Holiday Movie Reviews: Black Panther, The Menu, Strange World

Moving Pictures By Mo Burford

Dear Readers, hopefully, you had a lovely holiday and saw lots of good movies! I know I did. So let’s dive right in.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (dir. Ryan Coogler)

It was never going to be easy to follow up Ryan Coogler’s massively successful and culturally defining Black Panther (2018), but with the tragic death of Chadwick Bosman, it seemed downright mystifying to imagine how the series might continue. Luckily, thanks in no small part to Coogler's steady directorial hand, the movie found a way to carry on.

The movie itself is really two parts meditation on grief to one part comic book action movie, and I wish that cocktail was just a little more satisfying. In opposition to my own expectations–that the movie would be weighed down by the loss of Bosman–the film actually sags in its attempts to also be, alongside its somber inquiry, a simply entertaining and conventional action/comic book movie: there’s too much CGI, bad choreography for the fight scenes, and, in my opinion, a couple of really wack superhero suits. Like its Marvel predecessors, it also shares the burden of an overstuffed story that’s over-explained, and that also attempts to launch new heroes. It’s a mess. And while I certainly was moved (and just cried my eyes out) at the movie’s extended tribute to Bosman, little else adhered, and boy do you feel its length (coming in at a whopping 2 hours and 41 minutes!).

Where the movie actually sings is in its dark meditation on grief, loss, and the weight of responsibility left to the living. Overall, it’s an interesting entry in the Marvel universe, but a mixed bag to be sure.

★★★1/2

(three and a half stars)

The Menu (dir. Mike Mylod)

While far less ambitious in scope and size than Wakanda Forever, The Menu delivers a satisfying dish nonetheless. (Not to mention that The Menu’s budget was little more than a TENTH of Wakanda Forever’s budget: 30 million to 250 million, respectively). This movie completely surprised me. At its heart, it is a weird, satirical skewering of fine dining culture–of both the diners and the chefs themselves.

But here we also find the added spices of black comedy and horror. As a result, the movie shocked and delighted me in equal measure. By no means a perfect movie, it was nevertheless extremely enjoyable, and I truly had no idea what was going to happen next. This movie outperformed my expectations and stood out in a month of fairly banal releases. If you enjoyed the black humor of Banshees of Inisherin but were wanting slightly lighter fare, I’d give The Menu a taste!

★★★★

(four stars)

Strange World (dir. Don Hall)

This was another film that exceeded my expectations. While slightly slow to begin, Strange World really soars as it begins to explore the mysterious and absolutely gorgeous world within the one the movie takes place in. In the movie, we follow a diverse family as they explore a world beneath their own which is populated by gorgeously technicolor creatures. In contrast to Wankanda Forever, which I walked out of wondering how kids would even enjoy such a heavy, long movie, Strange World is full of goofy jokes and cute creatures and cruises in at a breezy hour and forty minutes.

It is worth repeating: this movie is beautiful. The creatures are truly jaw-dropping. At its heart, it is a classic adventure film, a formula Disney excels at obviously, but with enough zigs and zags to keep it interesting. The film also features a level of representation that truly moving and exciting to see—even as, sadly, it is almost completely lacking in Disney and its subsidiary studios. The movie was altogether an enjoyable romp for the whole family.

★★★★

(four stars)

All these films are now playing at your local theater! 

Questions, comments, movie suggestions? Email Mo at movingpicturesccc@gmail.com

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