Showing posts with label Ryan Coogler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ryan Coogler. Show all posts

Friday, March 9, 2018

Black Panther - Review

BLACK PANTHER

Directed by Ryan Coogler
Produced by Kevin Feige

Written by
Ryan Coogler & Joe Robert Cole

Starring
Chadwick Boseman
Michael B. Jordan
Lupita Nyong'o
Danai Gurira
Martin Freeman
Daniel Kaluuya
Letitia Wright
Winston Duke
Angela Bassett
Forest Whitaker
Andy Serkis

Cinematography by Rachel Morrison

Production Design by Hannah Beachler

Costume Design by Ruth E. Carter

Release Date: February 16, 2018 (USA)

Summary: After the death of his father, T'Challa returns home to the African nation of Wakanda to take his rightful place as king. When a powerful enemy suddenly reappears, T'Challa's mettle as king -- and as Black Panther -- gets tested when he's drawn into a conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people.

REVIEW: I never thought that I would see a superhero movie so entrenched in black/African culture on a scale such as this. It is also one of the best origin stories in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe).

If you didn’t know before, you certainly will after watching this film, that Black Panther is a BLACK superhero. Thankfully we now have other black heroes currently in media (Luke Cage, Black Lightning), but while those are television series and urban, this film is definitely something else.

Black Panther is a hugely a self-contained origin story. By “self-contained” I mean that unlike the origin story of Thor (2011), which spread its story between two locales, Asgard and Earth, this film takes place, for the most part in Wakanda.

Wakanda in Black Panther


It’s a film about a hero that’s steeped in family, tradition and honor. While Wakanda is a fictional African country you can see the filmmakers took every chance they could to interline African cultural nuances (I’ll explain more on that later). Wakanda is a futuristic country that was never colonized by outsiders because it thrived in secrecy. That tradition of secrecy is the engine that drives the entire story.

Having established the culture of the story, this is STILL a superhero movie and the action never disappoints! The new king quickly goes on an undercover mission to recover a precious Wakandian export as well as confront an old adversary named Ulysses Klaue. What the king and his cohort discover on that mission is that they have a new even more menacing adversary in Erik Killmonger.

Without giving anything away it is from that point that everything moves fast in the movie and that’s really the only problem I had–it moved too fast. Certain events happen and before you know it–the end.

The star-studded cast in the film never disappoints from the king T’Challa himself Chadwick Boseman, who brings all the regality and statesmanship we saw in Captain America: Civil War (2016) and expands upon it. We also get to see some of his more personal side as he deals with the many challenges of his new throne.

Left to Right: Winston Duke, Andy Serkis, Michael B. Jordan character posters


The “challenges” in the movie come from a great trio, Winston Duke as M'Baku steals a lot of the scenes he’s in and the other two Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue and Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger pose the greatest challenge to the new king. Serkis had a lot of fun with his role and you can see his Klaue’s main goal is to expose the hidden country that is Wakanda and pillage it.

Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger
Killmonger’s goal is aligned with Klaue’s–until it’s not. That’s all I’m going to say except, all three pose worthy adversaries to T’Challa.

The other supporting characters Zuri played by Forest Whitaker and Ramonda played by Angela Bassett lent grace and presence to their characters. Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross was good too and as one of the only non-black cast members did not overshadow the larger story. Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia was good as well as a spy operative for Wakanda who also happens to be T’Challa’s ex-girlfriend.

Dora Milaje 


The other women in the film standout though. From the awesome Dora Milaje to Princess Shuri, they were terrific.
left to right: Chadwick Boseman and Letitia Wright in Black Panther

Letitia Wright as Shuri, T’Challa’s younger sister and the head of Wakandian tech, was an effervescent delight in every scene she was in. She brought genuine laughs without coming off silly as well as projecting that she is also a scientific genius. The Dora Milaje statuesque and magnificent were led by the ever capable Danai Gurira as Okoye.
Danai Gurrira as Okoye
Gurrira as Okoye was my favorite character in the film and when you see it, you’ll see why.

The entire cast were perfect in their roles regardless if the role was major or minor. Each played a part in fully realizing this origin story.

I can’t end this review without giving props–Mad Props to the filmmakers.

Ryan Coogler and Chadwick Boseman on the set of Black Panther
First and foremost I have to mention the director Ryan Coogler, who not only directed, but co-wrote the screenplay with Joe Robert Cole. Coogler proves once again that he is a force to reckon with in Hollywood. He is aided by great cinematography work by recent Oscar nominee Rachel Morrison.

