I would recommend seeing it. It's not Dope, but Chi-Raq made me believe in Spike Lee as a filmmaker again. Oddly enough, some of the people I know who hated this would still buy a movie ticket for Tyler Perry poo-poo. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">IMTHATDUDE gives Chi-Raq: 3 </span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.2222px;" /><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">RATING SYSTEM:</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.2222px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.2222px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.2222px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.2222px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.2222px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.</span></span>
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<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgZxa-w-RUHN2z6fFEvpC93DDQToPrB80gc2GmKJhfnhJfaUbAAqtsPvCFHt8LFHgYk9tPwNjsocHYVX-KXrwTOtTX2ZSH2fZ6GRXQdN2tVwcMcgaJGYABOMqTPJso3xZYUrPfFLXE7uZNjfK3PuQlbgyoSwjGDhNhKuzh0PT4KKEYfwvNtj6QhyJdIfs8_sl9Dlueia8gIR9sSt6Q=" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="irc_mi" src="http://redcarpetrefs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Screen-Shot-2015-08-17-at-3.58.10-PM.png" height="222" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10pt;">Creed
is so legit that I am still surprised - days later. I kid you not, I felt
like Italians must have felt in 1976. This movie had all kinds of heart.
I even got, dare I say it, a little emotional. Knowing that the
last 3 or 4 Rocky movies were - as the French say - garbaaaage, I sure as hell
did not expect to like a "spin-off" of Rocky. And, on the heels
of the Floptastic Four, Michael B. Jordan completely redeems himself. Maybe
it's because Stallone didn't write or direct it that this movie ended up being
something I could endorse... Okay, it's definitely because Stallone
didn't write or direct it that I can cosign a spin-off of the shaky, albeit
iconic franchise. </span><span style="background: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I've bee</span><span style="background: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">n a fan of Tessa Thompson since <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dear_white_people/" target="_blank">Dear White People</a>... you had
me at cultural misappropriation, girl. Jordan, The Wire put him on the map, but <a href="http://urbanrhetoricblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/ishould-warn-you-this-is-much-more.html" target="_blank">Fruitvale Station</a> made him legit. Stallone - hwhwhwiuhokay (he'll understand that was a compliment).
</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">VITALS</span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEg416RueaRTy2_cgEKTvR9deKaXMJm3FJt755iegn3Rh4Y7f0U0toLVamP7wenE4-GhFNK6hTSGiOpGaqcUETvkauiwuJL0xM6V91anL8gqTopciFF2yeuikHnr6zEG9KeGuaUgwduU6KhXl872vJCWyv6c_ndGN0Ub49wNGayrPIBJ1xFdVGsbo4H1BOoH6R1giLHsY8Sv6Umk-rVjjoOa=" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" class="irc_mi" src="http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Michael-B.-Jordan-and-Tessa-Thompson-in-Creed-Movie.jpg" height="223" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station) - Writer/Director</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Michael B Jordan (Fruitvale Station, Fantastic Four) - Adonis Johnson</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Tessa Thompson (Dear White People) - Bianca</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Sylvester Stallone (Rocky, The Expendables) - Rocky Balboa</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Phylicia Rashad (let's just say Clair Huxtable instead of mentioning the best sitcom in history because of a certain jello pushing, pill slipping, comedian) - Mary Anne Creed</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Tony Bellew - "Pretty" Ricky Conlan</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">IF YOU MUST KNOW</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Adonis Johnson (Jordan) is young man with a heavyweight chip on his shoulder (I bet somebody will steal that line). He didn't know his father, bounced around foster care and juvy, until Mary Anne Creed (Rashad) - Appollo Creed's widow (ooops, SPOILER ALERT... you did see the one with Dolph Lundgren as Ivan Drago, right?) tracks him down and magnanimously raises him in her home. </span><i style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">I would love to think I am a good enough guy to take in the offspring of a woman who was unfaithful to me if the kid had no one else, but... IMnotTHATDUDE! </i><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Anyway, Adonis ends up taking after pop-dukes in a way that displeases Mrs. Creed and seems unnecessary in light of his promising career in finance. These crazy kids... leave it to a millennial to skip out on a solid, lucrative career for the long-shot prospect of something that is inherently dangerous. Dummies. Fortunately for him, this pays off in a huge way. Due to a random series of events that are only unheard of in real life and a storyline reminiscent of "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YlGslg7DsI" target="_blank">The Great White Hype</a>" (Damon Wayan's at his most foolish, worth checking out) - in reverse, Adonis finds himself boxing for the championship against a seasoned fighter with everything on the line. </span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjog6JpxGZFvblQaKjySiBwvyxq_ZfgMysqRjQ37EIqsAplCAQx38kLeUZ3gf4sqpYmlNGTxT7FCpKi7ZSb3PQsPVJmUhdVoY7W4O_75ooo4KDgkbxPm6e9MTReTDnkvjwgxdzcfwXVKhOXNac-GFO-CbRppC3hDboUCth4uJK0RYEZnakZsA=" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="irc_mi" src="http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/content/wpvi/images/cms/819641_1280x720.jpg" height="225" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Adonis wins a fight agains "Pretty" Ricky Conlan (Bellew, a fighter in the real world - although he looks about as cut up as I do after eating half of my mother's Thanksgiving turkey and a couple of servings of peach cobbler - which happens to be how I look right now). Johnson has the great Rocky Balboa in his corner as Rocky gives him the tools to battle his </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">[CLICHE ALERT] </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">toughest opponent... HIMSELF! WHUUUUH? He does MJ one better. He's not standing with the man in the mirror, he's shadowboxing that dude to the mantra "one punch at a time; one step at a time; one round at a time." Actually, that part was a pretty decent philosophical position that I would encourage people to adopt in either a physical or metaphysical context, but... that's for a different day.