The Disney Movie Review

Soul is Pixar's first movie to have a black lead and, though it had a lot of promise, it still left a lot to be desired. We break down what we loved, what we hated, and what left us confused.

Hop on a plane and join us as Kristin tells us what Disney World is like during a pandemic. Should you even go? Plus we look at some of the virtual events Disney has coming up and whether Disney has done enough to provide fans with Coronavirus approved entertainment. And, of course, we touch on the election and encourage everyone to Have Courage and Be Kind.

Disney released Mulan as part of an experiment to test "premiere access content." So how did it work? Plus we give our thoughts on the movie. And, Disney has restored salary cuts to their executives, right after laying off 28,000 workers. 

Disney has not so quietly been bringing in LGBTQ+ stories into its media properties. We talk about that in light of Chadwick Boseman's passing.

Cameron^2 took over the show this week so we can review 'The Greatest Showman', the newest addition to Disney+. We see if the craze holds up more than two years after its original release.

It's been a long time and there isn't a whole lot of news, but we had to talk about Disney's plan to release Mulan.

Disney created its first openly gay animated couple and coronavirus stopped plans to release 'Mulan' in July.

Disney World will be open for Business in July, but how will the experience change?

Coronavirus has shut down Most of Disney - movies, parks, sports. As the world prepares to reopen, we talk about how Disney can move forward with a little game of True or False.

This week we look into how Coronavirus is affecting Disney and how Disney is fighting back. Plus, Disney got a new CEO before all of this started. How do you think he is doing? Be safe and take care of your health -- including your mental health.    P.S. We are working on staging a comeback. 

We're back to launch Disney Plus and we give you some theories on what this means for Disney. While we aren't back for a weekly show, this won't be a one-time episode. We're figuring out how to keep this going in a sustainable way, but you know we'll always Keep Moving Forward.

For our last show we dive into Disney's record year, the theme parks, and the Disney Wisdom we want to pass on.

In our second-to-last episode, we break down the photorealistic version of The Lion King and talk about where this fits in our rankings of the live-action remakes.

This week we talk about the Disneyland brawl, Mulan's teaser, the reaction to the casting for the live-action version of The Little Mermaid, and what it means that Disney World is getting more deluxe. Plus, why the show will be ending soon.

This week we break down Spider-Man far from home. What we liked and what we didn't.

This week Pixar released the fourth Toy Story film. So far they have never made a bad Toy Story, and they continue the trend of excellence with Toy Story 4. This week we break down the entire movie and how we would rank it in the franchise.

This week we dive into Disney's live-action movies to rank them from best to worst. Spoiler Alert: We all have the same #1. From there, our choices vary wildly.  Then we take a look at Frozen 2 and talk about whether we think it can live up to the first one.

This week there was kind of a smorgasbord of news this week as Disney has the top 3 domestic earners through the first half of the year. We take a look at those films and how Aladdin may have broken Disney's "Memorial Day" curse. Plus, people are ALREADY stealing things from Galaxy's Edge.  

I can't figure out why I like this movie, but I do. It broke Disney's "Memorial Day Curse" earning more than $86 million domestically. There is bad acting, weird script choices and some off special effects, but Aladdin finds its magic where it counts.

Disney gave us a final look at Toy Story and our first look at Maleficent. Is she good or bad?

This week Disney stuck a deal that could (will) lead to them owning Hulu outright by 2024, Endgame continues to get closer to breaking Avatar's Worldwide Box Office record, James Gunn spoke out about his firing, and the new class of Disney Legends are out. It was a busy week for Disney but we break it all down this week.

This week we dive into the allegations against Jim Cummings, the voice of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. It's not pretty but it's also a matter of he-said-she-said. Plus we got a new trailer for Spider-Man: Far from Home and it fits into Ed's theory about a multiverse. Then Disney released a new slate with some interesting changes for Artemis Fowl and Avatar.  And Cameron gives us an update on his recent trip to Disney World.