Hannah Beachler
The wonderful and interlined African influence I spoke of earlier was definitely realized through the amazing work of Production Designer Hannah Beachler. In case you don’t know, in film and television, a Production Designer is the person responsible for the overall visual look of the production. Meaning they control the look of everything you see on screen. The look of every set in the film. Even if it's an existing location, the Production Designer may have things added or taken away to suit the film.

As she stated, Beachler wanted to honor the comics with her designs, and then fill in the gaps with research concentrated on Sub-Saharan Africa, pulling inspiration from Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ethiopia, as well as the designs of Zaha Hadid.

Ruth E. Carter
Aided in the rich, bold look of the film was Oscar nominated Costume Designer Ruth E. Carter. The Costume Designer is responsible for every item of clothes worn in the film. Even before the movie premiered people were “cos playing” her designs. (You can see an excellent example of that below in the “Bonus Features”).

For Black Panther Carter referenced the Maasai, Himba, Dogon, Basotho, Tuareg, Turkana, Xhosa, Zulu, Suri and Dinka people in her designs for Wakanda. Both Beachler and Carter wonderfully brought to life this “afro-futuristic” country with real world exuberance.(VIDEO of her talking about the designs is below in the "Bonus Features" as well.)

As you can see the filmmakers painstakingly not only created an entertaining superhero movie, but went through great lengths to make sure that even though this is a fictional African country, it still retains a lot of real life African culture and to me that is the real success of the film. Black Panther is a film overflowing with African legacy, pride and tradition–that also happens to be a great superhero film. It indeed makes you think about Wakanda now and “Wakanda forever”.

UPDATES

JANUARY 21, 2019
I LIVE TWEETED the Feature Commentary in a Twitter thread linked below

JANUARY 22, 2019
Read more about Black Panther's Academy Awards nominations at  ‘Black Panther’ Becomes 1st Superhero Movie Nominated for Best Picture


 BONUS FEATURES

Below are a TON of bonus features about the film as well as links to the other posts about the filmmakers right here on the blog


BLOG POST:  What Does a Production Designer Do? [featuring Hannah Beachler]

REVIEWS of previous films by Ryan Coogler [Fruitvale Station (2013) and Creed (2015) ] at the link HERE

Stories on our TWITTER about the filmmaking of the film


From our FACEBOOK page VIDEO of Costume Designer Ruth E. Carter talking about the costumes of Black Panther



Excellent example of Black Panther CosPlay Published two days before the movie premiered in theaters.
Read more about these photos HERE 


ARTICLE:  'Black Panther' Costume Designer Talks Tribal-Tech Inspirations

ARTICLE: The Costume, Hair And Makeup In Marvel's 'Black Panther' Are A Celebration Of Black Culture And Heritage: From the new Black Panther supersuit to Lupita Nyong'o's Wakanda-honoring knots. 


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Friday, December 4, 2015

Creed - Review

CREED

Directed by Ryan Coogler

 Produced by Robert Chartoff, Irwin Winkler, Sylvester Stallone, Kevin King-Templeton, William Chartoff, Charles Winkler and David Winkler

Screenplay by Ryan Coogler and Aaron Covington
Story by Ryan Coogler. Based on Characters by Sylvester Stallone




Starring
Michael B. Jordan
Sylvester Stallone
Tessa Thompson
Phylicia Rashād
Tony Bellew

Cinematography by Maryse Alberti

Released: November 25, 2015 (USA)

Synopsis: Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) never knew his famous father, boxing champion Apollo Creed, who died before Adonis was born. However, boxing is in his blood, so he seeks out Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) and asks the retired champ to be his trainer.

Review: Even though this could be considered the seventh Rocky film, both a spin-off from the original series and a successor to 2006's Rocky Balboa, this film is definitely a spin-off of the Rocky franchise– without being a sequel.

The story is really good and deftly straddles the line of being an homage in places without being a copy. You think you know where everything is going, and while you’re probably right, it’s still so cleverly done that it never feels trite.

Michael B. Jordan is as great as ever as the title character Adonis “Doni” Johnson, the biological son of Apollo Creed born after Apollo died (in 1985’s Rocky IV). Jordan not only gives a great acting performance filled with equal parts vulnerability and strength, but you can tell that he took the boxing training seriously as well. Through Jordan and Ryan Coogler’s direction, Creed has a very realistic portrayal of boxing and boxing training.

Jordan was not the only good performance in the picture as every performance excels. Phylicia Rashād, as Apollo’s widow/Doni’s adopted mother “Mary Ann” and Tessa Thompson as Doni’s girlfriend “Bianca”, the women in Doni’s life were great in the film each bringing their own fortitude to help make Doni the strong man he needs to be. Rashād is pretty much the "mom role", but Thompson is giving a whole character of her own and not just "the girlfriend".

