Sinners (2025)

I don't recall ever going to a theater two nights in a row before. But I was getting tired of knowing so few Best Picture nominees ahead of the Academy Awards. This one makes four for me, and it has the best shot among them at winning.

Sammie (Miles Caton), against the wishes of his preacher dad (Saul William), decides to use his blues singing and guitar skills at a new rural juke joint run by his older twin cousins, "Smoke" and "Stack" (both Michael B. Jordan), who are thuggish yet charismatic to anyone they don't rob or attack. This being 1932 Mississippi, it's only a matter of time until the Black-centric establishment gets unwelcome attention. Well, the Ku Klux Klan shows up in force only near the end, but an even worse menace plagues opening night....

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

The writers of this Marvel Cinematic Universe entry had their work cut out for them with the passing of Chadwick Boseman. I'm not surprised that the general reception has been middling. Still, I've enjoyed superhero flicks with lower ratings, and this one has and is in the running for a lot of awards. I decided to stream it in between my viewings of pictures that don't promise much fun.

A year after her son dies of an unspecified illness, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett, up for an Oscar) has not kept his promise of sharing Wakanda's seemingly unmatched tech with the rest of the world, because national governments aren't exactly proving themselves trustworthy. Brilliant MIT undergrad Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) develops a vibranium detector, and U.S. operatives use it to find some in the sea -- only to get massacred by aquatic mutants from an even more secretive and xenophobic kingdom, Talokan. The Talokan king, familiarly known as Namor (Tenoch Huerta), demands that Wakanda capture Riri for him or face his wrath. Not keen on his idea of justice, Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright) and General Okoye (Danai Gurira) set out to protect Riri. It becomes clear that Namor plans war against surface dwellers around the world but perceives enough commonality to offer an alliance with Wakanda. Shuri strongly disagrees with his campaign, but she has her own anger issues to work through soon enough.

Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)

It had been nearly three months since my last 2020 Academy Award nominee viewing, so I moved another up in the queue. Why this one? I think the title got me curious. It certainly wasn't director Shaka King, whose few other works I'd never heard of, but Ryan Coogler as a producer lent some promise.

In '68 Chicago, Bill O'Neal (LaKeith Stanfield) has been impersonating an FBI agent in order to steal what he claims was reported stolen. When he gets in trouble with the real FBI, Agent Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons) gives him an alternative to the usual consequences: infiltrating the local Black Panthers (not the other kind associated with Coogler) and spying on popular Chairman Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya). O'Neal also makes occasional unsuccessful attempts to incite crimes among the Panthers, unless he's merely playing up his own extremism to avoid suspicion.

Black Panther (2018)

Two years ago, I would've had reservations about an adaptation of a character who clearly came out of the blaxploitation era. Thankfully, not only did his screen debut in Captain America: Civil War show how promisingly cool he was, but TV's Luke Cage reassured me that Marvel blaxploitation could avoid looking like old-fashioned moderate racism.

Although Prince T'Challa of Wakanda (Chadwick Boseman) had already donned the royal stylized catsuit, only in this movie does he officially become king and take the Black Panther title, along with a substance that enhances his physical abilities. Soon afterward, he learns of a murderous international museum heist that put secret Wakandan technology in the hands of smuggler Klaw (a hammy Andy Serkis), and he assembles a team to recover it at a rendezvous intended for a black-market sale. Naturally, a mere illegitimate businessman could hardly be the main villain in a work like this; he has a temporary partner with a vision for the global future....

Creed (2015)

Rocky has been my favorite boxing movie for ages, but that's not saying much. I had never watched any of its sequels in full, tho I did check out the Nostalgia Critic's video on Rocky IV, which caught me up on what happened to Apollo Creed, Rocky Balboa's pro rival-turned-friend. I looked up a few other details along the way, but not much affected my understanding of the situation herein.

In 1998, orphan Adonis Johnson, in an L.A. juvie for fighting, learns that he's the bastard son of similarly Greek-named Apollo and accepts adoption by Apollo's widow. In the present, "Donny" (now played by Michael B. Jordan) moves to Philly and tracks down Rocky (an especially unattractive, mumbly Sylvester Stallone). Despite both Rocky and Mrs. Creed telling him it's a bad career, he doesn't feel like doing any work but pugilism, preferably with Rocky in his corner.

Fruitvale Station (2013)

Another movie based on a true story that made many think the Academy racist for a lack of nominations. I'd had it on my streaming list for quite a while, but only when looking with my dad did I muster the courage to give it a try.

If you don't remember the headline event, the opening RL footage (with a mercifully timed blackout) will remind you: Oscar Grant III, age 22, was unduly shot by Oakland-area subway police. Most of what follows the footage apparently takes place in the 24 hours before the shooting, preparing to celebrate not New Year's Eve 2008 so much as his mother's birthday. It ends with his death the next day and an epilogue regarding the high-profile aftermath.