BLACK PANTHER (2018): Movie Review

I'll admit that I wasn’t all too excited about Marvel’s Black Panther at first. I’ve nothing against the character or creative team behind the comic’s big screen adaptation. I’m just starting to get a little burnt out from all these Hollywood superhero movies, though I’m still holding out for The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. Despite everything I just said I still went into Black Panther because my superhero-movie tolerance hasn’t completely eroded (yet) and because I knew nothing of the production. I hadn’t even seen a trailer (on my own volition as I’m trying to avoid them for films I want to see), and I believe going in blind and with neutral expectations was the right way to go. I ended up enjoying Black Panther far more than the majority of MCU films I’ve seen (though Thor Ragnarok is still my absolute favorite thanks to director Taika Waititi) and was ultimately captivated at Black Panther’s uniqueness and maturity. If you’re still unfazed by superhero movie fatigue, then check out Black Panther, though it may heighten your standards for the superhero genre (sorry DC). 

Black Panther’s story takes place shortly afar the events of Captain America: Civil War (2016), and if you’ve forgotten the events of that movie  (other than the parts where everyone’s fumbling all over each other like marionettes tumbling in a dryer), then you’re in luck! Black Panther’s story has almost no connection to any of the other MCU movies so you can just jump right in. The film follows Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, the new King to the throne of the most technologically advanced civilization in the world, Wakanda; a hyper-advanced futuristic society hiding in plain sight as a third world African nation. Unlike most Marvel movies (or any superhero film for that matter), while there is a central character who carries the plot, the real focus of the film is Wakanda itself, and it makes for some genuinely fascinating storytelling. The main story of the film stems from the nation’s natural resources responsible for their technological processes; while the conflict deals with whether or not Wakanda should share said resources and tech with a world who might misuse it for greed, violence, and war. It’s a geopolitical quandary that I haven’t seen all that much in the wide world of cinema and it makes for a narrative that’s intriguing on its own right, but then there’s still a Hamlet-esque character arch with a man in a cyber-ninja-panther costume. Black Panther is one of the more complex and dynamic cinematic superhero pictures, and it makes for the most engaging Marvel movie I’ve seen.

Apart from having the best MCU plot, Black Panther’s also one of the most visually stunning cinematic experiences derived from a comic book property. The art direction, in particular, caught my attention with everything from the sets to the props and costumes being so vibrant and eye-catching and it sucked me into the world. Boseman’s performance as the titular Black Panther was, for the most part, calm and collective but I found his acting capabilities most impressive while interacting with his fellow actors. Speaking of which, I was also more than a little surprised at well everyone else acted. Marvel movies typically aren’t the kind of film you watch for stellar acting performances (at least not in my experience), but here we are. Letitia Wright is delightfully charming as Shuri, Andy Serkis was an absolute joy to watch as the deliciously vile Klaue, and Michael B. Jordan was remarkably three-dimensional and was charismatic, intimidating, and empathetic simultaneously as Erik Warmonger. But by far the stand out performance of the film belongs to Danai Gurira as the formidable and commanding general Okoye, whose badassery eclipses that of John Wick, John McClane, and John Rambo combined. Old Hollywood machismo, eat your heart out!

I did have minor technical issues with the film, and I doubt they’ll matter to the majority of movie-goers, but they still stood out to me so by golly I’m gonna address them. First and foremost, the sound mixing was incredibly inconsistent. I don’t know if it’s because Marvel Studios needed all their heavyweight audio-FX people working on Avengers: Infinity Wars pt 1 and (sigh) Antman & The Wasp, or if they simply ran out of time before the film’s release. Either way, I found myself distracted by how some sound effects were too loud while others were too soft or nonexistent. There was more than a couple instances where something onscreen happened, but the total lack of any audio cues made for a kind of cognitive dissonance feeling in my brain. I also wasn’t all that impressed by the cinematography, granted it’s better than most MCU films, but I still wish Marvel (and Disney) would just allow their cinematographers to take more chances. The action scenes were also not that all impressive to me. The action’s not “bad,” per say, (cough-cough-JusticeLeague-cough-cough) but I’ve seen more impressive displays of superhuman combat from countless other movies. Though, to be honest, this complaint’s attributed to the fact that I simply found everything in Black Panther to be so much more engaging that every time an action scene commenced I found myself wanting the movie to go back to the world building and character interactions. 

