Ty Watches "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever"

My wife and I finally watched "Wakanda Forever" this weekend. We love the first "Black Panther" movie. It is one of my personal favorite superhero movies. I think it was different and cool and fun and has the best music of any superhero movie. I am also a big time Chadwick Boseman fan. I saw his movies before and after "Black Panther" all the way up to his final role, of which he was tremendous, in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom". But we had been putting this one off because we weren't fully ready to see how they would handle his death. Our date nights also got interrupted by real life for the past month. And the movie clocks in at about 2 hours and 40 minutes, so we really needed to be ready for a long night. We got that and took advantage.

Right off the bat, I really enjoyed "Wakanda Forever". I saw some of the less than favorable reviews, there were not many, but those reviews seemed off to me. I thought they did an excellent job of handling Boseman's death. The whole beginning was a fitting tribute to his wonderful job as Black Panther. It made me sad to see the funeral, but it was necessary to move this story along. We had to know what happened in this fictional world. From that point on I thought the writers and filmmakers did a stupendous job of moving the story along. I have my own personal issues with Letitia Wright and where she stands on certain issues, but she can act and she is tremendous as Shuri. I wanted to get mad at her for what she said about COVID and the vaccine mandates, but I eventually got to a point where I was able to separate the art from the artist. She was the right person to be the lead of this franchise moving forward. It makes the most sense. Even before Boseman passed I told my wife that if they move on from him that Shuri would be best. Angela Bassett is in a class all her own. She owns her screen time in this movie. She is more than deserving of her Oscar nomination. She played this role to perfection and I ached for her character. That was how stupendous she was in this movie. In a movie where there is no true lead actor, she was the closest. She was top notch. The little bits we got from Lupita N'yongo and Danai Guerra were also great. They have taken over as these characters and I am invested where they take them from here. N'yongo had the most heartbreaking scene in the movie and my wife and I definitely teared up during the post credit scene. Winston Duke is a delight and M'Baku is one of my favorite characters of all time. I cannot picture anyone else playing that role. Michael B Jordan has one scene in this movie and he is amazing. Kilmonger is my favorite villain of all time and he brings the heat yet again.

As for the new villian, Namor, was pretty damn cool as well. I loved the backstory of why he is doing what he is doing. He is a much cooler Aquaman. I told my wife that one of the things I love about these "Black Panther" movies is how well they tell the audience why the villain is the villain. I got it with Kilmonger and I got it with Namor.

The battle scenes were epic as well. Ryan Coogler knows how to direct a battle scene better than almost anyone else out there right now. And while the movie is long, it never felt that way to me. I was invested in the stories. I wanted to see why they were doing what they were doing. I loved the stuff at MIT and with Ri Ri, who is now Ironheart. I was saddened by what happened to Bassett. The whole montage of Shuri making a suit was awesome. Seeing where N'yango was now was important.

Where "Tar" felt every second of 2 hours and 40 minutes. "Wakanda Forever" was a blast to watch. I definitely recommend checking it out. It is on Disney + if you have that service, and it has to be streaming elsewhere. Watch this movie ASAP. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Remembering Chadwick Boseman

I have never been a "2020 has been a long decade", "or boy was the month of March a long year" type guy. I am not down with any of those cliche sayings about how crummy this year has been. But, when I received a text from RD on Friday night that Chadwick Boseman had passed away, I was stunned. Then I was shocked. Then I was angry. Then, I finally said to my wife, "2020 is truly the worst year". I became a cliched saying dad in that moment.

I was so in shock at the news. My wife and I were watching our quarantine date night movie when I got the text, and we both had to stop and see for ourselves if the news was true. It was, and that was when I went from upset, to angry and finally to sad. I couldn't believe it, or maybe even more so, I didn't want to believe it. Boseman was, if not already, becoming the new big star Hollywood star, yet he was an incredibly well liked, personable and charming young man. He did work with terminally ill children. He showed up at NBA events. He was always shown with a smile on his face.

Boseman kept his personal life personal, and that is why the news of his death was such a shock. I immediately checked to see if it was CoronaVirus related, because that is the world we live in now, but it was not that. Apparently he had been battling colon cancer for four years. That means he played his most iconic character, and played some other very important roles, all the while dealing with a horrific cancer diagnosis. He was shooting "Black Panther" while going through chemo and getting surgeries. Think about that for a minute. This movie, which was already incredible, will now go down in history as an all time great, had to be pretty hard to shoot and film. Boseman had to travel and fight and act all the while dealing with cancer. I mean, if that isn't the epitome of strength, I don't know what is.

I will admit that my first Boseman movie was "42". I am a humongous Jackie Robinson fan, I wore the number 42 all the way through my baseball career, and I wanted to see if this "new" actor to me could pull this role off. He did, and it was great. I was so blown away, I kept talking to people like I was the first person to discover Chadwick Boseman. I then watched him play James Brown in "Get On Up". I was skeptical because this was the second time he was portraying a famous person, but again, he was wonderful. His performance as Brown is right up there with Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles and Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison, in fact, I'd say Boseman was better than Kilmer. I watched the movie "Draft Day" not even knowing he was in it. And when he showed up in a University of Ohio State uniform in the movie I was perturbed, but by the end, I was hoping he would be the number one overall pick. Boseman was such a great actor that he got me to root for a kid who went to the school I dislike the most, being a Michigan guy.

