CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD

Captain America: Brave New World is one of those Marvel movies that you sit through just to get to the mid and post-credit scenes. I know that sounds harsh, and it’s not like it’s bad, but this is one of those movies that feels like a minor puzzle piece for the next ensemble Avengers movie rather than a memorable standalone story (it makes perfect sense that this was released in February instead of the summer). This isn’t exactly disposable but it’s one or two levels away from that. 

This movie had some minor/medium-sized issues out the gate thanks to the “anti-woke” and so-called “woke” audiences. It’s unfortunate that movies with Black actors in them cause so much reactionary nonsense from both sides because there is some worthy dialogue and critical analysis to be had about this movie. Instead, you have some people on one side mad because a Black guy is playing Captain America while folks on the other side of the argument are disingenuously invested because they’re motivated by antagonizing racist people. You know the type - the ones that care more about upsetting hypothetical Maga Bros than enjoying a piece of art and/or entertainment. This is a bigger issue that extends beyond the MCU. Everyone is motivated by disingenuous reactionaryism now more than ever, and it has spilled over in to art like never before. Instead of people deciding on their own if they genuinely like or dislike something, they wait and see what their opposition thinks and then they base their decision on that. Art is suffering because of this. Everyone is putting nuance and intellectualism aside in favor of poking at people that already don’t like them. It's like everyone is still stuck in this Jr. High mentality...

The ingredients were there for a potential fresh new chapter. Part of the new Captain America story picks up with the Isaiah Bradley/O.G. super soldier storyline from the Falcon & Winter Soldier show from a years back. All that stuff along with the inclusion of Giancarlo Esposito’s portrayal of the mid-level villain; Sidewinder should have been the sole focus. In the same way that the Doctor Strange sequel was it’s own standalone attempt at a fun horror movie or Shang-Chi was an attempt at a martial arts movie, Captain America: Brave New World could have been it’s own standalone action genre movie with Sidewinder as sole the villain. But for some reason Marvel felt the need to tie up the loose ends to a 17 year old movie that I’m pretty sure most people forgot about. As I stated in my last entry on the Thunderbolts, Brave New World is an unofficial sequel to The Incredible Hulk (2008) except without The Hulk. The storylines concerning Thaddeuus Ross’ Red Hulk and the re-emergence of Samuel Sterns/The Leader certainly deserved to be explored but why not just do that in an actual Hulk movie? I get the sense that Marvel studios isn’t interested in making another solo Hulk movie (they haven’t done one since Ed Norton). If that’s the case – just leave it alone. Sure there will be some unresolved loose ends but I don’t recall too many people asking about the return of Tim Blake Nelson’s Leader over the last 2 decades. The present-day MCU has far too many characters and storylines. I try to keep to up with all of the Marvel movies and shows but I’m not a comic book reader or too involved with all the MCU internet discourse. I'm a casual fan. Maybe I’m in the dark on this but were people really clamoring for Shang-Shi on the big screen or the Marvels or a post-mortem Black Widow solo movie? The problem is for as uninterested as I am with those projects, they are connected to other projects that I did find interesting like Thunderbolts* or Wandavision. So I guess you have to take the good/somewhat interesting with the bad/uninteresting.

The storylines concerning Isaiah Bradley and Ross/Sterns are connected in a clever way, but with a few easy changes to the script they could have been two separate movies. The writers managed to craft a clever way for Cap to defeat Thaddeus Ross/Red Hulk, but at the end of the day that isn’t an interesting matchup. A big part of the new Captain America storyline is that Sam Wilson/Falcon isn’t a super soldier or a mutant. Yes he has a special suit with wings and vibranium upgrades, but it’s nothing on the level of Ironman's suit. He’s an exceptional soldier but still has regular abilities at the end of the day. A showdown with someone like Red Hulk seems like a bit of mismatch. But that’s just my opinion. 

It would have also been nice if Giancarlo Esposito embraced his loud goofy side when playing Sidewinder but I guess we have to accept that fact that he'll be playing some slight variation of "Gustavo Fring" for the rest of his career.

