Black Panther Review - Part 1 - Non-Spoilers

***Part One of Our Two Pod Review of Black Panther which is Spoiler FREE***

When reality sucks: An Intro - Episode Start

Black Panther Review Part 1 of 2

Cast & Crew Bio/ Filmographies:

Coogler, Boseman, Jordan, N’yongo, Gurira, etc… - 2:50

Production Profile - 18:50

Movie Specs - 28:03

Review of Production Values - 34:18

Performances - 42:53

Spoiler Episode Previews/Tease - 45:14

Cultural Touchstones - 46:10

Watch/Don’t Watch - 48:47

Spoiler Filled Review Coming Soon in Part 2.

“And we’re back!” It was so good to podcast again alongside my pal, Mike No 1. He had a tough week, and we explain why we haven’t posted since last weekend. Just know we’re thrilled to dive back into things here with a two part Black Panther Movie Event Pod, which for the record, may also turn out to be an Early Bird 2018-19 Oscar Profile.

We go off on tangents early and often, leave some bloopers in the episode cuz we think it's more amusing that way, and if it's possible, I think the few days away from recording leave us all the weirder.

Part One is jam packed. We begin with the Cast & Crew bios and filmographies of Ryan Coogler, Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita N’yongo, and Danai Gurira. Then we gush over the rest of the dream cast including Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Andy Serkis, Sterling K. Brown, and break-out stars, Letitia Wright and Winston Duke.

Our Production Notes cover some of the highlights from the promotional tour interviews from Coogler and the cast. Then we chronicle the long brewing development of the film from its early Wesley Snipes inception days to Ava Duvernay all the way to the launch of the Wakanda plotline in Captain America: Civil War and Ryan Coogler’s courtship with Marvel going into this film.

No 1 has all the movie specs, including the eye popping box office and critical / audience reviews of the film, and we then dive into our review of the production values. We praise Rachel Morrison’s cinematography, the trademark Disney Marvel visual effects, Kendrick Lamar’s soundtrack, the rich tapestry of cultural influences affecting the costume and production designs, and then we do a non-spoiler analysis of the screenwriting. We have some quibbles throughout, but we’re mostly in awe of this landmark accomplishment. The rest of the review teases some of our best / worst scenes and comments on the film’s impact on our culture and the industry at large.

Part 2 of our Black Panther review will be a spoiler filled look at the plot, and we’ll discuss the reverberations this movie event has had upon Hollywood and upon the zeitgeist at large. In retrospect, having the chance to digest the film for a bit longer has given us a greater perspective of this movie event, and we’re proud of the substantive discussion we have coming soon in Part 2. So do stay tuned.

Our Best Original Screenplay, Director, and Picture category review pods are coming as soon as we can record, edit, and release. We’ll be grinding through the weekend and sending them out ASAFP for you all over the next week as we continue to sprint through this Oscar Season. We’ll have an Oscar Prediction pod, as well as the Mike Mike & Oscars, where we’ll give you our best films and performances on the year.

As always, thank you for all your support throughout our first Award Season in the life of this podcast. We’re having a blast recording all these episodes, and if you can help us spread the word through social media or with some old school -tell a friend - word of mouth, then please do. We truly appreciate the help. When reality sucks, do watch movies with us. We’re Mike, Mike, and Oscar!