Nerd in the 'Noke

Black Panther (2018), PG-13, 2h 14min - Until recently, I had very little working knowledge of Black Panther's comic book history.  I have always been aware of the character, but was not familiar with his non-Avengers exploits.  Considering his fifty two year history (created in 1966 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby), I have still only scratched the surface.  However, the material that I read leading up to this film's release is highly regarded - Christopher Priest's run from the late '90s and the beginning of Ta-Nahesi Coates' current run on the title (review to come) - both heavily influencing what we see on the big screen.  Despite my prior lack of familiarity with T'Challa's history, this film recently topped my Most Anticipated Films of 2018 list and it didn't disappoint! We were first introduced to T'Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, when we learned the basics of the character: he is the King of ...

Black Panther by Christopher Priest Complete Collection Vol. 1 - Collecting Black Panther (1998) #1-17 Black Panther by Christopher Priest Complete Collection Vol. 2 - Collecting Black Panther (1998) #18-35 and Deadpool (1997) #44 Black Panther by Christopher Priest Complete Collection Vol. 3 - Collecting Black Panther (1998) #36-49 and #57-58, The Incredible Hulk (2000) #33, Marvel Double Shot (2003) #2, and Thor (1966) #370 Black Panther by Christopher Priest Complete Collection Vol. 4 - Collecting Black Panther (1998) #50-56 and #59-62, and The Crew (2003) #1-7 With Marvel's Black Panther movie hitting theaters in just under two weeks, I figured it was high time that I finally read some of his solo material.  I've always thought that the character was really cool, but until now, had only been exposed to him through his appearances in Avengers related titles.  A good friend of mine has been telling me for ages that I needed to read this run by Christopher Priest (g...

Every year, compiling this list proves to be both extremely fun and difficult.  Fun because it's a chance to get excited about the year's upcoming films and difficult because often times there hasn't even been a teaser trailer released yet for films coming out later in the year (as will become evident as you work your way through this list).  A lot of this is based purely on speculation, but that's ok (and part of the fun when looking back on it each year). What films are you most looking forward to in 2018?  Without further ado, here's my list for this year: Honorable Mention (in alphabetical order):   Ant-Man and the Wasp (July 6) ,  Deadpool 2 (June 1) , Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindlewald (November 16) ,  Isle of Dogs (March 23) , Mission: Impossible - Fallout (July 27) , Pacific Rim: Uprising (March 23) ,  The Predator (August 3) , Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 (November 23) , Red Sparrow (March 2) 10) Mary Poppins ...

Darkest Hour (2017), PG-13, 2hr, 5min - I was able to knock Darkest Hour off of my 'Movies from 2017 I Still Want to See' list last week, just a couple of hours after publishing my Top 10 of 2017 post.  This film has been nominated for six Oscars this year, and if I had seen it a day earlier than I had, I likely would have paired it with Dunkirk  a number nine on that list (more on that in a bit). Darkest Hour is set in the early to mid-1940's during World War II.  Nazi Germany's forces have made significant advances across Europe towards the Atlantic Ocean.  The resignation of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (Ronald Pickup) is being called for as he has not provided the authority in leadership that Great Britain needs in order to fend off Germany's impending invasion attempt.  Chamberlain resigns, and Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman), who has a spotty political record but has proven to be correct in his beliefs that Adolf Hitler is a danger to e...