All hail Lupita Nyong’o, the Scream Queen of SXSW! On Opening Night, the Academy-Award winning actress shocked and awed the packed house at the Paramount Theater with Us. In dueling roles, she gracefully and ruthlessly filled the audience with tension and terror. The following day, she returned to the Paramount for a victory lap, fronting the outrageous zombie-comedy Little Monsters. It was a one-two punch that deftly establishes Nyong’o’s range as well as her status as modern-horror royalty.
Jordan Peele’s Us Is a Bold And Brilliant Follow-Up To Get Out
Jordan Peele has done it again. In 2017, the comedian turned filmmaker with a blisteringly funny and soul-rattlingly scary directorial debut Get Out. The horror film was universally praised, instantly iconic, and went on to win Peele an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. So, anticipation has been through the roof for his follow-up, Us. As SXSW’s Opening Night film, Us drew crowds that wrapped around the city blocks of downtown Austin. People lined up for 2 to 6 hours just in the hopes they’d get to be in the room for its world premiere. After over two hours in line, this critic barely made the cut. I was number 21 of the last 75 people who would gain entrance. As soon as I walked through the doors of the Paramount, the excitement in the air was electric. The whole theater throbbed with anticipation. When Peele took to the stage to introduce the film, the audience erupted in cheers and applause. Over the next two hours, we would gasp, scream, laugh, and pulse together with tension as Us barreled into a mind-bending third act. Which is to say, it was a huge hit with us. [Read more…]
The Glorious Pageant Of Marvel’s Black Panther
The excitement that Marvel’s Black Panther has touched off in masses of Black people is undeniable.
It was a cultural phenomenon before it was even released, sparking conversation around Black representation in blockbuster films — particularly the lucrative comic book movie – and the importance of having Black creatives behind the camera as well as in front of it. With a Black director, writer, costumier, hairstylist, etc. and a budget of $200 million (higher than Thor: Ragnarok, for comparison), in many ways, this movie was a first of its kind. The budget and production value of this film has never been seen before, and it appeared that Marvel, now owned by Disney, was clearly addressing criticisms of diversity by throwing their full weight behind the project. Main cast members Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Angela Bassett, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, and newcomer Letitia Wright led a marketing campaign that placed them front and center on magazines and billboards — occasionally dressed as actual Black Panthers and even as Jesus (side note: who else remembers when Kanye West covered Rolling Stone in a crown of thorns and the world lost its shit?). [Read more…]