Justice League may have been a steaming pile of failure for Warner Bros., but not everything sucked about it. The film ended on a really high note, with the return of Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor as he takes the initial steps into forming his Injustice League. Surely they wouldn’t ignore that storyline going forward, right?
Speaking with Variety while at SXSW to promote his documentary The World Before Your Feet, Eisenberg revealed that he doesn’t know if he will be back as Luthor, whether it’s in Man of Steel 2 or someplace else…
“I hope so. I mean, I have no idea is the truth. I love playing the character. Probably in terms of movie acting, it’s the most enjoyable character I’ve had the opportunity to play. So I would love to do it again. But I don’t know what their slate is. If you have any pull, please use it.”
I love it when actors as journalists if we can pull any strings to make something happen. No. No we can’t.
It isn’t clear where Luthor could resurface. I’d like to think he’d show up in Aquaman, perhaps to recruit someone like Black Manta to his side. And then again in Wonder Woman 2 in hopes of luring Cheetah to the team. To me this makes perfect logical sense, which means we’ll probably see them do something completely different.
Eisenberg added that his role in Justice League, which we are pretty certain was shot early in Zack Snyder’s time on the project, wasn’t cut at all. “Actually, on the contrary, they added some stuff,”, he said in response to a question about it.
I don’t know what they could’ve added to what is a really brief cameo. Maybe he meant they added scenes to the whole movie, not just his scene?
Sundance is quickly becoming the house that Lakeith Stanfield built. The last few years the Atlanta star has been a ubiquitous presence there, appearing in numerous flicks that feel out of left field for the actor. Come to find out, left field is sorta where he thrives, and this year saw him take the lead role in Sorry to Bother You, the weird directorial debut from The Coup frontman Boots Riley. It would take two hands and both feet to count up the number of odd movies that play at Park City, but this one managed to take the cake, and now you can see part of the reason why in the new trailer.
It means something different to sell out in 2018 then it did to sell out in the ’90s, and that Riley is exploring the difference in the most bizarre way possible. Stanfield stars as Cassius Green, an Oakland native who lands a dead-end gig as a telemarketer, only to strike it big when he learns how to sell using his “white voice”, which sounds a lot like David Cross…because it is David Cross. That’s just the first step in what would be an insane journey into dystopian race relations, culminating with giant horse men with massive exposes penises.
Yeah that’s right.
The cast for this one is great with Tessa Thompson, Danny Glover, Steven Yeun, Omari Hardwick, and Armie Hammer. In my mostly positive review I compared it to another movie about selling out, Livin’ Large, and I have to believe Riley was a fan of that one, too.
There’s so much going on this episode I don’t know if I can fit it all in! I’ll be joined fellow PDCer Roxana Hadadi to talk A WRINKLE IN TIME, Ava DuVernay’s anticipated adaptation of the classic children’s book. Does it live up to the hype? I have a feeling we won’t see eye to eye on this one!
Later, we’ll talk about Disney’s BLACK PANTHER, which has now earned over $1B and is rumored to be getting a Best Picture Oscars campaign! Does it have a chance to win? Or will it be another superhero movie left out in the cold?
Plus, THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT star Bailee Madison joins me to talk about the long awaited horror sequel!
With the creation of the Marvel Netflix Universe (called the “Defenders Universe”), Marvel had the chance to not only showcase even more and newer heroes, this allowed them to showcase a different side of superheroes, somewhat darker. This not only does that give us the PG-16 version of some Marvel characters, it also allowed some darker issues (many relevant today) to explore in a universe that is known for the “family friendly” Disney-owned world. Daredevil showcases not only how the character deals with his disability as well as his Catholic faith goes with (and against) his vigilante activities. Luke Cage dealt with a bullet-proof superhero in a Black Lives Matter world complete with police brutality, Black-On-Black crime, and an excessive use of the N-word (something one wouldn’t think of in the Marvel Universe). Iron Fist showcased a billionaire and brought us to the world where “corporations are people” and boardrooms help finance the drug trade, as well as Danny Rand’s incessant privilege as a rich white man who can’t see beyond his billions, now forced to look at the rest of the world.