He did some movies in between those, most notably "Marshall" where he was excellent yet again as another famous historical figure, but then he became Black Panther. I first saw him as Black Panther in "Captain America: Civil War". He might have been the best part of that movie. I think it is a three way tie between him, Spiderman and Antman. But in "Civil War", we finally got to know Black Panther, and how awesome he is. While filming the movie he had already been diagnosed with cancer. Think about that the next time you watch it. Then came "Black Panther" two years later, even deeper into his treatment. That movie is amazing. RD and I did a whole podcast on its importance to pop culture. It is one of the most visually beautiful movies I've ever watched. We finally got a superhero who wasn't white. Women were given much bigger roles in that movie. It has the best villain to ever appear on screen. "Black Panther" is a classic, and Boseman was front and center and just being perfect in every single way in that movie. The same can be said for "Infinity War" and even more in "End Game". When he came out of that portal in "Endgame", the first one out, it was so enthralling as a movie goer. It still gives me chills. Black Panther pushed his way to the top of super heroes for me, behind only Wolverine. He is so cool. And the last movie I saw him in was "Da 5 Bloods". Again, RD and I talked about that movie as well on a different podcast, I even recall saying that Boseman needed a bigger role, but now knowing what I know, it makes sense why he took on the role of Stormin Norman. The man was fatally ill, yet he gave us some of the most moving movie moments in 2020 in that movie. His speeches and story in "Da 5 Bloods" is all the more riveting now. All in all though,

Boseman, while being a great actor, was a better person. I mentioned all the great things at the top that he did, but he also did so much more. He became that superhero that some kids never had but always wanted. The roles he took on near the end of his life make sense now. He never let the spotlight shine on his illness. He made movies that will go down in history while he was terminally ill. He did things for people that they will cherish and remember forever. The fact that he was who he was off screen makes this so much harder to digest. Why him? Why does someone who is so selfless, caring, fun, nice and talented have to be taken away from us so young? He was 43 years old. That is only six years older than me. He has a wife that he leaves behind. I don't know if he has any children, but again, that is because he was able to keep his personal life personal. He does have throws and throws of young kids, my son included, who look up to Black Panther, and will forever.

This isn't fair. Chadwick Boseman did not deserve this. He was too good a person. He was someone we need now more than ever. He would help unite us and bring us to a better place. This hurts, and it is going to hurt for a long time. I have already watched "Black Panther" twice, and I watched "42" the other day, and I still can't believe he is gone. I was a slobbering mess during the ABC special last night. This is devastating news in an already historically horrific year. I wish he were still here, I wish I could see him in another "Black Panther" movie, but he was so unfairly taken away from all of us so young, too young.

Rest in Peace Chadwick Boseman. You will be forever remembered, but this is going to hurt for some time. What a horrible tragedy. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Ty Watches "Da 5 Bloods"

Yesterday, after five separate viewing experiences, I was able to finish the new Spike Lee movie "Da 5 Bloods".

Right off the bat, I liked this movie. I like it more than "Black Klansman". I think it is one of Lee's stronger, more recent movies. I like the way it was shot, more on that later. And the acting was top notch. This is a good movie.

Before I get into why I liked it, I want to point out my little critiques, the stuff I would have changed. I felt the movie was a bit overlong. It was 2 hours 35 minutes in fact. I feel like it could have been an hour less than that. Spike Lee could have cut a good chunk of some stuff out, mainly the love story stuff, and the movie would have been just as good. The movie also had a little too much cliche stuff in it. That could have been on purpose, or just a coincidence. Either way though, some of it felt a bit too heavy handed, and the way I watch movies, I would have cut that out. And there was a group of activists that were a bit too featured in the movie. They help move along the story when we get to the thick of it, but they could have been shown a little less for me. Look, I get that this is all personal stuff, and the way I watch movies, but I would have cut that stuff, or could have done without it, and this would have jumped from a B+ to an A+ movie for me.

All that stuff aside, this is a very, very good movie. The opening sequence is one of the more powerful, and intense things I have ever seen in a movie. The way Lee added it to the movie, showing everything, was very powerful, intense and made me flinch, all in a good way. Lee's direction was masterful, as it always is. He is one of these guys that has honed his craft, he is exceptional at it, and he just flat out knows what he is doing. The way he directed the "flashback" scenes, and I know I am being coy, that is because I don't want to spoil anything, was like nothing I have ever seen before. The movie looks like a modern movie, and then when he does the flashback stuff, it looks like a grainy war movie. It was so unique and interesting and cool. Also, the shots he got from the jungle in Vietnam, and the city at night time, that was rad. He really shows two different worlds in the same country. It was awesome.

The main thing that puts this movie over the top is the acting. It is so god damn good. Everyone, as far as the main characters go, did a very good job. In fact I felt that Chadwick Boseman was the "weakest" one in the movie, but he has a very small role, only seen in flashback and has very few lines. What he did was great, he just didn't have a ton to do. He is also part of the most moving scene in the movie. As for the rest of the "5 Bloods", the guys were great. Isiah Whitlock as the party going, fun loving guy that just happens to be a sharpshooter. He also has a hero's sendoff. Norm Lewis is great as the affluent former soldier who has lost it all, but wants to be true to their friend's memory and promise. His death is brutal and unexpected. Clark Duke, as the medic, is really good. He is quiet yet powerful. When he speaks, it holds weight. His words are important and the guys listen when he talks. Johnathan Majors is funny and moving. He has some great moments in this movie. He has intense moments as well. But it gets no better than Delroy Lindo. His performance is a masterclass in acting. He does things so perfectly in this role. You cannot take your eyes off him when he is on screen, which is a ton. His portrayal of PTSD and panic attacks is all too real. The way he treats his friends and family, he is an angry dude that needs to come to terms with his past, which he eventually does. If he doesn't win the Oscar for best actor this year, I'd be totally shocked. He is magnetic.

I like this movie. I recommend this movie. I think this movie is important given the current climate, and what is going on all over the world. "Da 5 Bloods" is definitely worth your time, just know it is a long watch. But, it is worth it. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.