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#the woman king review
spotlight-report · 1 year
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"The Woman King" Movie Review
"@violadavis is coming in hot for an Oscar nomination" Check our #TheWomanKing Movie Review @SonyPicturesAUS @GPBmadeit
In 19th century Africa in the Dahomey region, a legion of warrior women known as the Agojie defend the realm of King Ghezo. When the larger Oyo Empire and European colonialists threaten to invade and take over, it’s up to the Agojie to go into battle to ensure the Dahomey remain free. The opening of the film introduces us to the Agojie as they raid a small village that has been harbouring some…
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ibtpreviews · 2 years
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cinemashedng · 2 years
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The Woman King Movie Review - A Love Letter to Nigeria's Past and Present Heroes
The Woman King Movie Review – A Love Letter to Nigeria’s Past and Present Heroes
Is The Woman King worth watching? I remember how I felt after watching Amina: a movie about the woman warrior that I’d read about while trying to understand why Nigerian University Halls were named after her and others like Queen Idia. While reading her abridged story online, I felt a sense of pride knowing that we had such a warrior and commander once upon a time in this country. The movie, on…
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csuitebitches · 11 months
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Book Review: Book 1: Stop People Pleasing (a 9-part series by Patrick King, “Be Confident and Fearless.”)
I’m reading a 9-part series by Patrick King, “Be Confident and Fearless.” His books talk about becoming assertive, saying no, not people pleasing anymore and being confident. Generally, such books are quite generic but I found his take on the subject interesting. His techniques to handle certain situations seem to be quite doable too. His techniques have been highlighted in bold.
Book One: “Stop People Pleasing”
A people-pleaser is worried about rejection. They have a need, as we all do, to be accepted and treasured—to be loved. But in people-pleasers, this need is amplified to the extent that they will bend over backward just to not lose that love or acceptance. This is more invalidating than giving an honest opinion.
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In reality, people-pleasers continued promises and inaction just tick their friends off, as it becomes apparent that they are willing to be dishonest and only say what people want to hear.
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They’re not really doing what they do to improve someone else’s life—they just want to feel more positive about themselves.
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Living under the limitations of our own viewpoint, we tend to think everyone in our circle is looking at and judging how we look and behave. At most, maybe a couple of people are paying attention to most of your moves, and they’re likely people you’re already close to who are supposed to know you better than anyone else.
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When you’re so consumed with the perceived needs of others, you’re not paying yourself any attention. You could be overlooking or ignoring things you need to do to take care of yourself.
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Avoiding confrontation for fear that it might only make things worse ironically results in the very outcomes it’s meant to deflect. The absence of confrontations doesn’t mean your relationship is all healthy, and the presence of confrontations doesn’t mean your relationship has gone to the dogs.
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The BLUE model is a specific CBT strategy developed by PracticeWise to help counter negative thinking. BLUE is an acronym that stands for the kind of extremely negative thoughts you should recognize in yourself when they do pop into your head. “B” stands for blaming myself, “L” is looking for bad news, “U” means unhappy guessing, and “E” represents exaggeratedly negative thoughts.
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What many people-pleasers fail to see is that sacrificing so much of themselves in pursuit of serving everyone else around them is sabotaging their very capacity to continue being there for others when it truly matters.
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Rejecting an invite is not the same as rejecting your friend and that prioritizing your own peace of mind by just settling into a restful weekend is totally okay.
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Ask yourself, “What are the things I do to be happy?” or “What are the core beliefs I have about my worth as a person?”
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Exposure therapy is the process of deliberately placing yourself in situations that cause you fear and anxiety. You’ll need to immerse yourself in your feared situations in a gradual and progressive manner, starting from situations that cause the least anxiety and later advancing to those that cause the most intense feelings of fear.
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Creating your fear hierarchy. The fear hierarchy is an ordered list of situations that elicit your fears and anxieties.
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The first habit we must develop is the habit of self-awareness. We don’t understand why we people-please, and we’re not aware when we’re doing it.