But Jessica Jones flipped the script in such a powerful way. Jessica (played by Krysten Ritter) was a hard-drinking, badass superpowered private eye, who is dealing with a strong case of PTSD. After breaking free of a supervillain named Killgrave, whose powers of suggestion forced her against her will to be his personal superpowered Barbie, she for forced against her will both sexually and emotionally, Jessica was a mess. However, she continued on to try and live her life. In addition to being able to break anything with her bare hands, she’s one hell of a private eye. Through her Alias Investigations, she helped her clients, from those who needed to find a missing loved one, to spouses who needed to catch their cheating partners. However, when Killgrave returns to terrorize the city, she decides she has to stop him to ensure he doesn’t do to any other woman what he did to her. Not only did the first season of Jessica Jones give us one of the Marvel Universe’s most dynamic and outright evil villains in Killgrave, it also introduced us to Luke Cage, who went on to have his own series (which pretty much “broke” Netflix when it was released). Comic fans knew that Jessica and Luke end up as one of Marvel’s power couples, so it was good for Jessica Jones to lay the groundwork for their eventual coupling. With Jessica defeating Killgrave by the end of the first season, all seemed well, right?
Breaking the Netflix tradition of a Friday release for new shows, Jessica Jones instead was released this past Thursday coinciding with International Women’s Day (well played Netflix, well played), Jessica is continuing her life as a private eye. However, after helping save the city in The Defenders along with her fellow superhero vigilantes, she’s somewhat of a local celebrity. Jessica, ever the introvert, really doesn’t want the limelight, she just wants to solve cases and pay her bar tab. While she seems OK, she still wonders about her own origin story. As far as Jessica knows, she was in a car accident that killed the rest of her family, yet somehow, she survived and emerged with powers. All she knows is that there is a company called IGH (briefly mentioned in the first season) is responsible for her predicament. Her adoptive sister Trish, wanting to graduate from teen celebrity to local talk show host on to a serious investigative journalist (and also help Jessica uncover her past), starts investigating the company, which sets in motion a chain of events that leaves bodies all over the city. Jessica is first approached by a super-powered individual named “Whizzer” who believes that someone is trying to kill him. After his untimely demise, Jessica takes the case serious and starts to investigate IGH and what secrets they have.
Jessica’s investigations continues the noir tradition from the first season, as she shows methodically shows how Jessica can investigate and get from point a to point be in trying to solve her cases. Everything from her using her superpowered skills, to just plain old “phishing” to get into places that would normally require a badge or a law degree to learn more about her case. Her investigation into the company proves to be almost as traumatic as Killgrave’s mind controlling ordeal. She is forced to relive the accident that killed the rest of her family forced her to have survivor’s guilt. Meanwhile, it’s not IGH that Jessica has to deal with, the company, mainly it’s the main doctor Dr. Karl Malus’ (Callum Keith Rennie) genetic creation dubbed “The Killer”, who is going around dropping bodies left and right. The Killer is also hyper-powered, even more than Jessica Jones which proves to be a physical and emotional problem for Jessica.
All of the main players from season one return as well. Jessica’s adoptive sister Trish (Rachael Taylor) plays a larger role and she pretty much kick-starts the events of this season. Still stuck in the celebrity shadow of playing “Patsy” and despite being the talk show radio host of “Trish Talk,” she wants to be taken more seriously and does some investigation into IGH on her own. Accompanying her as well as Jessica’s assistant/punching bag Malcolm (Eka Darville), who is given much more to do this season. Malcolm spent most of season one as a heroin addict thanks to Kilgrave’s mental manipulations. This season though, he’s clean and wanting to make a difference, so he’s working at Alias Investigations as Jessica’s assistant/associate. He also works with Trish on her investigations as well. He identifies with Trish because both of them are addicts: his vice was heroin, and Trish as a teen star had a cocaine problem we see via flashbacks, as well as a new addiction this season which has disastrous/beneficial results for her. Also returning is cutthroat attorney Jeri Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss). This season, despite her and Jessica ending on semi-bad terms, need each other as Jerri learns she has a disability that threatens her lifestyle and Jessica needs her help with the IGH investigation. Carrie-Anne Moss showcases her vulnerability as well as her ice-cold nerves of steel throughout the season. New to the season in Jessica’s apartment super Oscar (J. R. Ramirez) who starts off hating her because she’s “powered,” but the two become intertwined and start to fall for each other. That shipping for Jessica and Luke to go out for “coffee” will have to wait a little while.
