The Woman King (2022), John Boyega, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Inspired by true events, The Woman King tells the story of one of the most powerful states of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries. A place called The Kingdom of Dahomey.
Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood; Viola Davis, John Boyega, Sheila Atim, Hero Feinnes Tiffin and Shaina West star.
I happened to be familiar with the Dahomey before this trailer. And their story is certainly worthy of a historical epic.
I’m in for the impressive action in the above 2:35 seconds, a depiction of the courage it must have taken for the Dahomey to exist for as long as they did. Plus, Davis and Lynch, of course.
Thuso Mbedu, Jayme Lawson, Jordan Bolger, Adrienne Warren star. Masali Baduza, Makgotso M, Angélique Kidjo, Thando Dlomo and Jimmy Odukoya also star.
I’m glad that Sandra Bullock said yes toThe Unforgivable, a well-executed tale of one woman’s journey to reconnect with her sister after finishing a twenty-year prison sentence.
Directed by Nora Fingscheidt, what stood out immediately, in addition to the excellent performances, is how engaging the story is. I cared about Bullock’s character and couldn’t wait for everything to unfold. At the same time, the pacing and story edit are both so good to the point where I hardly found myself wanting things to move faster.
Then there’s the perfectly complementary musical score and the kind of tense moments that never have one too sure about how things will unfold.
Even though there is one moment where I felt the catalyst that was supposed to lead to a key character’s change of heart was insubstantial, The Unforgivable is still worth watching.
See it for the generally well-executed story and because Viola Davis, Rob Morgan, Vincent D’Onofrio and Jon Bernthal make up the supporting cast.
Directed by Nora Fingscheidt; The Unforgivable has Sandra Bullock as Ruth Slater, the perpetrator of a violent crime who’s just been released from prison
Sandy B. (I’ve heard Chris ‘Captain America’ Evans refer to her this way) looks incredible in this. I’m ready to watch her and all the movie powerhouses (Viola Davis, Vincent D’Onofrio and Jon Bernthal) flex their acting muscles in this story; the kind where a happy ending seems unlikely. But maybe the start of healing is what we’ll get.
I’ve missed Sandy B. So glad she’s back at her best.
Aisling Franciosi, Richard Thomas, W. Earl Brown, Linda Emond, Tom Guiry, Rob Morgan, Emma Nelson and Jessica McLeod also star.
The super-secret and highly shady Task Force X is the team responsible for gathering The Suicide Squad; a selection of Super-Villains including Harley Quinn, Peacemaker, Bloodsport, and other convicts from Belle Reve prison.
Dropped off at Corto Maltese, a remote, enemy-infused island, The Suicide Squad are tasked with destroying Jotunheim, a Nazi-era prison/ laboratory.
Idris Elba, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, John Cena and Viola Davis star, while James Gunn directs.
I still remember how excited I was after watching the trailer for the 2016 Suicide Squad movie. I’m looking at this as a do-over, in hopes that it will be thestory that Robbie’s excellent turn as Harley Quinn always deserved.
This is one good looking trailer indeed. I can’t wait to enjoy the dialogue and take in all the colours plus, the exciting spectacle of it all.
Sylvester Stallone, Jai Courtney, Michael Rooker, Alice Braga, Nathan Fillion, Pete Davidson, David Dastmalchian, Sean Gunn and Mikaela Hoover also.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020), Chadwick Boseman, Netflix
Produced by Denzel Washington; starring Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman and based on a play by Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson; Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is a new drama/music film directed by George C. Wolfe.
Set in 1927 Chicago; tensions rise during a recording session between Ma Rainey (Davis), her ambitious horn player (Boseman) and the white management determined to control the uncontrollable ‘Mother of the Blues’.
The story telling talent involved here is fantastic and I’m excited to experience the full results of Davis’s transformation. Also, considering that this is the last movie the late Chadwick Boseman made, I’m sure this is going to be a bitter sweet viewing experience. It took me a while but finally, I’m ready to go on this journey with the characters as they fight for autonomy and their dreams.