Captain America: Brave New World is kind of two movies in one which is unfortunate because the load has been blown. I was never totally opposed to revisiting the loose ends from the 2008 Hulk movie but they should have started on a smaller scale with Sidewinder/Isaiah Bradley and worked their way up to a bigger film with Thaddeus Ross/Red Hulk in a buddy film with the new Captain America teaming up with David Banner/Hulk. 

THUNDERBOLTS*

The most interesting thing about the present-day Marvel cinematic universe is that as long as a character doesn’t die, there’s a chance they’ll be back at some point for one scene or an entire movie (even if a character does die, they’ll find some silly way to bring them back). After 15 years we saw Tim Roth’s Abomination brought back for She-Hulk. Ben Kingsley reprised his role as the fake Mandarin in Shang-Chi. Even the most recent Captain America film is a continuation of the (17 year old) Ed Norton Hulk movie. It’s honestly a Hulk sequel without Hulk. Thunderbolts* is the culmination of all this. Outside of Sebastian Stan’s Winter Soldier, I didn't have any emotional investment in supporting characters from the Black Widow solo movie or the Ant Man sequel or Wyatt Russell’s unlikeable “U.S. Agent” from the Falcon & Winter Soldier show, but Thunderbolts* managed to make me care about them for two hours.

Now…this was far from perfect. Enjoyable and fun but there were a few things that bothered me. I get that the underlying theme with this movie was self-doubt, insecurity and depression, but that doesn’t mean the color palette had to convey that for the entirety of the movie. I don’t know why so many comic book-based superhero movies refuse to take on a fun & colorful aesthetic. I make a point to say this because when I saw this in the theater, they showed the very colorful trailer for James Gunn’s Superman beforehand. The visuals from that trailer were so fresh in my mind that is made Thunderbolts* looks a little drab in comparison. 

Sidenote - I'm not exactly sure who James Gunn pissed off but everyone seems to suddenly dislike him and they're taking it out on his latest movie (before even seeing it). Last time I checked, between the new Suicide Squad, Peacemaker and The Guardians Of The Galaxy, I thought everyone liked him. 

The drabness is also highlighted when you compare scenes from Thunderbolts* and the movies that it borrows from…

The Matrix /
Thunderbolts*

Ghost In The Shell /
Thunderbolts

 

I also don’t know why so many post-End Game Marvel films refuse to commit to a full-time villain. Someone completely evil in the vein of early bad guys like Ironmonger, Red Skull or Abomination. There are some obvious exceptions but these days, Marvel always feels the need to give a sappy backstory to the villain or put in some subplot or flashback that makes them sympathetic or an anti-hero more than a full villain. Namor certainly did unforgivable things in Black Panther 2, but his reasoning sort of made sense and by the end of the movie he only ended up being kind of a villain. Thaddeus Ross/Red Hulk absolutely broke the law but by the end of the movie he’s reunited with his daughter and we kind of feel bad for this pitiful old man with a weak heart. Between Age Of Ultron, Wandavision and the Doctor Strange Sequel – they can't seem to decide what side Scarlett Witch is on from one story to the next. The same applies to Loki. I understand that the source material does this with characters from time to time but I just think the movies are going a little overboard. Strangely enough, Thunderbolts* is a collection of “almost-villains” and anti-heroes from pre-existing Marvel stories that finally get to do good and/or fully redeem themselves.

Taskmaster (R) got the Slipknot in Suicide Squad (L) treatment

Without spoiling too much, I’m not exactly sure why Olga Kurylenko was brought back if they were going to make her character so disposable. But again – this is Marvel. Maybe we’ll see her again.

This might be extra nitpicky but there’s also no excuse for the some the background inconsistencies. At the end of the movie there’s a big showdown where the Thunderbolts drive a truck through the ground floor of a building and have a shootout with a s.w.a.t. team in the middle of Manhattan. If you pay attention to the people in background – everyone is going on about their day as nothing is happening. No onlookers, no screaming no panic or anything. This becomes inconsistent because minutes later Sentry terrorizes the city and suddenly the same background players react in terror. To me, there’s no excuse for that.

