Black Panther (2018, Ryan Coogler)

An Introduction to the universe of Black Panther

Black Panther

 

Do you remember Age of Ultron? When the Avengers’ researches lead them to a dangerous arms dealer named Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis)? Wakanda was mentioned for the first time back then as Bruce Banner mangled the name. Both Tony Stark and Steve Rogers seemed to know at least a bit of that place, the home to what they call  "the strongest metal on earth": vibranium.

Vibranium is Wakanda’s strength, making it Africa’s, even the world’s most technologically advanced nation. Black Panther is the leader but also the guardian of that realm. Basically, the Plack Panther’s power comes from the vibranium that he consumes (a plant) but also the vibranium in his costumes. T’Chaka’s daughter Shuri has a huge state-of-the-art lab where she carries out her experiments, designs and creates Black Panther’s costumes and gadgets.
     

The Wakandans were aware of the impact it may have if the rest of the world discovers the power of the vibranium, so they decided to keep it safe by living hidden under a cloaking field. However, a few people knew: Howard and Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, the S.H.I.E.L.D. and the thug Ulysses Klaue who, with the help of King T’Chaka’s brother N’Jobu, managed to steal a small amount of vibranium and sell it to the highest bidder.      

Following the attack in Lagos where Captain America faced terrorist Crossbones, King T’Chaka held the Avengers responsible for the damage and showed his support to the Sokovia Accords, whereby the Avengers will act under the UN’s supervision.    

Sometime later, Prince T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) accompanied the king to a UN ceremony in Vienna but failed to save his father from the bombing masterminded by Helmut Zemo (Daniel Brühl) against the Avengers.

T’Challa returns to Wakanda to prepare for his coronation. The ceremony is also an opportunity for the other tribes’ leaders to challenge the heir if any of them wants the throne.

At the same time, T’Challa’s cousin Erik "Killmonger" is preparing his revenge for his father’s death and allies with Ulysses Klaue to steal more vibranium. His arrival at Wakanda causes a division and war between those who wants to live in peace and those who wants to rule the world. 

Bottom-line: the Black Panther storyline is cleverly linked to the other Avengers movies (Age of Ultron, Captain America).

SEE ALSO

The Avengers (2012)
Thor (2011)

John Wick (Chapter I, Chapter II, Chad Stahelski)

John Wick and his wife had a wonderful life before she died from a disease. John Wick is seen as a discreet man, mourning his wife, spending most of his time driving his mustang Boss 429 1969 with his dog Daisy.

Trouble came back to find him as a group of young conmen attacked him in his house and killed Daisy.

What is interesting in this movie is the way the writers introduces the main character. When mechanics Aurelio and Viggo, the big boss of an infamous gang found who was the owner of the car the kid stole, the worry coming out of their faces reveal John Wick’s dark side.

That f** nobody is John Wick

Also, while John was fighting Viggo's men in his house, a police officer rang the bell of his house after a noise complaint. Jimmy seemed to know who John was and what he was up to but just let it go. Few minutes later, strange men came to get rid of the dead bodies. The best is when Viggo put a 2 million dollar contract for his head, very few high profile assassins looked interested. Sometimes even the enemy shows gratitude when John Wick lets them live. John is introduced as the Boogeyman, the Chuck Norris of the killing business, not only in New York City but worldwide. 

A man with focus...

Commitment...

And will!

After he took revenge for the puppy and took his car back, John hoped for a new start in his life but his past catches him. John has to return to the business to repay a debt.  

Chapter 2 shows that the previous one is only an appetizer as there are more details about how the ruthless criminal underworld does business, a group of powerful people with the tradition and code of their own.

Ergo, Chapter 2 is more impressive. Good fights (Director Chad Stahelski is a renowned stunt coordinator), humour (Julius to John, Sei qui per il Santo Padre?), subtle language (dessert?)… And most of all, Keanu Reeves looks awesome with his bulletproof suits. Cannot wait for Chapter 3.

