2017

Writer: Gabby Rivera, Kelly Thompson / Artist: Ramon Villalobos / Marvel Comics

It’s one thing to have two of the best friends in Marvel, America Chavez and Kate Bishop team up but to have the writers of these two character’s solo series hop on a track together? Gabby Rivera (America) and Kelly Thompson (Hawkeye) get their WWF tag-team run together for this issue and it’s solid oak. River and Thompson have America coming to Hawkeye for a getaway and some help with the most recent events. Chavez fills Bishop in on everything that happened thus far in her college sting, as well as the mysterious luchador dressed woman (love that) that knows her mothers. This is a good run down for the readers as we catch up with the previous issue and discover that an old friend? flame? Friendly-flame? needs America’s assistance. No portals allowed.

What occurs next is a road trip that was very much needed for both Chavez and Bishop. If you’ve been following Hawkeye, you know she needs a break from her own plate full of issues. Chavez enlisting her help displays just how good Bishop is at finding links and missed nuance to put the whole picture together. This road trip sees them both working on the case, taking multiple selfies, and Bishop getting to know more of America’s past life. I’m fucking with this issue heavy, man. To see America around someone that knows her so well and watch these two writers give dialogue and setting to these two friends that doesn’t come across forced is a godsend.

Villalobos’ art has a distinct feel that makes the characters look more gritty in this arc’s iteration. The characters look a little gruffer but their actions during the fight sequences and intimate moments make the reader forget all that. There are Michael Bay level explosions and fisticuffs this issue which is always welcome. There was a true buddy cop film (as noted by Bishop) for this team up as and there’s more where that came from since we end on a cliffhanger.

Thompson and Rivera are a good match together. We got a new story, new direction, and a thread tying it all together as the answers Chavez is looking for are starting to unwind and more of her past gets unveiled for us readers.

9.3 Fly Wrasslin’ Costumes out of 10

Reading America? Find BNP’s other reviews of the series here.

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Includes some spoilers for Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Innocent Bystanders. The newest Luc Besson film delivers stunning visuals that make you feel like your eyes have taste buds and you are a foodie at a Gastro bar in Brooklyn. Unfortunately, the screenplay makes you want to ask for the check immediately, despite how excited I was to see what the creator of the Fifth Element had in store for us.

The film is centered around special agents Valerian and Laureline — the movie is named after the man and not the woman partner when the graphic novel is titled Valerian and Laureline together. Partners in the intergalactic federation and romantic partners as well, which is aesthetically unpleasing as the two look like they could be fraternal twins.

The story is the classic “American high-ranking official commits a war crime against an entire race and spends every effort trying to contain the not so elaborate cover up.” This would be okay if the film had found a way to expound on the story, make it something new and innovative; instead, it showed us a white millennial couple bickering about monogamy and killing everything in their path as they tour the one thousand planets of the city trying to uphold their mission. Literally, killing alien kings and citizens to save each other in what does not seem to be very perilous situations. These same situations that do not have anything to do with the main plot points.

The most interesting storyline and characters are that of the Pearl race. At first, they lay it on thick with how perfect planet Mül is — actually twirling, arms wide, a thousand times in the pearlescent sands of their world — only to show the juxtaposition of this world being destroyed. The film sets you up wanting to know more about these people, and how, or why, they were attacked. In order to keep the mystery we are taken on wild nonsense side adventures with Valerian and Laureline, while you are asking yourself – why is this happening and can we get back to the Pearls?

With a well-written screenplay, these side adventures would not have affected the momentum of the film (vis–à–vis Fifth Element side missions with good script and storytelling, still reminding us of the overall enrapturing storyline). Yet the downfall was within the actor’s short-comings in line delivery. I love Dane DeHaan, and he plays a great villain — Amazing Spider Man 2, Chronicle — but as the dapper, off-the-rails soldier his delivery seemed a bit forced and awkward. At times enough to take you right out of the story. On the other hand is Rihanna’s character as a beautiful shape shifter and immigrant alien who was forced to perform sensual shape shifting pole dances since the age of five. No judgement, just remember the title I gave the film, City of a Thousand Innocent Bystanders.

The film does surprise us with stars you would not have thought would be in the film, such as Ethan Hawke and Herbie Hancock. Screenplay and actors aside, the film committed the ultimate Black Nerd Problem and kills all the Black characters but one (granted there are only three, but kills two of the three). One of the Black characters has incriminating information and is the first one killed for the cover up… in a flash back. He had three lines. I know we haven’t moved past this in Hollywood, but every time I see a movie I think, “Today is the day we have moved past this.” Valerian is not that day.

In the end, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is akin to the gift of a small child: “I care about you, here’s some pine cones on a stick. They’re lovely.”

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Honestly am not surprised that DJT Jr. is the asshole kid from The Giving Tree. pic.twitter.com/42Th8ibbhz

— Rachel Vorona Cote (@RVoronaCote) March 18, 2017

Donald Trump Jr., being his father’s son, probably isn’t right about a lot of things, but he’s reportedly right about at least one: he reportedly just wants his father’s presidency to be over. For the rest of us, that’s just daily life at this point.