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">I won't tell you how this movie ends, but I can say that I cheered right along with the idiots who forget that a movie is only a movie. Adonis Johnson is just a made up character, fighting a choreographed fight that was shot on a movie set with countless takes-retakes. Still, I literally moved as if I had to bob & weave right along with Adonis as he fought through each round. That's a sign of investment. Kudos to Michael B Jordan and Ryan Coogler for making Adonis a likable albeit flawed millennial - much easier said than done! The emotional rollercoaster ride and all the talk of battling memories and the feelings of loss that a adult child has to deal with when losing a parent(s) got me thinking about struggle and responsibility and all that business. As a dude who grew up with a father who was widely respected from the streets to the pulpit, and whose name was bigger than most (in the Stuy and beyond), I found myself getting a little verklempt; then, I shook it off and remembered it was a damned movie spin-off of Rocky, son. Rocky. SMDH@IMTHATDUDE</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">IMTHATDUDE gives Creed: 4 </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">RATING SYSTEM:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.</span>
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<a href="https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/007-spectre.jpg?w=670&h=377&crop=1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/007-spectre.jpg?w=670&h=377&crop=1" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" width="400" /></a></div>
Don't believe the hype! Yeaaaaah, boyeeeeeeeee! Forgive me. It has been too long since I dissed a Bond film... Bardem was weird and whack in Skyfall as the villain - but the concept was there. Movie was pretty lame though - re-watched it a while ago before this one dropped. Here you go (and shout out to my homegirl, Ellis; she said this looked like whackness, but then again, she hates all things Bond, so who would trust her movie selection on anything?)...<br />
<br />
I fell asleep twice in one sitting. TWICE!!! Sure, I was tired, but it's James Bond... I don't fall asleep in action movies (aside from that bananaballs flick that had Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis). I am a bona fide movie-warrior. I have denied young moviegoer's requests for me to move down so they can sit together - <i>Sorry, suckers... get here earlier. I picked my seat and skipped the concession stand for a reason. </i> I have braved the crappy 42nd Street and Prospect Park Pavilion theaters - <i>No, sir. No threat of bed bugs scares my fastidious a$$... </i>I'm lying!!! I will never hit those theaters again until I am satisfied they don't have a problem. But, I did survive the dark depths of Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow, Soul Plane, Punisher, Desolation of Smaug, Fifty Shades, and countless other craptastic nightmares without batting an eye. Yet, I am rarely ever tired enough to sleep through a flick I paid for. I am far to stingy with my paper to waste it on movies I don't actually watch. I watched 95% of Spectre, and it was the most boring Bond I have ever seen next to In Her Majesty's Secret Service (Remember that one? Stop lying, you don't. Nobody does. It was a$$.)<br />
<br />
VITALS<br />
<br />
<a href="http://i2.cdnds.net/15/36/618x618/movies-spectre-bond-suit-tom-ford-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="irc_mi" src="http://i2.cdnds.net/15/36/618x618/movies-spectre-bond-suit-tom-ford-03.jpg" height="320" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="320" /></a>Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition) - Director<br />
John Logan (Sweeney Todd, Gladiator) & Neil Purvis (The World is Not Enough, Johnny English) - Writers<br />
Daniel Craig (Munich, Casino Royale) - Bond, James Bond... kinda<br />
Cristoph Waltz (Django Unchained, Muppets Most Wanted) - Ernst Stavro Blofeld<br />
Ralph Fiennes (Schindler's List, Grand Budapest Hotel) - Q<br />
Lea Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Color, Fairwell, My Queen) - Madeleine Swann<br />
Monica Bellucci (Shoot'em Up, Melena) - Lucia Sciarra<br />
Naomie Harris (Miami Vice, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom) - Eve Moneypenny<br />
Ben Whishaw (Layer Cake, Cloud Atlas) - Q<br />
<a href="data:image/jpeg;base64,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" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>Andrew Scott (TV's The Hour and Sherlock) - C<br />
Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy, Riddick) - Mr. Hinx<br />
<br />
IF YOU MUCH KNOW [SPOILER ALERT... STOP READING NOW IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE SPOILERS]<br />
<br />
