I forget sometimes you guys have not watched half the shows I have,

you guys would EXPLODE if I tried to explain mort lore.

(from yk dream works's Madagascar?? yeah that guy? little brown lemur? yeah fucked up, almost completely crazed fever dream lore.)

anyway I was thinking about the cinematic parallels with chef and Chris from total drama and how it's literally the same fucking thing that happens in Hannibal mostly.

murderous eccentric loved by many: Chris

manipulates, doesn't care how many he kills because it's exciting: Chris

mutilates and disfigures people for his own enjoyment: Chris

wealthy: Chris

gets sent to jail because he's a fucking murder: Chris

pulls a good guy and turns him evil and is gay for him: Chris

I can go on and on, uh you may be saying

"what the fuck?? that happens in this show??? what's it even rated??"

it's PG, guys.. it's a kids show. total drama is surprisingly dark, it's awesome I suggest it if you like weird shows that are a spoof of survivor.

but my god is the show literally just Chris being fucking murderous and gay for chef the entire time.

THIS MAN HAS KILLED 78 PEOPLE HE CANNONICALLY WENT TO PRISON FOR IT. CHEF LITERALLY GOT HIM OUT.

(mostly it was the show getting another season, idk how they got him out of jail. 100% it was chef tho)

like they are full on murder husbands, this show is so chaotic and cringe but mostly just "CHRIS WTF" it's fucking great.

literally inlove gay murder husbands, it's fucking crazy how similar it parallels Hannibal (2013) while being older than it.

I love this show it's awesome.

Thoughts on The Woman King

Spolier-free:

First of all, I loved this movie! And so did the other two people I went with; the three of us literally talked about how we all wanted to see it again after it was over

Great fight choreography, loved getting to see a bunch of women go absolutely feral in battle without them being sexualized or still having to “look pretty.” There’s a lot of close-ups during fights of the Agojie killing people and it’s not pretty, it’s brutal and it’s fucking awesome (the movie is PG-13 though so it’s not overtly gory, which I personally appreciated)

THE ACTING???? On point the ENTIRE movie. Give Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, and Lashana Lynch ALL the awards RIGHT NOW. Viola Davis embodied Nanisca perfectly and was equally impressive in the epic battle scenes and in the emotionally vulnerable scenes. I’ve seen several articles talk about how this was a career performance from her, and she herself called the film her magnum opus. Lashana Lynch stole every single scene she was in. Izogie my beloved. I also enjoyed John Boyega’s portrayal of King Ghezo and Sheila Atim as Amenza

Also I literally had to do a triple take when I found out Thuso Mbedu, who plays 19 year old Nawi, is THIRTY ONE?????? SHE’S ONLY THREE YEARS YOUNGER THAN LASHANA LYNCH???? SHE’S THE SAME AGE AS SHEILA ATIM???? In other pictures she looks older but I am actually 19 and I stg when I found that out, I felt old

And still speaking of the actors, really cool how the majority of, if not all the Black actors in this movie were dark skinned, particularly the women. I read that when the movie was first being pitched, some studios wanted to cast light-skinned and well-known actresses, but the producers refused

The beginning felt a little rough to me in terms of pacing, but the movie hits its stride around the mid-point or so. And trust me, when it starts working, it works.

The script was also a bit weak sometimes, but I thought the performances made up for it

I’ve seen some people online saying the movie glorifies the slave trade or glorifies Dahomey while brushing the kingdom’s involvement in the slave trade to the side, which really confuses me because...it doesn’t? The movie opens with a text-scrolling intro à la Star Wars that literally mentions the slave trade, and several characters in the movie talk about it as well. Nanisca and King Ghezo have a conversation about how Dahomey profits from the slave trade, and how Ghezo’s brother sold their people—including his and Ghezo’s own mother—as slaves for profit. And then it gets more overt when some Portuguese men land at the port city, one of them specifically to buy slaves, and when we go into the city and LITERALLY SEE slaves being chained up, kept in cages, and brought onto the block to be sold. The movie both shows and tells you how awful the slave trade is, and how the people in the movie are impacted by it. At one point, some of the women are captured and prepped to be judged and sold and the entire process is presented as brutal and degrading. I’m seriously convinced that the people who say the movie is “glorifying slavery” have never seen it

