Uncategorized

https://blackgirlnerds.com/harrison-ford-and-the-cast-complete-indys-arc-in-indiana-jones-and-the-dial-of-destiny/

BGN interviews the cast of the Walt Disney Studios film Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Featured in the interviews are: James Mangold, Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Ethann Isadore, Mads Mikkelsen, Boyd Holbrook and Shaunette Renee Wilson.

Daredevil archaeologist Indiana Jones races against time to retrieve a legendary dial that can change the course of history. Accompanied by his goddaughter, he soon finds himself squaring off against Jürgen Voller, a former Nazi who works for NASA.

Interviewer: Stacey Yvonne

Video Editor: Jamie Broadnax

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny arrives in theaters June 30th.

https://blacknerdproblems.com/music-and-motherhood-elevate-across-the-spiderverse/

Spider-Verse took its 2nd step on the road to becoming one of the dopest animated franchises in history. Yeah, we’re going there with the early GOAT praise pa! Name a better original and sequel! Don’t worry, I’ll wait..

What you got? Shrek 1 & 2? Cars? Toy Story? Respect to Shrek for being nominated for best picture of the year, but part 2 wasn’t even all that. Cars 1 and 2 are dope, but I’m putting Spider-Verse ahead of them, and I don’t think anyone not named Omar would disagree. Toy Story will forever be a top 5 animated movie series, but Spider-Verse has pushed this genre forward the same way that Toy Story and Shrek legitimized them during a time when stereotypical responses of “I don’t watch cartoons” or “Go see an animated movie? Those are for kids” were all too common when you asked someone if they planned to check out those films. Spider-Verse though?! Folx of all cultures, backgrounds, and regions are lining up to inject this visual and audio dopamine into their veins with no regard!

Ok ok, I’ve talked my ish enough, let’s get into the real reason you’re here. That music and mother-son connection!! Let’s start off with the universally appreciated lane of dope music. Maaannn, if you would’ve told me that this movie was going to deliver some of the illest music to vibe to all summer I would’ve looked at you wild skeptical. Metro Boomin is dope, but I wouldn’t consider him a top 5 producer. Now?! Sheeeiiittttt, he just might be top 2 after this performance! While Into the Spider-Verse blessed us with 1 gargantuan mega hit in Swae Lee and Post Malone’s “Sunflower,” this album right here has hit after hit after perfectly aligned hit! 

Ok so check it out. The opening scene of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is paired with a song too perfect for its own good. I’m talking bout knock the tube socks off your golden age of comics loving grandpa good. I’m saying that this scene right here my ninja, is putting Nightcrawler’s opening scene from X2 on notice fam! Gwen Stacy is our narrator, and she catches everyone up on what went down in Into the Spider-Verse before diving into her own tragic backstory as Coi Leray absolutely obliterates her song “Self Love” playing in the background.

The melodic cut is infectious as it reverberates in your soul with magnetic synths and soothing vocals that guide us to yet another dreadful moment in a Spidey’s life; this time it’s Gwen losing her first love. 

“Self-Love” – Coi Leray

The lyrics of the chorus serve as a double entendre, working as appropriately for Miles as it does for her universe’s Peter Parker. “Self-love / he don’t love himself / tryna love me” Peter didn’t love himself enough to be the confident boyfriend Gwen needed, but instead took the Lizard transformation juice and caught the incidental RIPs at the hands of his boo and shoddy infrastructure. Equally, Miles has lingering issues of mistrust stemming from the revelation that his beloved Unc was the fiendish Prowler. This song and scene (with the help of the astounding visuals) set the tone of the AtSV and allowed me to become fully entranced in the first 10 mins of the movie. That’s how it’s done people!

“Silk and Cologne” – Ei8ht and Offset

As we get to the Morales rooftop promotion party, “Silk and Cologne” begins to play, and it couldn’t have been a more perfect fit for that celebratory scene. Paying tribute to Miles’ families Puerto Rican roots, Ei8ht is serving up heavy handed Caribbean flavor on this one. If you feel like you’ve never heard of Ei8ht, it’s because this is the official debut of the Bajan artist, but you wouldn’t have a clue by the way they body this track. Offset spits some decent lyrics flexing his rizz and bravado to add some grittiness to the otherwise lovely bop.