Download this episode I'm torn about this one. No, really, I am. I really encourage you to listen to our way-too-long Podcast on this film because we get into some great conversations. On one side you have the Marvel fan in me. It's the one who has been to every opening night for nearly every Marvel film since Iron Man 2. That's the guy who researches movies and characters to learn more about their powers and possible story directions. That Ken easily gives this a 10/10. Then there is that other side of me. The one who goes to the movies to see something he didn't even know he wanted to see. The one who feels movies should run as tight as possible, so every line of dialogue and scene has a purpose. The guy who feels like it shouldn't take a full hour of exposition to get us into the main plot of the movie. That Ken marks this down at about a 7/10. I'm torn because all the things I love about EndGame are exactly what I hate about it. Consider all the things you have to know just to understand the motivations of the characters. You'll need to brush off Thor: The Dark World, Iron Man, the entire Captain America trilogy, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 2., Ant-Man and the Wasp, and *maybe* Captain Marvel. Far from being a sequel, this is a behemoth of a feat to wrap up 11 years of movies. As a fan, this is great. As a casual movie goer, it leads to a bloated film that tries to wrap up too much in one sitting. As a fan it was everything I wanted to see (and more) but as casual viewer it had the predictable formula of a super hero movie. The fan in me knows that this movie wasn't made for the casual movie-goer. It was made for you and I, the fans. Endgame really was/is the tightest story the Russo Brothers could weave for the adoring fans who have stuck with the MCU for so long. It's for everyone who could name every single Avenger on the battlefield in the final battle with Thanos and his army. It was not for the people who knew that a major Marvel film would have some sort of major battle and think that to be cliche. So is it an epic conclusion or a cliche outing of superhero antics we've sen over and over? Is it detail-driven film that pays off all the knowledge we've amassed since 2008 or bloated film that could have lost 30% of its girth and still got the point across? The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Long term fans are going to love it. Short-term fans probably will too. This is what we do. We are fanatics. Want to watch an action flick? The last battle alone makes this worthy. But I keep stopping myself from fully getting on board. As a movie itself, I just think it is good, not great. The MCU is roughly the length of one season of a TV show, but I've always felt like people could join the ride at any time. That's probably not true anymore, but I'm not sure I can hold EndGame responsible for that. Instead, I consistently come down to the fact that EndGame does great fan-service, but it is a good-not-great movie. Final Rating: 8/10

This week Bob Iger announced he really does plan to leave the Disney Company at some point. No really. 

This is for those of you who may not have sat through 11 years of Marvel movies. We give a quick overview of who is who and why they matter in the upcoming movie. 

Download this episode We finally know when we can binge Disney films to our heart's content. Mark it on your calendars - Nov. 12, 2019. We will never leave our couches again. Investors were so excited they pushed Disney's stock to a record $129.85. It helps that the price is pretty manageable at $6.99/month or $69.99/year. At launch, Disney plans to have 18 Pixar films, all the animated classics - including 13 classics that have previously been locked inside the Disney vault, all the Star Wars films, Marvel titles like Black Panther and Captain Marvel, more than 250-sum-odd hours of National Geographic programming, 100+ Disney Channel Original Movies and nine exclusive originals. Not to mention all 30 seasons of The Simpsons--the exclusive streaming source. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. The Rise of Skywalker Disney treated us to our first look at Star Wars: Episode 9 - The Rise of Skywalker. It looks like Rey has definitely completed her training and it set to open up a whole can of force whoop a$$. What's more, the team at Lucasfilm gave the film a title that tells us we may not have gotten the full story of Rey's legacy in The Last Jedi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adzYW5DZoWs Speaking of the Last Jedi, I know some of you are still mad at Lucasfilm. Heck, it's not my favorite movie. But, I do think we should give Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy a chance to tell a complete story. Right now, we are only 8/9ths into a saga. If you hate episode 9, then feel free to burn you Star Wars flags in your mom's basement. Until then, realize that you can't judge a full saga by only a few episodes.  The Lion King Full Trailer Not a whole lot to say here that hasn't already been said. This trailer looks life-like and every single animator that worked on it deserves a raise. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TavVZMewpY

This week Marvel broke the internet by putting Avengers: Endgame tickets on sale. It was a madhouse. We talk about our experiences and why Cameron hasn't bought tickets yet. Then we dive into Disney's full slate for 2019. They added in the Fox films and will be dominating cinema this year. Finally we dive into the controversy of the removal of certain strollers from Disney parks. Plus loose ice. And smoking, that's gone too.