Wanted to end this section on a good note lol so I’ll once again say IZOGIE MY BELOVED!!!!! Favorite character without a doubt, also gave off fruity vibes but y’all let me know if you picked up on that too lol

Overall, I definitely recommend this movie and I will 100% rewatch it in the future. Also this movie BETTER win some fucking Oscars or else 😤😤

Spoiler thoughts below!!

Izogie’s death scene was very well done. I kind of guessed they would end up killing her off since they really built her up as a character, but that didn’t lessen its impact at all. Lashana Lynch and Thuso Mbedu acted their asses off (as they did the whole movie, but particularly here). The actual set-up was good too: having Nawi convince her to stay alive so they could all escape together, setting her broken arm and then having to pretend like it was never broken, having her be the only one who actually escaped but deciding that Nawi was right that the Agojie should help each other and trying to go back for her, only to get killed while Nawi is begging her to keep running. Heartbreaking, but that’s what made it so good

By contrast, Nawi’s friend’s death (the Mahi prisoner, I forgot her name I’m so sorry) was not really impactful at all, beyond her dying right after being accepted by the other Agojie who had a problem with her before. I wish they had spent a little more time on both Nawi’s friends as individual characters and their relationship with each other. We barely saw Nawi interact with either of them before they became best friends, and after the Mahi girl died, neither Nawi or her other friend mourned her on screen (I know Nawi had been kidnapped at this point, but the other girl survived and wasn’t kidnapped)

I loved how Nanisca and the other Agojie went to the city intending to just rescue their own but she found out that the slave traders killed Izogie and Nawi was missing and she said “burn it to the fucking ground.” Iconic as HELL and I wish more stories would let their MC react like that

Also loved that the prisoners that Malik freed drowned the slave trader he came with. Fuck you dude

A woman literally getting to kill her abuser? We love to see it

I wish they’d brought up Nawi being an orphan a bit earlier in the movie, since it seemed like it was introduced rather suddenly after she became an Agojie. They could have pretty easily tossed in a line from her parents admonishing her for acting so terribly after they “rescued” her from the orphanage. 

I also really enjoyed Nanisca and Amenza’s relationship! I got kind of gay vibes but the only thing that was explicitly confirmed was how close they are and how much they mean to each other, which I was also happy with. I’m so glad Amenza survived the movie lol

7 Great Films Snubbed at the 95th Academy Awards

This year’s Academy Awards was a controversy-free celebration. Many of the awards handed out went to deserved winners, there were feel-good moments as Ke Huy Quan and Brendan Fraser accepted their awards after years away from the spotlight and there was no doubt that Everything Everywhere All At Once’s historic 7 wins were warranted. But, like all years at the Oscars, there are some omissions that deserved to be included. While we think this year’s winners were a wonderful collection of films, it would be remiss of us if we didn’t talk about some of the great films that were barely included. 

1. Decision to Leave

Director: Park Chan-wook | Crime, Drama | Language: Korean

Arguably one of the best film’s from 2022, Chan-wook’s unique Crime Drama solidifies why he’s one of the most distinct Directors working today. The zippy pace and attention to detail are what hook you to Decision to Leave but the Director’s approach to storytelling is wholly unique – even when compared to the films nominated at this year’s Oscars. 

Park Chan-wook’s storytelling is akin to that of Paul Thomas Anderson, while they are both dramatically different in style both filmmakers often tell their stories with an enigmatic quality that, although you’re not sure how or why, you are left completely in awe of the talent on show. Decision to Leave may not be as groundbreaking as Oldboy or as pitch-perfect as The Handmaiden, but it still stands head and shoulders above a lot of films released in the same year and while it’s been nominated numerous times over the award season, it feels like a shame not to see it honoured on the big night. 

