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BGN interviews actor Marlon Wayans and filmmaker Liesl Tommy on the United Artists film Respect.
Following the rise of Aretha Franklin’s career from a child singing in her father’s church’s choir to her international superstardom, Respect is the remarkable true story of the music icon’s journey to find her voice.
Interviewer: Jeandra LeBeauf
Video Editor: Jamie Broadnax
Respect premieres in theaters this Friday.
In October of the hell year that was 2020, I interviewed Toren Chenault, Co-Founder of Black Hole Comics & Entertainment and Co-Editor of the publisher’s first anthology A Cold, Dark Universe. At the time, that interview served as a way to help get some traction for the book, which was on Kickstarter, but now it’s available for anyone who missed out on the campaign. If you’ve never heard of this book, or you want to know more about it before you buy it, here are three things to hopefully persuade you.
Diversity
A Cold, Dark Universe is a book dedicated to science fiction, filled cover to cover with writers and artists telling the stories that they’ve been left out of for so long. Sci-Fi is such a dope genre, but so much is often left out or not considered in favor of white male protagonists. Traditionally, the white male has served as an everyman, a recognizable figure that we could all project ourselves onto. But the problem is we are not all straight white males. So we can’t so easily imagine ourselves in these spaces. Giving everyone a voice and providing everyone a space in these stories is A Cold, Dark Universe and Black Hole Comics & Entertainment’s mission statement. And when it comes to this book specifically, it does a really good job at showing us just how powerful stories can be when they are led by people from different walks of life, not just on the page, but behind the scenes.
For example, the book’s first story, “Interloper” by Jared Lujàn and Kasey Quevedo, revolves around a captain, crew member, and robot on a ship that have to deal with what to do with their stowaway passengers. The main characters are Latinx, but the story isn’t about that. It respects who they are in their roles, and that’s it. And guess what? You still relate to them. You even learn a little bit too as you see names and words from a culture that differs from yours. As cool as Blade Runner is, we don’t get those types of layers.
Young Blood
Every name in this book is probably one that you’ve never heard of, but that’s what makes it so enticing. Some of these stories are the first comics ever written or drawn by their creators. Because of that, there’s a lot of raw passion and potential on display. Stories that take chances and break convention, from creators that aren’t afraid to buck the system. That’s how you get a line like “We made it to Mars. Do Black Lives Matter yet?” as seen in Couture and Scanlon’s short “Space Punks.” These things come from the heart, as opposed to feeling reactionary in an attempt to be part of the moment.
You ever watch a movie or read a comic and think “I could do that. Maybe even better.” That’s what we get with these stories. It’s writers and artists that are fed up with the status quo and the narrow point of view of stories from a medium that has so much untapped potential.
Support
A book like this doesn’t happen without a ton of support. And the person I think of most when it comes to supporting others is Toren Chenault. This book is his baby, and these stories were all shepherded into existence by his will. You wouldn’t be reading this if it wasn’t for him. The man doesn’t just talk about it; he lives it. The push for diversity, and equity in this industry is at the forefront of everything Toren does. And this is just the beginning.
His story with Christine Gutierrez is also a metaphor for what Black Hole is all about. The story, which shares the same name as the anthology, is all about tearing down societal barriers to build a stronger future. What more could you want from a comic than to leave it with the feeling that you can make a change in this world?
Look, if none of this is helping convince you to check this book out, don’t just listen to me. The evidence speaks for itself. This book was a success on Kickstarter, bringing in just shy of $16,000 on a projected goal of $14,300 with 424 supporters. Books don’t get funded if people aren’t interested in the story and have faith in its creators. The fact that this book was able to achieve such a feat while not being able to rely on name recognition is a pretty big deal.
I’m telling you. The names in this book are going places in this industry. Don’t you want to be able to say that you knew about them before anyone else?
A Cold, Dark Universe is available here. Tell ya peoples.
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The post A Cold, Dark Universe: Available For Everyone appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
Writer: Gerry Duggan / Artist: Pepe Larraz / Marvel Comics
On the surface, this is a very straightforward X-Men comic, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find that these panels contain a few hidden gems. X-Men #2 hits us with comedy to start things off, some good ol’ fashioned midwestern town takeover in the middle, and ends with an identification of the biggest growing threat against mutantdom – the truth.
I absolutely loved the poker game that Gambit had going in the basement of the Treehouse. The cast of characters around the table are very appropriate, and Rogue yelling at her man was very authentic. You can tell Duggan is married or has had a significant other before. Fast forward a few pages and an annihilation wave is taking over a small town in Kansas. Yup, time for the X-Men to do what they do best and take out this growing threat. But that’s all-surface level drama.
Ya see, the X-Men didn’t have a whole ass relaunch just so they could defeat a threat and head back to their mutant Tree of Souls. There’s always bigger fish to fry, and after this wave of bugs was roasted with the power of a star, it’s time to go after the real culprits. There are powerful beings playing a dangerous game with the protectors of Earth, and I hope Hickman and them have some incredible plans for how this is gonna go down.
Pepe Larraz doesn’t miss! From his ability to showcase that mutant synergy and blend powers together, to creating vicious creatures or a downtrodden town, the man goes hard! Duggan draws some amazing moments throughout this issue. He shows how much some of our mutants have grown over the years. He writes a great monologue for Sunfire and tosses in a few mid battle jokes that were hittin! No complaints about X-Men #2 here.
The X-Men may be back to basics in the superhero game, but this book is far from basic.