This being a Marvel TV show, it’s loaded with Easter Eggs connecting to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole. While Marvel Studios and Marvel TV have been operating separately for quite some time, that doesn’t mean there are some interesting callbacks to both the comics as well as the MCU at large. Whizzer, the fear-based speedster is a reference to one of Marvel’s Flash ripoffs from the 1940s. Jerri continues to name drop that Rand Industries is her biggest client. We even get a cameo from Daredevil’s Foggy, who still works for Jerri. Oscar’s son references his Captain America toy losing his shield and makes a new one for him, referencing what happened in Captain America: Civil War. Of course, we get our Stan Lee picture cameo as well. The biggest MCU reference is to “The Raft.” In Captain America: Civil War we are introduced to a superpowered prison that members of #teamcap end up at called The Raft. This season, The Raft is mentioned multiple times as a place where criminals with powers end up if convicted of crimes.
While the second season was a worthy successor to the stellar first season, lacking a primary antagonist was noticed. Last season we had Killgrave, who was charismatic and terrifying at the same time. This season operated like a season of 24 or the first season of Luke Cage where we had one villain half the time, and then a new villain halfway through. When The Killer is revealed, the show makes a C-change that may alienate some fans, the same way the first season of Luke Cage did after the death of Cottonmouth and the ascendance of Black Mariah. Not spoiling who The Killer is, but it has emotional repercussions for Jessica. While we thought that Will Simpson, AKA “Nuke” would return to be the show’s primary villain after his role in season one, his return is short this season, but does work for the overall plot. Fear, not Killgrave fans, David Tennant returns for a few episodes, despite being killed at the end of season one as a figment of Jessica’s imagination and Tennant chews as much scenery as he possibly can.
The second season of Jessica Jones has the same level of magic as the first season, thanks in part to Krysten Ritter giving her all for the role. While comic book show/movies don’t garner many awards, don’t be surprised if she at least gets an Emmy nomination as she goes through the motions and brings her A-game to the role acting wise. Showrunner Melissa Rosenberg and her all-female writers and directors shows that representation matters in delivering a product as the voices behind each episode consistently shined thanks to the production crews skills as perspectives. Marvel once again proves that their TV can compete with their big screen counterparts just as well.
1. Black Panther– $41.1M/$562M Black Panther just doesn’t going to stop. The film has not only crossed the $1B mark, but its $562M domestic total makes it the highest-grossing solo superhero movie ever, surpassing The Dark Knight. And at this rate it’s only a matter of time before it crosses $623M and bests The Avengers for #1 overall for the genre. Damn. I went to see it for a third time on Friday night and the place was packed for what must have been a sell out. For the record, this is Marvel’s fifth movie to cross $1B, and Ryan Coogler becomes the second African-American director to have a movie hit that landmark. The other was F. Gary Gray with The Fate of the Furious.
2. A Wrinkle In Time (review)- $33M
I hate to say I called it, but yeah, I called this one. Ava DuVernay’s big budget adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time fizzled with just $33M This one had a lot going against it for anyone who bothered to pay attention. First of all, it was following in the wake of Black Panther and meteoric expectations. Too many out there figured because it was DuVernay and that she cast a black actress, Storm Reid, in the lead role that we would see some audience carry over, but nah. Black Panther is a special case, I keep trying to tell people. The film opened way too closely to Disney’s Marvel counterpart, as well, and I think we’re going to see that become a bigger problem for them as time goes by. Couple it with a surprising lack of buzz followed by mediocre reviews and you’ve got the makings of a flop, or damn close to one. DuVernay was given a hefty $103M budget to work with, and Disney may be able to leg this one out to break even. I’m curious to see the Hollywood reaction to this. Will they focus more on DuVernay’s failure with A Wrinkle in Time or Ryan Coogler’s success on Black Panther?