Overall I didn’t end up frothing at the mouth in blissful adoration as I did so with Ragnarock, but I was infinitely more engrossed by Black Panther’s cas, mythology, story, and art than any other superhero film in recent memory. It told a different kind of story with a superb ensemble of talented actors and artists, and the end product is something that I believe most audiences will find thoughtful and entertaining. I hope that Marvel/Disney makes more standalone Black Panther movies with director Ryan Coogler, and keeps branching out into different stories for their comic book character’s cinematic counterparts. I seriously cannot express how much more excited I am for future Black Panther installments than I’ll ever be for another Antman movie.

G. Bruno Fischer (2018)

CAMERA GIRL, Ch 14: The Tomb of Saint Elliot

Chapter 14

The Tomb of Saint Elliot

It didn’t take long to locate Saint Elliot’s tomb among the thousand others in the mausoleum garden. In addition to being one of the morgue’s first aboveground sepulcher (and justly overrun with enchanting emerald lichen), it’s also the only crypt with a particularly decrepit wooden door and a welcome mat featuring a grotesquely splendorous ladybug wearing a Flemish straw hat. 

According to Slug, a caravanning fortuneteller ordered the tomb’s erection for five hundred dollars, cash. However, before she could assess the final edifice, Madam Saint Elliot perished in the 4th great Merryhill brothelfire of 1769. At that point the crypt was already 92% finished but without a body to entomb (save for a fistful of ash) and no one alive or willing to acquest it, the tomb remained incomplete and unoccupied for some time. The 21st century yielded a couple of odd girls who commandeered it for a clubhouse before the morgue finally converted it into a walk-in gardening shed. It might’ve taken a decade and some change but the prodigal daughters of Saint Elliot’s tomb had finally returned.  

“I don’t recall it being so weensy,” sneers Nora, frowning loudly.

“I can’t believe it still reeks rotting fruit and rat turds,” Slug coughs plugging her nose.

Slug’s leg fires forth like a Mark 14 torpedo, bashing the crypt door inward nearly off its hinges.  

Nora gazes vacantly into the abyss beyond the tomb, like a deep sea diver floating just above the Mariana trench. 

“If a ladder and a shovel’s all your looking for, then you need not look any further. Just make sure they’re returned before the groundskeeper needs them.”

“Why? Is he deranged?” 

“Whose to say? He’s only been here a few weeks or so but will only speak to Pop and Baba gives him instructions via post-it-notes. I suspect the man might be a Lennie Smalls type.”

“Well, I wasn’t planning on getting stroked by the groundskeeper today but now I’ll make extra-super-double sure he doesn't. 

Slug doesn’t laugh.

“This shouldn’t take long,” Nora decrees, “I’ll be alright. You should take your place with the procession and remember, only shoot from the waistline up and if anything emotional happens exploit it like a tragedy.” 

Slug’s finger staves Nora by the shoulder.

“If that’s what you want me to do, and you really think it’ll help then I’ll do it. But I’m going to need some reassurance that this’ll all serve some point and that your onions haven’t just caramelized over into a madness salad.”

“An all-onion salad would be madness, but mad I am not. Cooking with nitro? Oh most certainly but you should know by now that I pose no immediate threat to myself or others.  I just have to have something presentable for tommorow because officer Fuckface Hiddlestón took it upon himself to erase all our video from existence!”

Nora finds herself unable to read Slug’s face, looking like a mask of pure grief and solemnness, like she’s on the verge of tears. 

“Whatever you say,” sighs Slug, “I’ll catch you at the service.”  

Slug’s azure dreadlock turns and sway behind her like a wad of hydrilla caught in the current and with that, once again, Nora is alone. A twinge of guilt, or perhaps even an itch, prickles along the inside of her throat but she refuses to let something as trivial as emotion-based acid reflux get in her way. Not when she’s so close. 

Nora breaths in a deep, harsh, breath of air and ash before leaping over the ladybug welcome mat, plunging into the darkness like an unfettered anchor, let loose into the abyss. 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 

