Category: Reviews

By Nkatha Wainaina

(nkathawainaina@gmail.com)

Before I begin, I have in the past, made clear where my loyalties lie. This has in no way affected my objectivity in giving an unbiased and honest opinion on DC productions. With that out of the way, I present Black Adam.

Black Adam is an action, adventure movie, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, who is known for directing a couple of horror films.

The movie is set in the country of Kahndaq, which has been taken over by ‘bad people’. In ancient Kahndaq, Teth Adam was bestowed the almighty powers of the gods. After using these powers for vengeance, he was imprisoned, becoming Black Adam. Nearly 5,000 years have passed, when Black Adam was awakened by the words Shazam! He helps fight the ‘bad people’ by killing them . This attracts the attention of the Justice Society: Hawkman, a slightly annoying man in a hawk costume, Dr. Fate whose importance I may have missed, Atom smasher, he grows big and is always snacking and Cyclone, she…twirls with colours?

The Justice Society is determined to subdue Black Adam when it is evident they cannot. They are forced to work together, alongside a woman and her son, who in retrospect, caused all the chaos, to fight a man wearing a demon infested crown.

For a production that has been in the works since 2008, I expected a lot more. From the one dimensional actors who form no connection with the audience, to the anti-climatic final fight scene. Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t think Dwayne Johnson was the best fit for this role. Do not get me wrong, he’s a good actor. He wouldn’t be the highest paid actor in the world if he wasn’t. This role however, wasted him. They emphasized so much on how Black Adam isn’t a hero, yet never put him in a situation that showed how truly brutal he could be. The tension between him and Hawkman could be described as the feeling you get when a fly won’t stop hovering around you.

I did not enjoy this movie. I kept waiting for a pivotal moment that would change the course of this movie. It was lazily written as they kept looking for an easy way out. They were afraid of exploring potential storylines that would have made this movie so much easier to sit through. They movie might be paving way for an exciting future for DC but for a stand alone film, it’s not quite there. On the bright side, you don’t have to watch anything before it to understand what is going on.

But hey, that’s just my opinion.

By Nkatha Wainaina

(nkathawainaina@gmail.com)

I was very excited for this movie, but also equally worried. Worried of the emotions it would bring (I am a very emotional person. Even to movies). I was worried about how they would play out Chadwick Boseman’s (The Black Panther) death. I was worried they would not live up to the ridiculously high standards set by the first movie. Two hours and forty minutes later, I can sit here with credence, and tell you my dear reader, it was amazing!

Wakanda Forever is the second movie in the Black Panther series and a part of a larger franchise in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). It is written and directed by Ryan Coogler, who also directed the first movie, produced by Kevin Feige and Nate Moore. This lot is deserving of a great deal of credit. In Coogler’s words, the show had to be ‘reshaped’ after the death of Chadwick. I have mentioned his death a few times so far. It’s needless to say the movie revolved around it as well. For the fragile hearts, get your box of tissues ready. This is going to be an emotional journey.

After the death of King T’Challa, his mother, Queen Ramoda takes over as head of state. American and European governments are in search of Vibranium, as the Wakandans are very protective of their supply. With the help of a genius teenage girl, Ironheart, they find Vibranium deep in uncharted parts of the sea, consequently angering Namor, kind of a god of the sea. Namor tells Shuri and the Queen to bring him the girl that made the device or he would wage war on the entire world.

Shuri struggles dealing with her brother’s death. After Namor kills her mother, she is tipped off the edge. She’s consumed by rage and vengeance as she becomes the new Black Panther. We watch her embrace the pain and rise above it, as well as defend her country.

I may have made this sound like a tear jerking, heart throbbing movie, and it is, but what I love about Marvel, nothing is ever too serious. There were light moments. Happy moments. Impeccable writing that makes you forget the silent intro at the beginning. And finally giving a notable villain.