Complaints and criticisms aside, this was a fun movie with a consistent tone that allows humor and wittiness at the right time in comparison to something like Thor Love & Thunder which felt like three different unrelated movies mushed together. It’s unfortunate that we’re in a lengthy period of Marvel fatigue because there are a few exceptional movies from the last few years that are good/fun/entertaining, but get lost in the shuffle (I still think Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is really good). I’m not fully sold on the Thunderbolts* ending or the way the film’s actual villain was let off the hook. But, like the final scene with Namor in Black Panther 2, I guess we’ll have to wait and see how the relationship between our heroes and the “almost villain” will play out. 

Julia Louis Dreyfus’s Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is, in my personal opinion, the perfect comic book villain performance. Unfortunately they don’t fully commit to her being completely bad (even though, according to what’s presented in the movie, she is indirectly responsible for the deaths of lots of innocent people).

While there is of course a post-credit scene that sets up a much bigger story for the future, Thunderbolts* did feel like it’s own individual movie instead of a feature length means to a 60 second post-credit scene like a handful of recent/semi-recent Marvel movies. I’m not too excited for the next big Avengers movie but I do look forward to the next Thunderbolts*/New Avengers chapter.

THE FOUL KING

Now that the Venn Diagram crossover between professional wrestling and cinema has reached an all-time high, perhaps it’s the perfect time for a re-evaluation of Kim Jee-Woon’s Foul King. It’s completely understandable that this movie isn’t as well known as something like The Wrestler or The Iron Claw. Generally speaking, foreign films still have an unfair stigma attached to them when it comes to English speaking audiences. There’s a good amount of mainstream English speaking audiences that consider anything with subtitles to be “slow” or “artsy”. We see it every day on social media - An actor or filmmaker are asked to name their favorite movies during a press tour and when they list something that isn’t Star Wars or Pulp Fiction they’re called pretentious simply because they like movies where people have accents or something. Not every movie with subtitles is slow or hard to follow. And not every English-speaking film is easy to digest. The Foul King is silly, goofy, sometimes explosively violent and full of heart. Another reason this movie is so niche is because it references non-American wrestling. There is one quick moment that shows a match between Steve Austin and The Undertaker, but for the most part this movie focuses on Japanese wrestling. At the time this movie was made, we were in the throws of the Monday night wars between the two biggest wrestling companies at the time (WWE & WCW). It wasn’t easy to keep up with foreign wrestling in 1999/2000 so it’s understandable that casual wrestling fans would have no idea who’s being referenced outside of crossover stars like Jushin Thunder Liger or The Great Muta. Even the most hardcore wrestling fans couldn't keep up with watching foreign wrestling on a consistent basis outside of reading newsletters & dirt sheets. Instead of Hulk Hogan, Sting and The Rock, The Foul King references wrestlers like El Hijo Del Santo, Tiger Mask and Vader (Vader certainly had a solid career on U.S. soil but he was a mega star in Japan).

Vader's entrance / The Foul King

Tiger Mask's backstage entrance / The Foul King

Masked wrestling plays a huge part in Foul King. The importance and lore behind the masked wrestler, made popular by Rey Mysterio, didn’t really reach American audiences until way later. Prior to that it was more of a novelty compared to wrestling in Japan and Mexico. There’s a scene towards the end of Foul King where our protagonist is partially unmasked in the ring which causes the audience to gasp similar to the classic Rey Mysterio/Eddie Guerrro Halloween Havoc match (it should be noted that while Foul King certainly gets in to the predetermined/"worked" aspects of Pro-wrestling, all of the in-ring scenes are made to feel real). 

 

Halloween Havoc '97 / The Foul King

It isn't identical, but the mask worn by our protagonist in Foul King is similar to the Great Zebra's mask...

The Great Zebra / The Foul King

The film even opens with archived footage of what appears to be a New Japan or All Japan wrestling match.

 

Wrestling aside – Foul King pulls from the likes of The Coen Brothers and Shinya Tsukamoto. It would actually make for a great double feature with Tsukamoto’s Tokyo Fist. Both movies have incredibly similar plots: an unmotivated office worker finds his calling inside of a ring. The only difference is Tokyo Fist is boxing and Foul King is wrestling. As silly as wrestling can sometimes be, it can be a motivation for some. Teachers incorporate it in their lesson plans for elementary school kids. The physical element behind it, when done right, can improve your health. It also just provides an escape.

