COMING 2 AMERICA | RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON | WANDAVISON FINALE.
Pop Culture Weekly Round-Up 05/03/2021
Hey everyone. I hope you’re all well. I spent another week chilling on Clubhouse learning about NFTs and how it might change the way we engage with art. Great stuff! This weekend I’m sharing some awesome movies and a very anticipated series finale. I really think you guys will have a lot to watch.
FILMS
COMING 2 AMERICA
The original COMING TO AMERICA is a treasure and an endlessly rewatchable modern classic. So the prospect of a sequel — especially after 33 years — made me a bit worried but also very excited about the idea of revisiting those awesome characters.
But I’m glad to say that COMING 2 AMERICA is pretty good. Not as great as the first one though, but still fun. It has deep-cut callbacks and surprise appearances from the original, and every fan-favorite character gets at least one showcase moment. Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall slip back into their decades-old characters with moderate ease. And in my opinion, COMING 2 AMERICA's biggest laughs come from the duo's ancillary roles as Clarence, Morris, and Saul, a.k.a. the MY-T-SHARP barbershop crew.
The movie was written by Kenya Barris (black-ish) with Barry Blaustein and David Sheffield (who wrote the 1988 hit), and directed by Craig Brewer, who also directed the Previous Eddie Murphy movie, DOLEMITE IS MY NAME, which is really good too.
The storyline revolves around the fear that Zamunda will fall to its neighboring nation, Nexdoria, which is ruled by the flamboyant military dictator General Izzi (Wesley Snipes). That forces Akeem to go back to Queens to locate the son, Lavelle Junson, he never knew he had, and installs him as successor.
The movie goes to great lengths to explain how (and when) the prince wound up having a one-night stand with a Queens woman named Mary (Leslie Jones) 30 years ago. No spoilers here, but viewers should prepare themselves for a flashback sequence that uses wildly disconcerting de-aging CGI.
COMING 2 AMERICA is charming and fun, a lovingly made exercise in nostalgia that delivers several genuine laughs, even if it never achieves the comedic excellence of its predecessor.
RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON
RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON tells the story of the fantasy world of Kumandra, where humans and dragons lived together in harmony. However, when sinister monsters known as the Druun threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, those same monsters have returned, and it's up to a lone warrior to track down the last dragon and stop the Druun for good.
This is the kind of movie that only Disney knows how to manufacture. It might be telling a very familiar story, but It has it all - epic adventures, beautiful animation, great characters, heartbreaking moments, and also comedy. An instant classic.
I really liked the Character Design and the incredibly diverse cast in the movie. It is great when most people in the audience have a chance to see themselves on the screen. All the actors deliver great performances but Awkwafina once again kills it as Sisu. She is so good in everything she is in.
RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON proves that Disney needs to focus on making more original movies moving forward rather than continuing to remaking their old ones.
TV
WandaVision
Wow, what a crazy ride this show was! The premise was so unique. And I loved the tribute to past sitcoms and TV tropes.
I know that after the first 3 episodes, some of you were restless and claiming that not enough was happening. But those complaints stopped after the 4th episode aired. That was when the show broke the Fourth Wall established and started shifting between inside the ‘Hex’ and the real-life outside. Also introducing newcomer characters like Monica Rambeau and Tyler Hayward.
The final episode today was amazing. I know that a lot of people will be annoyed because their crazy theories were wrong. But it had a lot of great action scenes and so much sadness. Elizabeth Olsen's performance was phenomenal and she deserves all the appreciation she is having. I don’t want to spoil anything but, wait for the mid-credit scene because there is an interesting revelation.
WandaVision felt very fresh. It shook things up in the MCU giving it a brand new lease of life. The show had a long, rich, and satisfying journey. And the attention to detail was outstanding and it offered a balanced mix of action and characterization that I think all fans of the MCU enjoyed.
Top 5 songs
These were the 5 songs on my heavy rotation this week. You can listen to them on Spotify and YouTube
1 - LAYNE - Dumb Girl
2 - 24kGoldn - 3, 2, 1
3 - AFI - Looking Tragic
4 - WSTR - All The Rage
5 - Charlotte Sands - Special