THE SHAPE OF WATER (2017): Movie Review

The Shape of Water is director Guillermo del Toro’s 10th and latest feature that tells a visually rich and emotionally visceral work of cinematic art. In this dark fairytale, del Toro makes it clear that this is a celebration of the silver age of Hollywood; borrowing the artistic stylings and designs of cold war spy thrillers, 1950’s sci-fi alien “body snatcher” films, and Universal’s Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954 ).  I suppose one could describe The Shape of Water as a “dark reimagining of Beauty and the Beast fused with The Little Mermaid (and also Lovecraft). I can’t say I go out of my way to see too many romance dramas in theaters, in fact, the last romance I did see was Crimson Peak; del Toro’s 2015 9th feature film (also a romance/horror movie mashup). In many regards, TSoW is similar to CP in that they’re both love stories but told through the lens of a classic horror movies responsible for del Toro’s affinity and passion for the art of film. In many ways, one could even perceive this latest entry into del Toro’s filmography as a cinematic love letter to the film genres Guillermo holds in his heart; similar to what the Coen Brothers did for Hail, Caesar! (2016 ). I’ve been missing a Grade-A Guillermo del Toro movie like coke after lent and needless to say, del Toro delivers. The Shape of Water is visually stunning and wholeheartedly delightful with a dark and imaginative twist on Guillermo’s age old question of, “what if they lady being hauled off by the Creature in the iconic poster for the original 1954 was actually attracted to the Creature.”

The Shape of Water stares Sally Hawkins as Elisa Esposito, an industrious mute custodian for a secret government laboratory at the height of the Cold War. The facility receives a half-man, half-fish creature played by Doug Jones, as the subject of Elisa’s intrigue, fascination, and infatuation. And before you ask, yes; the relationship gets saucy. Overall TSoW follows a classic melodrama narrative of unrequited love similar to Cinderella, but with the rolls of the prince and princess reversed, and the prince is also an amphibian. The plot can be a tad predictable but for the most part the final cut’s just so delightfully charming and brilliantly made that one can’t help but succumb to its mellifluous delight.

One of the challenge’s that comes with reviewing a Grade-A del Toro picture is deciding which of the film’s strongest accomplishments should get highlighted and what gets overshadowed. The Shape of Water simply has too many positives that listing all of them would result in a boring block of asinine appraisal so I’ll just name a few: First off, Dan Laustsen’s camera work is sweeping, magnificent, and creates a visually ethereal effect which at times makes you feel like your watching a dream. Hawkins is enchanting and hauntingly empathetic whilst communicating almost exclusively through sign language and facial expressions. Richard Jenkins is charismatic and saccharine as Giles and Octavia Spencer, like always, is an absolute gem as Zelda Fuller. The Creature’s costume is an unequivocal spectacle of makeup, prosthetics, lighting, framing, and design and was (for me) the highlight of the film. I was also throughly  blown away at how well del Toro is as a “show don’t tell” director; there are loads of segments and scenes in TSoW where huge chunks of information (such as narrative, motivations, character development, etc.) are given to the audience almost entirely through the visuals. 

With that being said, I should mention that TSoW is far from perfect. At times I couldn’t help but feel that some parts of the film were paced or fast or ended too quickly. For instance, (and without spoiling much) there’s a scene in the middle of the film where the Creature runs off and Hawkins’ character goes to get him back and she does in, like, a minute. In contrast, I also thought some scenes would’ve benefited from being shortened or cut out altogether, especially with the Soviet spy subplot. Admittedly these complaints could be fixed with a bit of editing, but in general, it’s nothing detrimental to the film as a whole. But my biggest issue with TSoW, falls on its antagonist Richard Strickland (Michael Shannon), who’s this movie’s equivocal Gaston. Albeit his character fits right in with the story del Toro is telling; but I can’t help but feel like Shannon’s more inhuman actions would’ve been all the more impactful had they not revealed him to be such a dislikable psychopath so early on. Anyway, that’s all the issue I take with TSoW, and if they seem meager and unimportant to then you’d be right. Ultimately there’s just not that much wrong with The Shape of Water, otherwise it’s a pretty solid merman wish-fulfillment fantasy.  

At its core, The Shape of Water is a pastiche to all of what Guillermo del Toro loves about cinema, and humanoid-amphibians (seriously, this is his 3rd movie where a fishguy's in the main cast and the 2nd movie to show a fishman in an interspecies relationship; am I the only one seeing a pattern here?) but the final result is an emotional Romeo and Juliet-esque experience with all the charm and emotion of a top-shelf Disney musical with all the beautifully twisted imagination of del Toro unfettered.  The Shape of Water is dark, yet sincere. A sweet, but far from sappy modern fairytale which is honestly (in my opinion) what Guillermo does best (i.e. Pan’s Labyrinth). Even if you’re not inherently a fan of cinematic romances so long as you’ve got a pumping heart in your chest I guarantee you’ll find yourself enamored at the big screen love of a woman and a sinewy seahunk, for aren’t the strangest love stories also the most lovely? 

Three Word Horror #05