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<a href="data:image/jpeg;base64,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" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>Bond has girl and disses her for a mission. Almost gets killed, but escapes in a very Bond like way. Gets a full grown woman (Monica Bellucci) <i>after </i>claiming responsibility for killing her hubby; but only needs her for information, so it's a smash and run job... again. Then, he finds himself involved with the barely legal daughter of a target who has yet another piece of information for him... all the while he is running into or being hunted by the mysterious cabal of villains known only as as "Spectre" which turns out to be run by Ernst Gustavo Blofeld (Waltz). Blofeld, for all his criminal mind mastery, puts Bond in a painful yet EASILY escapable situation and, shockingly, Bond escapes. Additional chasing ensues (literally and figuratively), before Blofeld and Bond meet again - eventually one must kill the other permanently.<br />
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What perplexes me is that Bond is not Bond midway through this movie. He regressed to his Vesper-loving days of when we were first supposed to be learning how Bond became the misogynistic prick that we have all known and loved for decades. Instead, he gets a little whiff of that young "strange" and he changes into a lovestruck ordinary Joe. I don't watch Bond movies to see him fall for some dame. I watch to see his brackishness, callousness, machismo, a$$kicking and impossible stunts, and love of fine things (women, cars, winning, etc.). Instead I got a Spectre of the Bond I knew and loved (see how I did that there? I make this look easy... enough). Dude, you're an assassin with a license to kill. Assassinate already.<br />
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As for Blofeld, he had flashes of awesome villainy, but then there was the whole tell my enemy everything and let him escape thing that usually wouldn't have troubled me if I didn't think the movie was so boring. Even if the villain had a white damned cat.<br />
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<br />Not enough Casino Royale action for me (or ever Quantum), and too heavy on Craig showing his actor-y nuance made this one of my least favorite Bonds in Craig's filmography. Then again, what do you expect when your theme song is sung by the n'er happy Sam "Depress Me" Smith. Great voice, but if you're down and happen to have a bottle of scotch, you might want to leave that Sam Smith playlist right next to your tickets for Spectre... on the shelf until a much happier time surfaces. In fairness, this is a more chick-friendly Bond movie, but IMTHATDUDE and the same way I refuse to get a filet mignon at a pancake house, or go to a business meeting with a suit and my Sean John sneaks, I refuse to let a watered-down, sensitive James Bond retain its vaunted position on my list of all things dope. <br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">IMTHATDUDE gives Spectre: 2.5 (Benefit of the Bond)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">RATING SYSTEM:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.</span>IMTHATDUDEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01695523648854928934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5472869014482667644.post-76443640166497506662015-09-21T01:13:00.000-04:002016-04-30T21:38:50.069-04:00Sicario<a href="http://amazingwallpapers.net/walls/sicario-movie-poster-wide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://amazingwallpapers.net/walls/sicario-movie-poster-wide.jpg" height="250" width="400" /></a>Sicario apparently means "dagger-man" (according to the movie and wikipedia - it comes from the latin, but then shares a history with Hebrew and Spanish words meaning substantially the same thing - dagger man or assassin); which makes this a serious movie and not to be confused with the tequila brand with the raunchy (but greatly appreciated) ad campaign. <br />
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Although, I would not have had a problem with a little of this in the film, it's probably a good thing that it was not connected... <i>just sayin'.</i><br />
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<a href="http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/sicariotequila/images/6/6b/Af-163.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110805155942" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/sicariotequila/images/6/6b/Af-163.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110805155942" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
By now, you know that I love spy movies, action movies, and thought-provoking movies, but when you successfully combine all of those together with great casting and strong writing... IMTHATDUDE that heads to theatres no where near me to catch the film the first weekend when they are in limited release. (Thank, God it was playing at a theater that doesn't have bed bugs. That, would have been a problem.) While most people I spoke to on my way to the theatre had no idea what movie I was referring to when I mentioned it, they all became interested when they found out that Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, and the great Benicio Del Toro were starring in the film.<br />
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VITALS<br />
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Denis Villenueve (Maelstrom. Prisoners) - Director<br />
Taylor Sheridan (a feature writing noob) - Writer<br />
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<a href="http://www.writerswrite.com/watcherswatch/2015pics/emily-blunt-sicario.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.writerswrite.com/watcherswatch/2015pics/emily-blunt-sicario.jpg" height="217" width="320" /></a>Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow, Into the Woods) - Agent Kate Macer<br />
Benicio Del Toro (Usual Suspects, Escobar: Paradise Lost) - Alejandro<br />
Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men, Oldboy) - Matt<br />
Maxamiliano Hernandez (The Namesake, Thor) - Silvio<br />
Daniel Kaluuya (Kick Ass 2, Johnny English Reborn) - Reggie<br />