This begins with questioning the motives for your actions: “Why exactly am I going out of my way for this person?” “Do I genuinely care for them, or am I just afraid of what might happen without them?” “Would I be doing this out of free will, or am I doing it for someone else?”
Take note of the moment you’re starting to feel internal resistance. When that happens, stop everything and question why you’re doing it.
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The second habit to cultivate is the habit of personal autonomy. An autonomous person knows what they truly believe and why they believe it. But the differences that you’ve valued your own opinion over that of others. Or you’ve at least valued it equally and not by habit put your own opinion as inferior to that of others.
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That’s why it’s important to get into the habit of expressing yourself honestly. The more you communicate where you stand, the more people will know where you’re coming from (and what your limits are). After all, people can’t read minds, and to expect others to know what you want is an impossible task.
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Remain strong under pressure. When you stop people-pleasing, you will face some angry reactions. It’s not necessarily their fault because you have conditioned their expectations. But this is where you must not fold under pressure, like you previously would have. It only takes five seconds of extreme willpower, and it gets easier every time thereafter.
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How to set boundaries:
1. Determine your core values
2. Change yourself and only yourself. You dont control other people
3. Set consequences of someone else breaking your boundaries. Write down the boundaries you have, the actions others might take that trespass those boundaries, and exactly what you will do when they’ve violated your boundaries.
4. Communicate your boundaries to others in very exact terms. Make sure everybody’s very, very clear on what your limits are.
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If you tell yourself “I can’t,” you’re simply reminding yourself of the limitations you’ve set for yourself. You’re creating a feedback loop in your brain that tells you that you can’t do something that you would normally want to do.
When you tell yourself “I don’t,” you’re creating a feedback loop that reminds you of your power and control of the situation. You’ve given yourself a line in the sand that takes the situation out of your hands. Your choice was premade to say no and thus you can stick to it more easily.
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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.
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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.
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bluemoose86 · 1 year
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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
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totopopopo · 24 days
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“he reached around and cupped her ass; it was soft and womanly, heavy in his hand” THIS WRITING SUUUUUUCKSSSSS
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filmsfromreel · 1 year
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7 Great Films Snubbed at the 95th Academy Awards
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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ambeauty · 8 months
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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.
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mylifeincinema · 1 year
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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.
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movieanimex · 2 months
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Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Game Review:- Is It Worth Playing ? Checkout Full Review On MovieAnimeX:-
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dispatchdcu · 4 months
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Wonder Woman #3 Review
Wonder Woman #3 Review #wonderwoman #dianaprince #amazon #wonderwoman1984 #wonderwomanfan #DCEU #dccomics #comics #comicbooks #news #dcu #dcuuniverse #art #info #NCBD #comicbooknews #previews #reviews
Writer: Tom King Art:  Daniel Sampere and Belén Ortega Colors: Tomeu Morey and Alejandro Sanchez Letters: Clayton Cowles Publisher:  DC Comics Price: $4.99 Release Date: November 21st, 2023 Wonder Woman confronts Sarge Steel with an ultimatum in Wonder Woman #3 as a more insidious threat is revealed amidst the turmoil raging between the United States and Paradise Island.   By this issue’s end, a…
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My Thoughts: Wakanda Forever and The Woman King
I finished Wakanda Forever last night and watched the Woman King this morning, and while it certainly is not a competition between the two, I have to say I love The Woman King more. It was heavier in terms of content, yes, but ultimately was a more fulfilling story.
Before I continue, I want to preface that I am a white woman, and will be examining both movies through the lens of such and as a storyteller, focusing on content and style. I cannot speak for black or indigenous viewers, and do not intend to. These are simply my observations through my own eyes.
For me, Wakanda Forever suffered because of how good its predecessor was. The care that was taken to portray African culture and address the trauma of the forced diaspora and give identity and ethos to the people of Wakanda and African people as a whole was palpable throughout Black Panther. You could see it in the costumes, the language, the fight and dance choreography. It was a love story to the culture of Africa.
