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 ...

Fruitvale Station (2013), R, 85 minutes - This is a film that I've been meaning to check out for a while, and having recently seen writer/director Ryan Coogler's latest film Creed (also starring Michael B. Jordan), I finally had the motivation to seek this one out. Fruitvale Station is based on actual events, and illustrates a single day (what turns out to be the final day) in the life of Oscar Grant, a man with a volatile past (that led to jail time), who is now trying to do right in the eyes of his daughter Tatiana (Ariana Neal), girlfriend Sophina (Melonie Diaz), and mother Wanda (Octavia Spencer) while trying to figure out how to do so after recently losing his job. Shot and presented in a the style of a documentary, Fruitvale Station really lets Michael B. Jordan shine.  You feel for Grant as Jordan's performance unfolds, as you see him work his way through the day with the love he has for his family as he tries to provide for them despite his work situation and...

Creed (2015), PG-13, 133 minutes - When I first heard that there would be yet another entry in the Rocky franchise, I was admittedly a bit leery.  After all, there had already been six films chronicling the boxing career of Rocky Balboa, the last of which saw Sylvester Stallone's iconic boxer come out of retirement for one last bout in the ring.  I was afraid that the franchise may be going to the well one too many times (I actually enjoyed 2006's Rocky Balboa, which course corrected the franchise a bit after the mis-step that was 1990's Rocky V).  But then, as I learned more about how this seventh film came to be, and who was involved, I became more and more intrigued.  Apparently, Creed was the brain-child of up-and-coming writer/director Ryan Coogler, who had previously written/directed 2013's highly regarded Fruitvale Station (a film I have unfortunately not yet had the opportunity to see).  Anyway, he went to Sylvester Stallone with an idea for a film th...

Fantastic Four (2015), PG-13, 106 minutes - Every once in a while, a movie comes out that I'm generally looking forward to, but am not terribly psyched for.  This reboot of the Fantastic Four franchise by 20th Century Fox falls into that category.  In all actuality, I became more interested in seeing this film over the past week as word began to spread that it was less than stellar.  I have read some wonderful stories about Marvel's 'First Family' in the pages of the comics, but they have never been characters that truly caught my imagination.  As a result, my anticipation for the film was tempered by my not being as familiar with the characters as I am with others in the Marvel Universe.  Well that, coupled with the luke-warm reception (which may actually be putting things nicely) of information revealed during production.  Despite that, I tried my best to go into this film with an open mind.  After all, I was intrigued by the cast and have heard w...