Dumbo earned roughly $45 million in its opening weekend, which is about what we expected. Some of us loved it and some of us didn't, but none of us hated it. So they must have done something right. Listen to the full review where we break down the good, the bad and the ugly. Check out the Dumbo tab on the Disney Movie Database website for more details on the movie.

This week Disney finalized the deal to buy Fox. We've mentioned Fox at least once in almost every episode for nearly a year, but now it is finally here. And the layoffs have already started. We dig into what Disney has already closed and why they might have done it. (For some of our more in-depth episode on the Fox merger check out episodes 157, 161, 189, 192 and 194) Toy Story 4 got a new trailer this week, and we dive into that. And Avengers: EndGame directors Joe and Anthony Russo admitted to creating fake footage to put in their trailers. Plus, we finally get a chance to talk about the changes to Annual Passes at Disney World and Disneyland. 

In a surprise move, Disney has agreed to rehire Jame Gunn to direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. They also dropped a new trailer for 'Aladdin' and 'Avengers Endgame', but no ticket announcements yet.   Meanwhile Captain Marvel blew the lid off the competition and Kevin Feige talked about the future of the MCU with Fox in this interview.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljrdxgsfdug    Oh and (in my best Woody voice), Disney's opening of Galaxy's Edge has been moved to today. Not really, but basically. That and the Fox deal that closes this week, all on episode 224.

This week Disney released the last Marvel film before Avengers: EndGame. It just also happened to be Marvel's first movie that was lead by a female super hero and they knocked it out of the park. Take a listen to our thoughts on the origin story for the most powerful character in the MCU.

Kristin takes the reins this week as we dive into the new details of Black Spire Outpost, the Star Wars inspired areas coming to Disneyland and Disney World this year. But first we talk about Disney's historic Oscar Wins and the one glaring loss. Plus Rotten Tomatoes is trying to fix the parts of its scoring system that have been hijacked by trolls. And we talk about the Fox lawsuit that could really affect Disney's future creative efforts.

This week we dive into Disney's decision to pull its ads from YouTube over concerns of Pedophilia. But first, we talk about the interview Alan Horn gave to the Hollywood Reporter. And we bring back FastFlicks, with music and everything!

A little over one week ago, Disney debuted the genie that will take center stage in the live-action version of Aladdin. The blue version of Will Smith definitely broke the internet, but probably not in the way Disney was hoping for.  Before we get there, we talk a bit about Ron Miller, the former Disney CEO who recently passed away. Then we jump into Frozen 2 and talk about why the teaser was so epic. That and much, much more!

This week we dive into the new footage we got from the Super Bowl, Pixar's new PG-13 short called "Purl", and we talk about a professor's accusation that Mary Poppins is racist. Also, we're experimenting with video. Check us out on YouTube at this link: https://youtu.be/LMPv9ALkyZ8  

This week Disney and AMC have partnered to give free tickets to Black Panther's re-release on the big screen. This got us into a discussion on the most useless film in the MCU and how Avengers: Endgame might change that. Before we get there, we dive into Bob Iger's claim that 40 percent of Disney's upcoming slate will be led by female directors. Plus Ed reviews the After Hours Event at Magic Kingdom.

We missed you last week and are happy to be back! A Disney film has (finally) been nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, but all signs point to a loss. Plus Lee Unkrich is leaving Pixar after 25 years of making magic. And Kevin Feige uncharacteristically revealed a "spoiler" for Avengers: End Game.

