Films That I Saw: March 2023
Things in the U.S. are bad with all of this awful weather due to climate change as it didn’t make things easy for me and my mother as we’re dealing with pollen allergies while there’s chaos right now in France as well as Israel. It’s all of this crazy shit that is just overwhelming which is why every now and then. There is this need to escape from the darkness of reality in the form of entertainment as I’m just happy there’s stuff like AEW, Ted Lasso, and The Mandalorian to watch at home. Yet, I will have to admit that even though I am a fan of the MCU. I’m starting to get a little tired of superhero movies as I kind of feel like Marvel needs to take a break every one or two years to think things through and such considering the lukewarm reaction they have been dealing with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania as well as some of the issues going on behind the scenes that includes the departure of longtime producer Victoria Alonso as well as the recent arrest and allegations of Jonathan Majors which comes at the worst possible time as he is hot right now.
Then there’s DC and the chaos that is surrounding Warner Discovery as the recent release for Shazam! Fury of the Gods underperformed at the box office where there’s a lot of finger-pointing right now and one of the people that is being blamed is Dwayne Johnson because he refused to have a couple of actors make an appearance in that film forcing filmmakers to do a last-minute replacement for its post-credits scene. If this is true then it is clear that the person who was once one of my all-time favorite professional wrestlers has changed and he’s changed into someone that I don’t really like anymore. In fact, he’s become someone that a lot of wrestling fans have soured on for a long time as it is strange that in his prime. He was one of the most selfless wrestlers out there even to the point where he was extremely popular but had no problems doing jobs to other performers whether it was Booker T, Jeff Hardy, or even Gregory Helms when he was the Hurricane as they had one of the greatest talking feuds ever in which Helms made fun of the Rock by saying that the Scorpion King has a tiny ding-a-ling!!!!!
While there was no question that Johnson would go Hollywood and be successful there but something has been different where many do believe that Johnson is more concerned with becoming a brand rather than just take part in projects with other people and create something good. With these stories about him as of late, it is no wonder why Johnson and Vin Diesel never got along when it came to the Fast and Furious franchise where Diesel at least tries to make the films entertaining but also be generous with his co-stars. Johnson just ends up making films where he doesn’t put a lot of efforts into stretching himself as an actor and it feels like he’s making the same shit while the stories about him during the making of Black Adam is really damning about what he has become and how it has put DC into a lot of trouble just as James Gunn is trying to figure out what the DC Extended Universe should become.
1. Women Talking
2. Alcarras
3. City of Women
4. Turning Red
5. Voices Rising: The Music of Wakanda Forever
6. Vitalina Varela
7. The Great Sadness of Zohara
8. Tommy
9. Silly Little Game
10. There’s No Place Like Home
Monthly Mini-Reviews/What Else I’m Watching
The Great Sadness of Zohara
Part of a retrospective of films by Nina Menkes appearing on MUBI is a short film starring her sister Tinka as a woman living in an orthodox Jewish community in Jerusalem as feels alienated by her surroundings as she ponders about the spiritual world. While it has a 39-minute running time, Menkes’ presentation and its exploration of this community in 1980s Jerusalem is still an entrancing film to seek out.
Tommy
One of three documentaries from 30 for 30 that I saw on Disney+ is about Tommy Morrison as I had seen most of the short years ago but never finished it because my DVR at the time didn’t record the whole thing. Another reason why cable TV has to go. Still, this is an excellent entry as it showcases the rise and fall of Tommy Morrison as this young fighter who had a lot of promise and got to be in Rocky V as well as win the world heavyweight championship for a brief moment. Yet, fame came to him too fast at a young age as he would be diagnosed HIV-positive just before he was to get the biggest payday of his career as he would go into a downward spiral. It is a somber film about someone who had a lot of talent but no real sense of control nor understanding about the dangers of decadence that would ultimately kill him in 2013.
Voices Rising: The Music of Wakanda Forever
The three-part documentary series from Disney+ and Marvel is about the collaboration between filmmaker Ryan Coogler and composer Ludwig Goransson and their approach to the music for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The film is a fascinating look into these two men and their willingness to up the ante when it comes to film scores as they travel to Lagos, Mexico, and other parts of the world to create a music soundtrack that isn’t just diverse but also making new discoveries. Especially as Letitia Wright and Tenoch Huerta Mejia would comment on the music soundtrack that include a lot of obscure and rare instruments including some that were considered lost but were rediscovered thanks to the film and the work on the soundtrack. It is definitely one of the best entries in Marvel’s ever-growing documentary series as well as making a great case for Coogler and Goransson as one of the great director/composer combos.
Silly Little Game
The second 30 for 30 documentary I watched on Disney+ is about the creation of fantasy sports and how its creators didn’t foresee what it would become. It is an enjoyable documentary that showcases a bunch of people just doing something for fun and not really thinking about making a lot of money yet they would be unprepared for the emergence of the Internet and how it changed fantasy sports. The mixture of interviews and dramatic re-creations are a joy to watch.
There’s No Place Like Home
The third and final 30 for 30 documentary I watched on Disney+ is actually one of the worst documentaries that I have seen probably second to the one about the XFL. It’s just about some asshole from Kansas University who tried to get a bunch of former alumni including former North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams as a way to buy the original Naismith rules of basketball notes. A lot of it ends up being really boring as the guy in the film who is also one of its director is just unbearable to watch as I’m sure there’s many that would like to crack his skull.
The Mandalorian (season 3, episodes 1-5)
Ted Lasso (season 3, episodes 1-3)
The arrival of this character in Zava is just fun to watch while I enjoy what it is doing to the development of Jamie Tartt who definitely has some legit concerns about him forcing him to train under Roy Kent. The Roy-Keeley break-up hurts as Phoebe is right about them being dumb while I really hope they get back together. Rebecca’s storyline that involved her meeting with her mother’s psychic is an intriguing one as there’s a lot that is happening that I’m enjoying as I await for what will lay ahead in the rest of the season though I hope it’s not the last one.
Daredevil (season 1, episode 1)
Having gained more access to content at Disney+ has me wanting to watch all of the shows from Marvel that I missed out as I saw the pilot for Daredevil as it was exciting and fun. Notably as Charlie Cox is just perfect as the titular character as the pilot did a lot more to establish his origins better than the film did. I’ve seen bits of the second episode so far but I want to catch up on the entire series but I like what I’m seeing.
Wrestling Match of the Month: The Elite vs. the House of Black for the AEW Trios Championship at AEW Revolution – 3/5/23
Top 10 Re-Watches
1. The Band That Wouldn’t Die
© thevoid99 2023
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