It’s very clear, from the artistic and financial success of Black Panther, that Ryan Coogler was the right director for Black Panther, and that Black Panther was the right film for him to make at this stage of his career. However, that’s not always the case when it comes to talented young directors who are brought into high-profile franchise filmmaking.
Black Panther may not be perfect in the technical department but incredible roles by its cast, the MCU's greatest villain yet, an impossibly cool setting, and a super hero with real emotional bite more than make up for any of it's shortcomings. I couldn't help but walk out of the theater beaming with pride and optimism for the future - and at the end of the day isn't that what super heroes are all about?
Shit gets real in this episode as we speak to Marvin Touré about his upcoming art work, the influences of his West African heritage and being a first-generation immigrant, and his cautious optimism about Marvel's upcoming Black Panther film. We also dive deep into an artist's struggle to convey his own life and perspective while still leaving room for interpretation from a larger audience, untraining your mind after years of traditional schooling, the themes of the racial undertones of body perception, mental conditioning, and the mentality towards art in West Africa compared to the traditional Western context. Needless to say we dive deep.
We're back with the first new show of 2018 and we open things up by taking care of some housecleaning, discussing our holidays and resolutions for the new year, then movie into impressions of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the backlash Dave Chappelle is facing and whether we think society is too easily offended. Then we end things talking about shows and movies we've been watching over the holidays and if Oprah is a bit of a hypocrite.
On this week's show we have special guest Miha Pavel (@familiarspot), from the Sacramento area, on to talk about his journey through photography over the years, his Romanian roots and its influence on his music, as well as his thoughts on the role of social media and emerging technologies, i.e. smart phones, in the field of photography as a whole. And of course we go on tangents about conspiracy theories, not being able to compete with Dexter the Peacock, the toxicity of online comments, and get an answer to the age old question - Signs or The Village?
We're back (Shannon, Dareece, and Dario) and we're ready to discuss our thoughts about the Oscars and most importantly see who won from our prior predictions. But first we open by getting Shannon and Dario's opinions about Black Panther and close with discussions about Lion King 2, Sandlot 2, and Disney's continued (lackluster) effort at making live-adaptations of their classic animated films - which spawned the meme worthy phrase, "You don't know about Kovu bro?!". As well, as Shannon's Top 5 Stephen King adaptations and new shows like Counterpart and Hap and Leonard that you should all check out.
We're back and with special guest and artist/photographer/videographer Sara Meghdari (@szmeghdari). We discuss the difficulties of being a photographer in NYC, her first live public performance, which showed the very private act of covering and putting on her hijab, and recent art shows around the city. We continue with art news such as more interactive art exhibits popping up across the country, scents and smells being incorporated into exhibits and museums as it's own art form and to enhance or change the way we perceive art, and the world's first cryptocurrency art auction taking place. Then we close things out talking about Seasons 2 of 'Westworld' and 'Luke Cage', and the underappreciated 'Queen of the South.'
We hop back on the Musicphiles podcast to discuss all of the recent major releases over the past couple of weeks. We tell why both the Migos and Justin Timberlake were major let downs for us, why Kendrick Lamar is at the top of music, and the unexpected surprise dopeness of Skyzoo's In Celebration of Us. Lastly we touch on a few other albums we've had our ears to and list albums to be on the look out for this Friday.
Through proper representation, cultural diversity, and equality, Hollywood could make wonders and unravel new ways to elevate the craft of storytelling that entices our imagination, speaks the truth, and brilliantly captures the beauty and struggles of humanity without compromising its structural integrity.
This week's show is all about Stephen King and his recent resurgence in film & TV adaptations. We rank our Top 5 King adaptations and going full on spoiler talk about IT and The Dark Tower. We also touch on the impossible to avoid Harvey Weinstein situation, go on a Dragon Ball tangent, and take a look at Marvel's rising presence in TV.
June had a ton of great new albums and music videos from the likes of Kendrick Lamar, JAY-Z, Lorde and Arcade Fire; and it also featured some interesting trailers for Black Panther, The Boy and the Beast, and American Made. We've highlighted some of the best drops over the month and now we're ready to crown the best album, movie trailer, and music video.
Black Panther The Album's greatest strength is that it can both stand on it's own and work in the context of the movie it's connected to, and much like Black Panther will undoubtedly change the movie scene I expect this to do the same for soundtracks.
We're finally back and we have some deep discussions regarding the 'Roseanne' situation and whether it was handled correctly, reactions to 'Venom' and other critically panned movies that we love, and whether or not diversity in film is in danger of becoming a gimmick - amongst other things.
We're back talking about the rapidly evolving Jussie Smollett situation, the brilliance of The Umbrella Academy and Russian Doll, our thoughts, opinions, and impressions about this years Oscars ceremony, and we see who got the most winner predictions right.
We're back with frequent collaborator and 2nd time co-host, Stephen Silver (@stephensilver) to discuss all the major goings on in Hollywood, the biggest snubs and surprises in the Oscars nominations, and our predictions for the 91st Academy Awards.
Marvin Touré joins us again to go full on spoilercast about Marvel's Black Panther and go on a deeper analytical dive about its many themes. We finish things off by talking about the recent presidential portraits and possible deeper meanings.
The casino scenes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe provide a unique avenue for further developing the characters and their stories, as well as entertaining audiences with thrilling and amusing moments.
2018 was a historically great year for music and now that the year is all wrapped up we're ready to deliver our definitive list of the Top 25 Albums of the Year.
We're back discussing the latest music news, like the Super Bowl halftime show controversy, and come up with our consensus list of the Top 25 Albums of 2018.
Check out some of this week's most talked about and interesting film trailers like Black Panther, American Made, Murder on the Orient Express, The Boy and the Beast, and more.