Captain Marvel tickets are now on sale and they are going really, really fast. Unfortunately, Marvel's success is being overshadowed by John Lasseter, who recently got a new job as the head of Skydance Animation. We talk about what that means for Skydance and Disney. Meanwhile, Bob Iger didn't do himself any favors with the fans by criticizing "nondescript coasters" in India. That and much, much more. For the week of Jan 14, this is episode 216 of The Disney Movie Review. 

Disney closed out the year in style, posting a domestic record at the box office. Meanwhile it looks like Emily Blunt is only earning half of what Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is making for Jungle Cruise. And Netflix is making a lot of Disney fans very angry for leaving the Asian-American stars out of Mulan. That and much more for the week of Jan 7, 2019, this is episode 215.

This week we break down the year that was 2018. It was the second time Disney broke the $7 Billion mark at the box office, but do the movies live up to the hype? We give you the good and not-so-good parts of all the Disney movies from 2018.

This Week Emily Blunt did her best Mary Poppins impression for Disney's long-awaited sequel, Mary Poppins Returns. We review the music, the acting, the story and much, much more. Unfortunately, we had to shift our normal schedule this week, so Kristin couldn't make it. But we were lucky to get Stan Solo of the Grand Circle Tour podcast on the show. It's a fun discussion and I hope you enjoy it.

It looks like Disney has shut down for year, because we had virtually no movie news coming out of the studios. But when has that ever stopped us before? This week we make predictions on what movie will be the biggest in 2019, talk about Pixars newest film and we launch a contest where you could win the soundtrack to Mary Poppins Returns.

We dive into the Avengers: Endgame trailer to dissect all the hints and clues we got. And we speculate about what this title means for the MCU. And Black Panther is on the path to being nominated for Best Movie of the Year at the Academy Awards

With any luck, we'll have a trailer for Avengers by the time you read this. But as of 1:46pm ET on Sunday afternoon, said trailer has not arrived. So this week we dive into the Artemis Fowl teaser and ask whether Disney can make a successful young adult movie. Then we examine Fox's attempt to make Deadpool PG-13 in Once Upon a Deadpool and why the debate over the the "live-action" version of "The Lion King" is far from silly. Plus, will you still subscribe to Disney Plus if it has ads? Cause it will probably have ads. That and much, much more. For the week of December 3, this is episode 210 of The Disney Movie Review

Six years ago we left the world of Wreck-It Ralph, humming along with owl city and asking "When can we do this again?" This weekend we finally got to go back to the world of Wreck-It Ralph and it didn't disappoint. Ralph Breaks the Internet is one of Disney Animation's funniest films in recent memory and a worthy sequel to one of their best films.

Apparently Disney released a Teaser

This week we talk about the legacy of Stan Lee and how he impacted the lives of millions of fans around the world. Then we dive into those two Toy Story 4 teasers as well as the emotional Dumbo trailer. Finally, Bob Iger gave us more details on Disney's plans for Hulu so we go into that as well. That and much more. For the week of November 19, this is episode 208 of The Disney Movie Review.