Do I need to remind you...no job can be done in the Continental

Whiplash (2014, Damien Chazelle)

The film begins with a drum’s sound with a gradually accelerating tempo. A famous jazz conductor of the Shaffer Conservatory of Music just noticed a first year young man practicing.

Andrew is a very ambitious musician who knows he has to work hard to reach the top. Being aware of his remarkable progress, Fletcher asks him to join his jazz band…

Rehearsal room, 9 a.m sharp. Fletcher steps in. Everyone shuts up and stands up like to say hi in a polite manner. Fletcher takes off his hat and his coat and introduces our newcomer to the rest of the band. Then he goes like: "All right gang, Whiplash". The music starts to play and a series of intimidations follows… Behind his cool and friendly manner at first sight, Fletcher is a pure maniac in the classroom.  

Fletcher: "Do you think you’re out of tune?"

Metz: "Yes"
Fletcher: "Then why the f*** didn’t you say so?"

(Smile of amusement, after Metz's gone) "For the record, Metz wasn’t out of tune. You were, Ericson. But he didn’t know and that’s bad enough".

During break time, Fletcher approaches Andrew and cheers him up. Back to the stage, Andrew ob board. Go for Whiplash again, with a lower tempo this time. Andrew tries his best. Fletcher praises him laud. Then Andrew lets go…

Not quite my tempo...were your rushing or dragging?

Being sure he has found the next Charlie "Bird" Parker, Fletcher pushes his apprentice over the edge to reach his potential. Andrew breaks up with his girl and tortures himself practicing with one goal in mind: to earn the place of core member, to "be one of the greats".

The strange relationship between a mentor and his student is Whiplash's main subject: both characters who are driven by an uncontrolled ambition and the consequences it may bring.

Whiplash is partly based on director Damien Chazelle’s own experience when he learned music at Princeton High School. In my opinion, it is absolutely the best jazz music film ever written. The script and the music are flawless (wow the music !!!) but above all, the lead actors provided a great deal of work to deliver top notch performances. 

Mr. Holmes (2015, Bill Condon)

After Watson left, Holmes (Ian McKellen, The Hobbit) plunged into one more investigation then made an attempt to write a story about it only to face the fact that the details seemed to elude him. This time, Holmes is dealing with the most important case of his life: finding himself.

1947: Holmes, 93, returns from Hiroshima without deerstalker, nor pipe but a bowl of prickly ash jelly, supposed to help him retrieve at least part of his memories.

Holmes is now living a peaceful life in the countryside with the company of his housekeeper Mrs Monroe, her young son Roger… and his bees. 

Mr Holmes cunningly revolves around Holmes’ private environment with both his magnificence but also his limits: his memories, loneliness, struggles, guilt and failures, far from his late friend’s portrayal of himself and his work, But I suppose that these flaws makes us like him even more because Sherlock Holmes is human after all.   

The man behind the myth: the Mr. Holmes french poster

SEE ALSO

Sherlock
The Hobbit

The Force Awakens (2015, J.J. Abrams)

Years passed after Darth Vader's gone. The Jedis are nomore and become almost myths to the citizens of the galaxy. However, the fall of the empire has led to the creation of a low profile but dangerous organization called the First Order. When the last Jedi, Luke Skywalker disappeared, her twin sister, Leia, now leader of the Resistance is in search of a map that might lead to him but the First Order is looking for the same thing. 

R2D2 and BB-8

The Force Awakens is only the debut of a sequel trilogy following the original films, hence it is too soon to judge but considering the consistency of it, it leaves us optimistic. The Force Awakens finds its strenght being designed for both fans and newbs. Also, it succeeds in establishing the relationship between the old characters we are fond of (Han Solo, Chewie, C-3PO) and the newcomers we are starting to root for such as Rey, Finn or BB8. Those who chose the dark side of the Force were too weak for my liking though, but again, it is only the beginning and as Kylo Ren’s training is not yet completed, let’s give them a chance. We can expect more development for the First Order characters.