Colman Domingo, Glynn Turman, Taylour Paige, Jonny Coyne, Michael Potts, Jeremy Shamos, Joshua Harto and Dusan Brown also star.
Widows (2018), Liam Neeson, Viola Davis, 20th Century Fox
Directed by Steve McQueen (Shame 2011); starring Viola Davis, Colin Farrell, Daniel Kaluuya, Liam Neeson and Robert Duvall, Widows is without a doubt very well acted and devoid of any dull moments. There are one or two unexpected turns I enjoyed and everyone performs very well in McQueen’s crime / thriller, a story about four women in need of a way to survive after their husbands’ criminal activities leave them in massive debt.
I’ll start by say that I generally appreciate the quality in movies where everything isn’t overly explained. I like moments where the audience is trusted to connect the dots and make sense of things. Widows is a movie that has a handful of such moments which are well executed. Yet, I’d also say that the ending aside, McQueen’s film feels oddly incomplete somehow.
The feeling of incompleteness comes first from not knowing enough of the back story of some of the characters. We get to know a fair amount about a few key players but I was certainly left wanting when it came to Cynthia Erivo’s very intriguing Belle, for example.
Widows (2018), Cynthia Erivo, Michelle Rodriguez, 20th Century Fox
There are also questions I had pertaining to one or two of the dead bodies and how they were disposed of. You may be reading this and be thinking: ‘The brown notebook, silly!’ And you wouldn’t be wrong by saying that. Nevertheless, I still wanted to be fully convinced by how the story played out especially when it came to the widows’ turn to criminality. Unfortunately, even though I came close to being convinced, I just wasn’t – not completely.
It may may well be that I’ve seen far too many television crime dramas / thrillers that show just the right amount in order for me to buy a story wholeheartedly. Either way I’m now of the mind that Widows may have been better suited to a miniseries format. That way it wouldn’t feel quite so heavily edited and somehow incomplete. There’d certainly be more time for me to get to know a greater number of the characters in a more satisfying way.
Every one performs well but my favourite performance in Widows is delivered by Farrell. I really enjoyed watching his super entitled politician’s son character and listening to what sounded like a very convincing accent. Elizabeth Debicki also delivered some fun turns I wanted more of.
Overall, Widows may not be my favourite McQueen movie but it definitely isn’t bad either. Perhaps you’ll find that it couldn’t possibly be more complete.
Denzel Washington is the star and Director of Fences, a new drama about an African American father who’s struggling with race relations whilst raising his family in 1950s America.
Also starring the remarkable Viola Davis, Fences is based on the Pulitzer Prize winning play by August Wilson…
I’m very interested in this one because of the issues it deals with and for the chance to see two acting powerhouses – Davis and Washington face off on screen. I’m also very excited for Jovan Adepo, a young British actor getting to do his thing opposite the Denzel. I can only imagine the dream it must be.
Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney, Scott Eastwood, Cara Delevingne, Ben Affleck, Will Smith, Jared Leto, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Common, Jay Hernandez and a few more are the stars of Suicide Squad…
Teaser Trailer
Trailer 1
Blitz Trailer
David Ayer, the man who brought us Training Day (2001) and Fury (2014) is in the director’s seat. I want to say that there’s no way this isn’t a sure thing… and I just did, so…
Based on all three trailers, it looks like Margot Robbie’s part is a big one, something I have no complaints about since her role looks perfectly badass.
As for Jared Leto’s Joker, Heath Ledger did such an unforgettable thing with the part in The Dark Knight (2008) that it’s going to take something very special for many film fans not to think of Ledger whenever the Joker is mentioned. With that said, I’m loving what I see in the blitz trailer.
Well done trailer maker, for the excellent editing and choice of music.
The wait for release feels long. Lets all hope that it’s so very worth it indeed.
The Movie My Life 