In Wakanda Forever, all of that felt flattened. I could tell that they were trying to focus on the relationships between Shuri and the people around her, but with so much attention focused on the loss of T'Challa, even she got overwhelmed by his shadow, and everything else seemed to fall by the wayside. As a result, the whole movie feels more like just another Marvel installment, whereas Black Panther stood on its own.
Not only that, but where Black Panther was able to truly showcase the bright majesty of African culture, Wakanda Forever failed to do the same for Talokan. The meso-american people who became Talokan seemed to get lost behind the blue paint and the shadows of their underwater city. Literally, in the case of the latter-- I could hardly see a thing in the underwater scenes.
While the creative team does get kudos for including such an overlooked population and trying to give them their own identity within the scope of the film, I personally think they made the wrong decision to cast Talokan and Namor as the antagonistic force of the story. As Shuri eventually realizes, the parallels between them make them much better allies than foes.
Meanwhile in The Woman King, we get the same vibe from the creative team that we got in Black Panther-- a desire to represent and do justice to the culture and identity of an African nation. In this, The Woman King succeeded better than Wakanda forever.
Furthermore, the story was tighter and the characters more full-bodied. They each had rich stories, motivations and personalities, and were given the room to showcase them. I also appreciated that The Woman King didn't shy away from the white characters all being monsters (the business with Agent Ross in Wakanda Forever felt suspiciously like a 'not all white people'). The one good character associated with the colonizers/slavers is in fact half-Dahomey, which also enriched his backstory while also making him sympathetic without teetering into the trap of, again, not all white people.
That said, one thing I appreciated about both is that there was no romance in either. The Woman King had a somewhat romantic connection between the protag and the half-Dahomey gentleman, but it was never acted upon and ultimately resolved into an alliance. That in itself seems rare in this day and age of Hollywood.
Ultimately, regardless of my disappointment with Wakanda Forever, I look forward to continuing to watch and hear stories from black/brown/nonwhite creators. They are still vastly outnumbered, and any contribution that makes it to the big screen only enriches us for the better. I hope Ryan Coogler, Gina Prince-Bythewood, and others like them continue to tell stories and produce projects, so that more people than just white folks can see themselves and their stories be represented onscreen.
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a-king-named-simba · 2 years
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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.
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jwilliams051197 · 6 months
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Outlaw, Part 1 (Wonder Woman #1 (LGY #801)) Review
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This was far better than I thought it was going to be. Sure, it still does have some of Tom King's annoying tropes, like the 9-panel layout that is found in books like Heroes In Crisis trying to capture the feel of The Dark Knight Returns. Unlike Heroes In Crisis, though, everyone actually feels like they're in character. Especially Wonder Woman most importantly. My favorite scene in this issue has to be her face-to-face with Sarge Steel in the snow. Her taking down the A.X.E. agents non-lethaly was so cathartic, and than telling Sarge Steel that she is searching for Emelie herself to find out why she perpetrated the murders was equally as cathartic.
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Speaking of Sarge Steel, this marks his return to the Wonder Woman books. Last time I saw him in these books was Jodi Picoult's run on the book. This book does a good job of building him up. Some of the talking news heads in this are a bit ridiculous, acting like the Amazons are one big hive-mind just because one Amazon committed a crime, athough that is just true to real-life politics with their assumptions on minorities. I'm really intrigued by this cliffhanger, too. I'm looking forward to seeing who this "Sovereign" is, and what exactly this "Lasso of Lies" is all about.
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thevindicativevordan · 6 months
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Comics this week, especially Wonder Woman's relaunch under Tom King ?
Wonder Woman #1 -
Wondersisters we're fucking back! Fantastic first issue from King and Sampere. It's a very tight compressed read, King wants to make the reader feel as blindsided by how quick everything goes to hell as Diana no doubt does. Sovereign looks like the King Washington from AC3, and I love his design. Connecting him to WW through the lasso mythology is a great concept. Despite the lasso being her iconic weapon, we really don't know a lot about it. King wants to write Superman so bad he gave Wonder Woman her own bald evil genius/mastermind to fight. Seeing Sarge Steel kill an Amazon in front of her own wife and child is a hell of a way to set the stakes. Some people were upset about that, but WW has needed to increase the feeling of danger in her books for a while now, and this accomplished that. Themsyacria itself isn't in danger, but Wonder Woman's mission in Man's World is, and that's a set up that works for me.
