Black Panther: Wakanda Forever by Oktay Ege Kozak Considering the unforeseen tragedy that plagued the eagerly awaited Black Panther: Wakanda Forever before the film even went into production, co-writer Ryan Coogler should be commended for actually producing a thrilling and awestruck follow-up without the use of its star, the late and beloved Chadwick Boseman. A lot of franchises crash and burn spectacularly when they attempt to continue after the death of their star (Just look at the Pink Panther movies after Peter Sellers died), so the direct sequel to 2018's massive hit might not be as memorable or even as successful as its predecessor. But just the mere fact that it's a spectacular technical achievement while it also manages to provide a touchingly taut and intimate exploration of grief and the journey to recovery is a miracle on its own.The story begins with the inevitable: T'Challah, The Black Panther, the ruler and prote...Read the entire review »

Goldengirl (Blu-ray) by Jesse Skeen This 1979 release from AVCO/Embassy Pictures is quite a curiosity. It was made to tie in with the 1980 Olympics, although it doesn't really present them in a favorable manner. The story goes that it would initially play in theaters summer 1979, which it did, and then show the next year on network TV as a two-part miniseries with additional scenes. Although this movie has the US competing at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, in reality the country pulled out of the games that year, and this movie's TV broadcast was pushed back a year as a result. Model Susan Anton makes her movie debut as Goldine, being trained and treated from birth to be a super-athlete known the world over as Goldengirl. Her backstory isn't made very clear and after seeing the movie I'm still not sure if she was b...Read the entire review »