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praphit · 2 years ago

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241: Marvel’s Emancipation - ft Aubrey Plaza

I had told myself that I was done with slavery films. "12 Years A Slave" was going to be it! I can't handle it, emotionally. I don't wanna have to be mad at white people (more mad :) for weeks or months after watching; that's what happens. It took me three months to recalibrate after watching "12 YEARS"! Even after watching "Get Out", I was suspicious of all white women. I saw that movie WITH A WHITE WOMAN. We left the theater, I looked her in her eyes, and I said to her "You bitch. You think I don't know what you're up to??" You might say "That's rude!" I agree with you! I don't wanna be that way.

BUT, I've gotta support my man Will Smith. He did something a lil while back... I don’t remember what it was, but he's had a rough time on social media and in his industry.

Will Smith calls this new movie of his a “freedom movie" (not a slavery one). Whatever you say, Will. It's called "Emancipation". It's pretty much the story of this man -

Yeah, we've all seen the photo, and every time you see it, it's painful ( on many levels), as well it should be.

So, here we go... oh, wait... what's this I see??

- my woman Aubrey Plaza? She’s got a new movie on The Flix?!

(”Emily the Criminal”)

Who doesn't love her?? Perhaps I should watch "Em the Crim" instead?

Nah, I gotta support Will...

But, Aubrey...

What if we watch both?

Balance it out. Every time the slav... I mean the freedom movie becomes a lil much, we'll turn to Aubrey, she'll smirk and make some quirky/snarky comment, and we'll all laugh. It's kinda bleeped up that I'll be taking breaks from slav... “freedom pains” to be comforted by Aubrey Plaza, but... let's not focus on that :)

Will Smith!

-plays Peter.

He was a slave during the time that Lincoln freed the slaves, but freedom hadn't exactly been enforced everywhere (so to speak). I have thought about this often. Words can't really express the situation of being made free, but not being, you know?? FREE. The fact that we even had to be made free..

I remember "Family Guy" doing a cutaway of a slaveowner taking off the shackles of a slave during this time- "So, you're free to go. We're cool, right?" The fuckery of all of this... very depressing.

Let's check in on Aubrey! :)

:"Emily the Criminal" is a movie about a woman who has a shitty job and ever-encroaching debt. You might say "Yeah, I know that game." She also has a mysterious (to the audience) charge on her record that certain companies (when she’s job-hunting) find uncomfortable; and that's the whole point of the movie. In the first scene, she is in an interview where the interviewer lies to her and says they don't have all of her background check info. She then lies about her past, and then the interviewer is like "Gotcha!"

What a dick!

The first act of this movie is very good. Aubrey is very good, BUT... where are the laughs? I thought there'd be some comedy going on - being this is Aubrey Plaza. I thought to myself "Aubrey! Why aren't you playing yourself like you always do?" I don't want to think about the social commentary of this sitch! I see it everyday! I had to pick the one movie where Plaza is being totally serious! This was an intense night of Tv in the Rambling Praphit household.

*sigh* dammit, Aubrey!

(Back to Will)

Peter has two options - wait around for Lincoln's army (hoping he'll survive in the meantime) or going somewhere where slaves have been or are in the process of being set physically free (but to do so, he must travel through/probably be chased through the swamps - where he might also die). Of course he splits, and does so with a couple of buddies of his. I say "buddies" but it's more like people you've spiritually bonded with while being treated worse than cattle simply due to the color of your skin. I could show you pictures, but I'm mad enough at white people (after only the first five minutes of this movie) and I'd rather go back to Aubrey.

(back to the criminal)

Emily, in efforts to make ends meet, seeks help from a friend who for whatever reason isn't understanding the depths of her situation. Emily's life kinda sucks: The bad job (with a crappy and unnecessarily mean boss - which btw, let me say to all of you people out there with the power to hire - BE BETTER! Take a chance from time to time on peeps who may have had a rough go in life (as long as they can do the job)... you rat bastards!

As I was saying... the criminal record, a weird living sitch due to lack of funds, interview after interview ending in disappointment, crushed artistic dreams (I'm starting to regret coming back to Aubrey)....

She meets a dude (who's simply beautiful) named Youcef, played by pretty man Theo Rossi.

He introduces her to a life of crime, and due to Emily's situation she plunges in. She's good at it! It's one thing to have to be shady, it's a ho nova level when you're really good at it. Things kinda escalate.

(Let's head back to the swamp)

Peter is trying to make it to freedom - he's been fighting (not only the men chasing him), but snakes, wounds, hunger, and alligators of the swamp. Two of the men on Team Slavery are played by Ben Foster and Steven Ogg. Good performances. Every slave movie (dammit, it's a slave movie!) has at least one white actor who's doing a lil too good of a job, you know?? It makes you start to wonder. Where do they have to go mentally to play these types of characters? Do they have to go anywhere?