2. The Northman

Director: Robert Eggers | Action, Drama

The only logical reason that Robert Egger’s Viking epic could have been snubbed entirely for this year’s Academy Awards is that it was released so early in the year that it slipped everyone’s minds come voting season. Whether it was the striking score, beautifully constructed sets shot with stunning cinematography, captivating performances not only from the lead Alexander Skarsgard but Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe, to the bold and inventive directing, there’s so much worthy of high praise.

Arguably the only aspect lacking compared to Egger’s previous outings is a uniqueness that something like The Lighthouse held – but it’s no excuse for excluding one of the best films of the year from the Oscars, especially when there is so much across the film’s production to celebrate.

3. Nope

Director: Jordan Peele | Horror, Sci-Fi

It’s difficult to pinpoint where exactly Jordan Peele’s newest film fits into the Oscars, potentially for its enigmatic screenplay, wonderful creature design or even for the scene stealing performance by Keke Palmer. But, regardless of where it fits, it seems a shame not to honour such a unique film.

The natural response to seeing one of his films is to compare it to Get Out, the film that won Peele his Oscar and became one of the most important films of the 21st Century. While Nope doesn’t feel as instant in its quality there is good reason to believe that in a few years, audiences will relish Nope for its singularity and also for Peele’s aptitude for storytelling. This is a wonderfully complex, funny and incredibly tense film that despite being snubbed for a lot of awards, will hopefully gather an audience for years to come.

4. The Woman King

Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood | Action, Drama, History | Languages: English, Portuguese

Gina Prince-Bythewood’s historical tale got two nominations at the BAFTAs, one for star Viola Davis’ powerhouse performance and also a nod for the Director herself, leaving to wonder just why it was left out at the Oscars. Davis’ performance, while commanding, was up against a number of fantastic Leading Actress performances this year. But, Bythewood’s lack of nomination seems to be a misstep from the Academy. 

There is an argument that structurally The Woman King isn’t much different from a number of action films we’ve seen but what’s more important is the representation and celebration it’s giving to it’s story. In recent years the world has been imploring Hollywood to create more diverse and dynamic roles instead of changing old ones and The Woman King does exactly that. It’s just a shame the Academy wouldn’t celebrate the film as much as we did.

5. Broker

Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda | Comedy, Drama, Crime | Languages: Korean

Many people have compared Hirokazu Kore-eda’s latest film to his 2018 drama Shoplifters. In some ways it’s a spiritual successor (Kore-eda himself calling it a companion piece), skirting some of the same themes of class structure and social standings, as well as the functionalities of family and what makes a ‘traditional’ family. Broker manages to talk about these same issues as well as infusing discussions of parental responsibility whilst keeping the mood light and fun – no easy feat.

Alongside this, Kore-eda somehow manages to make you sympathise with human traffickers – not the most malicious or intelligent, but pursued by the police for their crimes nonetheless. It might not be the home run Shoplifters was, but Broker still manages to inject some incredibly human and joyous moments in a strange tale of selling a child, all in his non-native language of Korean, not missing a step in cultural references either. Whether it was for Best International Film, Original Screenplay, or even an argument can be made for Best Director, the Academy missed a gem of a film this year.

6. Aftersun

Director: Charlotte Wells | Drama

Charlotte Wells’ nostalgic drama is less of a snub due to Paul Mescal’s touching performance getting a nomination, but the film’s quality lies in much more than its performances. At the BAFTAs the director accepted the award for Outstanding Debut and described the film as a eulogy to her Father – something that she achieves with a visceral and subtle reflection of watching someone you love suffer in silence.

As a distinctly British product it’s understandable that this film didn’t shake the Academy voters as much as the BAFTAs, but the film’s gorgeously told story is one of the best of the year. Many films that tell a ‘personal’ story rarely achieve the emotional connection that Aftersun achieves, and while it was a shame not to see more limelight shed on the film as a whole, there is no doubt that everyone will be eagerly awaiting what Wells does next.

