Two Distant Strangers

Two Distant Strangers is an Oscar Award winning short film starring Andrew Howard and Joey Bada$$. Inspired by George Floyd's murder, Carter, played by Joey Bada$$, is experiencing the worst day of life on repeat; all he wants to do is get home to his dog but a murderous cop is in his path. What can he do to end the cycle?

There were some great visuals and metaphors. Even though the film was inspired by one particular murder, by police violence, the director also found ways to highlight the murders of so many others in subtle ways. Also, the idea of filming the short in a Groundhogs Day-like-inspiration was very poignant in that police killings of people of color in America is like Groundhogs Day to the survivors within these communities. A never ending list of unwarranted murders with no justice served.

The conclusion was a disappointment to me because it didn't give me the closure I was hoping for, but with that said, I can still see the other side of the coin. Even though I would have liked this wrapped up in a bow, it is more realistic in the way it ended. For a 30 minute short, the movie was impactful and thought-provoking. It’s absolutely one worth checking out.

Judas and the Black Messiah

 

Judas and the Black Messiah is an award winning biographical drama starring Golden Globe & Academy Award winning Best Supporting Actor, Daniel Kaluuya and Best Supporting Actor nominee, Lakeith Stanfield. The film is set in 1960s Illinois and follows the emerging domination of Black Panther Party chairman, Fred Hampton, and the man who betrayed him, FBI informant, William O'Neal.

Fred Hampton's story is powerful and relevant, even today. His efforts to unite all marginalized communities in a Rainbow Coalition to fight the larger crimes against humanity and liberate their communities was brave and admirable. It was also the root cause to J Edgar Hoover’s FBI doing everything in their power to sabotage him and his plight.

This film did a great job of portraying the power of white supremely. It showed how the FBI manipulated poor people of color to do the dirty work. How they tried to say the Black Panthers and the KKK were the same. One phrase that character Roy Mitchell of the FBI, played by Jesse Plemons, said that hit so close to home for me, was "You can't cheat or shoot your way to equality". Like it was something that people of color could actually obtain; but what he and many others like him, refused to acknowledge, was how the government itself was purposely preventing that said equality.

The soundtrack, cinematography and edits were smooth and fitting for the era. It reminded me of a better version of a Spike Lee joint.

The casting was well done. Everyone did a compelling job but Lakeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya were the stars. I honestly would not have been upset Lakeith won the Oscar or Golden Globe instead of Daniel because they were both great. They played well off of one another, the good and bad, a juxtaposition if you will. Kaluuya is British but had a spot on American accent and portrayed Fred Hampton as a persuasive, passionate, confident man of the people. Stanfield on the other hand played the part of the Judas, William O'Neal, brilliantly. He showed how O'Neal’s desperation lead to poor choices that ended up taking him down a path that he didn’t particularly want to take; but in an act of self-preservation he did want he thought was right for him in a very sneaky, immature, conniving and selfish manner.

Overall I thought that this was a well-made film. It gave a different take on what the Black Panther Party was and what their goals were. It also showed how even though this happened over 60 years ago, not much has changed regarding police brutality and the oppression of marginalized communities. This film deserved all of the accolades it received and is well worth the watch.

Army of the Dead

 

Army of the Dead is a zombie heist movie. Set in Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries are tasked with infiltrating a quarantine zone where a zombie outbreak occurred, to rob a casino. This is Synder’s second zombie movie but not a sequel to the original, Dawn of the Dead. There is however, a prequel in the works and possibly its own sequel. I was very excited to see Army of the Dead because I am a huge Snyder fan, I liked the diverse star power and the theme seemed interesting.

The cinematography and CGI were well done. Synder is known for the slow motion action sequences that I particularly enjoy. To me they add a heightened excitement and sometimes anxiety to the scene. The hair, makeup and costumes were creative, scary and unique but obnoxiously bloody.

From start to finish the film was high octane and action packed. Unfortunately, there were a ton of plot holes and the ideas around how zombie infection happens in this film was inconsistent. Additionally, the revealed purpose of the movie didn’t make sense compared to original presented idea and a lot of the twists and turns were predictable.

For the cast, I thought that Dave Bautista did well leading this pack of tough men and women, especially given the terrible script he had to work with. I’ve now seen Omari Hardwick in quite a few different roles, and I like him in this action genera. He worked well off of the enormous presence of Bautista. Theo Rossi, has defiantly been typecast at this point but he always plays his part convincingly. Tig Notaro was a surprise addition, as she was not originally in the cast, but was added in post-production. For her to do all of her lines talking to a green screen, I thought that was pretty impressive.

The script was not well written, a lot of the ideas were done before, unoriginal and played out. The comedy was dry, which I know is Notaro’s style, but not really for me. The character development was weak. The father daughter plot felt like they were pulling at straws because it lacked depth. If it was going to be so basic, they would have done the audience a service by pulling it out all together. For the rest of the cast, the character development was lazy and not enough to connect to any of them.

