For the week of 4/29
In Theatres
Avengers Infinity War
Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk and the rest of the Avengers unite to battle their most powerful enemy yet — the evil Thanos. On a mission to collect all six Infinity Stones, Thanos plans to use the artifacts to inflict his twisted will on reality. The fate of the planet and existence itself has never been more uncertain as everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment.
Marvel’s follow up to the incredibly successful Black Panther, that dominated the Box Office and crushed it with viewers and critics alike, is a completely different beast from the entries that preceded it. While not as deep or as meaningful as Panther, the movie is not devoid of substance or context and is a story about genocide but with superheros. Thanos proves to be a compelling CG villain, the likes of which we’ve never seen, and his motivations are outlined and thought out even if they’re abhorrent. However, the movie doesn’t key in too hard on this aspect and really it’s all about the ride and the epic battles. It’s a lengthy film and there are small parts where it drags but its scope is pretty incredible and it outshines the previous Avengers films by a mile. Some audience members might be a bit dismayed/mystified by the ending of the film (not spoiling I promise) but rest assured the heroes will return in 2019 with an as yet untitled Avengers 4 sequel.
Upcoming Films
Sorry to Bother You
In an alternate present-day version of Oakland, telemarketer Cassius Green discovers a magical key to professional success, propelling him into a macabre universe.
You can view the trailer here
The Movie comes to theaters July 6, 2018
TV
Atlanta (Season 2 – Robbin’ Season)
Two cousins work through the Atlanta music scene to better their lives and the lives of their families. Earn Marks is a young manager trying to get his cousin’s career off the ground. Alfred Miles is a rapper who goes by the stage name “Paper Boi,” a hot new artist trying to understand the line between real life and street life. Darius, Alfred’s right-hand man and visionary, rounds out the entourage along with Van. Van is not only Earn’s best friend but the mother of his daughter. Donald Glover and Brian Tyree Henry co-star as Earn and Alfred, respectively.
Atlanta is a show created by the multi-talented Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) and March 1st marks the debut of it’s second season dubbed “Robbin’ Season”. If you haven’t watched the show (which you’re missing out on some of the best tv, like it won an Emmy and the Golden globe so get on it already) it’s a Mixture of surrealist Coen Brothers comedy with an actual heart and conscious that reflects the quiet and strange life of folks trying to make it in the industry. But it’s not a music show like Empire and it’s dealing with just the day to day life, taking on heavier subject matters with ease and grace. You could almost call the show “a slice of life” show but really it sometimes breaks that off and does as it pleases as the show follows a narrative but also disregards it when it thematically fits. Watch a clip of the show here
Season 1 is available on Hulu
Season 2 is out now on Demand and free for FX Subscribers
-Alex
Music
A Brief Janelle Monàe review
Janelle Monàe is a multidimensional powerhouse of an artist who never seems to let up. Her uniquely theatrical blend of funk, psychedelic soul, R&B, and hip-hop is among some of the most exciting music happening today. It should come as no surprise that, after starring in Academy Award and Screen Actors Guild Award winning films (Moonlight and Hidden Figures, respectively), she would be coming in strong with the release of her first full-length album in five years, Dirty Computer.
Monàe’s new singles, along with their accompanying music videos, showcase exactly why she is such a force to be reckoned with. “Django Jane” is a prime example of the most hard-hitting, thought-provoking social commentary present in Monáe’s lyrics to date. She continues to speak truth to power with eloquence and authority while projecting powerful and important messages about black feminism. The video finds the artist upon a throne, surrounded by other powerful black women clad in studded leather jackets and sunglasses. Monáe meanwhile wears a striking red suit and all of them sport kufi caps. The effect is a combination of West African royalty and African American revolutionaries that speaks to a shared blackness and a sense that the messages and ideas in her words connect and transcend them both. As Janelle Monáe declares in her opening line, “This is [her] palace”. She demands the listeners’ attention and calls for action with the lyrics “And we gon’ start a motherfuckin’ pussy riot / Or we gon’ have to put ’em on a pussy diet”. In two bars Monáe traces and celebrates feminist revolution from the works of Ancient Greece (Aristophanes’s anti-war comedy Lysistrata about a woman who seeks to end the Peloponnesian War by persuading the women of Greece to go on a sex strike until peace is negotiated) to the artistic activism of modern Russia (protest punk band, Pussy Riot). She continues, “Look at that, I guarantee I got ’em quiet / Look at that, I guarantee they all inspired”. In two more she immediately shows self-awareness and acknowledges the weight and effect of her words. The story of Lysistrata remains a part of the modern consciousness after Spike Lee used it as the basis for his 2015 joint Chi-Raq, which ultimately falls short due to the sexist lens through which it was shot. In a few lines, Monáe is able to reclaim the ideas that story represents. Rather than accept others’ notions of feminism, she asserts “What’s a wave, baby? This a tsunami / For the culture, I kamikaze / I put my life on a lifeline”. Through her music and imagery Janelle Monáe takes back strong female representation on her own terms.
Meanwhile, “Make Me Feel” is an infectious dance hit that feels very reminiscent of her late friend and former collaborator, Prince. After debuting “Make Me Feel” she went on to say in an interview with BBC Radio 1, “Prince was actually working on the album with me before he passed on to another frequency, and helped me come up with some sounds . . . it’s hard for me to talk about him. But I do miss him, and his spirit will never leave me.” The video for “Make Me Feel” also pulls inspiration from Prince but in a way that feels original and all Monàe’s own. It is particularly notable for its sexual politics and less than obscure depiction of bisexuality. The video, which stars Monàe alongside Tessa Thompson, shows the artist with confidence and agency choosing to put herself in romantic situations with both men and women. In a culture where straightness continues to function as the de facto norm and gay and lesbian narratives are gradually gaining more visibility, there remains a significant lack of bisexual representation in politics, media, and entertainment. Even when instances of it appear in pop culture, they are often either ignored entirely or justified as being a change in sexual orientation rather than a part of a person’s cohesive sexual identity. This video, along with the notable line in its chorus “It’s like I’m powerful with a little bit of tender / An emotional, sexual bender,” stands in firm defiance of this sort of bisexual erasure while simultaneously celebrating female empowerment.
What makes the release of Monàe’s third studio album even more exciting is its accompanying “emotion picture.” This 48-minute audio-visual experience echoes the type of dystopian Afrofuturism that has permeated much of Monàe’s musical work. Throughout her career, she has agilely woven a compelling narrative centered around her alter-ego, a time-traveling android named Cindi Mayweather who fights against oppression in the name of freedom and love. Through her music and videos, Monáe artfully blurs the line between actuality and allegory to simultaneously entertain and teach us about the society we live in. The new album and “emotion picture” diverge from the chronicles of Cindi Mayweather to tell us about another character, Jane 57821. In these works, Monàe continues to handle themes of blackness, queerness, and feminism with eloquence and intimacy while conveying powerful messages of revolutionary liberation through self-actualization.
Dirty Computer (the album) is available for purchase/streaming on all major platforms.
Dirty Computer (an emotion picture) can be found on YouTube, along with the music videos for all four of the album’s singles “Django Jane,” “Make Me Feel,” “Pynk,” and “I Like That.”
(note: song lyrics contain some profanity and the “emotion picture” and music video for “Pynk” contain some content that could be considered NSFW)
-philip titlebaum.