7. Bones and All

Director: Luca Guadagino | Drama, Horror, Romance

The most obvious reason for not including Luca Guadagino’s latest film could be the fact it’s a love story road trip about cannibals – but it’s for that same reason it seems like a missed opportunity to open up the wonderfully weird story to the mainstream. With films like Everything, Everywhere All at Once making waves it seems like the Academy are changing their tone to quirky independent cinema, branching into the originality out there.

Whilst it might not have won many awards the performances from Timothee Chalamet, and more notably Taylor Russell and Mark Rylance, are enticing and exciting, bringing a grounded and relatable edge to a story that could have easily been disconnected and unrelatable. Guadagnino balances David Kajganich’s script with ease and a certain aesthetic beauty that many people first noticed in Call Me by Your Name – despite being in an unusual narrative, comes together in an intoxicating (and sometimes terrifying) coming of age tale.

After a couple days of thinking about Barbie and general reactions to it I can’t help but draw parallels between Barbie and The Woman King.

Barbie is a beautiful movie about so many things surrounding womanhood and femininity and our place in the world. Being that it is a film about Barbie, it is virtually a universal story that most women can attach to and empathize with almost immediately. Most of us have had some type of relationship with Barbie in our lifetime and All of us have a relationship to living under patriarchy and the impossible standards that are put onto woman of all races and nationalities.

I’m always interested in the overt or covert ways race can play a part in modern media. Barbie is generally colorblind. Where race, for the most part does not come up at all as facet of society that Barbie has had an effect on. There’s one line about Margot’s Barbie being “White Savior Barbie” and America’s white husband character butchering Spanish but that’s about it. So I think this makes the movie pretty palatable to everyone. Especially White audiences. The concept of movie is almost exactly the same as The Woman King.

The Women of the Dohemi tribe virtually live in isolation from the rest of the country/continent where they are given roles that are general given to men. (Barbieland). This movie does not have the ease of comedy to get you through more of its horrific moments but it is funny at times. John Boyega’s king character is essentially a bit of a Ken, where he refers a lot of his decisions to Viola Davis’ character. 

There is a central story about motherhood and daughters living up to and beyond their mothers expectations. Mothers still grappling decisions they made in the past and connecting with their daughters. Also commentary on aging. There’s a coming of age story and how men/love factor into the lives of powerful, dominant, women.

The patriarchy is closing in on the Dahomey in the form of slavers as it is on the Barbies in Barbieland. The more I think about, the more I am completely fascinated in the conversations these two movies have with each other.

Even the positioning of the movies in marketing were somewhat similar although vastly different budgets and opposite ends of the genre spectrum. The Woman King marketed as action/war epic (which it is and so much more and Barbie being marketed as a movie about a classic toy that comes to the real world (which it is and so much more)!

If you love Barbie and have not watched The Woman King, I strongly suggest it if you have the stomach for it. It can be tough at times, just how Barbie is at some points. But it is a movie about women finding their way in a larger world and not letting expectations define who they are or want to be. Sometimes people see things for what they are on the surface and immediately think nope not for me but I think it’s important, especially if we want to be a more empathetic culture (I’m speaking from an American lens) to see things that may not appear for us. It’s another thing to help us realize at the end of the day we’re all just humans and our existence is virtually the same.

My Week(s) in Reviews: January 29, 2023

Reading The Count of Monte Cristo this month really left me little time to catch many movies, but I did get a few new ones in the past couple weeks.

The Whale (Darren Aronofsky, 2022)

I had some major issues with this one, especially the disgusting screenplay and Aronofsky’s direction in the latter half of the film.