Spoilers Ahead: I'm not even gonna try to keep this spoiler-free. You've been warned. I've sat through some truly awful movies since I started this blog. I've watched movies so terrible that I've begged God to grant me the strength to make it to the end credits while simultaneously writing an email to Bob Iger demanding a refund. Star Wars: The Last Jedi is not one of those movies. Right now, fans are overreacting. As I write this, Star Wars: The Last Jedi has the lowest fan rating of any Star Wars film on Rotten Tomatoes. With a 56 percent, it beat the record of Atack of the Clones by one point. I've seen several Star Wars fans say that this film makes the prequels look good, which is possibly the worst insult a Star Wars film could receive. I think many of these fans would benefit from watching a truly terrible movie like The Good Dinosaur or The Lone Ranger. The Last Jedi is not the worst Star Wars film ever made, but it is incredibly lazy. The Lazy Jedi  Those that like The Last Jedi praise writer and director Rian Johnson for taking a visionary look at the world of Star Wars. They write articles with headlines like "The Last Jedi Doesn't Care What You Think About Star Wars." Johnson burns down what we know about Star Wars by killing off Snoke, having Rey's parents be no names (which I still don't believe), and refusing to conform to the Star Wars you know and love. There is genius in that strategy, but Johnson executes it in the laziest possible way. He doesn't just gloss over the explanations for characters from Episode 7. He obliterates the backstory for any character he introduces. The man with the Red Plume plays a central role in the story until he is deemed insignificant. How great would it have been in the man in the red plume only turned out to be the bodyguard for the woman beside him who was the real codebreaker? A move like that would take imagination and several revisions of the script. Or, you could be lazy and just write the characters into a prison cell with a person who has the exact skills they are looking for. Or consider one of the crucial scenes when the rebel escape pods are leaving their doomed cruiser. An inventive script would have allowed the resistance to have an elaborate plan in the face of the First Order's ability to track escape pods. A lazy script would have a line of dialogue that shows the resistance "can't track" the escape pods for some nonsense reason. Johnson didn't have the answers fans were looking for from Episode 7, but he also didn't have the answers we were looking for from Episode 8. How was Leia able to somehow revive herself in space and force fly back to the ship? What happened to the man in the Plume? If the Jedi order is over, why does Luke call Rey a Jedi? If you literally have a Jedi mater burn down the ancient texts of the Jedi order to start something new, why would you put those old texts on the Millenium Falcon to restart the Jedi order? How did Rose's ship not explode when she crashed full force into Finn? How are some people (like the kid at the end) able to use the force without any training while Luke, Anakin and everyone before them needed training to use the force? These are the questions a good script can answer, but The Last Jedi is a lazy script. A Flawed Hero Despite its faults -- and there are many -- The Last Jedi does have many good qualities that I feel fans are missing. The idea that Luke Skywalker still struggled as a leader after Return of the Jedi was refreshing and inspiring. An imperfect Luke Skywalker is much easier to relate to than an all-powerful Jedi. Yoda's rebuke of Luke's failure to pass on his failures to those he taught hit exactly the right tone. This was more impactful since Yoda was the one who pressed the button to burn the ancient texts. It was the past telling the present to let go so the future can have its time. There are several messages that the film tries to get across and sometimes it is incredibly successful. For example, Poe's lesson in leadership was heavy handed in the script, but it was still impactful. Sometimes there are situations you can't blast your way out of and if Poe is to become the leader