Infinite (2021)

 

Presented on Paramount +, the streaming service first legitimate motion picture exclusively on their platform. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sophie Cookson, and Jason Mantzoukas.  The film has gotten polarizing reviews from critics.  The showing of emotional turmoil on Mark Wahlberg's face was not achieved in this movie of when high stakes or story dictates a situation of crisis.  The counter argument is that maybe he is on his medication and it has taken the edge off his anxiety.  

Few films have their star narrate at the start of the movie, it helps sets up this world, the players, the motivations, and the overall tone of this movie.  We begin the movie in 1985, and move forward to present year 2020 or 2021.   The McGuffin is a device to destroy the world, and its a race to recover  it first, Wahlberg's last appearance was in 1985, and both sides need him alive to recover the missing device.

The movie is based on a novel the 'The Reincarnationist Papers', from author D. Eric Maikranz.  This was his first novel he wrote and self published in 2009.  The author's story is remarkable that he publicized to anyone out there including his readers that as you'll find on the front page of his book he was offering 10% of any advance if his novel can be introduced to a Hollywood producer who would adapt his book into a movie.  As bizarre as it might seem a Junior executive in Hollywood found his book while travelling in a hostel in Nepal  and pushed it forward to the right people to get it made, and according to reports on December 2019 the Junior Executive received his 10% cut.    

Director Fuqua & Wahlberg

Directed by Antoine Fuqua,  who directed Training Day, Southpaw, King Arthur, and the Magnificent Seven. The Screenplay was adapted by Ian Shorr who has written lesser known episodes for television smaller independent films, and shorts.  The reception of Infinite has not been good and success of Ian Shorr's climb into bigger Hollywood productions maybe on shakey ground because of it.                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Old Guard (2020)

Based on the comic book mini series of the same name from Image comics, the collected issues can now be acquired to read as a graphic novels. Its the story of immortals, from whichever century they were born from; they were soldiers who found purpose in their existence by serving a greater good in humanity from the gift of their immortality.  The reciprocal is that the world is filled of hypocrisy and the evils of men and women, The film kind of narrates that over time that this cynical threat is why they remain hidden from the world, and help from the shadows.

The film visualizes they have no super powers or strength, only they just can't die. So its an examination of historic conditions to contain and manage them as they are seen as a threat that can't be understand or controlled.  The film is very grounded in real world applications so the special effects is centered on human repair from incident rather than big gun explosions or elaborate car chases.  The psychological and emotional scars of memory when you out live family and friends. The horrors of confinement and experimentation are touched upon in this film and the era in which extreme measures are practiced are viewed.

That being said, the comic book story was written by Greg Rucka who adapted the screenplay.  Something rarely done in films; Rucka who was in close contact with the director Gina Prince-Bythewood explained changes in script to suit a better interpretation on the screen, as this was the first comic adapted movie she was involved in and had read the original source material.  The comic book artist  was Leandro Fernandez and his work also served as a contributing storyboard when preparing the visual elements of the motion picture.  A fun fact - the budget of this movie was $70 Million dollars, Netflix revealed in its first week of release Old Guard was viewed in 70 Million homes.

Runaway SEASON Two

 

Besides a slower paced opening episode that had a fun opening chase / running sequence, the second season has a much more elaborate story, being both fast paced in character development and advancing the many sub-plots while flushing out a more realized world  that was only established on the first season. 

On the run, avoiding surveillance cameras and digital fingerprints, the group wisely stays off the grid and finds food and shelter at a pride food bank and charity center for the homeless.  The audience is set up to the situation of where we are with every character from last season and where the show will play on from there.  As Nico opens the show opener saying "we really suck at being runaways". 