Brendan Fraser, though... Wow!! He takes this character and ignores all of the ugliness to bring an empathy to a man who’s all but given up entirely. There’s a sincerity to the way Fraser plays up the character’s flaws that never makes it seem like judgement is being passed or fun is being made (that’s left for the Aronofsky to do, for some reason), and how he blends those flaws with the character’s heart makes for some moments of overwhelming emotional richness in a film otherwise devoid of it. Fraser’s co-star Hong Chau and Sadie Sink are pretty damn fantastic, too. It’s a shame the film they’re in is so judgmental and ugly. - 5.5/10

The Woman King (Gina Prince-Bythewood, 2022)

Not very good... at all. No, Prince-Bythewood didn’t even deserve Oscar consideration, never mind one of the five spots, and hell no Viola Davis didn’t deserve a nomination alongside powerhouse performances like Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh’s. If anyone deserved awards attention, it was Lashana Lynch, who stole every second of screen-time she had. And even then, the film surrounding her is so painfully formulaic and dull that it made her great performance less memorable by association. - 4/10

A Man Called Otto (Marc Forster, 2022)

I LOVED Fredrik Backman’s book. That being said, while the film stays mostly true to the heart of the book, some of the bigger emotional moments lost some of their heft in the adaptation, as did the excision/changing of some of the material in the flashbacks. Thankfully, the cast - especially Tom Hanks, who while not quite as curmudgeonly as Ove in the book, was really damn good - and Forster’s ability to maintain the balance of humor and emotion throughout made this book fan happy with the final product. - 7.5/10

All Quiet on the Western Front (Edward Berger, 2022)

It’s been sitting in my Netflix queue since like a month before it even dropped, and for some reason it just kept slipping through the cracks. After its impressive showing in the Oscar nominations last Tuesday, I figured it was time I gave it a go. Damn. Let’s just say I’m glad I did so before I locked and posted my Best Directors and My Top 10 Films of 2022 lists.

This is one bleak, filthy, visceral, and brutal anti-war film. It’s focus on the people fighting makes even the bigger set-pieces feel intimate, yet no less exhausting. The direction and camera work is just stunning, patient and unforgiving and technically impressive. The makeup is so effectively grimy it had me wiping mud out of my eyes sitting warm and comfortable on my couch. And the performances were chock-full of a hope-tinged desperation that made each and every inevitable death all the more soul-shattering. - 9/10

Enjoy!

-Timothy Patrick Boyer.

All these women (and John Boyega) are phenomenal. Viola Davis continues to show off why she’s one of the most respected actresses in the game, and she’s shredded like a julienne salad.

The Woman King

KING CREOLE Film Review

Ok guys, this might be blasphemy for most Elvis Presley superfans, but I’ve been listening to his music since childhood and have never seen any of his full movies until tonight. I’ve seen bits and pieces on YouTube, and watched King Creole only once before after I graduated college, but might have fallen asleep during it due to exhaustion from job hunting. Oops. Sorry, Elvis...

But now seeing King Creole in its entirety (without falling asleep!!!), I have to say it’s a great film. Although Elvis is a much better singer than actor, he really shines in this, and his acting skills were definitely pretty good. Although it’s a darker movie than I was expecting, I really enjoyed most of it. And when I learned that Michael Curtiz, who directed Casablanca, one of my favorite movies, directed this, I understood why I really liked this movie.

Elvis as Danny Fisher was a lot of fun to watch. He’s a great character who you can’t help but root for. And I couldn’t wait for the musical performances the whole time, and found them incredibly entertaining and engaging. My two favorite songs are “Trouble” (will never get tired of that song and performance - and the only scene I remembered from the movie before watching it again tonight) and the title song, “King Creole.” Although it was pretty cool hearing “Hard-Headed Woman” in the movie as well, when I’ve been listening to that song on its own for years. Although Elvis’ acting could use some work, once he got to belting out the songs, he quite literally stole the show. 

And the actresses alongside him in this movie almost stole the show from right under his feet as well. Carolyn Jones as Ronnie was amazing in her role, and was a lot of fun to watch, in essence, being miserable and drinking a lot. But she did have some of the best dialogue in the movie, and I really liked her role. And Jan Shepard as Mimi, just an innocent girl who falls for Danny, was nice to watch as well. I did like both women in their roles, and didn’t have a favorite for Danny to choose. 

But speaking of the women....being the 1950′s, how this film handled the women didn’t really age too well. They were more background noise than playing a bigger role. It was a man’s world, and that’s never more apparent than watching it in the present day. 