As far as filmmakers that I respect and like - Martin Scorsese, the Coen brothers - Kim Jee Woon, Indiewire.com

Raging Bull /
The Foul King

Barton Fink /
The Foul King

There are lots of little coincidental shots throughout Foul King that are reminiscent of Scorsese. The basic premise kind of owes a little to After Hours. Imagine if instead of going out for a night in the city, Griffin Dunne's "Paul" joins a wrestling school to cure his lack of motivation in life...

After Hours / The Foul King

After Hours / The Foul King

Taxi Driver / The Foul King

And if you have the stamina, the ultimate triple feature would Foul King, Tokyo Fist and Raging Bull…

Raging Bull /
The Foul King

I have seen almost all Scorsese's films and I continue to be amazed. I'm astonished by his capacity to produce great films. He pushes forward the boundaries and potential of cinema - Shinya Tsukamoto, Variety

Raging Bull / Tokyo Fist

Now that both international films and international wrestling is way more accessible, Foul King could be a double gateway to new alternative lanes of cinema and professional wrestling.

SLUGS

Conner O’Malley is back with another short film. I haven’t been able to wrap my head all the way around this one but between the references to classic cinema combined with what I’m convinced is some sort of troll-ish commentary on red pill/blue pill online masculinity – this is a piece of art made specifically for Marcus Pinn (I love movie references, I hate red pill/blue pill people and I think Conner O’Malley is one of the funniest people alive).

Terminator / Slugs

The Conversation / Slugs

The Terminator / Slugs

 

Taxi Driver / 

Slugs

Click here and here to read my thoughts on O’Malley’s films from last year, and check out his new film below

SINNERS

I’ve come to the harsh realization that while Get Out is a movie I still enjoy – it has become more of a curse than anything else. I don’t know what it is but almost any prominent movie or television show to feature Black people dealing with issues concerning race and/or racism has to be analyzed through the lens of Get Out. It’s like a default setting. And the plots to a lot of these movies don’t do anything to shake this perception. Almost everything is some variation of “watch out for those white women” or “beware of the white boogeyman” or “watch out for those outsiders”. There are obviously a few exceptions but when you list everything off you’ll see that I’m right. Lovecraft Country, Them, Ma, Queen & Slim, Run Sweetheart Run, Opus, The Front Room, Tyrell, Master, Alice, Tales From The Hood Part 2, etc. They all have strands of Get Out’s DNA. Recently they put all nuance aside and made a psychological thriller called Karen about a racist white woman that terrorizes a Black couple. There are more cases but I think the 12 examples I just gave from the last five years alone proves my point. If not – perhaps you’re just a contrarian that wants to mindlessly disagree with everything. I’m well aware that movies like Dutchman, Murder In Harlem and Story Of A Three Day Pass existed decades prior. But filmmakers haven't taken from those movies like they've taken from Get Out.

I say all this because even though Sinners falls somewhere between Good/fine/entertaining (I personally found everything non-vampire related to be the most interesting), it still has the stench of "Get Out-sploitation". On one hand, it isn’t Ryan Coogler’s fault that everyone’s critique of this film is some insufferable super personalized think piece about race or the role of Black people in society or the so-called dangers of interracial relationships between Black men & White women (it's always only Black men and white women and never a critique on any other type of interracial relationship). It’s par for the course. Folks put a lot of weight on movies & television shows. For some reason a large sector of Black folks would rather seek validation about their Blackness from a movie or a TV show instead of real life. But at the same time – Coogler has to know that a movie with a predominately Black cast set in 1930’s Mississippi where a group of white vampires terrorize a Black establishment is going to bring on this type of dialogue. Outside of the basic premise which lies somewhere between Night Of The Living Dead and The Thing from Another World, Sinners has all the standard elements & themes I brought up earlier like; “beware of the white boogeyman” and “watch out for those white women”. 

