Tag Archive | "Black Panther"

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FLICKS: The Top 10 Flicks, Another look at 2018

Posted on 10 January 2019 by LeslieM

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Last year, many critics joked that since Ash Wednesday would be on Valentine’s Day and Easter Sunday would fall on April Fools Day, many Christians would be confused. Instead, people’s faith in their God was severely tested on Feb. 14 with the Parkland Shooting. In the midst of political finger pointing, our neighbors pitched in and attempted to heal the painful situation. Bentley, host for Deerfield Beach Percy White Library’s Wags & Tales Reading Program, visited Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School as a therapy dog. The Coral Springs Museum of Art encouraged art therapy and displayed student’s art work. Music was another form of release as I witnessed two teenage strangers from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School bond with each other through their acoustic guitar strumming.

On April 1, 2018, family and friends quietly celebrated; it was a quiet news day. At 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, the first notes of Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert on the NBC Network and social media exploded. While there was common criticism of cheesy TV commercials, the live production was a juggernaut of show-stopping musical numbers featuring John Legend, Sara Bareilles, Alice Cooper and Brandon Victor Dixon singing the signature song. After 40 days and one week of grief and despair, Jesus Christ Superstar provided a few hours of escapism that good art should provide.

Beyond a good story, interesting characters and strong visualization, this year’s Top 10 List includes movies that helped me escape. I went into the dark cave known as cinema and emerged with a sense of illumination about my place in this world.

Cinema Dave’s Top 10 favorite films (In reversed alphabetical order):

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

12 Strong

The Mule

Juliet, Naked

First Man

Eighth Grade

Creed II

Bohemian Rhapsody

Black Panther

Avengers: Infinity War

Honorable mentions: Solo, A Star is Born, Ready Player One, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

2018 will go down as a fine year for documentaries. Won’t You Be My Neighbor was unique because Dr. Fred Rogers was such a positive character and the film retained a sweetness from beginning to end. Despite a tragic ending, Sharkwater Extinction was a fantastic visual experience featuring gorgeous sunsets and underwater adventure. RBG and Love, Gilda provided private insight into two public figures, a Supreme Court Justice and a gonzo comedian, respectively. While The King is a toe-tapping assault about the fruits of American capitalism from the Hollywood elite, Women of Venezuelan Chaos presented the squalor and negative effects of the dreams of socialism, which is an eminent front for government tyranny.

With the exception of Christian Bale thanking Satan for his Golden Globe win, the Hollywood elite bridled their words at last Sunday’s awards ceremony. Based on the belligerent behavior of Hollywood elites (I am looking at you, Robert DeNiro), the television ratings have been increasingly dropping. The box office broke records for 2018, but with Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther contributing for nearly a billion dollars in the kitty alone. Without family friendly Marvel Comic Universe movies for 2018, the record breaking box office would have collapsed like a house of cards.

With new revenue streams like Amazon and Netflix, many award-nominated motion pictures had limited screen time in theaters. In fact, some films go from opening at film festivals to direct streaming on your computers if you purchase Netflix or Amazon. If movie theaters plan to survive, they need to focus on good old-fashioned customer service and cleaner movie theaters.

Nonetheless, I am optimistic about visiting Savor Cinema in the next couple of months to catch up with the Oscar nominated films that I did not see yet. With Glass, Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame opening at Museum of Discovery and Science (IMAX) in Ft. Lauderdale, expect to see Cinema Dave eating a jumbo bag of popcorn and enjoying Saturday Matinee escapism.

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CLERGY CORNER: Parkland, Black Panther and God

Posted on 22 February 2018 by LeslieM

Why did God allow this to happen? That was the question my youngest daughter asked as we watched the news coverage and wrestled with our emotions over the recent tragedy at the High School in Parkland. I’m not sure that my answer satisfied her, or me for that matter. The question is always difficult to answer whenever it is asked in times of personal or public heartache. I mumbled something about our freedom to make our own choices in life, and how God does not force His will or His way upon any of us. We are free to choose and, unfortunately, some choices result in pain and suffering, for ourselves and others. The young shooter made some decisions last week that have severely impacted families, our community, and our state. Much hand-wringing, anger, despair and frustration are being displayed as a nation comes to grip with another sad 21st Century reality.