Still, though, I can understand why this was Elvis’ favorite of his movies, even though I haven’t watched any of his other films fully through yet. From what I heard, his movies go downhill from here, so I’m not sure if it was a good idea to start with his best one, as most people I saw online called it. 

But tomorrow I’ll be watching Jailhouse Rock, and I’ll let you know what I think of it, compared to this one. Look out for a review of that movie tomorrow night!

Also, Elvis’ accent was distracting during the dialogue scenes. I couldn’t help it. I missed some of the things he said because of his thick, but charming, Southern accent. Oh well. Guess there’s always time to watch it again...

Rookie-Critic's Top 25 Films of 2022: Honorable Mentions - The Woman King (dir. Gina Prince-Bythewood)

I don't really know what to say about this one except that it is a straight-down-the-middle home run of a film. It's entertaining, it's moving, the acting is great, the cinematography is amazing, and not only is the cast made up of almost entirely of BIPOC, it's made up almost entirely of BIPOC women. We love to see women supporting women on film, and The Woman King is the ultimate action-adventure film to embody that spirit. Again, this is a very classically good film.

Currently streaming on Netflix. Read my full review of The Woman King here.

(@THEJUDAHITE) -IF YOU SAY #THEWOMANKING WASN'T A GOOD MOVIE, YOUR LYING AND I AM NO LONGER INTERESTED IN TRYING TO HAVE AN INTELLIGENT CONVERSATION WITH YOU! IF YOU DO BELIEVE IT WAS A GOOD MOVIE BUT ARE NOT SURE WHY PEOPLE HAVE SUCH A PROBLEM WITH IT, THEN LET ME EXPLAIN. SOME JUST PLAIN 'OL HAVE A PROBLEM WITH SEEING BLACK WOMEN WITH STRENGTH, OTHERS ARE UPSET BECAUSE THE MEN LOOKED WEAK & EFFEMINIZED (WELL SOME OF THEM). BUT THE INTELLECTUALS PROBLEM, (THE PEOPLE THAT RESEARCH, STUDY AND READ). THEIR PROBLEM IS THAT WHEN SOME PEOPLE SEE MELANIN AND HEAR WORDS LIKE AFRICA, THEY THINK WE ARE ALL THE SAME PEOPLE, BUT THE BIBLE DISAGREES. GOD CHOSE PEOPLE AND FAMILIES IN WHICH HE WOULD DEAL WITH. HE CHOSE NOAH, AND AFTER, IN GENESIS 9:26 (HE IS CALLED THE (POWER)-GOD OF SHEM). HE IS NOT CALLED THE GOD OF JAPETH OR THE GOD OF HAM BECAUSE OVER TIME THEY GET THEIR OWN GODS TO WORSHIP. SHEM'S CHILDREN LEAD TO HIS GREAT+GRANDSON ABRAHAM. ABRAHAM LEADS TO ISAAC, WHO HIMSELF LEADS TO JACOB, THE FATHER OF THE 12TRIBES OF ISRAEL. TO BE KIN TO ISRAEL, YOU HAVE TO COME THRU SHEM BUT MORE SPECIFICALLY, TERAH GREAT+GRANDSON OF SHEM, OTHERWISE YOU ARE CONSIDERED A GENTILE/HEATHEN. HEATHENS ARE SIMPLY CHILDREN OF NOAH WHO FAILED TO ESTABLISH WORSHIP OF THE TRUE CREATOR AND INSTEAD FOLLOWED AFTER GODS THEY THEMSELVES CREATED OR WERE TAUGHT OF BY ANGELS/SPIRITS, (SPIRITS ASSIGNED TO DECEPTION & EXPANDING EVIL ON THE EARTH). SO WHAT'S THE POINT? THE POINT IS WHEN YOU WATCH THE MOVIE 'THEWOMANKING, YOUR WATCHING A HOLLYWOOD VERSION OF A TRIBE OF PEOPLE WHO WERE ENEMIES TO OUR ANCESTORS. PEOPLE CHEERED BECAUSE THEY WERE HAPPY TO SEE PEOPLE WITH SIMILIAR COLORED SKIN WINNING IN BATTLE. PROBLEM IS THEY ARE THE PEOPLE IN HISTORY WHO FOUGHT AND CAPTURED AND SOLD OUR ANCESTORS, INTO SLAVERY WHICH RESULTED IN YOU BEING BORN HERE IN AMERICA. THERE ARE HAMITES IN THE WORLD CALLED BY DIFFERENT NAMES BASED ON HOW THEY SEPERATED, THERE ARE ALSO JAPHETIES, AND SHEMITES. WHEN ISRAELITES (SHEMITES) WERE CHASED OUT OF ISRAEL, THEY WENT WHERE THEY ALWAYS WENT, INTO AFRICA TO HIDE, BECAUSE THE PEOPLE OF THAT LAND LOOKED SIMILIAR AND IT WAS EASY TO BLEND IN. (SEE MATTHEW 2:13 & Hosea 11:1) SO WHEN WATCHING THE MOVIE, YES BE CAREFUL NOT TO CHEER BECAUSE YOU ARE CHEERING ABOUT THE DESTRUCTION THAT CAME TO YOUR PEOPLE FOR THEIR DISOBEDIENCE TO THE LAWS OF OUR GOD. #SHALOM #EDIFY (ISRAELITEBIBLESTUDY.COM)

