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5 Must See Movies Of 2015

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5. Mad Max Fury Road

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Well crafted visual anarchy is what I would call Mad Max Fury Road.  It must have seemed impossible to move ahead without Mel Gibson, the man who helped build the franchise, but Tom Hardy did a great job making the role his own while sharing the screen with a fierce and beautiful  Charlize Theron. Less a sequel and more a reboot of the action classic.

4. Straight Outta Compton

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An album released during a memorable event can become the soundtrack for that moment in time, but this one helped shape modern day society. The NWA era is captured perfectly in so many details and that’s why this is a must see. Some spot on performances from new black talent on the screen along with a selection of killer tracks make this one of the best of the year. There’s no denying the cross cultural impact of NWA, raking in the dough and adding a different spin on the word nigga as Americans rapped along, black or white.

3. Steve Jobs

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One of the first computers I learned how to program was an Apple 2E. I don’t dislike Apple just to be picky, I’ve got valid reasons. This movie confirmed what was obvious if you followed the career of Steve Jobs. Based on the book written by Walter Issacson, the man jobs handpicked to write his biography. It looks into three big events in Apple’s history to give you a glimpses of the man in action. This quote from the movie says a lot about the cult devoted to Mr. Jobs and Apple.

“Wozniak: You can’t write code, you’re not an engineer, you’re not a designer, you can’t put a hammer to a nail. I built the circuit board, the graphical interface was stolen from Xerox Parc, Jef Raskin was the leader of the Mac team before you threw him off his own project. Everything — someone else designed the box! So how come 10 times in a day, I read “Steve jobs is a genius.” What do you do?
Jobs: I play the orchestra. And you’re a good musician. You sit right there, you’re the best in your row.”

2. The Revenant

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Leonardo Dicaprio gives an outstanding performance as legendary 1800s frontiersman Hugh Glass. Everything in this film felt extremely authentic and made me cold just watching it. The tale of Hugh Glass reminds of other movies like Last of the Mochicans mixed with Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto. Leo really goes through hell as he seeks revenge on the men who leaves him to die in the wilderness after a vicious grizzly bear attack.The grizzly ripping Leo to shreds is just one of many action sequences that are must see.

1. Sicario

1Sheet_Master.qxdThis film was on my radar early and I was extremely pleased that director Denis Villeneuve could make a intelligent and visually unique experience while exposing the real life daily battle on America’s boarder with Mexico. The star of the movie is not the main character, but actor Benicio del Toro who gives a memorable performance that is truly must see. The way the film looks and is put together makes the familiar situation feel fresh and new. I am a fan of Kung Fu flicks and Asian cinema so I truly love a great revenge flick and this a damn good one.

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Review: Godzilla vs. Kong

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Godzilla vs. Kong reminds me that I was an idiot as a child. I allowed the 4:30 Movie too significant a piece of my brain pie. I existed in a headspace where The Planet of the Apes and Gamera were more science than fiction. I was certain skyscraper-sized monsters lived in the woods a few blocks away, and that ghosts were under my bed. Somewhere in possibility-land, a black and white Lon Chaney slowly becomes a werewolf in a handful of dissolving frames.

Cut to my final form, and I can’t help but think these movies are just a total waste of time and resources. Sure, the effects can be impressive but often they have as much weight as a video game. Buildings smash into dust, an actor says a line against a green screen, then Kong sits on a throne like a stereotypical king. Ah doi!

Sure, the hollow Earth with upside-down mountains in the sky is cool – but where’s that sun coming from? The MechaGodzilla fight has some great effects, but you can watch those on Youtube without having to sit through a bunch of lines like “Kong bows to no one.”

Maybe I just can’t enjoy normal human things anymore.

 

Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) 113min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller | 31 March 2021 (USA) Summary: The epic next chapter in the cinematic Monsterverse pits two of the greatest icons in motion picture history against one another - the fearsome Godzilla and the mighty Kong - with humanity caught in the balance.
Countries: USA, Australia, Canada, IndiaLanguages: English, American Sign Language

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Now that Captain America is Black…

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Now that Captain America is Black

  1. Bucky Barnes will change his name to Summer Soldier Buckquan because “Nah son! we ain’t doing sh*t in the winter!”
  2. Fearing for their lives, Police officers will fire 751 shots at Cap in the 4th of many incidents to come.
  3. In a new altered timeline, Thanos will win due to Cap being detained by a routine traffic stop. “How can you afford Vibraniun on a government salary? Please step out of the vehicle sir.”
  4. Captain America will form a Rap group with Black Panther called “Black-America.” The group will not be received well but will eventually have all their intellectual property stolen for decades to come without any due repar… I mean royalties. #MESSAGE
  5. Racists will be utterly confused when they tell Captain America to “Go back to where you came from.” Equally confused, Cap will pack up all his belongings and stay put.
  6. Cap will be accused of stealing Thor’s hammer the next time he picks it up.
  7. Cap’s shield will be replaced with a Vibraniun PlayStation Controller since black men are more comfortable throwing that.
  8. The battle decree will officially be changed from “Avengers Assemble” to “Yerrrrr! It’s on sight!”
  9. After 40 years of service, Cap will travel back in time to 1998 to finally get that last dance with his true love, Laura Winslow. They will Cha Cha Slide to “Before I let Go” as the credits role.
  10. Upon retirement, those jaded with having an Af-Am do such an amazing job will appoint a failed real estate charlatan to take up the mantle. The New Cap will immediately try and grab Scarlet by her “Johansson” and declare himself the best Captain America that ever did it during his inauguration.

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Chadwick Boseman Forever!!

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It is clear that Chadwick Boseman chose iconic roles like Thurgood Marshall, James Brown, Jackie Robinson and Black Panther with deliberate intent and for a specific purpose. In an age where positive roles for Black actors is often sparse, Chadwick managed to land and portray historical figures that made most respect his talents if not revel in his ability to transition effortlessly for one character to another. Even I had to give his African accent a solid B+ (It’s the highest grade the Nigerian Standards Bureau can give for an African accent to a non African FYI.)

Holding out and preparing for these dynamic roles came with both great frustration and incredible resolve I’m certain. Not to mention the taxing ordeal of battling Colon Cancer as the grueling scheduling of filming and increasing responsibility for positive representation loomed. Even under extreme duress, Chadwick’s commitment to others appeared to outweigh his own tribulations, unbeknownst to us all.

Black Panther may have been just a movie to some and that may be because some can easily rattle off 10 movies with a king of non Af-Am origin. It represented a lot more to others. Albeit imagined, imagery on cinema often accomplishes more to augment the social narrative and society itself than actual reality. If negative stereotypes influence perception then positive ones absolutely have the same converse effect.

Even in jest, the cultural misappropriation of raisins in potato salad on SNL skits directly spoke to the tampering of black culture to which T’challa championed, represented and aptly responded “Oh hell Nah Karen!”

If you don’t understand the relevance of representation, it’s probably because you are thoroughly represented. After all, no one is ever grateful for every breath they take until they are gasping for air.

R.I.P Chadwick Boseman. Thank you for breathing life into the possibility of Black excellence.

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