3. The Strangers: Prey at Night (review) – $10.4M
After a decade-long wait, horror fans turned out to see The Strangers: Prey at Night to the tune of $10.4M. The film is the long awaited sequel to Bryan Bertino’s sleeper hit, The Strangers, which shocked everyone with its $82M haul on a tiny budget. Those were simpler times, though, and Prey at Night arrives on a more crowded playing field. Still, this is a solid debut for the $5M film that has received mixed reviews at best. I liked a lot and think it’s worth paying for, and after you do you should check out my interview with star Bailee Madison. Just sayin’.
4. Red Sparrow– $8.1M/$31.1M
This would be fine if it didn’t cost $70M.
5. Game Night– $7.9M/$45M
6. Peter Rabbit– $6.8M/$93.4M
7. Death Wish– $6.6M/$23.8M
8. The Hurricane Heist (review)- $3.1M
Depending on who you ask, The Hurricane Heist is either one of the worst movies of the year or a silly, self-aware B-movie thrillride. Doesn’t really matter, because the film only made $3M and cost about $35M. So if it’s anything at all it’s a box office bomb. Distributor Entertainment Studios would have been better off screening this one than trying to sneak it out under the radar, because while the reviews were negative a lot of them suggested certain audiences would love it. Instead those people will now simply wait a month or two for it to hit basic cable.
9. Annihilation– $3.1M
10. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle– $2.7M/$397.2M
Finally on the way out. I guess now’s a good time to go and see it?
The Hurricane Heist is insane. The new film from The Fast
and The Furious director Rob Cohen is one of the most proudly bonkers
movies I’ve seen in a while. I’m talking Syfy-Channel-original-movie-levels of
insanity, only on a much higher budget, and released to theaters for some
reason. It shows that this movie comes from the mind behind Fast
and Furious and xXx, because much like in those
films, everything about The Hurricane Heist is cranked up to
11, capital E EXTREME. If there is an opportunity for something to be more
hardcore and “awesome” than necessary, this movie happily takes it.
It opens with what’s essentially a short film showing us two
young brothers losing their father in a horrific hurricane. How do we know it’s
horrific? Because the clouds turn into the shape of a skull after killing him,
of course!
I told you, this is nuts.
Flash forward twenty years and the brothers are now our
protagonists. One is a mechanic named, honestly, Breeze (Ryan Kwanten) and the other is Will, a
hurricane obsessed meteorologist (Toby
Kebbell). When the oncoming storm knocks out the power at a US
Treasury facility, an agent (Maggie Grace) is sent to go find them to get help.
Then things get sloppy. They introduce about a dozen other characters and
subplots and it becomes legitimately difficult to figure out who you’re
supposed to be rooting for for about the first half hour. Which brings me to
the film’s first big problem.
You would think a movie called The Hurricane Heist would
be about the heist, and have you
rooting for the team that’s committing it, much like in a Fast and Furious movie.
This film, however, is about stopping the
titular heist. The majority of the action takes place around the event, as
opposed to during it. This is not only a really puzzling decision to make in
terms of action filmmaking, but also makes the title a lie! This is not a movie
about a hurricane heist! This is a movie about making sure there isn’t one! Much
like last year’s Geostorm, where they for some reason thought audiences didn’t
want to actually see a geostorm, Hurricane Heist expects you to root
against the eponymous (and awesome) idea that got you into the theater in the
first place.
The actual heisters themselves aren’t much to write home
about in terms of personality. Rather generic bank robbing bad guys, with the
exception of the two British hackers they have on their team. I don’t know if
it was the movie-nonsense computer hacking they were doing, or their hyper
British back-and-forth that got me, but they were a pretty bright spot among some
mostly generic villains.