The Woman King

An all-female warrior unit who protects the African Kingdom of Dahomey against people who wish to annihilate them.

If The Woman King was about any other African Empire or even a made-up one, the film easily works. It tells for the most part a compelling story, with great acting, production, and costume design, with great battle sequences. Sadly, when you put this film into the historical context of who the film is portraying, it entirely falls apart. The film portrays the Dahomey Empire as abolitionists and victims of the slave trade. However, this could be further from the truth. They were one of the most notorious slaving empires in history. Their entire economy was based upon the capturing and selling of people into slavery. Even their famous Agojie were entirely slaves, unlike volunteers as shown in the film. The girls were stolen from their families at a young age, and brainwashed (using mass human sacrifices), into becoming obedient servants and mindless killers. It was not until the French destroyed the empire in the early 1900s, that their slave trade ended. The filmmakers should be ashamed of themselves. They portrayed slavers as heroes and abolitionists. Not only is this a massive misrepresentation of history, but purposeful deception to score political points. Shame.

I am giving The Woman King, a D.

I never knew I needed an inspirational movie, not until I have watched "The Woman King" 😭✊🏻!!! My heart totally broke in the last segment huhu it just shows how a mother truly cares for her daughter that no matter what the odds may be, a parent will always be a parent and he/she will conquer and breakdown all the walls and enemies just to save their children so that they can be safe.

"Your tears mean nothing. To be a warrior, you must kill your tears."

- Parang sinasabihan lang ako na to be a BSA Student, I need to kill my flaws – those that will hinder me from excelling in this field. Ofc I don't see tears as a weakness, it is part of being a human. Kaya naman, the most proper thing to do is to balance my time to study (to strengthen my foundation) and to enjoy the rest of my time also ( to be vulnerable and weak).

"His brother did not honor it, but King Ghezo believes in tradition. In the twin gods, Mawu and Lisa. Woman and man. Equal. Ghezo will name a woman king. For the gods and the people."

- This what I truly like during the whole duration of the movie, the concept of gender equality and fairness, the Kingdom of Dahomey let the women to be strong and brave to fight for what they think are right that will surely bring goodness and peace to the whole community.

"Sometimes a mouse can take down an elephant."

"Vision is seeing what others do not."

"Fear not. Face it head on. Relentlessly, we will fight."

- I will hold on to this statement that King Ghezo have said in the movie 🥺✊🏻 I will fight for my dream, to help the Filipinos worthy of being helped and to improve the economy of our country.

"To stay, she must pass the test.

To be useful, she must stand on her own."

- Parang sa FAR lang kanina 😭✊🏻

"To be great, you must focus. There can be no distractions."