of the new resistance -- hint: he will -- he has a lot to learn. It's as if Johnson was speaking directly to my generation as we begin to assume more leadership roles at work and in the community. Not My Father's Star Wars Perhaps the most important question that The Last Jedi raises is how far a franchise can go before it betrays itself. That is, how far can a movie bend or break the rules of a franchise before it becomes unrecognizable to the fans who loved it in the first place? Johnson attempts to answer this question by revealing the parentage of Rey. For decades, Star Wars fans have known that the force runs in families. If Rey's parents are nobodies, how is she so powerful with the force? Johnson doesn't provide Rey with a simple line of dialogue that might help explain her abilities. Even Luke used to bullseye 2-meter wide womp rats in his T-16 back home before he used the force on the Death Star. Anakin was a pod racer before he became one of the greatest pilots in the rebellion. No matter how much raw ability you have, you will need training--whether professional or amateur--to compete at an all-star level. That's not just the way Star Wars works. That's the way life works. Johnson wants to do away with that notion and that is part of the reasons fans are rejecting it. This isn't my father's star wars, but it's not even my Star Wars. It just doesn't make sense. Johnson is telling fans "Everyone is special," which is another way of saying no one is. In a galaxy like Star Wars, it's easier to write a world where everyone has a mastery of the force. Then you can explain away any unfortunate happening. Consider how Johnson has set up who is the most powerful with the force: Leia - apparently so powerful with the force that she is immortal. Rey - a Hall of Fame caliber Jedi with no training. Kylo Ren - a whiny, unstable dark lord of the sith. Supreme Leader Snoke - an overrated Sith Yoda - An incredibly wise Jedi but not powerful enough to be immortal or stop the rise of the Sith. Luke Skywalker - A flawed has-been from 30 years ago who was defeated by his apprentice Ben Solo (later Kylo Ren). Everyone in the galaxy - Because "everyone" is special. If the list above were College Football rankings, Luke Skywalker wouldn't even make the playoffs. That is a huge rebuke of Star Wars as a franchise. In my Star Wars, the Jedi are the most powerful with the force, but in Johnson's Star Wars the top two spots are not occupied by Jedi. In my Star Wars, Supreme Leader Snoke's mastery of the force would create a problem for even the most experienced Jedi, but in Johnson's Star Wars he can be dispatched before half the movie is over. My Star Wars is set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Johnson's Star Wars has Luke flip that dirt off his shoulders like Jay-Z. I wouldn't be surprised if he had him drop a mic. Where Do We Go From Here? Disney is kind of in a perilous place at the moment. They let Johnson have his take on the franchise without really letting him go so far that it can't be reeled back in. Will JJ Abrams follow his lead with Episode 9, or will we see something more conventional? My hunch is that Disney will play it safe. They want people to like Star Wars. They want people to come to Star Wars land in 2019 and stay in the $1,000 per night hotel. Too many films like The Last Jedi and the most hard-core fans may just stay home from the movies and the parks. Fans have a much easier choice. Abrams will have plenty of room to tell a story as if The Last Jedi never happened. If he chooses to ignore the film, fans will have the right to do the same. If Abrams makes The Last Jedi crucial to Episode 9, fans will have to decide whether they identify enough with this new Star Wars to call themselves fans. For me, that is up in the air right now. I don't need an explanation for everything, but I want the series I follow to make sense. I'm fine with some people being extremely special or even a lot of people being special, but I'll probably lose interest if Star Wars tries to convince me everyone is special. Because then no one is special. That's not Star Wars, it's just lazy. Final Rating: 7.5/10