Ultimately, this movie is a mess. Fortunately, sometimes
it’s a fun mess, but a mess nonetheless. This film is so weirdly paced, and
expects you to just accept and go along with some ideas and concepts that are
truly insane. It’s like the movie version of freeform jazz. It moves both
really fast and super slow at the same time. Because this isn’t a fast paced
movie. There’s a lot that happens suddenly that we’re supposed to go along
with, and that’s just not how narrative movies work.
In short, The Hurricane Heist is a broken
movie. Is it good? No. But it’s also not the worst thing I’ve seen all year
(looking at you, 15:17 to Paris). It’s not something I would recommend shelling
out actual money to see in a theater, but if you happen to come across it on
Netflix one day, it might give you a chuckle. An EXTREME chuckle.
You think comic book movie fans are a rabid bunch? Horror fans are more crazed and demanding when it comes to their favorite genre. For the past decade those fans have been waiting for a sequel to 2008’s intense home invasion flick, The Strangers, and this week saw their patience rewarded with The Strangers: Prey at Night. Directed by Johannes Roberts of 47 Meters Down fame, the film stars Christina Hendricks, Bailee Madison, Lewis Pullman, and Martin Henderson as a new family terrorized by a group of masked killers in an abandoned RV park.
It was a film that, at least for me, worked nearly as well as the original and is a must-see for those who dig the genre. The stand out star for me was Bailee Madison, who has really come into her own since starring in films such as Brothers and Guillermo Del Toro’s Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. I had a chance to talk with Bailee about her work on Prey at Night, her attraction to horror movies, any nervousness about joining this popular franchise, and more.
You can check out the interview below, and my review of The Strangers: Prey at Nighthere.
This week’s episode of Gotham
is centered around Ivy’s continued rise to power and the bloody (well
technically) flowery trail she leaves in her way. We also get to see some of
the typical prison fun one has come to expect from the Gotham prison system.
Well without further ado, lets jump right in!
Ivy story arc – “First
I was a seed, then a sprout, now I’ve bloomed.”:
Ivy and Selina target a wealthy family’s house with vastly
different intentions – Selina being under the impression that they were going
to rob the family, while Ivy had a much more sinister motive. Ivy now has a
perfume in her arsenal that causes people to REALLY like her and follow her
commands. As Selina is combing through the house, Ivy shifts her focus to the
patriarch of the family. His work experimenting on plants for Wayne enterprises
under some kind of secret project known as ‘project M’ has peaked her
interests. Ivy takes the man’s briefcase before she scratches him, poisoning
him and causing plants to grow inside of him. Selina walks in on this and is
disgusted by what she sees and it seems like there are already cracks in the
foundation of this new partnership. Selina tells Ivy that this was not what she
had in mind and working with Ivy is not nearly as fun as she had expected – so
she’s out. Ivy shakes that off and goes to visit Bruce where she uses her
perfume to find out that Lucius knows about Project M. Before leaving, Ivy scratches
Bruce ever so slightly so she poisons him – sending him into some deep
hallucinations – but his death will be a slow burn.
Jim and Lucius investigate Ivy’s crime scene and see that
the man is in a similar state as the junkie was in last week’s episode. The
family lets the GCPD know that a woman with red hair and another woman with a
black whip did this. Jim realizes that one of those matches Selina perfectly
and goes to club Siren to track her down while Lucius goes back to the lab to
investigate the body. Jim gets Selina to spill the beans about Ivy and the fact
that she is interested in a secret Wayne Enterpirses project. Jim and
Selina go to visit Lucius, but find out that Ivy beat them to it – forcing
Lucius to take her to where Project M is – but not before Lucius records
himself telling Ivy the location so Jim can find him.
Jim confronts Ivy at the project M greenhouse. It turns out
that Project M is the codename for Lazarus water taken from the Lazarus pit. Ivy
takes the Lazarus water and lets Jim know that she poisoned Bruce. She tells
Jim that if he lets her go, she’ll give Jim the antidote with enough time to go
save Bruce. Ivy gets away with the Lazarus water and mixes it with her own
blood. Trust me, it’s a deadly combination that I’m sure we’ll see more of as
this season continues.