Love how Diana casts a huge shadow despite it being a while before she actually appears on page. We see King have her do all the actions you'd expect and then King shoots them all down as ineffective. God I love that scene where she sends her sword back to Nubia because she doesn't want to be tempted, sells the hell out of her being furious. And her dressing down of Sarge Steel? Peak Wonder Woman right there.
Steve is in a potentially very interesting place. Usually he's just Diana's wholesome and supportive boyfriend, this is a chance to put the screws to him and find out what makes him tick. He swore an oath and is technically committing treason by helping Diana, which he points out, but he still helps her all the same. Now I get we don't want to focus too much on a man in a WW book, but as her most important male supporting character, I argue that Steve needs fleshing out to bring him up to the level Lois and Selina are at.
My only qualm is I wish we get a page dedicated to the reaction of the other Wondy Rogues at this new player making moves. What does Circe or Cheetah or Cale make of this? Grail is going to show up, what's her angle? Definitely could see Psycho jumping for joy. While I doubt Sovereign can actually be Wondy's arch, I do like him as this new major player who upends Wondy's status quo, and I want to see where the other Wondy Rogues fit into his plans.
Superman #6 - Quick read but at least next issue is the oversized one. Livewire remains an ass despite working at the Daily Planet and that makes me deliriously happy. Having her as the anti-Superman voice at the Planet is a great gag, hell you could even have her livestream her fights with Supes to boost the DP's sales as a way to profit from being a villain even when she loses. AI Lex insisting on calling Superman "son" remains hilarious, Clark is clearly fed up with Lex's bullshit. The Chained seems to be a powerful telekinetic, was hoping for a more creative powerset, but at least he has hair. Saw that reference to Master Jailer helping Lex build the prison that held Chained, please let that be a tease for Jailer to make his return soon.
World's Finest #19 - Meh. Far as first meetings between Superman and Batman go, this one is down near the bottom. Jax is every bit as boring as I thought he would be, and Waid just pays lip service at the end towards the idea of Batman not trusting Superman. More fuel for the speculation that Waid is taking over Action with "Aethyr" showing up. What a boring look and design, not at all the Lovecraftian god in the vein of Gerber that PKJ had been building up. If Waid is really taking Action I have zero hope he delivers a satisfying conclusion to whatever plot threads PKJ himself doesn't wrap up. Waid is simply too stuck in the Silver Age. Let's hope Kingdom Come gives this book the shot in the arm it needs.
Nightwing #106 - Without Redondo the book's paper thin nature is front and center. Still, far as continuity goes, this does use the Ric era in a good way. Taylor of all people being the one to do something interesting with that time period surprises me.
Green Lantern: War Journal #1 - My grandma has dementia and I teared up at that scene where John makes a construct of his sister for his mother who has it. Caring for relatives with dementia is just trying to keep them happy even when it breaks your heart. If PKJ is really losing Action, at least here he can continue the United Planets plot threads with Thaaros. John put that fraud GL in his place and it was badass. If the Radiant Queen can body hop, maybe the people who speculated she's an alternate version of Katma are right and the body she's been in isn't her original.
Vigil #5 - It's good! Castle is more than a little shit.
Loki #4 - Damn good mini that I can only assume is being totally ignored by Ewing given the ending has Loki seemingly embracing his status as the God of Lies again. Or is that actually setting up Ewing Loki, who is openly apologetic about how he's going to fuck over Thor if it makes for a good tale in Immortal Thor? Watters needs to get more work.
Captain America #1 - Solid character beats and interactions, but it lacks a big "hook" as it were to keep me reading. I am amused to see JMS' big return to Marvel monthlies involves someone trying to make a deal with the devil.
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