Steven Ogg says "nigger" twice in one scene.

I'm like "Ok, Steve, that's enough. Let's tone it down."

There’s also a little white girl in here who rats out a black man, who’s trying to get free. She doesn’t even get an adult. She rings some sort of bell and shouts “Runner!” She was so excited to do that.

All I know is, if I were a white man (great idea/title for a show btw), and my young white daughter came to me, wanting to play this role, I’d be like “Nah. You’re gonna have to try to get on “Euphoria” or something... maybe you can get a role where you suck people off for lunch money, but you ain’t playing THIS role.”

- just me :)

This was pretty much the first and second act of the movie - being chased.

Is it wrong to say - I got bored? It feels wrong to say. I started fantasizing about Peter and his mates going through a radioactive swamp... Marvel-style, and as a result, maybe gaining superpowers. Will Smith now has heat vision, and maybe his companions.... (there were two) one has the power of flight and the other has telekinesis. Maybe there's a super villain who also gained powers -' possibly Ben Foster... and he now has super strength or some sort of Irom-Man type suit. Now, it's truly a fight through the swamps to Lincoln's Army (who also, maybe have super powers... idk... or super power envy).

No?? Marvel it up? You think about that, while I go back, one more time, to Aubrey.

So, things were escalating, and then we get to the 3rd act of this movie, and it seems like the writers get a little lazy with the ending. The climax to the ending doesn't make any sense, and the ending itself makes even less sense. Such a drastic change in these characters. I get that desperate times call for desperate measures, but it's normally gradual. It's not like, tonight, you're stealing boxes of cereal from Target, and tomorrow morning you're selling cocaine to kids.

It's like we get two different characters in the 3rd act with Emily and Youcef. They do things that seem a bit off, especially Youcef. And Emily does something that's really shitty, and she gets away with it.

Ok, whatever, but there's no way she'd get away with what she does. Maybe if the writers explained some things and tied-up some loose ends, but nope... a rush to the climax and an awkward end to what was a really good movie. Plus, we find out what that mysterious charge is on her record, and... at least for me, it changed how I view Emily as a person (in this case, a person whom hasn't seemed to have learned from past mistakes). I liked the movie up to this point though! Aubrey Plaza is actually acting! I don't mean to throw shade in her direction ( I mean it as a compliment)... she's really good! I just didn't know she had that in her. There's acting, and then there's "Damn! I felt that scene." You know??

The ending of the film just doesn't make any sense, BUT... Grade: B I do recommend it.

(Back to Marvel's Emancipation):

Peter, in the beginning of the 3rd act ends up at a house that looks a lot like the climax to "Django Unchained"; which got me thinking - maybe Will Smith and his heat vision meet up with Django ( who doesn't have superpowers, but maybe he's like Hawkeye, but with guns), and then they find Chiwetel Ejiofor (super speed), and... Oprah (super empathy),

and they unite against Ben Foster's gang of bigots (Trump, MTG, and maybe Candace Owens... and they also have superpowers)

EPIC CGI FIGHT! Lots of explosions and one-liners!

Ending with Team I-Just-Want-To Be-Free beating the asses of all of the white bigots (and Candace Owens). Now, THAT'S a "freedom movie"!

That's not what happened, but... that's what should have happened, cuz what happens, again (and I feel kinda bad about saying this) is kinda boring. It just seems like this movie (a lil over 2 hours long) is just about Peter running through the swamp. The true story that this is based off of is heart-breaking and inspiring, but this... Will Smith is good as can be. He doesn't say much, but when he speaks it's powerful. There's a message about faith in God through trials. There's a moment in here that's pretty powerful concerning Peter never being broken by the slave owners or the path to getting free. I loved that, but it's just not as good a movie as others like it. It's a lesser version of "12 Years A Slave".

The performances were good, not just by Will, but by racist ass Ben Foster and Steven Ogg :) But, there were not many (maybe none) scenes when these good actors are interacting with each other in a deep way. It feels like a bunch of monologues; that's the big difference. So, if you're not going to add mutants and super powers... Grade: D

There's not really a reason to check this out, unless you're doing so to support Big Willie Style. But, if that's the case, just watch "I Am Legend" or something. Oooo, maybe zombies could have been in the Emancipation Swamps!

Idk.

I need a palate cleanser after all that. Any suggestions?

Ugh. I just wish we could live in a world without condemnation and economic prisons and racism, and other impacts from slavery, and zombie swamp mutants... a world where we're care-free... maybe lots of singing and dancing and jovial magic. One day... until then, I'll settle, perhaps for the palate cleansing powers of something like "Spirited"