Which Disney movie had the best music this year? Which trailer left us wanting more? Who was the best director? Actor? Actress? And which film is the best Disney movie of the year? We'll tell you this week on The Disney Movie Review.

Even before Black Panther smashed box office records and went on to a $218 million four-day debut, it was an extremely important movie. In a movie with a majority black cast, there were no slaves. There was peril, but a white person never appeared to save the day. There were themes of struggles of the inner city, but no crack heads. DC's Wonder Woman had three white actors supporting the title character. In Marvel's Black Panther, only three white characters had lines at all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO6CZ9qXvhM It's hard to understate the importance of Black Panther. Director Ryan Coogler invited audiences of all races to imagine a world that depended on the success of a black protagonist. Somehow in 2018, that is still such a radical idea that people tried to kill it on RottenTomatoes. Coogler helped the idea pay off with a solid story that packs pounds of meaning into every single line. There was nearly flawless execution by Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther), Lupita N'Yongo (Nakia), and Danai Gurira (General Okoye). Michael B. Jordan takes his performance to a new level and steals the show in his rendition of Killmonger. But at the end of the day, this is much more than a good movie with a majority black cast. Why Is Black Panther Special? We could talk all day about how rare it is for movies with large budgets to have a minority director or a largely minority cast, but that's like saying the heart-shaped herb of Wakanda makes someone a superhero. The minority stuff is nice, but it doesn't mean anything if no one sees it (See Queen of Katwe). What makes Black Panther special is the structure of the Marvel Cinematic Universe -- a system of films in which every film builds upon one another. In the past, good movies with a majority black cast could be ignored by the audience at large (Again, see Queen of Katwe). However, this is a movie Marvel fans have to see. The things that happen in Wakanda may be consequential to the larger MCU. For the first time, a film by a black director with a majority black cast got a huge budget and a guaranteed audience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIgfQcd_34U Once the movie actually started, Black Panther demonstrated its importance through the layers of the story. The idea of N'Jobu (Sterling K. Brown) choosing to betray Wakanda to help black Americans brings a twist that echoes beyond the world of the MCU. Though there are several prominent women, the action and script make sure there isn't a single damsel in distress waiting for a male hero. Entire books could be written on Killmonger's motivation to aid the two billion people “who look like us,” and we talk about all that and more in the podcast episode below. But perhaps the most important line in the movie comes in one of the end credits scenes. T'Challa is speaking to the United Nations about how Wakanda will begin sharing its technology with the world. At the end of T'Challa's speech, another representative asks, “What could a nation of farmers have to offer the world?” That is the essential question many people have been condescendingly asking black Americans for decades. What Can Black People Offer? Even though black people have made significant contributions to America, they have been largely silenced outside of the world of sports and music. The campaign #OscarsSoWhite grew out of reality that the Academy felt minorities had nothing “award-worthy” to offer in 2016. Or consider the times when sports stars speak out about racial injustice? Recently TV personality Laura Ingraham encouraged NBA players to “shut up and dribble.” Even the first black president was interrupted in the middle of his State of the Union Address. After all, what could black people have to offer in politics? Despite the obvious condescension that comes with this question, black people have worked to answer it for centuries. We have enriched millions of companies and built businesses worth billions. Minorities make up a majority of the box office audience and have propelled hundreds of movies to multi-million dollar takes. Black Panther is special because it was made by black people -- actors, directors, costume designers, etcs --  and black people propelled it to record-breaking numbers. African-Americans are estimated to have made up 40 percent ($87 million) of Black Panther's opening weekend sales. The world has been put on notice. If you build it, we will come out in force. The Implications of Black Panther Black Panther is special because it was the first, but it won't be the last. Executives at Marvel and DC can see the dollar signs from a $218 million opening weekend in February. Hollywood will do what Hollywood does and soon we will see even more studios putting actual time and energy into making movies that are more diverse. This means that outside of the world of cinema, people will finally get to see black people as humans. Rather than being portrayed as slaves, thugs, sidekicks or oppressed, movies with large budgets will start to show the nuance that exists in life as a black person. We will get more stories that show the full humanity of an entire race of people and that could (should) lead to better understanding. Maybe even one day people will stop asking me what the “black community, as a whole,” thinks about the latest topic of the day. At the end of the day, Black Panther is more than just the 18th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is a movie that carried the hopes and dreams of black people and comic book fans. And it didn't disappoint. A movie that fulfills so radically different expectations is truly special. Final Rating: 9/10

The most important thing to understand about A Wrinkle In Time is that it is based on a novel that is aimed at pre-teens. So it is positive. Get over it. But the fact that it is based on a tween novel means the movie moves slower than it should and some plot points are oversimplified. It's sad because I wish I had more positive things to say about the movie. Minor spoilers ahead. Director Ava Duvernay's Wrinkle is a love letter to pre-teen girls. It encourages them to stand up for what they believe in and not be afraid of their intelligence. Protagonist Meg Murry (Storm Reid) is consistently encouraged to acknowledge her beauty. This is when the movie is at its best. When Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey) takes Meg aside to explain how everything in the universe has led to her being exactly who she needs to be, the movie sings. It is exactly the message that tween girls -- and maybe everyone -- needs to hear. And I can't speak enough positive things about 9-year-old Deric McCabe, who plays Charles Wallace. The entire third act of the movie is placed on his shoulders and he rises to the occasion as the best actor in the movie. When Light Turns to Darkness However, any light that escapes from the film is certainly dimmed by the first 30 to 45 minutes. Audiences must endure pacing that is at a crawl and acting that feels like it belongs in a high school auditorium. The first act does little to draw in those who haven't read the book. It introduces characters like Mrs. What's It (Reese Witherspoon) and Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling) with such a casual nature that it's hard to be invested in the characters. Calvin (Levi Miller) receives no introduction whatsoever which makes him a character of little consequence. The film tries, but it never quite captures the magic that has caused so many children to fall in love with it over the years.  Final Rating: 7/10