- Mukhang 'di ko ata kayang walang distractions bhie 🥺

"When it thunders, our ancestors demand we rip the shackles of doubt from our minds and fight with courage!

We fight not just for today but for the future!

We are the spear of victory!

We are the blade of freedom!"

"In my blood is the blood of a killer. A man who gave you so much pain. I am sorry."

- Nawi, her daughter

" You are Agojie. I am sorry. I left you. I was not brave enough. But you survived because you are meant to be here. It is not your fault what happened to me. You… are not the thing that hurt me. You are Nawi. You are my daughter. I am sorry."

- Nanisca (the woman king/ her mother) towards her daughter Nawi

These statements that Nanisca have spoken, pertaining to her long lost daughter Nawi, will really scarred me for a month 🥺😭

The Woman King (2022)

"In the 1800s, a group of all-female warriors protects the African kingdom of Dahomey with skills and fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen. Faced with a new threat, Gen. Nanisca trains the next generation of recruits to fight against a foreign enemy that's determined to destroy their way of life."

This is a movie set during a very dark period of West African history, and while it probably diverted around some of the really problematic parts it didn't shy away from a very serious point. It's made clear throughout the film that some of the tribes are selling their own, and other tribes', people into slavery. Yes, the white Europeans are there buying the slaves, but they are sold them by locals. This is a disturbing thing and there were a lot of people at fault on both sides.

That aside this is a really well made film. Director Gina Prince-Bythewood has brought us a story of true intensity that doesn't shy away from just how hard life was for the people of the time. She gives images of joy and passion, interspersed with pain and darkness. She shows shades of light and dark within the characters, realising many of them as being both on the light and dark side of the situations. Her choices of shots were well made and the way she filmed the major fight scenes highlighted just how dangerous they were. She didn't hold back when it came to bloody wounds and injuries, and that definitely helped the realism.

The film itself deals with themes of slavery, domestic abuse, sexual assault and the brutality of war. It could be a pretty hard watch for people that may have faced some of those things in their lives, and a lot of the reasons for the strength of the scenes comes from the performances.

There are so many excellent performances in the film that it would be impossible to talk about them all without this review being ten times longer. So I'll focus on just a few. Viola Davis as Nanisca, Thuso Mbedu as Nawi, Lashana Lynch as Izogie, Jordan Bolger as Malik and John Boyega as King Ghezo are the standouts. Mbedu is just fantastic to watch. She goes from a young impetuous woman, abandoned by her family, to a kick-ass warrior and one of the heroes of her people, and she does this with an assured and strong performance. Lynch is a superb actress anyway, but she lands the role of Izogie on the mark in every single scene. She is just fabulous.

Bolger, as the son of a slave originally from Dahomey, is in a tough spot. He is neither one nor the other, European or African, and he walks that line of huge uncertainty with a lot of genuine talent. I don't know his work outside of this, but will definitely watch out for him in the future. As for Boyega? I only really know him properly from Attack the Block and Star Wars, two massively different properties to this. He has a level of maturity in this film that can only come from experience. His King is under attack from multiple outside sources, and under 'contract' from the Europeans. Boyega straddles the boundaries of those two worlds like he was born into them both. A brilliant performance.

The absolute star of the film is, of course, Viola Davis. She commands the screen as strongly as she commands the Agojie warriors all through the film. When she was on screen, regardless of who else was, my eye was drawn to her presence. She pulled me in and made me believe in this proud, strong, yet broken, warrior. She absolutely deserves awards for this film and I look forward to her getting them.

Overall this is a really well made, well performed film. It doesn't shy away from talking about historically problematic issues, though it clearly isn't as in depth, or dark, about them as it could have been. I do understand why though. You have to make a film for the majority.

I've wavered on the score for this film as I've written this. I had an idea of a number, but as the review has come together I've realised that the film was a little better than my initial feelings. That being the case this is getting a rousing 8.5/10, with a definite recommendation to go see it asap.

The Woman King - 2022

SAFE

*** Coughing, gasping for air and blood can be seen and heard throughout movie.***

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