Destiny Jackson

A Vigil, On Self-Destruction and Salvation: 12 Years of ‘Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys’

November 23, 2022November 23, 2022Posted in Home Page Posts, Mini-ThoughtsTagged Danger Days, Frank Iero, Gerard Way, Killjoys, Mikey Way, My Chemical Romance, Ray Toro, Reprise Records, Warner RecordsLeave a comment

Courtesy of Reprise Records/My Chemical Romance

Somehow, it’s been 12 years since legendary rock band My Chemical Romance dropped their fourth and last studio album Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. At the time of its release, it boasted a futuristic concept that featured a gang of misfits, known as the Killjoys, waging war against mega-conglomerates and their flunkies on the outskirts of Battery City, a deserted Californian wasteland in 2019. And honestly, upon reflection just over a decade later, the world of the album is nearly prophetic to the times we’re living in today– what did Gerard Way, Frankie Iero, Ray Toro, and Mikey Way know, and when exactly did they know it?

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Spider-Man Turns 60: ‘Amazing Fantasy #1000’ Review

November 13, 2022November 13, 2022Posted in Books, Home Page PostsTagged amazing fantasy, marvel, peter parker, spider-manLeave a comment

With great power comes great responsibility — and celebration. In honor of the legendary webhead turning 60 this year, Marvel Comics released the ultimate Spider-Man anthology titled “Amazing Fantasy #100”, as a nod to Spider-Man’s first comic book appearance back in 1962’s “Amazing Fantasy #15.”

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The Best Chris Messina Roles in Movies and Television

August 11, 2022September 3, 2022Posted in Film, Home Page Posts, TVTagged 28 Hotel Rooms, Alex of Venice, Birds of Prey, Call Jane, Chris Messina, Dreamin Wild, Ira and Abby, Jenna Fischer, Marin Ireland, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Mindy Kaling, Netflix, Rashida Jones, The Giant Mechanical Man, The Sinner, Tribeca Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Victor ZsaszLeave a comment

A loving glance under beautifully thick eyelashes here, a dash of murderous tendencies there, and a whole lot of that undisguisable raspy Long Island accent everywhere, these are just some of the components that make up a classic Chris Messina performance. Looking through the credits of Messina’s nearly three-decade career, he has an actor’s filmography equivalent best described by the phrase: “always the bridesmaid, never the bride.” And in another multiverse, Messina would already be the go-to Hollywood leading man (and Italian short king) we deserve.

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Disney+’s ‘Ms. Marvel’ is a Beautiful Family Affair

August 5, 2022September 3, 2022Posted in Home Page Posts, TVTagged Disney+, Iman Vellani, Ms.MarvelLeave a comment

In the first few minutes of Ms. Marvel, as unique animated scribbles flood the screen, imaginatively conveying the inner thoughts and feelings of Kamala Khan (an immediately charming Iman Vellani), you’ll realize something: this has all the trappings of early 2000s-era teen TV. After some rather more grown-up entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe of late (Moon Knight; Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness), the latest small-screen MCU offering arrives like a colorful sledgehammer, functioning more as a fun and dreamy teenage comedy, wrapped up in a superhero spectacular. Less Batman Begins, more Lizzie McGuire, then — if Lizzie suddenly got glowing mystical powers, a Marvel-sized budget, and appeal beyond the 12-18 age bracket.

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Will An NC-17 Rating For ‘Blonde’ Hurt Oscar Chances?

August 5, 2022September 3, 2022Posted in Film, Home Page Posts, Mini-ThoughtsTagged Academy Awards, Ana de Armas, Andrew Dominik, NC-17, Netflix, Oscars, Venice Film FestivalLeave a comment

Move over diamonds; it seems ratings are a girl’s best friend. No stranger to controversy since the film’s announcement in 2019, Andrew Dominik’s “Blonde,” starring Ana de Armas as the infamous actress-socialite Marylin Monroe, continues to make waves in the industry for a myriad of reasons, but none more so than its controversial NC-17 rating. As more trailers invoke hype and behind-the-scenes photos showcase an impressively high-quality production value for a Netflix joint, combined with the impeccable talents of “Knives Out” and “No Time To Die” star de Armas, it’s clear that “Blonde” has all the makings of an Oscar contender.

But will its nuanced NC-17 rating prevent it from even entering the ceremony?