If God did, in fact, intervene to give us all only what we desire, and prevent any loss, would we be happy or satisfied? An affirmative answer is too easy to express, and the question demands further consideration. We’re all different and have varying tastes, preferences and experiences that combine to make us as unique as we are. What pleases one horrifies or offends another, and, when we are thrust together in community such as we are, it is inevitable that conflict will arise. Laws are enacted to provide boundaries for our protection by limiting our freedom. For the most part, we all try to live peacefully and make compromises when necessary to maintain harmony; but, every now and then, something happens to remind us of our imperfection.

Why did you leave him behind? That was the question posed by T’Challa to his father in the movie Black Panther. A young boy, of royal lineage, was left fatherless and alienated from his ancestral people, which gave rise to anger and a warped view of reality that he would grow up to impose upon his people and the world. That decision to leave him behind ultimately led to a nation in turmoil and a world in jeopardy. The fictional conflict in Black Panther and the real tragedy of Parkland converge at the point of consequences to decisions that are made by broken individuals. The villain of the movie and the shooter in the school are both tormented souls in need of healing and guidance. Proverbs 14:12 notes, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” When we reject the collective wisdom of family and community, we are left to our own imperfect perceptions informing our decisions, with potentially disastrous consequences.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus offers us guidance as to how we should live. With respect to those with whom we differ and oppose, Matthew 5:44 records, “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” The implementation of that directive alone would spare us from many of the tragedies we impose upon each other. God will not force us to do it, however; we are left to choose our own way.

It is my prayer that more of us would choose the way of love and peace, the way of God. My heart goes out to the victims of last week’s violence, along with prayers for comfort, peace and strength for their families. I pray for the tormented souls among us who need to be heard, healed and cared for. I pray for our government and legislators to heed the cries of the children in the streets, and to take steps to better protect them. I pray for a return to the safety, guidance and stability that used to mark the nuclear family. I pray that all of us would heed the wisdom of God and make better decisions for ourselves and those around us.

Bishop Patrick L. Kelly is the pastor of Cathedral Church of God, 365 S. Dixie Hwy., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441. 954-427-0302.

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FLIFF: 1945 and Black Panther opens, MIFF announces iconic guests

Posted on 15 February 2018 by LeslieM

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Two new films open this weekend, one full of sound and fury from the Walt Disney marketing machine, the other quietly garnering awards on the film festival circuit. There will be no contest as to who the box office champion will be this weekend. Through contrasting filmmaking, there is no mistaking the variety of good films opening this weekend.

1945 opens when a train drops off an Orthodox Jew and his full grown son at a Hungarian village in August in 1945. The United States has dropped the atomic bomb in Japan and battles of World War II have subsided. It is the wedding day for the town clerk, but his focus seems distracted by the two visitors. Could these two men be heirs to the Jews who were deported during the Holocaust?

In the Hungarian language with English subtitles and clocking in at 90 minutes, 1945 is the most unique epic on the big screen. Shot in black & white film stock, 1945 echoes many great American Westerns, most notably 3:10 to Yuma and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. It is a story about the Holocaust, but with an emphasis upon living with the consequences of surviving this horrible time.

Black Panther is the 18th film in the Marvel Comic Universe, the penultimate film before Avengers: Infinity War opens this May 4. While this information provides subtext and an appreciation for the vast tapestry of these Marvel movies, Black Panther is a stand-alone movie whose lead character was introduced two years ago in Captain America: Civil War.

With the demise of his father and king, Prince T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) is the heir to the throne of Wakanda, a legendary country in the hidden jungles of Africa. Isolated for thousands of years, Wakanda is considered a third-world country. In fact, it is a country with hidden technical and medical superiority. Through ritual and tradition, Prince T’Challa is proclaimed King and is given the additional title of “Black Panther” — protector of the kingdom.

As the Black Panther, King T’Challa’s first job is to bring Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) to justice. Besides being implicated with the death of Black Panther’s father, Klaue has been selling Wakanda weapons to terrorist organizations throughout the world. One customer — Erik “Killmonger” Stevens (Michael B. Jordan) — has had a grudge with the Wakanda leadership since the Rodney King riots of 1992. This conflict leads to a satisfying climax that works as a big comic book epic, while focusing on a human story about two men who qualify as the modern day version of Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper.

1945 and Black Panther create contrasting forms of escapism this weekend.

After the Olympics, South Florida’s longest standing film festival, The Miami International Film Festival, kicks off its 35th year. Writer/Director Jason Reitman will be presenting Tully, starring Charlize Theron, and Isabelle Huppert will be receiving the Precious Gem – Icon Award for her body of work. For a list of films and times, visit www.miamifilmfestival.com.

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