Victor Garber (Argo, Self/less) - Jennings<br />
Jeffrey Donovan (Hitch, J. Edgar) - Steve Forsing<br />
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Other noteworthy performances include: Raul Trujillo (from Apocalypto and Riddick), John Bernthal - my ninja, Shane from The Walking Dead. RIP Shane, but hell of a way to exit a show!<br />
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IF YOU MUST KNOW<br />
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<a href="http://cdn.moviestillsdb.com/sm/cfb3ee2f5fffe518081613b9e181d304/sicario.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.moviestillsdb.com/sm/cfb3ee2f5fffe518081613b9e181d304/sicario.jpg" height="210" width="400" /></a>Kate Macer (Blunt) and her partner, Reggie (Kaluuya) are vigilantly fighting the good fight against kidnapping associated with the never-ending drug war and the brutal violence proliferated by the drug cartels and visited upon the cities along the U.S. - Mexico border. After a particularly gruesome discovery and deadly incident, Macer is recruited to "volunteer" for a chance to strike at the heart of the cartels responsible for the mass murder and increasing bloodshed in her Arizona jurisdiction. She enlists and works with the oddball Matt (Brolin) - <i>is he FBI, Homeland Security, DEA, CIA...? </i>What matters most is that this team along with the ultra-mysterious Alejandro (Del Toro) are poised to disrupt the flow of drug traffic into the U.S. and deliver a major blow to the asinine war on drugs waged by a country who basically finances a controlling interest in all "illegal" drug operations.<br />
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Why is this movie dope (no weak pun intended), one might ask - in a word Benicio <span style="text-align: center;">Del Toro is one of the very few big named actors who can successfully accomplish going from playing Fenster (in the Usual Suspects) to the Collector (in Guardians of the Galaxy) to Pablo Escobar (in Escobar) and then to Alejandro in Sicario and you don't think about how it is all the same guy while you're watching it. He's the anti-Will Smith. He's a legit actor with chops that make you respect and see the character rather than the actor and that says a lot to persnickety folk like me. Blunt's American accent was nearly flawless; Kaluuya's was very good too (call him the anti-Cheadle; see Oceans 11-13). Then, there's the writing! To say it was taut would deprive you of sufficient description. Taylor Sheridan works seamlessly with the director, Denis Villenueve to make a film that doesn't waste a moment on useless or throwaway dialogue. What could be spoken is said instead with furtive looks, shooting angles, and pregnant pauses.</span><br />
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Sicario is one of the best movies I've seen in the last few years. It ain't perfect, but it is very, very good. Great kid friendly film - aside from the mutilated bodies, domestic abuse, and language. When it hits theaters in wide release, you should go see it.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">IMTHATDUDE gives Sicario: 5</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">RATING SYSTEM:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.</span></div>
IMTHATDUDEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01695523648854928934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5472869014482667644.post-14030469826211354182015-09-07T02:36:00.002-04:002015-09-12T18:09:09.046-04:00Straight Outta Compton<br />
<a href="http://www.joblo.com/newsimages1/straight-outta-compton_movie-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="http://www.joblo.com/newsimages1/straight-outta-compton_movie-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.joblo.com/newsimages1/straight-outta-compton_movie-poster.jpg" height="227" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a>As always, I'll be honest. I didn't think this would be much of a movie, so I put the trip to the theatre on pause. Sure, there'd be some nice breastage, lots of profanity, and a the possibility of a cinematic circle jerk between the surviving members of NWA bordered the line of more probable than not; while it was pretty much everything I figured it might be, it still managed to be a legit film. I put the credit on F. Gary Gray, SOC's director. <br />
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I admit that aside from F$#@ the Police, I never listened to NWA because I wasn't feeling the shootem up jheri-curl thing. (NOTE: No offense, but Pop dukes was a firm believer that real men do not have "hair-dos" and they certainly don't use "activator" in it if they did.)<br />
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VITALS<br />
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Whoever did this graphic, did my job for me - but <i><u>poorly...</u></i> As usual one of the most critical components to any movie-making process was excluded from the above graphic. THE WRITERS!!! My favorite part of any decent film is the writing. So, the forgotten vitals are -<br />
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F Gay Gray (Friday, Law Abiding Citizen, Italian Job) - Director<br />
Jonathan Herman (well, from what I can tell, he's a rookie, so...) & Andrea Berloff (World Trade Center) - Writers<br />
**<i>Okay, fine. </i>I see why they didn't mention the writers filmography, but still... they're important.<br />
Also not included in the graphic are Paul Giamatti as Jerry Heller (pretty pivotal figure in the whole NWA saga), Lisa Renee Pitts as Verna/ Dre's Mom Dukes, and Marlon Yates, Jr. as D.O.C.<br />
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IF YOU MUST KNOW<br />