8.5 Bar With No Name Poker Players out of 10
Enjoying X-Men? Check out BNP’s other reviews here.
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The post X-Men #2 Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
If Indiana Jones and Lara Croft had a baby and that baby dropped a giant deuce on the deck of the ship from Speed 2: Cruise Control, that would equal the same steaming pile of crap that Jungle Cruise is. Just cringe inducing line after line being thrown at the audience while The Rock smiles his way through horrific writing, and Emily Blunt outwits the nefarious men who look down on a woman in pants. Jungle Cruise is exactly what you think it is. Part ripoff, part actor driven, and all Amazon escapades that hope to capture the hearts of its young viewers. Bast, I hope the kids hate it too, because I really don’t need a franchise of these amusement park inspired movies.
I wanted to see this film because of my affinity for the Amazon. I’m about that nature life. I request PTO on Shark Week, Planet Earth is the Godfather, and 90’s Discovery Channel was the Bible. What wonders do the rainforest still hold, and why has it been shrouded is so much the mystery for centuries? Let’s dive a little deeper into Jungle Cruise to see where they went wrong.
Set the Stage & Cue the Cast
Before we begin the big adventure, we need an ever-endearing reason why such a pleasant looking lady would place herself in a dangerous environment like the Amazon. How about a tree possessing incredible powers? The ability to revolutionize modern medicine with a value rivaling Germany’s bullets. Oh, you didn’t know there was a Germany storyline? Better buckle your sicherheitsgurt, because it’s about to go down!
Our “sidekick” character of the movie, McGregor, stands in front of an audience of old white farts stressing the importance of locating the arrowhead that could help them find the world changing tears of the moon (the mythical health tree, keep up). Old white dudes’ response? “FOH you overly inspired amateur! Didn’t some woman deliver the exact same speech and proposal before she got turned down? Dam right gentlemen, now get this plague sore out of our faces!”
Meanwhile, Emily Blunt’s character, Lily Houghton, is kicking ass and stealing arrowheads while her brother stalls. We meet Jesse Plemons’ absurdly over the top character that really reminds you that this guy is going to be a star for a very long time. He comes thru dropping gold bars and demanding excellent service. His fit game was proper, but I was not expecting him to be Prince Joachim and a cold blooded killa! More on that later.
Sidebar: When I first heard his name, Prince Joachim, it sounded black as hell, and I definitely thought they were about to go all the way there with this character. Luckily, they did not.
How Do Their Backs Feel?
The success of Jungle Cruise rides solely on the shoulders of Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt. The latter is quite eccentric for a woman of the early 1900s. And as much as I love her defiant nature in the face of societal norms, the writers really squandered their chances at good comedy by having characters repeatedly calling her “pants.” Johnson is his usual lovable self, but the way his story unfolds is hard to swallow.
Emily Blunt finesses her way through the opening scenes of this movie until she’s well on her way to the Amazon where The Rock Frank, owner of a river boat tour starts off with some incredibly, intentionally bad skipper jokes. Frank sets off traps and unleashes all his tricks to get jump scares out of his customers and swindle cash out of petrified Italians. Frank’s obviously the skipper Lily needs.
It’s all very eye roll inducing and ridiculous, but tailor made to give kids some good laughs.
Hijinks & Mild Chemistry
As the jungle cruise arc of the movie begins, the setup is as obvious as it is simple. Lily is a wanted woman but will stop at nothing to find the Tears of the Moon. The Rock is indebted to a powerful man and needs the large amounts of cash flow Lily has. From here on out, you either vibe with the chemistry between these two actors or will be waiting for the exact moment you’ve had enough of this pus filled Disney+ disgrace.
What if I told you that Frank The Rock HITS AN POUNCING JAGUAR WITH A LEBRON SHOULDER IN THE PAINT?! Then wrestles with the big cat, slaps it across the face, gets full on bit by the creature all to convince Lily he’s the skipper for her. Andddd of course the jaguar is his pet cat. That’s how bad this movie is.
The back and forth between Emily Blunt and The Rock makes the movie a bit more bearable, I must admit. It’s not the kind of relationship that makes you fall in love or ship them, but you do want to see more enjoyable moments between them than constant bickering and disagreements that are flooded all throughout Jungle Cruise.
On the flip side of this jungle jamboree is Plemons’ Prince Joachim who will stop at nothing to shoot, torpedo, or anything else required to eliminate Lily. My villain goes so far as to unleash a cursed conquistador from his imprisonment just to get the W! It was obscene.
The ending of the movie has some tolerable moments, and even an endearing scene here and there, but there too much muck to drudge through for any redeemable payoff. Two of the ten people in my theater walked out the moment the big reveal went down, and I wasn’t the slightest bit mad at them.
As I mention, kids (especially wrestling fans) are going to love Jungle Cruise. Adults, much less likely. Either way you can go check out the movie in theaters or drop those $30 big ones for that premier access on Disney+. One thing I think everyone who sees this movie would agree on is that Lily should try out for the WNBA cuz shorty got the ill juke moves!
If you’re looking for a palette cleanser after watching Jungle Cruise, may I suggest Lost City of Z? It is an engrossing read that got adapted and deserves more love. I had hoped to see some of the excellent things that made Lost City of Z so great, but unfortunately, this cookie cutter Amazon adventure failed to deliver on those expectations.
Check out BNP’s other movie reviews here.
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The post ‘Jungle Cruise’ Review: The Rock’s Charisma and Emily Blunt’s Hijinks Couldn’t Save This One appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.