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 ...

Draft Day (2014), PG-13, 109 minutes - I must apologize, I've gotten a little behind the last couple of weeks.  My wife and I are in the process of selling our house and the last few weekends have been reserved more for yard work and de-cluttering than theater hopping.  I actually saw this film a couple weeks back when we had some rainy weather that wasn't allowing me to work on the yard. 2014 seems to be a year of resurgence for Kevin Costner.  Over the past four years, he appeared in only two films: The Company Men (2010), and last summer's Man of Steel.  Draft Day is his third film to hit theaters already in 2014 and it is only April (the others being Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and Three Days to Kill).  It also marks his return to a genre that he is arguably the king of: the sports film.   Draft Day, as one could guess by its terribly cryptic name, is about the NFL Draft and the wheelings and dealings employed by the teams involved (but focusing pr...

42 (2013), PG-13, 128 minutes - I've had a love for the the game of baseball for as long as I can remember.  And because of that, I've been looking forward to this film since last winter when I saw the teaser trailer about one of baseball's most legendary figures: Jackie Robinson.  It has been my experience that just about everyone knows the name and why he was significant, but for those that don't, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier of Major League Baseball back on April 15, 1947. Much like Lincoln last winter, 42 is a biopic that focuses on a short period of Robinson's life, from late 1945 through the end of the 1947 season.  It opens with Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) declaring his intent to 'bring a negro to the Dodgers'.  His reasoning is simple he says, money isn't black or white, it's green and it all spends the same.  He realizes how shocking this move will be to not only the league but the country and begins pouring over scouting r...