SEE ALSO

Star Trek (2009)
Star Trek Into Darkness (2011)

The Purge: Anarchy (2014, James De Monaco)

This is about the 6th annual Purge starting March 21st 7p.m until March 22nd 7 a.m, year 2023.

In a near future, prisons are overpopulated, unemployement rises dramatically. To solve the matters, the american government led by high ranking officials called Founding Fathers comes up with an extreme solution: the Purge. Allowing people to commit crimes and release their demons once a year, the purge is designed to contain crimes for one single night. This is the time you cannot trust anyone.

Six years have passed since the first purge. Like every year, people rush to go home before the commencement. There are those who prepare to go out and hunt their victims such as snipers, lunatics, serial killers, dogs, mercenaries; and those who do what it takes to survive that night.

The characters

A working class woman and her daughter who are struggling to take care of their dying papa. Beside learning later that the old man offered himself to a wealthy family for $100,000 (references to Hostel, giving money to kill people), they both have to face their neighbour Diego but also purgers who are now well equiped enough to attack their homes.

A police officer who wanted to avenge his son’s death, discovers the horror of the purge and makes up his mind.  

A young couple whose car broke down while they were heading home find out that their car has been sabotaged by those who are after them: mercenaries seeking victims for rich people.

From left to right: Zach Gilford, Kiele Sanchez, Zoë Soul, Justina Machado and Frank Grillo

The Purge (2013) raised many questions some of which Anarchy brings answers to, like what do banks do to keep their money safe, or what of the police? The first film introcuces generalities like the main rules, etc., here, James De Monaco broadens his visions from a small suburban location to the city center high towers making the film more elaborate. Anarchy leaves the huis clos environment and involves several characters and takes place everywhere: homes, streets and even hunting grounds reminiscent of Last Action Hero or Hunger Games.

Anarchy shows a bigger picture i.e the purge being a huge business shared by those who take advantages from it. The only thing I did not like is the lack of subtlety limiting it to a struggle between the good and the bad, the whites and the blacks, the rich and the poor, etc.

Quotes

Stay safe

News 13 wishes anyone who is not participating in this year’s purge a safe evening and those who are releasing the beast, a successful cleanse. Good luck

Big Daddy: One purge rule Sergeant. Don’t save lives. Tonight we take lives. We make things manageable for us. Unfortunatelly, the citizens aren’t killing enough so we supplement it all. To keep things balanced.

SEE ALSO

The Purge (2013)

300 : Rise of an Empire (2014, Noam Murro)

While the 300 Spartan soldiers led by their brave King Leonidas march against the powerful army of Xerxes, an Athenian navy commander named Themistocles tries to unite the Greek city-states, including Sparta, to fight for democracy and freedom.

Of heroes and gods

Rise of an Empire begins with the war of Marathon when Themistocles, then a simple soldier kills the Persian King Darius in front of the then prince Xerxes. Themistocles becomes a well respected leader while Xerxes turns into a god king.

  

300: Legacy - This is Greece!

Although the film is about what happens before, during and especially after 300, the title is misleading. Indeed, some of the previous characters are present but this is not about Sparta anymore. The girth and the posture of the warriors can testify that. The shout and force of Gerard Butler are replaced by Sullivan Stapleton’s charisma and subterfuge. However, whereas Rise of an Empire is supposed to be less physical, the war scenes especially the combats at sea have no reason to envy the Spartans.    

What I think: nothing new but pleasant to watch

 

Quotes

Artemisia: Only the gods can defeat Greece, you will be a god king

Xerxes : For glory’s sake, for vengeance’s sake, war!

Themistocles : Better we show them, we chose to die on our feet, rahter than live on our knees

Sullivan Stapleton (Themistocles)