Now, I need y’all to listen up closely right, because I’m about to put you on to the song that I predict will be the sleeper jam people keep talking about and bumping casually, just like “Sunflower” from ITSV. No boasting about an impressive roster of artists or any wild punchlines, because it’s just James Blake blessing us with the white-boy bops we were promised years ago and never got! Mark my words that “Hummingbird” will take over the airwaves if given the soundtrack single treatment. 

“Hummingbird” – James Blake

As Miles lays down on his bed and puts his headphones on, we are transported to Blakeland. A wacky, Funhouse-esqu intro to the song perks your ears up to question “What in the fresh spider hell is about to come out of these speakers?”. Then cool as a penguin sippin iced tea in stunna shades, James Blake slides up in there and vehemently waxes poetic on the track, delivering a jam that is a soft banger, but a banger no less. Miles doesn’t see the portal opening, the things in his room floating in trippy pastel fashion, or Gwen coming in hot for their first encounter in a year.

James Blake’s “Hummingbird” goes hard on all the classic themes: hope, beauty, and love. A hummingbird is one hell of a metaphor as their beauty is uncanny, and they can be used to find the sweet things in life, just as Miles needs someone to help bring “my life back”. Perhaps too fitting, this was “The moment when you realize, There’s someone there that needs you” for Gwen and that is something that will help her navigate through life’s challenges.

“Annihilate” – Metro, Swae Lee, Lil Wayne and Offset

A couple more album cuts make their way into the movie like Metro, Swae Lee, Lil Wayne, and Offset’s “Annihilate”. Lil Wayne goes off on the spider references which allows you to transport yourself into the universe of amazing Spider people. Not only does it allow you to get into the mood for all Spidey everything, but it also puts you into the mentality of someone who dons the red and webbed mask to get ready for another day of web slinging and enemy flinging. This was perfect since Swae Lee’s lyrics play, “I just come to my senses / I stay in another dimension / Fear is not existent / Suit up and swing through the city” in that cool, buttery voice of his as Miles and Gwen swing through the city after she surprises our boy with her impromptu visit. Phil Lord and Chris Miller knew they had to get Swae Lee back for the sequel, so he could go hard on the first song of the soundtrack.

“Am I Dreaming” – Roisee & A$AP Rocky

“Am I Dreaming” plays much later in the movie, but it comes out ready to snatch your Spider loving soul with such a beautiful violin matched with the sultry chorus from Roisee. I’d say Rihanna and fatherhood look good on A$AP Rocky, cuz my man’s hasn’t missed since we found out he was dating one of the biggest stars in the world.

“All the Way Live” kicks things into high gear while still maintaining a relatively mellow vibe, a signature of this movie universe. “Danger (Spider)” is bearable, solely because of the fact that JID goes off, as per usual, and helps us forget Offset’s “shpider” mediocrity. 

Swae Lee checks in with another banger. This time he has the help of Nav and A Boogie. “Calling” boasts lyrics like “Just to save you / I give alllll of me,” and Bast dam I haven’t heard such a simplistic line that sums up the Spider-Man/Woman mentality! “Link Up” continues the trend of Metro Boomin having complete command of these soundtrack and movie match-ups. He puts together a group of artists from so many walks of life, and my gawd do they lean on, build off of, and mesh well with each other. And don’t get me started on the Red Rat hey you girl inna “Tight Up Skirt” sample on the track!!

As I mentioned, the soundtrack contains hits on hits, and I could go on for days about how I become immersed right back in the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse anytime I play my favorite 6-7 songs. But let’s leave a little mystery for those who haven’t bumped the album yet and switch gears to the other reason why I had to see AtSV for a second time immediately.

Miles and Mom Dukes Make Movie Magic

Onto the most touching moment of the entire film; that beautiful scene between our boy and his madre, Rio Morales. Gwen pulls a swift exit after Miles’ mom and dad do their best Bad Boys II impersonation, hit him with the stereotypical but all too real proposition that she probably doesn’t even know how to speak Spanish, and the shift in his mood goes from Ant-Man to Drax with the quickness.