Because every boxing film needs an antagonist boxer, Creed has one in "'Pretty' Ricky Conlan" portrayed by real-life pugilist Tony "Bomber" Bellew. Bellew was also really good and menacing in his role. The real surprise in this picture though was Sylvester Stallone. I repeat this is NOT a Rocky sequel. It is totally Adonis [Creed] Johnson's picture, but even in a small supporting role Stallone gave the best performance I’ve ever seen from him. All of the “awards talk” is completely valid.

Ryan Coogler’s direction is really great as he skillfully crafted the aforementioned “very realistic portrayal of boxing and boxing training” with thrilling suspense. As it should be, the “big match” was the most thrilling part of the film. The punching feels real, the trauma feels real, the agony feels real! The boxing is not the only great thing about this picture. The dramatic notes are equally thrilling. The drama is good throughout, but as he did with the third act in 2013’s Fruitvale Station, the third act in Creed is powerful and strikes all the right notes.

I will echo the buzz online, Creed is a terrific picture, Michael B. Jordan the truth and Ryan Coogler the real deal!


ADDITIONAL INFO
This film conceptualized by Ryan Coogler, took a lot to get pull together. After 2013’s Fruitvale Station (which I reviewed here ) when Coogler signed with WME (William Morris Endeavor, talent agency) he identified Creed as a dream project. While Coogler already had the relationship with Michael B. Jordan (from Fruitvale Station), the agency put him together with Sylvester Stallone. Stallone loved the idea, a spin-off of his original Oscar-winning 1976 film Rocky and felt it was strong enough for him to bring back his signature screen character. Stallone and Coogler then approached MGM’s Gary Barber and Jon Glickman, and they flipped for it. (Some info from Deadline).




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Friday, July 26, 2013

Fruitvale Station - Review

FRUITVALE STATION

Written & Directed by Ryan Coogler

Produced by Nina Yang Bongiovi & Forest Whitaker

Cinematography by Rachel Morrison

Editing by Claudia Castello & Michael P. Shawver

Release date(s): January 19, 2013 (Sundance), July 12, 2013 (United States)

Starring
Michael B. Jordan as Oscar Grant
Octavia Spencer as Wanda
Melonie Diaz as Sophina
Ariana Neal as Tatiana

Summary: The film tells the true story of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old two time convicted felon from Oakland California, and his experiences on the last day of his life, before he was fatally shot by BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) Police in the early morning hours of New Year's Day 2009.

REVIEW
This film is a portrait of a young, black man and this portrait closely resembles not myself, but a lot of black men I knew—a lot. For whatever reason they just can't get their life together. Fruitvale Station captures ONE day in a young black man's life, Oscar Grant, yet fully captures what most of the other 364 days of the year must be like.

These young men aren't the scourge of society that the media portrays them to be, but loving, kind individuals. ‘Fruitvale’ doesn’t sugarcoat his character as you get to see that he is a good guy and he has friends and family that loves him. You see the good natured side of Oscar, but you also see the immoral side of Oscar’s personality when he’s threatened or hurt.

Most of the film as such is an intimate portrait. You follow Oscar as he goes about his day and thinks about his life. You see his great interaction with the women in his life, his girlfriend, his daughter and his mother. You see the struggles he has to go through with the other aspects of his life.

Things are not all so reflective as the film builds to its inevitable conclusion as that last part of the film...it's about as heart wrenching as you can get.

The performances are pretty great. From the fresh innocence of Ariana Neal as Oscar’s young daughter Tatiana, to the resilience of his daughter’s mother Sophina played terrifically by Melonie Diaz and a superb performance by Octavia Spencer. Superb! My favorite actor from The Help, Spencer gives another great performance in “Fruitvale’. Some of her scenes could have easily gone over the top, but she plays them with the perfect nuances.

The performance of the film, this film, Fruitvale Station, a story about the late Oscar Grant goes to his portrayer Michael B. Jordan. Jordan gives a complex performance that is often times loving and reflective, but when it’s not—it’s not. It’s almost like Jekyll and Hyde. Like I said earlier, when he is threatened or hurt Jordan’s Oscar is a different person. It is that performance that makes the ending of the film all that more harrowing.

The direction by Ryan Coogler is reflective and nurturing throughout and he does a great job with showing those aspects of Oscar’s character, but again, that ending…Coogler does an amazing job of increasing the tension and then showing the eventual heartbreak of the events. A very impressive feature film debut for Ryan Coogler!

Fruitvale Station is a really good movie that will break your heart by the time it’s finished, but you feel like you know the young man, many like him and what they face in this life.

Additional Links
On Wikipedia you can read more about the real life BART Police shooting of Oscar Grant

Read more news about the film Fruitvale Station at our Sista blog Cool Black Media here
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