My thoughts:
Ivy is coo-coo for cocoa puffs. She is crazy and it is great.
She is reminding me more and more of the Poison Ivy from the comics and I
couldn’t be happier. The tricks she already has up her sleeve are fantastic,
but adding this new potion will only make her an even more formidable opponent
for Jim & co as the season continues.
Bruce story arc – “This
is where I was born”:
As I mentioned, Ivy poisons Bruce causing him to experience
severe hallucinations. During one of the hallucinations Alfred takes Bruce to
the alley where his parents were killed. Up on the fire escape Bruce sees a man
draped in shadows with a billowing black cape and raspy voice. Ladies and
gentleman…it’s the bat! Next Bruce wakes up in the batcave. And Batman is there
again – that’s when Bruce realizes that he is the bat. Right then Bruce wakes
up out of his hallucination to Jim and Lucius giving him the antidote. Bruce
realizes that these hallucinations showed him who he really was, and he didn’t
like what he saw. Bruce immediately reaches out to Alfred for help.
My thoughts:
Batman!!! – Enough said.
Penguin and Joker
story arc – “I told you Pengy, I’m gonna cure you of this sad sack mopey act”:
Penguin is sitting down for a nice meal when Joker throws
his signature playing card at him. He takes a seat with Penguin and lets him
know how disappointed he has been at Penguin’s moping and lack of devious
behavior in the prison. Penguin lets Joker know that he has to behave or Martin’s life is in jeopardy, but Joker doesn’t take kindly to this boring explanation. Joker pledges to cure
Penguin of this attitude and get the true madman out. Later that day Penguin
gets jumped and brought in front of Joker and his men. Joker demands that
Penguin makes him laugh by doing a clown dance and Joker’s men force a costume
onto Penguin. Eventually Penguin breaks and lunges at Joker which, needless to
say, doesn’t go over so well.
Ed comes to visit Penguin to gloat about him being locked up
while Ed is free. He leaves Penguin a riddle, showing him that Riddler is still
inside Ed’s mind somewhere. Later that night Joker kidnaps Penguin again
leading to a ridiculous game of mime between two lunatics – and it is pretty much
everything you could have dreamed of. At the end of the episode, Joker goes to
visit Penguin in his cell. Penguin wonders why Joker hasn’t escaped when he so
easily could have by now. Joker tells him he is planning something spectacular
and he wants to recruit penguin for the job – but Penguin holds his ground and
refuses.
My thoughts:
The dynamic between Penguin and Joker has been a blast to
watch and I’m looking forward to it continuing. I have my suspicions that Joker
will end up breaking Penguin, causing him to hop on board with whatever
craziness he is planning. I am also glad to see that the Penguin and Riddler
rivalry is heating up again. It’s always a joy when those two are at each other’s
throats fighting like maniacal children.
Next week on Gotham:
It’s looking like a lot will be
going down next week. Ivy’s path of destruction continues, the Riddler is noticeably
upset, Selina and Ivy have a showdown, Alfred turns down Bruce’s cry for help,
and is Bruce back to his vigilante ways? We’ll see next week on Gotham!
The Forgiven
takes place in the mid-90s in Cape Town, South Africa. This was a turbulent
time for South Africa with apartheid just ending and democracy being newly
instilled in the country. Nelson Mandela was elected president and appointed
Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Forest Whitaker) as the Chairman of the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The TRC was unique in the sense that it
allowed people who had committed human rights violations during apartheid to
request amnesty from being persecuted for those crimes if they admitted their
deeds. Tutu and Mandela truly believed in forgiveness and this belief was
present in the values of the TRC. Tutu had even won the Nobel Peace Prize in
1984 for his non-violent leadership opposing apartheid. Before Mandela and
Tutu’s work in Africa there was widespread turmoil across South Africa. The
military and police forces seemed to have free reign, people could disappear at
any moment – never to be heard from again. Families were left with a small
sliver of hope that they would return, or the unease of never knowing what
truly happened to their loved ones.