Rio’s moment of realization is portrayed so well by this fire animation team, then it’s time to get down to mom business. She gives Mr. Morales the “I got this” nod of GTFOH approval, and the stage is set for an incredibly tender moment between mother and son.

Sidebar: “I hope I didn’t ice your game man” had me dying. Great comedic interjection before the heartstrings get tugged on.

“It’s just hard seeing my little man not be my little boy all the time.” is a quote that mothers will resonate with. As she straightens up Miles’ shirt, Rio looks at her son with a stoic pride that radiates off the screen. She makes him promise to protect his inner child while he makes his way through this cold world that, unbeknownst to her, he is protecting with his life.

Going back to the Coi Leray track, self-love is a big theme of this movie and Miles has to love the man he is becoming if he really wants to be able to stand on his own two feet and become fully realized. This scene between him and his mother gives Miles the “you got this” nod of motherly approval that can move a man to climb mountains and shatter records, or chase after the girl of his teen dreams.

Most of us can relate to the love and support of a parent that filled you with the confidence and bravado that leads you to achieving what would have been otherwise unfathomable. That’s why this scene resonated with me so much. The music and motherhood all throughout Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is what has me itching to watch the movie for a 3rd time in 2 weeks. What scenes made the movie for you?

Want to get Black Nerd Problems updates sent directly to you? Sign up here! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram!

The post Music and Motherhood Elevate ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ Perfectly appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

https://blacknerdproblems.com/chronicling-the-reinvention-of-supergiants-isometric-combat/

Six months ago, Supergiant released the trailer for their latest game out of nowhere. In a style that was distinctively reminiscent of their precious title, the trailer had that stylized flare, that je ne sais quoi, and then as the phrase “Death to Kronos” was uttered twice, a couple gears clicked and my eyes widened at the realization that this was not just a Supergiant game. This was the first ever sequel. This was the triumphant return of the god-like Roguelike. This was Hades II.

And for the past six months, I have anxiously awaited any news. Since we are six months into 2023 and waiting, I have decided to channel my fervor into preparing the rest of the world by looking at the mechanical and narrative evolution over the years. Supergiant has discussed how their games are direct responses to their previous titles, but I wanted to trace the ancestry from a player perspective this time around.

We start of course with the first offering from Supergiant, Bastion. Released in 2011, the very DNA of Supergiant’s signature is evident from the moment you boot up the game and see the gorgeous, hand-painted styling and hear Logan Cunningham’s narration as you control an unnamed protagonist simply referred to as “the Kid.” The world is seemingly endless as you control the Kid: platforms manifest as you continue to view the world from an isometric perspective as you navigate areas and slowly learn to punch, shoot, and dodge your way through the path, buying upgrades and items along the way.

And while the combat definitely is not quite as smooth as later outings, the basic mechanics are solid and the two weapon system allows you to lean into certain play-styles. It allows you to mix and match things from a surprisingly vast arsenal featuring a hammer, a bow, a machete, various guns, various explosives, eventually a battering ram, and more. There’s even unique dialog with each of the pairings. The main narrative is fairly straightforward as you work to slowly restore the fractured world, it but doesn’t quite offer much depth beyond that. Still, the presentation goes a long way into making various bits memorable.

Their sophomore outing, Transistor, came out three years later and the three years turnaround showed that Supergiant was working on perfecting its system the entire time. The same isometric perspective prevailed, but rather than a stock fantasy world, Transistor was a little more cyberpunk, with a storming city as the major set piece. That being said, the world was still plenty vibrant despite being a capitalist dream/nightmare as you controlled Red, a voiceless woman, and helped her wield the titular technological greatsword Transistor.

The narrative was more contained; a much more personal story focused on a singular relationship and the world that was determined to undermine it. It’s through this focus that a deeper emotional resonance is created. And from a combat perspective, a now familiar upgrade system that several games take after is found. Red wields the Transistor as her sole weapon (a notable departure from the grab bag approach of its predecessor), but she is able to upgrade it with functions to either directly upgrade skills or slotted into secondary slots for passive effects. Furthermore, these functions are able to be combined in a wide variety of ways allowing for a massive amount of customization, a feature that would become a mainstay in the genre.

