The main actors in this low budget, independent film live in disharmony with their thoughts and speech. For same reason, its sound doesn't correspond to picture, which is the outcome of global worldwide disharmony of our time. Such disharmony exists both in this film, whose heroes aim for freedom, and in lives of people in audience who want that freedom, while not knowing what they should be freed of.
Making Apes begins by looking back at the history of makeup effects in Hollywood, which was revolutionized by Jack Pierce, the person behind Frankenstein (1931) and The Wolf Man (1941)
For one widowed father and his five kids, an extraordinary gift will change their lives forever.
Him is visually stunning—all concrete cathedrals and bone-rattling impact shots that look like a nightmare highlight reel. Marlon Wayans is magnetic as this legendary quarterback who's basically selling salvation with a smile that never quite reaches his eyes. But the story keeps running in circles: more tests, more cryptic pep talks, more ritualistic drills. The sports-as-religion metaphor beats you over the head when subtlety would've been more effective. The middle drags, and that finale chooses spectacle over substance. It's undeniably stylish, but left me cold. Also worth noting: despite the Monkeypaw connection, this isn't actually a Jordan Peele film—he didn't write or direct.
The more we learned with each passing minute the bigger the reveal. This film ends with a serious bang and it was truly a joy to watch.
SPOILERS AHEAD. Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song distinguished itself from Hollywood films of its time by introducing New Wave cinema storytelling methods into Black cinema.