In the end, this movie was a disappointment. I was really hoping for something more unpredictable and definitely more understandable. I hope that if Snyder gets a sequel that he expands more on the character development and comes up with a plot that makes more sense.

The Greatest Showman

 

The Greatest Showman is a 2017 musical starring Hugh Jackman. It is a drama set in 1870s New York, loosely based on P. T. Barnum’s life and his infamous circus.

The plot was engaging and the script was well written. "A man's station is limited only by his imagination" was a quote in the movie that stuck out to me. It perfectly summed up the story. Themes around embracing what makes you unique, breaking free of the boxes society puts you in, and the sacrifices one makes to achieve their dreams were all prevalent throughout the film.

The soundtrack was catchy with a number of great singers. I also enjoyed the dance choreography; it was light hearted and creative.

I appreciated seeing a very diverse and talented cast. It was a great mix of star power and quite a few unknowns as well. One of the people I haven't seen before, who particularly stood out was Keala Settle who played Lettie Lutz. She was a great addition to the cast; not only a fantastic singer but also just a really relatable character. Someone who was hidden in the shadows her entire life, but when given the opportunity to be herself, she showed brightly. Hugh Jackman did a great job in the lead role. Jackman's character was complicated, incredibly charismatic which made him likeable but at times he was also quite selfish. He and Michelle Williams had great chemistry. Zendaya and Zac Efron also worked well off of one another. Their characters had a cute story that I wish the writers would have spent a little more time on it. Rebecca Ferguson was an interesting addition, I’ve only seen in her medieval or action roles, so it was refreshing to see her do something very different. The only other critique I have is just that I would have liked more character development for the entire cast.

Overall, this was a great, family friendly film. If you are looking for a fun, uplifting "celebration of humanity" I would recommend checking this one out.

Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat is a martial arts action adventure movie. The film is Warner Bros. Pictures attempt at rebooting the 1990s franchise based off of the video game of the same name. It follows Cole Young, a mixed martial artist who is past his prime. When he is recruited to fight with Earth's greatest champions, in order to save the world from Shang Tsung’s Outworld villains, he must find his inner “arcana” before it is too late.

I thought that the plot was fun, action packed from the beginning with very bloody and creative fight choreography. The script however was not that great. It was filled with corny, cheap one liners, mostly coming from the character Kano played by Josh Lawson. I could tell he was tasked with bringing the comedy to the movie but after a while I was over it. It just seemed like there wasn’t a lot of effort put into the writing.

The worst part of this movie for me was the acting and character development. Since this is a remake I compared a lot of the actors to the ones of the 1995 film. For me there were a couple who stood out like sour thumbs who did not compare to the originals. Ludi Lin who played Liu Kang could not hold the star power that Robin Shou possessed in the original. As for Sonya Blade, she was my favorite character to play in the video game, so when Bridgette Wilson took the role in the 90s I was a huge fan of it. Jessica McNamee did a decent job as Sonya Blade but is no Bridgette Wilson. There were a couple of characters that I was okay with like Hiroyuki Sanada’s character Hanzo Hasashi. Sanada brought something very interesting to this role, I connected with his character and I would have liked to have seen more of  his character, as I am a fan of Sanada’s work in other television shows and movies. The role of Cole Young played by Lewis Tan wasn’t in the original franchise so I was fine with him. He did a decent job carrying this film. His costume was a bit lame though. In regard to the rest of the cast, I had no idea who most of the characters were. The writer didn’t do a very good job at introducing them and also didn’t provide an origin story for the majority of main cast, so I just couldn’t really connect to many of them.

This movie was definitely geared toward die hard Mortal Kombat fans. Even though I was a fan of the fight sequences it couldn’t compare to the original film for me. I can tell they are planning for a sequel so I am hoping with the next one that they dig deeper into the characters and give the fans more to connect to.

Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse

 

Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse is a Prime Video original starring Michael B Jordan as John Clark, a Navy SEAL, and a man on a mission to avenge his wife's murder at any cost.

The plot was interesting but foreseeable from almost the beginning of the movie. Additionally, some of the plot points had gaps and didn’t really make any sense. More detail was definitely needed in the script to fill in some of the plot holes.

I liked the pairing of Jodie Turner-Smith and Michael B Jordan. They had good chemistry and worked well off of one another. Michael B Jordan is an action star and carried the lead role well. He did his own stunts, which was quite impressive, as this film was heavily infused with detailed fight choreography. His co-star, Jodie Turner-Smith, is turning into quite the actor herself. I thought that she did an excellent job in Queen & Slim and now this, which was a completely different role for her. Her character brought an essence and a range to the part that made you really pay attention to her. She was able to handle herself in the fight sequences and she didn’t need to be saved by anyone. The most impressive part of all to me was that Jodie did it all while, in real life, she was pregnant.

My biggest critique of this movie would be the lack of necessary character development for the entire cast. It was minimal at best so I left the film wanting more. I never felt  fully committed or locked in to the story because of the lack of connecting to the characters.

Even though this was a pretty run of the mill revenge movie, with some important parts lacking, I still thought it was entertaining and worth checking out.