The actors were simply phenomenal! Leticia Wright was a brilliant lead, whose pain was tangible. Angela Bassett gave an earth shattering performance. Danai Gurira (Okoye), Winston Duke as M’baku, Tenoch Huerta and Lupita Nyong’o, all collectively played an important role in making this movie the best way to end the year.

Hype aside, watch this masterpiece. There are a few pleasant surprises here and there. But my advice would be to expect nothing to not get disappointed.

BY Ken Andrew
kenakikenyi@gmail.com

Thumbnail Photo Courtesy of mangaplus.shueisha.co.jp
One Piece is a Japanese animated fiction television series (commonly known as anime), which is also available in a comic format (known as manga).

As it is with most Japanese anime, the manga starts and runs for a while before the production of the anime. This explains why the One Piece manga started in 1997 and it debuted on television in 1999. The creator and writer of One Piece, Eiichiro Oda, through the years has kept on wowing the audiences with brilliant story arcs and commendable character development that have helped in growing the already huge fan base.

The series has withstood the test of time and even receives high ratings from critics to date. It is even considered amongst the “big four” anime which is like a Mt. Rushmore, but for anime. Bleach, Dragon Ball and Naruto round off the list. One Piece follows the adventure of Monkey D. Luffy, a young pirate who dreams of becoming the ‘Pirate King’ by finding the legendary treasure One Piece. Luffy, gathers a formidable crew, each playing a key role in helping him achieve his dreams and their own dreams also.

The crew is named the Straw Hat pirates, a name they got from the symbolic Straw Hat that their captain Luffy wears. They travel the seas and become one of the most notorious pirate crews in the world hence amassing large bounties on their heads because of the trouble they cause the World Government and Celestial Dragons. Eiichiro Oda also uses this anime to address some social injustices present in the world at this time. In such cases, he uses Luffy and his crew (even though they are pirates) as the protagonists and the good guys who take down the oppressors. Crimes and injustices such as slavery, human trafficking, racism and drug abuse have been brought out in one way or another by Oda.

This just goes to show the awareness and sense of justice of the writer. The genres in one piece are numerous but it is mostly full of comedy, action scenes and dramatic moments. The action blends well with the drama thus the availability of many iconic scenes that fans cannot get enough of. The availability of the different genres and the blending of the ideas have helped one piece become one of the most lucrative comic franchises.

It even recently surpassed the Batman comics to become the second best-selling comic in the world, only behind the Superman comics. One Piece has also held its own against other Japanese anime/manga
franchises be it the big four or the newer ones but with fellow big four heavyweights Bleach and Dragon Ball set to drop massive projects in coming months and year, will they overtake One Piece in the race to
become the outright number one anime/manga of all time? We will see about that but what a time it will be for all anime fans!

With still a lot of questions raised in the series yet to be answered, One Piece is set to continue for a couple of more years. Obviously we cannot get into those questions or dig deeper into the anime because of spoilers, but with the recent story arcs, the show has really picked up and fans are left buzzing after each episode, drooling for the next one to drop. To date, nine hundred and ninety one episodes have been released alongside one thousand and twenty six manga chapters. The show is definitely worth binging. Will Luffy find One Piece and become the Pirate King?

Straw Hat Pirates crew members and roles and bounties*
NAME ROLE BOUNTY**
MONKEY D. LUFFY CAPTAIN 1,500,000,000B
RORONOA ZORO FIRST MATE 320,000,000B
USOPP SNIPER 200,000,000B
NAMI NAVIGATOR 66,000,000B
VINSMOKE SANJI COOK 330,000,000B
CHOPPER DOCTOR 100B
NICO ROBIN ARCHAELOGIST 130,000,000B
FRANKY MECHANIC 44,000,000B
BROOK MUSICIAN 83,000,000B
JIMBE HELMSMAN 438,000,000B
*CREW MEMBERS LISTED ARE ACCORDING TO THE RELEASED ANIME EPISODES.
** THE BOUNTIES ARE