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Dre (Hawkins) was a a DJ with a love for hip-hop, but a passion for the intricate details musical details that make songs, Cube (Jackson, Jr) was high-schooler and wannabe rapper hopping the school bus back and forth from the hood, and Eazy-E (Mitchell) was a dope dealer of some sort with gang affiliations and some bread, but they were all from or living in Compton in the 80s. For the youngins reading this (all 10 of ya), the 1980s was a terrible decade: it was the height of two of the greatest plagues in US history - the crack epidemic & the AIDs epidemic, both of which feature in the makings of the groundbreaking group N.W.A. (If my name was Quentin Tarantino, I'd say the full name 150 times in this review for the sake of "reality" and call it art, but I'm not, so I wont.) Also, prominently-featured in this film are also other images that I remember vividly from my own youth - police brutality, racial and social inequalities manifesting in judicial injustices (oh wait, that could easily be snatched from the recent news headlines).<br />
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Here's the story... Dre, Eazy, Cube, along with MC Ren and DJ Yella combine forces and funds to create NWA. They are the West Coast's version of irreverence hip-hop (a less activist, more gutter version of PE, some might say... hell, I DO say) and they end up fighting battles against everyone from themselves, to their management, to the Po'lice and even the federal government. While it should have been hard for any brown person in this country who had a microphone and a voice to not have spoken up in the midst of the Rodney King incident, Eleanor Bumpurs, Yusef Hawkins (the list goes on...), not every rapper, writer, movie star, or singer had the intestinal fortitude to so speak. If for no other reason than, FTP - I give Ice Cube (the primary writer for most of the music I know from them) and NWA a ton of credit for vocalizing that frustration felt by so many. (NOTE 2: I have several friends and family in law enforcement, I love them... I hate badge wielding, gun-toting, chumps with a god-complex who justify their violence by pointing at their shield. See... talking all this NWA and Public Enemy stuff got me tapping into my Huey Newton/Freeman side.) <br />
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Back to the flick - it was surprisingly well cast. Cube's real life son played Cube to near perfection, but one would assume that's an easy task. The Dre character, I couldn't speak much on aside from the fact that the character establishing scene in the beginning of the film made me feel like that is what Dre's process MUST look like - listen to all kinds of music, surrounded in a sea of rich tones, and air-tickling the keys as you let the soul of the sound wash over you. <i>I knew I wasn't the only one to do that. (NOTE 3: I prefer a DJ who carries wax LPs to one who mixes MP3s - if I had to choose; just like I prefer paper books to e-books.) </i>Aldis Hodge did a pretty convincing Ren, from what I know about him. But the movie really centered on the degradation of the relationship between Eazy and the rest of NWA and the cause for the splintering of the group. It only sniffs at the introduction of Tupac, Snoop D O double- G, and the affiliation, then swift dissociation with Suge Knight. Not essential to the story being told, but some fun stuff that could be a movie of its own. <br />
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As Jerry Heller, Giamatti is an appreciably pathetic semi-villain in the best way possible (unfortunately, his voice kills me), Mitchell puts in a performance that makes you reconsider what you thought you knew about the man, and still... when it is all said and done, I still will not buy an album or the soundtrack to the music that is essentially the precursor to all that I hate about today's i'gnant hip-hop (I'm looking at you, Fetty Wap, Bobby Shmurda, and all your cohorts). No, you don't really learn anything from this movie. Yes, I was right about what I thought would be in this movie (breastage, prolific profanity, and circle-jerk included - can't help but notice the absence of Doc Dre's allegations of domestic abuse). No, the writing was nothing to... well, write home about... <i>hmmm, I can do better than that, but not tonight. </i>And, yes, it was still a good movie. I might even watch it again - not pay for it, but if it comes on HBO... I'll give it a look. It's kicking butt in the theatre, so that's awesome. It's not better than DOPE, but it wasn't too shabby at all.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">IMTHATDUDE gives Straight Outta Compton: 4</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">RATING SYSTEM:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.</span>IMTHATDUDEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01695523648854928934noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5472869014482667644.post-65680908536432853782015-08-10T23:06:00.003-04:002015-08-10T23:12:41.905-04:00Fantastic? Four<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Soooooo... on advice of a friend or six... if you don't have anything nice to say, Dude, go ahead and get it out of the way because you will damn sure say it anyway. <br />
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This movie sucked. The only thing worse in years... Jupiter Ascending. The producers must've been Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom. I dare you to like this crap. <br />
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To those who paid for a seat: You LOSE! I say GOOD DAY!<br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">IMTHATDUDE gives Fantastic Four: 1 (more specifically, the one between the pointer and the ring fingers)</span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">RATING SYSTEM:</span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.</span><br />