 The second season is  now 13 episodes as opposed to the initial 10.  This season is broken in half. With the  first seven episodes concluding the story set up from season one. It ends the Jonah storyline and threats posed by Jonah, and the cabal known as pride by reaching and epic conclusion.  The final six episodes keeps the gang as runaways, and slowly deciphers the final words spoken by Jonah right up to the thrilling final moments. The show continues to tackle the concept of mental illness, teenage relationships, and family(s) trying to make amends the only way they know how, but Evil deeds are inherent and family reunions are nigh.   Team leadership weighs heavy on Nico as she battles a darkness from within; juxtaposed to Karolina mastering her light. Chase and Gertrude  deepen their relationship, but Gertrude being off her anxiety medication really displays the complexities of mental illness and stigmas associated with it.  Alex' obsession to bring his family to justice keeps him away from the group, his solo choices could jeopardize the team.  Molly is embracing her heroic powers, but being the youngest member she feels the most alone as she continues to lose people she has comes close too.  This Season establishes the Runaways' Lair, it clearly defines the positions and roles each parent has in pride, and why they and Jonah decided to keep their pack.

Avengers Confidential - Black Widow & Punisher (2014)

Avengers Confidential marks as Marvel's second feature length animated movie to be crafted in a Manga art form, But the first time the character Black Widow headlines a movie title. As for the Punisher, its a first time he is being put in a position worthy of being punished himself, which allows for some interesting character development to be explored. 

Famed Japanese animation studio 'Madhouse',  who brought us classics like Ninja Scroll, One-Punch Man, and the first Beyblade anime series, curated Avengers Confidential- Punisher & Black Widow.  Directed by Kenchi Shimizu (Parasyte: The Maxim). The film follows vigilante Punisher dispatching his brand of justice, however his latest action disrupts a S.H.I.E,L.D. operation, getting him apprehended by Black Widow.  The film rides the line of will they or won't they fight each other until the true threat reveals itself.  Madhouse had released a Marvel animated movie a year prior with Iron Man: Rise of Technovore.  Similar in style to animated movie ghost in the shell, with a  cellular vibrancy of  the classic Akira movie. Confidentials' violent action ramps up with bloodshed only in the third act.

We fast forward to the summer of 2021, several years later Black Widow now headlines a motion picture, a first for the character since making her first appearance back in 2010's  Iron Man 2. Both the  live action and animation similarly treads the fact that Natasha Rominoff  revisits her past, and that of loved ones. Punisher who has been played by 4 leading men over 3 live action theatrical movies and streamed for two season on Netflix.  Have  both been considered ancillary characters in the landscape of marvel comics, they are given their chance to prove they can tell and lead with their own interesting stories.

Avengers Confidential is more about character than action, Punisher's motivation is about putting criminals down permanently so they never have a chance to harm an innocent. This film deposits what if Punisher uncontrollably kills innocents;  A complete violation of his prime directive, or a personal code of ethics. He monstrously kills, and awakens with the blood fresh on his hands. How can Frank Castle punish the Punisher; is one of the main threads linked to this espionage movie.

On paper the movie seems like an interesting read, it's concept art, and color palette is very different from other Marvel animated movies or series,  The ending feels rushed and packed to give the finale a surprise and elevated finish  The journey to unravel who has the stolen technology and what does that mean looses interest  by the fourth city the duo visits by its slow pacing. Its an adult rated story, and its' Manga form of animation offers a hyper self awareness with all the dangers. The final fight though carefully choreographed and plotted , is just noise, easily forgettable and predictable. 

Punisher War Zone (2008)

 

A film - self aware that it is a comic book with larger than life personalities, and action set pieces  that could only be derived from a comic book panel. 

War Zone is a product of the Joe Quesada Marvel Knights comic book line. A comic book run that in the 1990's had a very strong run in its infancy, but fizzled out either by an over saturation of content with 2 other Punisher titles being released monthly, or by the sudden decline in overall comic book sales. These poor sales declared Marvel to file for bankruptcy and sell off its movie rights to film distributors like Sony to make the company solvent again.    This put the future in the hands of  Marvel's movie producer Avi Arad ; Arad wanted a Marvel movie to really incorporate the history of its characters and tell a story faithful to its comic book adaption;  usually at a cost within a tightly budgeted restraint, which was the case in the Thomas Jane Punisher movie,  the Ben Affleck's Dare-Devil movie, and Jennifer Garner's Elektra Movie; all directors' commentary eluded to strong budgetary constraints placed on them. Lexi Alexander, who had constrictions, but came from a low budgeted Screen Gem  of Green Street Hooligans, took on the job in the hopes to lead to bigger budget projects down the road.

