In Blood Diamond, Leonardo DiCaprio’s Zimbabwean ex-mercenary utters a line that became one of those oft-heard film quotes. As a means of explaining the way things work – or don’t work – on the continent, he tells co-star Jennifer Connelly, “TIA.” When she doesn’t get his homemade-acronym the first time around, he spells it out: “This. Is. Africa.” It may have taken over a decade, but you could say Black Panther is the cinematic blockbuster retort to that. A long-awaited clap-back in the form of a roar. This is Africa. Yes, it’s a heightened, idealized version of it — where vibranium, not diamonds — is the major resource. Yes, it’s…
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Long Live the Chief – Luke Cage
Like many, I’ve been binge-watching Luke Cage – the Netflix series is perfect for afternoons once the long run is done. In this episode of The Rundown, I ran to some of the locations used in the show. Also, this has to be one of my favourite scenes ever. The energy of Jidenna – he’s so compelling to watch in performing this track that opens Episode 5. Pro-tip: Long Live the Chief is also pretty great to run to! If you want to run the route too, here it is:
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Batman v Superman, Critics v Box Office, Marvel v DC
Much has been said about the new Zack Snyder film, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. It’s the dawn to a new era of superhero movies from the DC stable, so it’s no wonder there’s a lot to say. Not to mention the insane amount of money spent on the film ($250 million to make, $150 to market), and all the vested interest within it. We’ve all heard how much is riding on this to set up the DC Universe for Warner Bros, following Marvel’s roll-out at Disney. But I wonder, where to from here? The film has already found success in the US and globally, with a hot take-home at the…
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Entertainment Express: CMAs, Blockbuster, Marvel, American Horror Story, Lou Reed
Hello from NYC, where I experienced the joy of being tweeted at by Orange is the New Black’s “Crazy Eyes” Uzo Aduba last night, after I realized I saw her at the NYC Marathon start line. Onto today’s entertainment news worth knowing... * The Country Music Awards took place on Wednesday night, and Taylor Swift looked so sweetly delighted, as she always does when receiving an award, to be honoured by a whole bunch of artists she used to open up for and now more than likely outsells all of them. But she lost out on the Entertainer of the Year statue, which went to long-time “King of Country” George…
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Captain America: The Winter Soldier
As we head closer to Halloween, one of the outfits I end up seeing most on the streets of New York is that of Captain America, with his trademark shield and face mask fending off witches and zombies that appear oh-so coincidently around this time. The timing is, therefore, great that Marvel this week revealed online the poster and the trailer for the upcoming Captain America The Winter Soldier. The official plotline of Captain America: The Winter Soldier we’re told is that Cap, aka Steve Rogers, teams up with Black Widow, to battle ‘a powerful yet shadowy enemy in present-day Washington, D.C.’ “Gear up, it’s time,” our hero, played once…