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IMTHATDUDEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01695523648854928934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5472869014482667644.post-42641360678878094112015-08-01T18:22:00.000-04:002015-08-06T11:09:52.155-04:00Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickeringmyth.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/mission-impossible-rogue-nation-banner.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="http://www.flickeringmyth.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/mission-impossible-rogue-nation-banner.png" height="200" style="-webkit-user-select: none; cursor: move;" width="400" /></span></a>Not a huge Tom Cruise fan - his supreme weirdness trumps his commitment to verisimilitude in action scenes, but I will admit that these last two Mission Impossible flicks (Ghost Protocol & Rogue Nation) go a long way towards me dismissing the Oprah moments or the various rumors that his control freakishness is of diabolical proportions... <i>it goes a long way, but we are light years apart, so it's going to take an awful lot more than travelling a long way for me to actually dismiss the strangeness that is TC</i><i>.</i></div>
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Goofy couch jumping psychopathy aside, Rogue Nation and Ghost Protocol shared the common elements that make a good action movie that I have shared with you all before - excellent special effects and a good villain. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">VITALS</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">*Christopher McQuarrie (The Way of the Gun, Jack Reacher) - Writer/Director</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Tom Cruise (Edge of Tomorrow, Minority Report) - Ethan Hunt</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Jeremy Renner (American Hustle, Avengers) - William Brandt</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Alec Baldwin (TV's 30 Rock, The Departed) - Alan Hunley</span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhX6tc7amZKtoqnqINMLxoOaYe0Hn2gH5CqZhpSoh7lguXnJJxtGQ7HzhhZPp-CWrZXT_UqpA7vb178wef7lq7bp0kT7YPH3pPCW0cRJpdbaM_UKRqb92Hkda1GDAuQW1ryz6G7B8IENEu4DyjROp445ZlJaQF4FVfkx1a2F_mPJFZpR5Pn_ZYbjDZLs5fLphQp=" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://vz.ua/uploads/news/2015/06/05/9585fcc7ac957ec8d88dcab40b9e0310c3dc528b.jpg" height="225" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Sean Harris (TV's The Borgias, Prometheus) - Solomon Lane</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Rebecca Ferguson (TV's The White Queen, Hercules - the one with the Rock, not that other dude) - Ilsa Faust</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Ving Rhames (Baby Boy, Pulp Fiction) - Luther Stickell</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, At World's End) - Benji Dunn</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><b><i>*MCQuarrie also wrote the screenplay for one of the greatest movies ever - The Usual Suspects</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">IF YOU MUST KNOW:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">The </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Impossible Missions Force</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"> (</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">IMF) is embattled on all fronts... I know, SHOCKER (like a pointer, middle and pinky finger - you can look that one up). Once again, Ethan Hunt's (Cruise) team is being faced with a situation that gives rise to the acronym from whence the series draws its name. This time, Hunt has been on the trail of the Syndicate, a cabal so secret the global intelligence community denies its existence. (Aside #1: Anyone else notice that the bad guys organizations in these movies and TV shows centered around espionage and shadowy governments have certain similarities: example, James Bond it's called <b><i>Spectre;</i> </b>Nikita/La Femme Nikita it was <b><i>Section, </i></b>for Alias the bad guys were <b><i>SD-6</i></b> - and, even yours truly, in his as yet unproduced good faith attempt at writing a screenplay, called the villains the <b><i>Seraphim</i></b>... YIKES! All I can say is my screenplay even had a twist with the terrorist group's name... that's how yoga-bendy my script was & reason #41 why nobody bought it.) <span style="color: #134f5c;"><b>***If you think of any other movies or TV shows where they call the bad guys or a secret cabal of some sort is called by a name that starts with an "S" or even an S-sound, hit me up. I know there are more, but these are the ones I though about while I was in the theater yesterday.**</b>*</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">What's new or fresh about this film... well, almost nothing. The plot is virtually identical to every Mission Impossible movie since the first one. If you haven't seen them, then this one will be fresh, but if you have seen ANY of them, then the formula will be wholly recognizable. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><b><i>Rogue Nation = [Ethan Hunt + his IMF team (in the last few movies that's been Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, and la femme du jour <u>minus</u> my bad Francais)] + the IMF is on the verge of being shut down for one reason or another + Hunt enlists the help of his associates + there's a heist of some sort from an impenetrable location + Hunt almost dies doing the impossible (as someone said in one of the earlier films "this isn't mission difficult, it's mission impossible") = most of the team lives to save the world another day, not including the franchise opener, in which his team got mercked, which really was a plus for the film.</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Sound familiar? That was the formula and plot from Mission Im</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">possible #2, #3, and #4 - if you want the one for #5 - see the above formula and add a couple years Cruise. Yes, some of those movies were not solid. Ghost Protocol was fun; so was the one with Maggie Q (was it 3?) - you know the one when she popped out of that banana whip in that red dress looking like she was constructed of nothing but legs and a neck...? I refuse to google it, because I love how it lives in my memory more than the actual plot of that particular installment.