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Showing posts with the label Daniel Kaluuya

Judas and the Black Messiah | Average Guy Movie Review

In the 1960's a young car thief called William O'Neal (Lakeith Stanfield) was recruited by the FBI to infiltrate the Chicago chapter of the Black Panther party. His job was to report on the organisation's activities and to get close to their leader; Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya). America's troubles with racism have been well documented over the years. It's something that continues to shock the world today. Having grown up in Britain I was aware of the Black Panthers and their struggle, but I hadn't heard of Fred Hampton. The same goes for William O'Neal and the work he did for the FBI. Director Shaka King has brought this frightful bit of history to life in gritty detail. Authenticity is definitely a word that springs to mind when watching  Judas and the Black Messiah , everything from the look of 1960's Chicago, to the animosity towards the Civil Rights movement and the African American community. But King also manages to keep things balanced, avoiding

Widows | Average Guy Movie Review

The lives of four women are threatened when their husbands are killed during the course of a robbery gone wrong. The men they robbed want their money back - all $2 million of it - and they're holding the widows responsible. The only chance these women have of clearing the debt is to pull off their husband's next job. There's just one problem, they've never done anything like this before. Writer/Director Steve McQueen, in his first project as director since 2013's 12 Years A Slave - and with the help of co-writer Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl) - has managed to catch lightning in a bottle once again. Widows is a tense and gritty thriller in which crime, politics and corruption are entwined in a web of deception and betrayal. McQueen and Flynn have created a criminal underworld befitting the Chicago setting. It's shiny exterior hides the rotten core in which those with power feed on the weak. Now you might think that sounds like an average day where

Black Panther | Average Guy Movie Review

Set a week after the events of Captain America: Civil War, T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) travels home to be crowned King of Wakanda. But before he can decide the future of his nation, an old enemy, Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) joins forces with a mysterious stranger (Michael B. Jordan) to threaten Wakanda and challenge T'Challa's reign. In order to face this new threat, the young King will have to rely on all those he trusts...including another outsider. Ryan Coogler, the director behind Fruitvale Station and Creed helms the 18th movie in the MCU and the first to feature a black superhero in the titular role. Much like Thor: Ragnanrok, there's a degree of separation to Black Panther, it's very much a stand alone movie. But it's also very important to the wider MCU because of the major role Wakanda will play in Avengers: Infinity War. Writer Joe Robert Cole described the story as a cross between The Godfather and the James Bond films, "a big operatic

Get Out | Average Guy Movie Review

Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) is headed with his girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams) to meet her parents for the first time, at their country estate. Despite an uncomfortable first meeting, Dean (Bradley Whitford) and Missy (Catherine Keener) seem welcoming and Chris settles in for the weekend. But odd occurrences around the house and strange behaviour from the staff and guests lead Chris to believe that something terrible is happening and that he should...get out! Jordan Peele makes his directorial debut with Get Out, 2017's Best Rated Film on Rotten Tomatoes. As debuts go, this is by far one of the best. Peele has created a narrative that's more than just entertaining, it's deeply symbolic of the current racial climate in the US. It's also got to be one of the creepiest movies I've ever seen! I'm not usually a fan of horror movies, but this isn't a horror movie in the traditional sense. Personally, I would describe Get Out as a realistic interp