This situation is the exact one that is at the crux of The Forgiven. The Morobe family has had
a loved one disappear and Mrs. Morobe (Thandi Makhubele) cannot bear the
unknown of what happened to her daughter. Tutu feels their pain and promises to
solve the mystery so the family can be at peace and give the girl a proper
burial. While dealing with trying to bring this family closure, Tutu receives prison
letters from Piet Blomfeld (Eric Bana) asking for a meeting. The Forgiven takes us into the world of
South African prisons, and the deplorable conditions and power struggles that
exist there. Tutu would grant Blomfeld’s wish and these scenes lead to the two
men engaging in a chess match of wits, both trying to get the upper hand on the
other. Watching these two fantastic actors sparring back and forth is where the
film really shines. Blomfeld wants amnesty for his crimes, but he is a repeat
murder, whose crimes seemed to have no political motive, only anger and rage.
Yet there is something about Blomfeld that Tutu can’t shake – something that
causes him to keep playing the murderer’s games.
Movies based on true events, whether loosely or not, hold a
different weight to me. Especially ones that are based on significant
historical events – events that affected people and entire countries, showing
the struggles that they had to endure. This kind of inspiration increases a
film’s significance and at times leaves me in awe. The Forgiven is based on the play “The Archbishop and The Antichrist” which was written by Michael
Ashton. Ashton and director Roland Joffé collaborated on the script for the
film. The Forgiven provides a
glimpse into what the people of South Africa were going through and it is a
powerful glimpse. Simply watching Forest Whitaker’s portrayal of Desmond Tutu
is a sight to behold. He is clearly one of the best actors of his generation
and his performance in The Forgiven
is what we’ve all come to expect every time we see him. During the film we see Tutu
being pulled in multiple directions, all while dealing with health issues. He
always has wise words of comfort and usually a smile of his face. The Forgiven does a great job in
depicting the incredible and inspirational person he was. From trying to ease
the pain of families, to visits to prison, to holding special hearings trying
to get to the bottom of the corruption in South Africa – Desmond Tutu took on
this immense responsibility and put others, and his country, before himself.
Eric Bana’s performance as the ruthless Piet Blomfeld is also stellar. While
the film does have its moments and some great dialogue, it can get sluggish at
times. The good certainly outweighs the bad and I believe that Ashton and Joffé
did the play and Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s story justice.
Stronger than a shield made of vibranium were the chances of Marvel green lighting a Black Panther sequel. So why beat around the bush? Of course there will be one, and in an interview with EW, Marvel Studios prez Kevin Feige confirms they’ve already been talking about it…
“One of the favorite pastimes at Marvel Studios is sitting around on a Part One and talking and dreaming about what we would do in a Part Two. There have been plenty of those conversations as we were putting together the first ‘Black Panther.’ We have ideas and a pretty solid direction on where we want to head with the second one.”
It’s rare that Marvel makes a movie that doesn’t have sequels. To the best of my knowledge the only one is Hulk, and there are all sorts of legal reasons for that. So this was a no-brainer whether Black Panther was a mega hit or not.
The question is how does Marvel make the best use of the many amazing characters introduced in Black Panther, in particular the Dora Milaje and Shuri. We know they’ll be seen next in Avengers: Infinity War, but what about solo movies and spinoffs? Might that happen some day?
“I think there’s lots of potential. It’s a balance between leaving people wanting more and then giving them too much, but I would watch a movie about any of those characters you just named. I think Shuri’s astounding, and you’ll see much more of her in our universe. Okoye, I think I’d watch three action films just Okoye. I’m not saying we’re doing that, but I’m saying that we’re intrigued by them.”
Chances are Black Panther 2 was somewhere in the group of new Marvel release dates announced last week. For now, look out for T’Challa, Shuri, Okoye, and more when Infinity War drops on April 27th.