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgOjbMZUWiQIJ6VrxQFNIAZQfSX_LNDIreX1z68LYaLrfO7S2nSv4ht1aBwVpO-B4GQx3vIdR_5TNN4l3exQqMTyFJ2qbgoKCdda2lDV8DOJzHAi64_7dhkr9n9a29LBGncicEUqHS9v0ZgW-MzeGE54UhrVfC6-S4C7ERnTJQzaedoxPq2lbaGjzxYYyGM_wZYXUgbpg=" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images.entertainment.ie/images_content/rectangle/620x350/misionimrog620350.jpg" height="225" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" width="400" /></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Anyway, overall, Rogue Nation held no surprises. Even the twists were expected, the saving grace was Cruise's commitment to making us believe he could do the action stuff that he did in this film - that's largely because Tom Cruise is playing out what can only be described as a very public death wish/cry for help by doing so many of these stunts himself. It will not be until there is a "tragic" accident onset that people stop patting cheering him for doing things best left to professionals. Don't get me wrong, it looks cool when you don't see the usual camera tricks that cut away from stuntmen to make us believe the actor is really hanging onto the side of a plane, but damn. Jackie Chan - professional, but even he turned it down as he got older. Word to the unwise: Tom, fall back before the obit ends with #LUNACYdefined That said, what's good about this film is... you guessed it, the ACTION sequences. The car to motorcycle chase, the fight scenes when they alternate from direct shots to silhouettes doing hand to hand-to-hand combat behind a sheet.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><b><i>But Faust </i></b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><b><span style="color: #0c343d;"><i>(Ferguson) is the best thing about this movie.</i></span></b> Aside: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">I grew up around strong women who used to kick the a$$ess of big dudes around the way and at school on my behalf when I was a wee lad, so watching Ferguson get busy, stand toe-to-toe with the toughest SOBs in the movie and show that she's not just a pretty face, really made this remake of MI's 2-4 not just tolerable, but legitimately watchable. I wouldn't be surprised if she gets one of those rare female reappearances in the next film; better yet, she should start booking some action leads in her own flicks. Also, I'll give honorable mention to both Jeremy Renner and Alec Baldwin for bringing in the comic relief that helped to move this movie along in an enjoyable way. Wait for Baldwin's speech about Ethan Hunt, the seriousness makes you laugh. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">IMTHATDUDE gives MI-Rogue Nation: 3</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">RATING SYSTEM:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.</span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhGg6C2E8RiGQHUXq6rniRNKTeoeTHKxUdwYdTOgoMkHZHl2C79eSOEGtjrUVGDiU5NooUgYpESHNFwJQDvA19wxWg-ZujxoXyznCzpXtXlIvDZmPSg2ZRw85qtOAC5sbR2jDyxPhK59gS/s1600/Minions-Film.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhGg6C2E8RiGQHUXq6rniRNKTeoeTHKxUdwYdTOgoMkHZHl2C79eSOEGtjrUVGDiU5NooUgYpESHNFwJQDvA19wxWg-ZujxoXyznCzpXtXlIvDZmPSg2ZRw85qtOAC5sbR2jDyxPhK59gS/s320/Minions-Film.jpg" width="320" /></a>In "No Exit", Jean-Paul Sartre's seminal work on the ontological paradox of ascribing to another's </div>
world view in a meaningless universe of indifference, he writes: "Anything, anything would be better than this agony of mind, this [Minions Movie] that gnaws and fumbles ... and never hurts quite enough." I might be paraphrasing, but Sartre's inability to reconcile a world that would produce The Minions Movie with a true and living God seems on the face of it, a bit harsh. <br />
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Surely The Minions Movie is despicable (see what I did there?) or at the very least indifferent to anything resembling humanity or human interaction, but that doesn't seem to me to be completely incompatible with a benevolent and ever loving creator. Scripture might say that the Lord of Hosts seeks only love and compassion for his creation and thus he wouldn't subject his children to 104 minutes of mind numbing tedium, tiresome machinations and a glaring lack of whimsy. But remember that The Minions Movie is not a creation of "I AM WHO I AM". It is a creation of man. Man. With all his flaws and shortcomings. Man. With all his guilelessness and clumsy plot choices. Man. And a studio destined to squeeze every last dime from a charming if ultimately limited diversion.</div>
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Jehovah imbued in his most precious fruit free will. And though that will may sometimes be used for wicked or at least terribly boring means, surely those means are not proof of a cold unforgiving universe unconcerned with mankind and his many struggles with mediocrity, banality and insipidity. I cannot consign humanity to that fate simply because The Minions Movie exists. Music will still be played. Poetry will still be written. Pyramids will still be built. Sartre be damned.</div>
urbanrhetorichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428762264141674847noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5472869014482667644.post-20457235579529605152015-06-21T14:11:00.001-04:002016-04-23T21:52:38.409-04:00DOPE<br />
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<a href="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/2532492/images/o-DOPE-facebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/2532492/images/o-DOPE-facebook.jpg" height="200" width="400" /></a>The title says it all... DOPE. I'm not even trying to be cute. This was the best movie I've seen this year.<br />