This movie to date is the third and final motion picture adaptation of a live action Punisher film to be released theatrically. Featuring Ray Stevenson in the starring role. This film shared an over the top punch that shattered a man's face into their brains, a heat seeking rocket launcher taking out a parkour villain in mid jump,  a mob boss so obsessed with his looks to only become a facially destroyed main antagonist, and a mentally unbalanced brother who calmly embraces his Hannible Lector side from time to time.  The action set pieces are all taken directly from the various panels from the wealth of Punisher comic pages. And endorsed whole heartedly by the production company of Lionsgate who was supportive of a R rated hero film; As marketing pushed the film  to a Christmas release without cutting the trailer in a way to show how much of a hard R rating this film was.  The result - it opened on December 5th 2008, in 6th place and was pulled from theatres on December 24th in 25th place, making only $1.6 Million opening day weekend and tabulating just over $10.1 Million world wide theatrically.  It was a commercial disaster with a budget of $35 Million and nearly half of that 10.1 million was to return payment for the marketing and its film exhibitors which is automatic off the top, not to mention payment for the interest in loans to the bank for financing the film. In the end the hope for DVD/Blue Ray sales  to help clear the books was expected. That in the end was $14 million dollars, putting the movie at deficit of a near 1 million dollars that it never was able to clear.  The result was Director Lexi Alexander filmography never bouncing back after the release of Punisher War Zone and some executives  not keeping their day jobs after the Christmas of 2008.

Lego: Black Panther

Similar to the Marvel Knights Black Panther's premise - Ulysses Klau (Klaw); The Black Panther's most personal enemy attacks King T'Challa and Wakanda at once from multiple sides and with multiple powerful allies to help in his conquest over the nation of Wakanda.

With the show title "Trouble in Wakanda"; The Lego episode is a surprising 22 minute short, but is packed with exposition and action, with a few site gags along the way. Lego manages to capture the relationship between T'Challa and his sister Shiri, and how the siblings co-exist in running Wakanda as well as handling a crisis; This episode has Klaw teaming up with Killmonger and Thanos; as Thanos begins his take over for Earth. Using the value of Vibranium as a bargaining chip to persuade his allies of Eric Killmonger to join his fight and restore a weaken Thanos to full strength. The short preface the notion of  Black Panther fighting all his foes alone with only his High Guard Okoye by his side.

With established veteran voice actors  and starring television and film actress Yvette Nicole Brown to provide the voice for Shuri . Trouble in Wakanda features the original voice cast from the previous Lego Avengers episodes as an all out assault culminates in the Vibranium mines of Wakanda.  Using the story's personal motivations  and speaking mannerisms from Ryan Cooglier's Black Panther, we have  a plausible elseworlds story of the re-telling of the Black Panther; sometime after civil war and just around infinity war, as Thor's Axe is introduced.  With a detailed and enriched palette for 3D rendered motion lego animation that's both fluid and seamless.  Its a pardon the pun, a marvel to see how block like characters can come alive on the small screen.  There are however some small logical gaps as to "why" is Thanos attacking Earth alone on a hoverboard craft.  Why would would Thanos honour is deal with earthlings when he commands absolute conquest in his endeavour of a planet. While usually having his children of Thanos to take over the judicial task of running a conquered world as he moves on to the next.  There is also the sharing of the Vibranium mine between Killmonger and Klau, they have opposing economic interests over the long term resources of Wakanda. Those view points would ultimately strain as they strip the mines of its resources and fight for their entitlement.

