I Still Believe in Heroes

After directing Fruitvale Station , Creed and now, Black Panther , Ryan Coogler has established himself as one of the very best directors of our era. In Black Panther , he created a breathtakingly beautiful world that was as vibrant as it was authentic. I am by no means an expert in African culture, however, it appears as though the filmmakers took great care to make this entire world look and feel as genuine as possible. This is a very stylish film, which is great, but what makes it even better is the fact that underneath all of that there is a huge amount of heart.               The film opens up with a very cool introduction of Wakanda that explains how they came to be. It’s a brief scene but an important one since it helps set up a very different world that the audience has not yet seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After this introduction, however, we are taken to Oakland where we meet a young King T’Chaka (Atand...

 1. Pixar's Coco I can't overstate how much this film meant to me. To finally be able to see my culture being represented on the big screen in an accurate and loving way was overwhelming in the best way possible. I've seen this film twice now and both times I was overcome with a sense of pride at seeing a film being able to perfectly capture the essence of Mexican culture. Every single aspect of this film, from the behaviors to the music, was treated with dignity and respect. I didn't realize how much this film would affect me, but I'm thankful that Coco was made and that it is getting the amount of love that it is. In my eyes, this is the best Pixar film ever made. 2. Horror is Killing it This Year Horror has always been my favorite genre in film and to see how hugely successful horror movies were this year has been awesome. Films like It and Get Out made huge amounts of money, but more importantly, they were excellent films that people wanted to see over a...