Not necessarily…

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How to Build a Southern Gentleman: An Interview with ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ Star Taylor John Smith

July 19, 2022September 3, 2022Posted in Film, Home Page PostsTagged Daisy Edgar-Jones, Reese Witherspoon, Taylor John Smith, Where the Crawdad SingsLeave a comment

How long can you protect your heart, especially when all you’ve known is isolation? This is a question both figuratively and literally posed upon Kya Clark (played as a young girl by Jojo Regina and as a young woman by Daisy Edgar-Jones), who finds herself abandoned by her family in a dilapidated shack hidden deep within the marshes of North Carolina. Considered an outcast by the neighboring well-to-do and working-class town of Barkley Cove because of her ‘wild’ upbringing, Kya doesn’t have any friends. Not until Tate Walker (played as a young boy by Luke David Blumm and a young man by Taylor John Smith) comes along and teaches Kya how to read and write and to properly identify the creatures and air fowl that reside on the banks of the marsh. Where the Crawdads Sing is both a beautiful and haunting southern coming-of-age tale told using two intermingling timelines that primarily focus on how Kya learns to navigate the harsh realities of life all while accepting the complications of love in the process. And with Tate by her side, Kya seemingly cannot fail.

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Tribeca 2022: ‘My Love Affair With Marriage’ Interview with Director Signe Baumane and Actor Dagmara Dominczyk

July 19, 2022September 3, 2022Posted in Film, Home Page PostsTagged Dagamara Dominczyk, My Love Affair with Marriage, Signe Baumane, Tribeca Film FestivalLeave a comment

[originally published on Medium]

Signe Baumane’s My Love Affair with Marriage is not your standard children’s animation. Though it does feature adults spewing lessons about purity, “Be a virgin until you’re married,” or how a young girl’s sole responsibility is to find love “Marriage is your destiny. You should patiently wait, you’re not a complete person without your soulmate.” Baumane’s feature is not here to reinforce those archaic and sexist ideologies, but instead, she’s here to examine and dismantle them, almost like an anti-patriarchal Sherlock Holmes.

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‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a ‘Goddamn Haunted House’ [spoiler review]

May 12, 2022September 3, 2022Posted in Film, Home Page PostsTagged Benedict Cumberbatch, Doctor Strange, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Elizabeth Olsen, marvel, Marvel Cinematic UniverseLeave a comment

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no, it’s a witch?… and oh look! It’s also Doctor Daddy Salt-N-Pepa Strange, back at it again with the stolen sling rings and sorcery!

In what feels like the 3,000th entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially now that we’ve all got the Television Universe to worry about, the latest movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness at least added some good ol’ fashioned B-movie horror to the franchise. (And so you’ll have to excuse me while I make a horror-tinged comparison.) Like a haunted house, the movie is full of fun-filled surprises, genuine scares, and long dark corridors that not only the character, but the audience too, have to travel to get to the menial plot on the other side. What I’m trying to say is; that though we’ve all paid the price of admission for some twenty-odd years now, not all haunted houses are worth the price of admission. And unfortunately, the titular Multiverse lacks not in frights, entertainment, or villainy but instead coherent theming. Something akin to asking: why was the haunted house built in the first place?

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‘The Underground Railroad’ star Mychal-Bella Bowman Knows What She Wants

April 24, 2022September 3, 2022Posted in Home Page Posts, Mini-Thoughts, TVTagged Amazon Prime, Barry Jenkins, Mychal-Bella Bowman, Satellite Awards, The Undeground RailroadLeave a comment

Amazon Studios / The Underground Railroad

At the 26th Annual Satellite Awards, The Black Cape caught up with The Underground Railroad’s breakout child-star, Mychal-Bella Bowman. In the harrowing Barry Jenkins drama, Bowman masterfully plays a character named Fanny Briggs (also known as Grace) who is confined to the small attic belonging to a secret abolitionist. In Episodes 3 and 7, Fanny acts as a guide to the newly arrived escaped slave Cora (Thuso Mbedu) when the latter faces danger while crossing into a highly bigoted religious town. In this interview we talk to Bowman about her collaboration with Jenkins, growing up as a child actor, things that she both admires and uses as inspiration to guide her on her path.

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Jenifer Lewis Shines Bright at the 2022 Satellite Awards

April 24, 2022September 3, 2022Posted in Film, Mini-Thoughts, TVTagged Awards Season, Blackish, Jenifer Lewis, Satellite AwardsLeave a comment

Jenifer Lewis at the 26th Annual Satellite Awards looking good, Twitter

With a career that spans well over three decades and a personality as sharp and vibrant as a comedic actress and Black icon Jenifer Lewis — how could you not be pulled into her orbit? On Saturday, the 26th Annual Satellite Awards bestowed the actress with a special lifetime achievement award. “I want people to know that I care about the next generation,” Lewis tells The Black Cape. “I want them to know that I got the American dream — and so can they.”

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