The theme of teamwork is explored as each avenger fails on their own to subdue Thanos, and King T'Challa is out numbered at every turn to control the invasion into Wakanda and simultaneously save his sister Shuri .   The invasion onto Wakanda is similar to Ultimates 2:  Avengers movie; that animated film has a War of the Worlds super structure, but gave the technology of Wakanda an unsophisticated limited scope; this Lego animation gave an idea of rigged traps to a mine - a-la high tech Indiana Jones, but never explored the technological potential look of a city.  Okay, I may be asking for a high concept, but its repeatedly known to be advanced beyond all other nations on the planet. Though Lego animation has the most appeasing aesthetic, it does fall very short on showcasing a Na'vi type of world like the detailed Pandora that would now be retrofitted with afro-centric symbolisms and cultures.

Tony Stark and the Avengers offer light touches of humour in dialogue, but the episode plays the invasion as dramatic high stakes, and in doing so, puts fourth all the acrobatic skills and powers of the Black Panther in the forefront.  The show is about Black Panther and it never veers off its focus, we get his decision making process and his leadership skills, as the King. Each of T'Challa decisions puts out a small fire, but more fires pick up all over as he puts out one two more pop up else where, and it is in that shared feeling of drowning from his choices and being overwhelmed. That the urgency becomes what propels us the viewer to sympathize with his never-ending obstacles.

Black Panther (2018)

Directed by Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station),  finds himself working along with Michael B. Jordan for the third time. His immediate last two projects before landing the job of directing the 18th MCU movie  was tied with Michael B Jordan.   Creed (2015) and Fruitvale Station (2013). In his own words Black Panther is to him a postcard tribute to Oakland.

Coogler was born in Oakland, the film begins in Oakland with a confrontation between the King T'Chakka and his brother.  Coogler was able to shoot in his home town, and like many cities and townships in which an adult has grown up from, we are faced with modernizing and the changing of landscape  that slowly removes our once beloved history.  From childhood Coogler had fond memories of where he came from,   memories of a grand place, was the brainchild of what he wanted to revisit. Wakanda is the visual ideal of a perfect place of a happier time something that was lost in the passing years.   Coogler pitched the idea to Kevin Feige and executives from Marvel Studios; and he was hired. With a clear vision mixed with deep enriched research into varied African cultures, Coogler  and his heads of his departments came up with never before seen world of Wakanda.  The result was that his endeavors did not go unnoticed, as Black Panther went home with 3 Academy awards.  Best Costumes, Best Production Design, and Best Score.

Michael B Jordan & Ryan Coogler

Giving the highest compliment from his piers that the look and feel of the movie was outstanding.  It was also the first Marvel movie nominated for the prestigious  position of being selected for best picture.  Many of the previous marvel films like iron man (s) and guardians films got an oscar nod for visual effects and even less being recognized for sound. Black Panther broke the mold, and became the 5th film of 8 to enter the Billion Dollar box office club.

In the history of motion pictures there are only 48 movies to reach a Billion Dollars at the Box Office. Disney has the remarkable accomplishment to garnering  25 of those 48 titles. 17 are non Marvel, while the remaining 8 are Marvel intellectual properties. Disney also has the unprecedented claim to have 5 films in one year to reach Billion dollars; largely due to most of those properties being Marvel. 

Working in the industry for many years  from the critically beloved series  'The Wire' to Black Panther, Michael B. Jordan began to work behind the scenes forming a production company  'Outlier Society' to work on potential scripts. That same release year of Black Panther, He produced and did a cameo appearance in the film Kin, a science fiction movie taking place in our present from a continuing war in the future. Jordan has been paying it forward, giving an opportunity to commercial directors Josh & Jonathan Baker.  Expanding on a short film they directed called Bag Man and mining its possibilities as a feature film.

Ryan Coogler looked at bringing opportunities of jobs, helping the local economy and boldly stating in story that they are in the city of Oakland, the film concludes by a revisit to Oakland from a now wiser King T'Challa as he gives back to the people and shares Wakanda's knowledge and technology to make urban troubled areas of Oakland to achieve prosperity.