And right on cue, three years later, Supergiant released Pyre out into the world. Pyre remains an oddity among Supergiant’s library even though the DNA is still there. The isometric combat lives on, although combat here refers to a fantasy basketball game. Pyre has you assume the role of a nameless tactician coaching a team of ragtag misfits through a single elimination tournament bracket. You are trying to lead your teammates to get to the other side of an enigmatic wall to eventually help instigate a political uprising.

Pyre is fascinating because it features nine different teammates that you form relationships with and then eventually have to say goodbye to. There’s an added dimension to the dynamic given that investing in a character makes them more powerful, makes you more attached, and then makes it more difficult to send them away as you still have to participate in the Rites, slowly seeing your party dwindle. Pyre’s an ambitious narrative that’s meta-narrative is a tangible, repeatable moral choice, and it is here that the Supergiant’s storytelling matured into something truly special. 

Hades, once again following the three-year cycle, is the last game released from Supergiant, and we’ve talked about how incredible Hades as a game. Repeatedly. Everyone’s talked about the greatness of Hades: The magnificent voice acting, the diverse pantheon, the incredibly well-balanced isometric combat, a boon system that has been copied repeatedly, fast paced frenetic combat. And perhaps, most impressively, pulling off the seemingly impossible feat of giving a poignant narrative to a Roguelike. Zag’s journey to reunite with his mother and later make amends with the divine Pantheon is one of the most impactful stories I’ve had the fortune of experiencing. This was helped by its fluid combat that connects the growth of various relationships to the powers and creating a tangible sense of mechanical and story progression.

Hades, for the longest time, remained the pinnacle of the genre, a game that honed its edges to a razor-sharp edge that immediately endeared everyone who played it. The scope of Zag’s climb to the surface was bolstered by an elaborate backdrop and modular difficulty that makes the tale accessible to all who wish to partake.

Hades II, which I hope to the various gods, comes out this year is the first direct sequel that Supergiant has done, and this means that not only that they want to explore the world, but that they feel like they can explore in a new way. And from the trailer, we know that Melione’s journey is going to take us through yet another isometric dungeon crawling as we bond with a whole new set of characters, but knowing Supergiant, just because it shares the same bones, it’s likely going to be a whole new experience. They have proven time and time again that they are able to iterate and improve, and the foundation they have built is plenty solid.

We can expect a diverse arsenal that will speak to a wide variety of playstyles that we can tune to our heart’s content. We can expect aggressively attractive character models that will remind us to keep a hydration source nearby. We can expect increasing clean production and polish, and I just really, really need them to announce when the early access is so I can let everyone know that I will be available. This is a team that is reflective and deliberate, and if they want to make a sequel, if they want to take the lessons they’ve learned and reinvent the wheel, I can’t wait to watch it spin. And until then, I guess I’ll just rewatch and replay everything I can get my hands on.

Want to get Black Nerd Problems updates sent directly to you? Sign up here! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram!

The post Chronicling the Reinvention of Supergiant’s Isometric Combat: A ‘Hades II’ Hype Guide appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

https://blackgirlnerds.com/tribeca-film-festival-2023-the-listener-is-a-touching-rumination-of-modern-anxiety/

The Listener is like going to a spectacular one-act play and being blown away by every moment. 

The film stars Tessa Thompson (Creed) in one of the most touching performances I’ve experienced from this artist. The film is beautifully directed by veteran TV and film actor Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire) and written by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Alessandro Camon (The Messenger). 

Thompson plays Beth, a volunteer for a telephone mental health support line, who takes calls at home from her laptop and uses a pseudonym to protect her privacy. The film takes place during an evening shift as Beth handles calls from all kinds of lonely, depressed people on the brink of a collapse.

Alessandro Camon’s screenplay is an incredible deep dive into the anxiety and diverse existential crises that are a part of life for so many folks in this post-pandemic society. As Beth encounters each call, we see her navigate the pathways of empathy and compassion through active listening. She never advises or judges, but her soothing voice asks questions and comforts through unconditional compassion. Even through the most challenging callers, Beth listens. 