Outside of the basic story about a group of characters trying to survive a vampire coup, Coogler made a genuine effort to touch on everything from the great migration to the history of Black Americans and their African roots. I don’t think everything was a success but I’m still glad I watched it on the big screen. Streaming Sinners at home won’t give you the same experience. I found some of the character’s decisions in the second half of the movie to be very stupid but I’ll give Ryan Coogler the benefit of the doubt on that. Perhaps he wanted to bring back that old school feeling of shouting at the screen when someone makes a stupid decision in a horror movie. I certainly found myself talking to the screen when someone does something dumb. This is clearly a movie that’s more than just a simple vampire movie so there is room for a deeper analysis. But reading through a lot of people’s tweets, tiktoks, letterboxd reviews and social media rants exposed that some folks needs to touch grass, go to therapy or do a combination of both. Good lord. You could argue that I'm giving too much attention to the opinions of people online. But if you think these aren't real life opinions then you're being naive....

*SPOILER* Mary & Stack proceed to stay together for 60+ years and counting but please tell me more about how they weren't together for a long time...

Notice the critique is just about Black men bringing white women into our spaces and nothing about Black women bringing white men into our spaces when the main villain in the film is in fact a white male vampire. God forbid...

 

And if you don’t want to go to therapy – watch more movies.

I’m happy that a filmmaker like Ryan Coogler remains successful but if there’s one thing that Sinners exposed it's that people need to watch more movies. You would have thought this was the first vampire movie ever. And if not Sinners, you would have thought that From Dusk Till Dawn was the first vampire movie to do what it did (…it wasn’t). For those that don't know, many people are saying that Sinners “stole” from From Dusk Till Dawn. 

@thestorytimeguy I love the movie Sinners but... its From Dusk Till Dawn #Sinners #fromdusktilldawn #vampires ♬ original sound - Matthew Torres

To that claim I will reemphasize that people need to watch more movies. From Dusk Till Dawn is a collage movie much like Pulp Fiction. It’s an homage to a handful of pre-existing genres. Last time I checked, the basic premise of Sinners is very similar to Ernest Dickerson’s Demon Knight (a movie released a year before From Dusk Till Dawn), which got it’s basic premise from George Romero’s Night Of The Living Dead (Dickerson worked under and learned from Romero before he became a director himself). Again – watch more movies before you decide to step out there and be loud & wrong.

Night Of The Living Dead /
Sinners

Coogler is still not above influence. Outside of Night Of The Living Dead by way of Demon Knight, Sinners also borrows from typical sources like The Shining

   

The Shining /
Sinners

Whatever criticisms I may have about Sinners really doesn’t matter. It’s a major success. My words won't sway any box office numbers (to be clear – I think this movie should be seen by as many people as possible). I just thought it would be nice to present a slightly more sane perspective on the movie.

PERSONAL PROBLEMS

I included this film in my recent piece over at Okayplayer.com about the modern Black Film Canon (click here to read), but I felt like going a bit more in depth over on my own personal blog. If you're exhausted with all the insufferable takes on Ryan Coogler's Sinners and are looking for an alternative perspective on Black American life - look now further than Personal Problems. But please approach with caution as this is a Black film that can't be dissected through the lens of Get Out (is it me, or does it feel like most popular modern Black films can't be analyzed unless it's through the lens of something Get Out-related?). Contrary to what the average film twitter or letterboxd "critic" will have you believe - there are plenty of Black films with stories that exist outside of the white boogeyman or "stay away from dem white women"...

In the era of the Black-led/“Black Is Beautiful” films like Beale Street, Moonlight, Dope, Nickle Boys, the discovery/re-discovery of works like Bill Gunn’s Personal Problems is a breath of fresh air. Not to take anything away from the films of Barry Jenkins & Ava Duvernay (their films do serve a purpose and have a somewhat authentic audience) but there is a little more substance to the work of Gunn. While a lot of today’s popular “Black films” don’t go beyond the surface of saying; “Black Skin & Black people are Beautiful” (which, as a proud Black person, is obviously something I subscribe to), a movie like Personal Problems delves in the complexities of “Blackness”, loyalty, infidelity, the power dynamic in the Black household and so much more (the same could be said about other older recently rediscovered Black films like To Sleep With Anger, Ganja & Hess, Ashes & Embers, etc). The more I watched Bill Gunn’s epic 2nd feature, the more I saw my parents, uncles, aunts and various 2nd cousins who used to drop on & off the grid from time to time. It’s almost like you could feel the cigarette smoke emanating off of the actors. I’m a child of the 80’s & 90’s so I remember when parents used to smoke cigarettes (...and weed) directly in to a child’s personal space. One Of my oldest memories of growing up during the 80’s in a Black household is that thick cigarette smoke, Alongside Hennessy bottles, soul music & loud laughter. Personal Problems is all of those things and more (I also relate to Personal Problems on a deeper level as my Mother & Father are from South Carolina & New York City, respectively, like our protagonist couple in the movie).

