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Im surprised it's not getting a lot of the same blowback other Marvel films did from a narrative perspective, which is where most of the issues I have with it stem from

 

Speaking of that...

 

Decided to expound upon my Black Panther initial thoughts.
Be Warned, Spoilers ahead in the spoiler tags (DUH)

What worked:

Spoiler

The acting. This is where I think Coogler shined the best. He got great performances out of Boseman, Nyong'o, Jordan and Dukes. Of course everyone else is good too but those are the stand outs to me.
Set design and cinematography (for the most part). Beautifully shot film that makes Wakanda an instant destination in fantasy worlds.
The story (for the most part). Excellent choice on how to blend real world AMERICAN problems in the black community into the narrative of an isolationist world in Wakanda. This aspect of the story is great. So is the general conflict between T'Challa and Killmonger. Wonderful chemistry between Jordan and Boseman.
The dialogue. It's incredibly witty and snappy. Feels natural and unforced.
Killmonger's Death Scene was beautiful.
Maclunkey WAR RHINOS

What didn't work:

Spoiler

The CGI. It was noticeably jarring at times during big action set pieces.
The action set pieces. The intimate action scenes (T'Challa vs M'Baku and T'Challa vs Killmonger I) are great. So is Killmonger rescuing Klaue. Excellent action scenes. Inside the casino place is good too. But the big battle is not done particularly well IMO and where the CGI struggles, same with the Korean chase scene.
Killing Klaue and Killmonger. One? Okay. Both? Eh. In the small context of a singular BP film it's good but now in the sense of the larger MCU, it's just meh.
After viewing, I have 0 doubt Black Panther and like 3 people could conquer earth and beat Thanos. They made them TOO advanced and TOO skilled. It's like Cap on steroids somehow. This is what works the least for me in the larger context of the MCU.
Late add: the insta-armor is meh to me too. Don't love it when Stark does it. Not a fan here either.

--- Double Post Merged, Feb 17, 2018, Original Post Date: Feb 17, 2018 ---

Whewwww

 

finally saw Three Billboards outside of Ebbing, Missouri.

halfway through i almost gave up on it as yet another gratuitously violent nihilistic piece of crud.
and then suddenly it was amazing. award-worthy film in so many ways.

Spoiler

and always nice to have another example of redeeming the utterly irredeemable in the arsenal.
more importantly, it's wonderful to have yet another film that pointedly demonstrates the value in that.

 

I will let the affable Marc Bernardin explain much of how I feel about it:
https://www.theguardian.com/film/20...oards-golden-globes-awards-race-rural-america

 

but really?
did you hate this?

 

I think loathed is the word I had originally used when I saw it lol.
I've seen it twice now. Still don't like it.

 

the characters are all despicable, i think.
and the premise/circumstances is/are appalling.
but i think that's why the resolution is so important; it's not perfect, it's not tidy, but it's human and there's grace in it.
if it had ended any other way i probably would have gouged my own eyes out ~ hahahahaha

p.s. i understand where that reviewer is coming from, but i think he kinda misses the point.

 

I didn't feel that at all by the end.
Part of me just feels like this movie was so outside of Martin McDonagh's abilities.
It kind of felt like he was trying to do a Coen movie but he isn't that level of talented.

 

Last movie I watched? And @Maximus? I did think of you!

This one's a modern classic.

 

hahaha ~ and i didn't get that feeling at all (that it was trying to be a Coen movie).

 

I miss good Ridley Scott

 

I feel like he's been trying to replicate the awesomeness of Gladiator for years, unsuccessfully.

I also miss Scott's collaborations with Hans Zimmer. Ridley inspired solid music from the man.

 

Love Zimmer with Nolan!!!

 

I think the scores for Nolan's Batman trilogy and Interstellar were really great. Inception had a good score as well. The score for Dunkirk didn't do much for me though.

 

Guessing the same folks who are confused by why black panther isnt getting blowback are also confused as to why people dislike finn. Theyll be the same ones confused about why the cyborg movie falls flat in the water.

This movie is great, its not perfect, not even close, in the end....none of that matters though. And truth be told we wont know if its a game changer for marvel or not, but i guarantee you the people already saying it is, dont know why people are saying it should be

Answer, the blacks....and i for one think thats magnificent

 

Finally watched Dunkirk and really loved it.

 

This essay and this video made me more appreciative of Black Panther.

 

"Move the catapults up"

"The range is good"

"....on my signal.....unleash hell"

 

This is an asinine post to lump the three things together.

1. The blowback has nothing to do with the representation or messaging of the film (which is all top notch by Coogler) but the lack of newness and same silly Marvel tropes that got other movies in the universe bashed. They are not the same thing. We did the same thing with Wonder Woman and it lowkey hurts the films moving forward when we put on kid gloves when it comes to reviewing these things. If we drag Justice League for garbage CGI work, BP needs called out at some very sketchy but not JL bad, CGI. When they do the repetitive Marvel things, it needs called out so they don't do it in the second one.

2. There's many reasons why people don't like Finn. Some are good, some aren't. It's not that simple.

3. It does matter. If it didn't matter why is this a big deal? Because the quality of the film matters. And the film is good enough it doesn't need propped up because people don't want to criticize it, which is the problem. People who rail against issues in Marvel films magically let their problems with this one go. It's bad for film making. A movie can be both criticized for flaws and beloved for it's messaging.

--- Double Post Merged, Feb 18, 2018, Original Post Date: Feb 18, 2018 ---

She does a great job highlighting the true importance of Black Panther.
As a white guy, I can only judge the film in it's most basic form, as a film, while recognizing it is so much more to people in the black community.