The information comes from a People story that Trump family friends told them that Eric Trump and Don Jr. never wanted any of this, and that Jr. “can’t wait for these four years to be over.” To that, there is only one response:

😉 pic.twitter.com/Sdm3G3a4Kx

— Jill Pantozzi ♿ (@JillPantozzi) July 19, 2017

Aww, how difficult that must be. He must be very concerned about the refugees who will be needlessly affected by the parts of Trump Sr.’s travel ban that the Supreme Court is allowing to take effect while they decide on the ban as a whole. He must just be really torn up about that. He’s probably also worried about his father’s stated plan to cause the health insurance industry to collapse just so his own team can take credit for picking up the pieces, regardless of how citizens would be affected in the meantime.

Or maybe he’s aching for it to be over because he knows just how many awesome things will be accomplished by the end of it, and he’s just so excited to get there and see his father prove everyone wrong! I mean, Sr.’s contract with voters of all the things he was going to accomplish currently looks like an extremely one-sided game of Tic Tac Toe:

Remember Trump’s Contract with the American Voter, outlining his first 100 day agenda?

It’s Day 178.
Here’s the status of that contract: pic.twitter.com/gfuKe6H9pw

— Matt McDermott (@mattmfm) July 18, 2017

But perhaps it’s just taking a little bit longer than he thought to single-handedly fix the government and everything else about the United States. Oh. Oh. Or maybe Jr. just knows that he’s going to be in for a lot longer than four years of discomfort when Special Counsel Robert Mueller finally finishes his work, and he wants to get it all over with as quickly as possible.

You know, whatever the reason, our hearts go out to the guy who only wanted to run his shady father’s shady company without the ruining of other people’s lives putting a damper on all of his rich bro fun. Life can be so cruel.

(via Uproxx, image: a katz / Shutterstock.com)

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There is no doubt that Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine’s cultural contributions as music producers and entrepreneurs have transformed the landscape of both the music and tech industries. The complete breadth of their meteoric rise—both independently as creatives driven by a passion for music, and together as a dynamic entrepreneurial duo—is impeccably captured via filmmaker Allen Hughes’ original, vivacious storytelling for the four-part HBO docuseries The Defiant Ones.

Jimmy and Dre as Architects of Contemporary Culture

Hughes’ The Defiant Ones provides an empirical look at the professional evolution of Dr. Dre, founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment, and Jimmy Iovine, co-founder of Interscope Records, illustrating their ascension to modern-day mogul status. An unconventional “pursuit of the American Dream” narrative, Hughes says he was inspired by Jimmy and Dre’s ability to keenly focus on their own gifts and talents, leveraging all the qualities that made them unique to make their dreams come true. Their success as record producers and entrepreneurs is proof that mastery of this can ultimately create a foundation for high achievement for anyone in any industry.

“They [Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine] taught me that identifying what your gift is or your passion, putting blinders on, and just focusing on that while tuning out everything else is the quickest way from A to B in becoming a success,” Hughes said, in his interview with BLACK ENTERPRISE.

The docuseries highlights both Dre and Jimmy’s fearless approach to identifying fresh, raw talent as well as their relentless work ethic. While seemingly very different men, it’s clear that Jimmy and Dre’s mutual appreciation for pushing creative boundaries to challenge the status quo has paved the way to their success in the music industry. As sound engineers and music producers, each has had their hands in crafting the iconic melodies that define the generational soundtrack for the latter half of the 20^th century and the new millennium. Their inherent ability to look past the trends of “the now” in order to cultivate the sound of the future is what enabled Jimmy and Dre to nurture the careers of numerous groundbreaking artists, such as Ice Cube, Eazy-E, and N.W.A; U2, Bruce Springsteen, Eminem, No Doubt, Snoop Dogg, Stevie Nicks, Tupac Shakur, Lady Gaga, and many others.

As entrepreneurs, the successful launch of Beats Electronics and Beats Music modernized platforms for music consumption, raising the bar of expectation for how we hear and process sound by simply enhancing how we listen to music. Not to mention, Apple’s procurement of the Beats empire back in 2014 is still considered the largest business acquisition in history, reportedly costing the tech giant a cool $3 billion; thus validating Jimmy’s initial instinct to “f*** sneakers and do speakers” as right on the money—literally and figuratively.

Like Eminem tells Hughes in the film, “Jimmy Iovine is the levitator; Dre is the innovator.” Independently, Dre and Jimmy have each demonstrated their musical genius and entrepreneurial prowess. However, when they come together and their powers combine, they are an unparalleled force to be reckoned with. From fostering the careers of some of the greatest artists of all time, to their shared entrepreneurial coup with Beats’ acquisition, Jimmy and Dre have done more than just move the needle of culture. In fact, I would venture to say that they’ve taken that needle and scratched it across the turntables of life, tattooing an incredible legacy into cultural consciousness by forging this revolutionary path of their own design.

One-on-One With Allen Hughes About HBO’s ‘The Defiant Ones’

But why take my word for it, when you can hear straight from the mastermind behind the film? Check out BLACK ENTERPRISE‘s exclusive interview with Allen Hughes, director and executive producer of The Defiant Ones.

(Source: YouTube, User: Black Enterprise)

Dr. Dre Amps Up the Soundtrack

Though the soundtrack for The Defiant Ones is rich with nostalgia, after a brief hiatus as a solo artist, the film’s release has given Dr. Dre a great opportunity to debut some new music. Check out his latest single “Gunfiyah,” featured in Part One of the four-part series.

(Source: YouTube, User: Beats 1)

To learn more about The Defiant Ones, click here. For more information about how and where to watch the HBO docuseries, click here.