While there is a plot (the two act film centers around a Black family living in Harlem as they struggle with money, work, infidelity & death), Personal Problems is really about the banalities and authentic qualities that you cant find in most films about Lower-middle class Black America. For those of you that don’t know, Personal Problems was shot on what appears to be a camcorder which just adds to the authenticity. At times you almost feel like you're watching a mix between a documentary and a heavily improvised Shadows-era John Cassavetes film full of energy and wonderful mistakes.

Personal Problems is a transgressive work of cinematic art that intentionally alienates some of its audience. It’s almost three hours long and the fact that it was shot on a cheaper camera brings on a whole additional chain of issues (the audio is far from perfect and it should go without saying that the visuals are quite grainy). But, in my opinion, more Black films need to be transgressive & complex as opposed to catering to the opinionated (yet often uninformed) social media audiences that just want to be spoon-fed nice & happy things (especially when it comes to movies about Black folks). I mean how often does the issue of someone’s body Oder come up in a movie in a non-comical way? We get things like that in Personal Problems because Bull Gunn delves in to the nasty crevices that a lot of filmmakers avoid.

The theatrical release of Personal Problems couldn’t have come at a better time with the universal praise of Barry Jenkin’s If Beale Street Could Talk. These two films would make an interesting double feature. Again - not to take anything away from Jenkins and his success, but at times Beale Street felt a little “Safe”. The issues in Beale Street (which come from James Baldwin’s writing) are quite real and not to be taken lightly, but the stylized slow-motion sequences and non-stop close-up shots of (beautiful) Black faces started to take precedent of the actual meat of the story. I don’t necessarily need a film (or anything/anyone) to remind me that Black is beautiful. I know this. But perhaps some folks don’t know this and need to be reminded of this from time to time (we still live in a world where Black lives don’t always matter). And that’s fine. That’s the audience for Beale Street. I like to think I represent the audience Personal Problems. There is a place in this world for both movies to exist. I just think there needs to be more complex & “difficult” films to balance out all the “safer”, “less threatening” films that focus on Black life in America.

Honestly – I’m just glad we have a new (Black) director’s body of work to include in the unofficial Black film canon that’s been curated mostly by white cinephiles and Black cinephiles who don’t delve deeper than Daughters Of The Dust and/or Killer Of Sheep. No disrespect to Julie Dash (Daughters Of The Dust) or Charles Burnett (Killer Of Sheep) but there’s a whole world of modern Black cinema out there waiting to be re-discovered and placed on a pedestal.

PERFECT DAYS - SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL *UPDATED*

 

A Hen In The Wind / Perfect Days

Last year I shared my thoughts on Wim Winders' Perfect Days and it's connection to the work of Ozu (click here to read). Not every cinematic comparison could make it in to the original post. After a while, a lot of Ozu's signature shots can get pretty similar/redundant and I didn't want to repeat myself. 

Below are the cinematic parallels that I saved from the cutting room floor...

Late Spring / Perfect Days

Tokyo Twilight / Perfect Days

Tokyo Twilight / Perfect Days

Tokyo Chorus / Perfect Days

Tokyo Chorus / Perfect Days

An Autumn Afternoon / Perfect Days

A Hen In The Wind / Perfect Days

Late Spring / Perfect Days

Dragnet Girl / Perfect Days

End Of Summer / Perfect Days

End Of Summer / Perfect Days

End Of Summer / Perfect Days

Tokyo Story / Perfect Days

The Flavor Of Green Tea Over Rice / Perfect Days

An Autumn Afternoon / Perfect Days

Tokyo Chorus / Perfect Days