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VITALS<br />
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Rick Famuyiwa (The Wood, Brown Sugar) - Writer/Director<br />
Shameik Moore (Joyful Noise, and TV's House of Payne - <i>but I will not hold that against him; just like I won't blame him for his parents misspelling that awesome name - ShaMIK, people; not -M E E K, not -M E I K, and damn sure not -M I Q U E</i>) - Malcolm<br />
Kiersey Clemons (TV's Extant and Eye Candy) - Diggy<br />
Tony Revolori (The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Perfect Game) - Jib<br />
Rakim "A$AP Rocky" Mayers (see, pretty much any ign'ant hip hop record) - Dom<br />
Roger Guenvuer Smith (Do the Right Thing, American Gangster) - Austin Jacoby<br />
Zoe Kravitz (Insurgent, Mad Max: Fury Road) - Nakia<br />
Blake Anderson (Workaholics) - Will<br />
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Honorable Mention goes to Allen Maldanodo as the bouncer and to model turned actress, Chanel Iman as Lily. Ah yes, Lily.<br />
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Interestingly, Forest Whittaker produced this film along with the likes of Diddy and Skateboard P; which begs the question, how did Jay-Z miss out on this?<br />
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IF YOU MUST KNOW:<br />
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This is the story of a kid straight out of Inglewood, Cali, who simply doesn't fit in. He's a geek; not to be confused with a nerd (although he is) - see, a geek also has certain idiosyncracies that make him more of an outcast than other nerds. Por ejemplo, Malcolm and his friends have a punk rock-type band, but they are also 90s-era hip-hop aficionados - obsessed with the music and gear to the point of wearing bad flattops and what appears to be some version of Cross-Colours. Remember Cross Colours? For kids born in the 90s to say that that was the "golden age" of hip hop smells like the west coast version of a Williamsburg/Fort Greene HIPSTER. <br />
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Malcolm (Moore), Jib (Revolori) and Dig (Clemons) are oddballs who have to manage their way around a school full of jocks, hoodlums,<br />
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Of course, the plot is ridiculous, but it isn't entirely beyond the suspension of disbelief. Malcolm, in the midst of trying to finish his application for Harvard University, gets unintentionally pulled into the dope-dealing world by Dom (A$AP Rocky) - leave it to a Harlem cat to drag a brother into an unnecessary sitch. So, Dom makes Malcolm and his two band-mate friends into reluctant MDMA dealers. (For my square readers, MDMA is methylenedioxy-methamphetamin; also known as Ecstasy or Molly.) Well, at least it aint heroine and weed would have weakened the plot to be more in the nature of Friday (I mean the movie, not the other day). The Oreos (that's the name of their band, and not my attempt at using a lame derogatory term for these geeks) get busy dealing Molly in the hopes of saving their own lives as they have to dodge sneaker stealing school bullies, fake thugs, real thugs, drug sniffing dogs, OG's, Molly-popping models, and Harvard grads (the debate is open for who on that list is most dangerous - I'll let you call it).<br />
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So, what was so special about this movie? Aside from the AWESOME soundtrack, it was funny. Not even the cackling, chatty hipsters sitting in my aisle in stereotypical-fashion talking throughout the film could ruin the fact that the dialogue was clever and the situations were surprisingly intriguing. It was a smart film that made some predictable turns and then unpredictably made them subtly realistic. It toyed with your emotions. And, most importantly, it was sufficiently believable. The arguments, the jokes, and the quiet moments these cats shared when they were in danger were legit friend type conversations. On top of all that... I can imagine all three of these lead characters, the Awreeohs (pronounced like the cookies), becoming far more visible in Hollywood after this movie. Even Zoe Kravitz, who really made me flashback to my crush on her mama when she was on A Different World (holla!). You know you're getting old when the daughter(Zoe Kravitz, 26) of a woman (Lisa Bonet, 47) you were crushing on is old enough to be considered kinda hot. Disturbing.<br />
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<a href="https://modaddictiondotnet.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/skullcandy-models-modelos-supermodelos-top-models-modaddiction-fashion-moda-trends-tendencia-campana-campaign-chanel-iman-skullcandy-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://modaddictiondotnet.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/skullcandy-models-modelos-supermodelos-top-models-modaddiction-fashion-moda-trends-tendencia-campana-campaign-chanel-iman-skullcandy-1.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Anyway, the movie was so good that I didn't bother taking points from any of the usual areas, like rappers trying to act, which is usually as bad as models - no matter how hip-hop cute - trying to act (Chanel Iman) or contrived characters - and there were a few. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was even better than Dear White People and Top Five (both of which were understated, but very good movies).<br />
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Hurry up and see this movie before the next round of summer garbage (like Jurassic Park or Mad Max) pushes it out of the theater.<br />
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IMTHATDUDE gives Dope: 5<br />
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RATING SYSTEM:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.</span>IMTHATDUDEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01695523648854928934noreply@blogger.com1