Tessa Thompson does an incredible job in this role. She is on screen for 96 minutes, the film takes place in one location, her apartment, and the film just flies by. Shot in just six days, Buscemi’s direction and use of camera, lighting, sound, and voiceover editing create a sense of reality and expansiveness that allows the audience to lose themselves in each caller’s story.  

Experiencing The Listener is like being a fly on the wall in Beth’s apartment as she goes through her shift. I love that there is no exact time pattern for each call. Some of the callers are long winded, some ramble on nonstop sentences, and others engage Beth, attempting to find out more about her or get a rise out of her. Each call is like reading a fantastic short story or listening to an engrossing audiobook or podcast play.

The film utilizes music to make the narrative spacious. The original score from Los Angeles-based composer Aska Matsumia (score for After Yang) is stunning. The soundscape of the film takes the audience on a journey through mood. Each caller has a subtly different element of sound or silence that adds texture to the story. Sound design is a character in this film that moves the action forward and draws the audience in. The conversation between Beth and a female college professor with a British accent was a masterpiece. This incredible team showcases the power of listening and how this simple ability is a mental health superpower. The Listener also cleverly infuses visual art into specific scenes, which adds to the richness of storytelling.

I was struck by how simple this film seems on the surface yet how utterly complex, devastating, and ultimately heartwarming and hopeful it ends up being, all with one actor on screen in one location. Tessa Thompson has the chops to add the visual landscape to the audio story we hear from each caller. She couldn’t have done it without a group of incredible actors who I must mention. Logan Marshall-Green (Prometheus), Derek Cecil (House of Cards), Margaret Cho (Are You There Go? It’s Me, Margaret), Blu Del Barrio (Star Trek: Discovery), Ricky Velez (The King of Staten Island), Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development), Jamie Hector (Bosch), Casey Wilson (Gone Girl), Bobby Soto (The Tax Collector), and Rebecca Hall (Vicky Christina Barcelona) all deserve their flowers. 

Beth has a dog named Coltrane who is her trusty companion—gotta love the four-footed family representation. The chemistry between Beth and Coltrane works magnificently, and mirrors what so many of us experienced as we worked from home during the pandemic. The story occurs in our present COVID-19 reality but doesn’t beat the audience over the head with the trauma of the past three years of the pandemic. Still, through the look and feel of the film and Thompson’s perfect embodiment of Beth, I immediately knew and could relate to where she was coming from. 

The film is set in Los Angeles, and one of the callers mentions how we all move to cities and live on top of each other only to be the most lonely generation. We have all of this technology to connect, yet so many feel they have no choice but to call a crisis helpline for support because they have no one to listen when they can’t sleep in the middle of the night.

Screenwriter Alessandro Camon has a degree in philosophy and has put it to use in crafting this script. The writing is sublime, and I love the deep conversations about the universe, consciousness, the nature of existence, and the human experience woven through the narrative. The use of language and storytelling in the film paint vibrant images in the imagination. One of the callers muses, “I don’t have an urge to kill myself, I’m just looking at it objectively.”  Another simply states, “Loneliness is a big slut.”

Buscemi’s direction and Thompson’s skilled and subtle acting choices give us a Beth who is not a “magical Negro” or any other stereotypical trope we often see when Black women are placed in roles like this traditionally in cinema. Beth isn’t just a vessel for others to gain wisdom from. We see the toll that listening to the trauma of others all night takes on her, we learn why she is compelled to do this work,  and we see how Beth nourishes herself as she helps others.  

In a world filled with self-centered people, people who volunteer to help others can be easily perceived to be saints with higher levels of consciousness to be revered. But in reality, nobody, including Beth, does anything for anyone else without having a personal agenda. I love how this film models a strategy so many folks use to find peace of mind in a world filled with chaos. The Listener is a beautifully complex and elegantly relatable film with an open heart that models the power of empathy and leaves the audience with a sense of hope.

The Listener premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in June 2023.