Jonah Nazier Galan- Fruitvale Station

Dir. Ryan Coogler

Starring: Michael B. Jordan (Oscar Grant), Melonie Diaz (Sophina), Octavia Spencer (Wanda)

Prod: OG Project, Forest Whitaker's Significant Productions

Distributor: The Weinstein Company, 2009

Fruitvale Station, released on July 12, 2013, was based on a true story in [Bay Area] San Francisco, California. The film depicts the last twenty-four hours of the life of Oscar Grant III. In the film, we have a [now] familiar duo of Ryan Coogler and Michael B Jordan [although they were collaborating on Creed concurrently Fruitvale was completed and released first] teaming up to take on the challenge of shedding light on the tragedy of the death of Oscar Grant III.

 The actors in the movie played their roles very well; Octavia Spencer (Wanda, Oscar's mother), a winner of over 10 [write out numbers to ten] acting awards, was a standout performance in this otherwise strong ensemble  -  her emotional tenor [range?] throughout the film was outstanding. The authenticity, from her voice tone, movements, and body language couldn't have been produced any better. Melonie Diaz (Sophina), known for her three nominations for this film as best supporting female, outstanding supporting actress, and outstanding female breakthrough performance. I felt this was well deserved, you could feel the reality in every word and action, the pain she expressed from the death of Oscar Grant to the anger she had towards him for his continuous lies  -  whether it be about losing his job for chronic tardiness or his extra-curricular dalliances with other women.

In the eighty-five minutes, you gain a lot of insight as to who Oscar Grant III is in the film. He is troubled by his past actions trying to turn a new leaf. Constantly battling his conscious [homophones: conscience] of what is truly the right thing to do throughout moments of the film. He is also a people's pleaser, he acts accordingly to every individual he encounters, giving assistance to Katie, a seemingly random white girl at the grocery store where Oscar used to work, who was confused trying to find the best fish to fry, sneaking an extra snack for his daughter Tatianna, and giving Marcus weed for free.

I view Ryan Coogler as an outstanding director especially for his age and amount of experience. In every film, he creates a connection with his cast said by Michael B. Jordan [Is this a quotation?]. But one scene I would like to analyze is the scene of the dog being run over. I felt this didn't happen in reality but was put in to make the movie more dramatic. This was well done by Ryan Coogler. It seemed to be foreshadowing. As the dog is run over Oscar tries to comfort it although it is helpless dying in his hands. When Oscar is shot he is also helpless as he is laying on his stomach handcuffed with no initial help in sight [FANTASTIC].

I would recommend this film to people like Dave East [who is Dave East?], people who are interested in the real world who like documentaries and storytelling. 

Jonah Nazier Galan- Creed

Dir: Ryan Coogler

Starring: Michael B. Jordan (creed), Sylvester Stallone (Rocky), Tessa Thompson (Bianca)

Prod: New Line cinema, 2015

Distributor: MGM & United Artist, 2015

Creed, was a long-awaited reboot of the legendary "Rocky" franchise. Having a new director may have posed assumptions about the film not living up to Rocky storyline, however, I feel this was a great choice. Ryan Coogler is a director of the films, Fruitvale Station and in the up and coming film, Black Panther in which Michael B. Jordan has starred in will allow for greater chemistry and knowledge of strengths.

Initially, as part of the introduction, you will see Ryan Coogler paying homage to the first Rocky film, as Adonis is fighting underground. This is to replicate Rocky doing club fighting t earn a few bucks. However, the difference between the two storylines is poverty. Rocky lived in the slums of Philadelphia working as an enforcer for a loan shark trying to make a quick buck. Creed can be seen as ignorant and selfish. Quitting a good paying career, leaving his million dollars home, to flee to Philadelphia to pursue his dream of becoming a professional boxer.

Another intriguing part of the film that I feel is underlined is the scene where Rocky pays a visit to Adrian's and Pauly's grave. During the scene, you will notice a rose on Adrian's tombstone and alcohol on Pauly's. Now if we take the basic message of it we will just say that it's a representation of each individual, but there is symbolism present. The rose as we know signifies love while someone who consumes alcohol is one who attempts to escape life's problems or past. I feel this is a representation of Rocky, ever since the death of Apollo Creed, he has lived life in regret. He has lost the presence, physical love of the three most important people in his life, his wife, brother in law (best friend), and his right-hand man. His alcohol in the film can be seen as his refusal to treatment for his cancer. Knowing that he will die if he doesn't seek treatment can be viewed as his escape to his past so that he may be able to visit them again and enjoy life and find the value of the rose, love.

I felt the movie was excellent. This fil has been view almost a dozen times at home. I would recommend it to anyone in my age group. It may have seemed as not as impressive but there are a lot of moments that require analyzation and this was the purpose I wanted to achieve. This is why I decided to do my blog in this manner to promote deeper analyzation. 

"Creed" by Juwan Sims

The 2015 movie Creed directed by Ryan Coogler is a spin off of the Rocky movies. Starring Apollo Creed’s son Adonis Johnson (Michael B Jordan) who is trying to make a name for himself in boxing without using his father’s name. So he seeks the help of his father’s friend Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) to train and mentor him which Rocky reluctantly did. Later news get out that he is the product of Apollo cheating on his wife and that he’s a Creed. Which helps him get a shot at the light heavyweight champion.

 The movie in my opinion was actually pretty good and entertaining. I believe it was well paced and the idea of the movie was pretty solid. Which is Adonis trying to make name of himself in what he knows best which is boxing and how he tried to achieve that without using the name Creed since he never knew his father. Then their Rocky who mentor Adonis to the best of his abilities and even though Rocky slip up near the end of the movie he made it up to Adonis by bring his girlfriend to him at the end of movie. The ending is reminds me of the end of the first Rocky movie being that the even though the underdog doesn’t win he was still able to put a fight against the current champion and almost beat them but still makes a name for themselves. Overall I believe the movie still have a positive outlook on trying to achieves one’s dreams.

Creed By: Henry Seyue

Dir: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Michael B. Jordan (creed), Sylvester Stallone (Rocky), Tessa Thompson (Bianca)
Prod: New Line cinema, 2015


Creed is the latest installment, and apparent reboot, of the critically acclaimed "Rocky" franchise. Ryan Coogler leads as the films director, which is a change from the combined 6 films directed by either David Advilsen or Sylvester Stallone. With that being said, Coogler undoubtedly had big shoes to fill, and although Creed may fall short in some areas, I think it is still worthy of being wholeheartedly accepted into the franchise.

Creed does a wonderful job in recreating the original rocky story line and plays with some familiar themes. Adonis and Rocky start off having a relationship much like Rocky and Micky once had. Adonis is a hungry, sloppy contender who sees Rocky as more than a trainer, he see's him as family. Rocky however is reluctant to commit to Adonis in this way, much like Micky when Rocky was in the dawn of his career. Many other important themes from past rocky films are consistent in Creed, but sadly others are left out. Important themes like poverty, religious undertone, and the American dream are left out. It is clear that Creed is poor for a total of maybe 5 minutes of the film before being adopted into the posthumous wealth of his father. The film then desperately attempts to make Adonis poor again for the sake of continuing the theme of poverty that exist throughout the rocky franchise. Others may not see a problem with this but personally it gets under my skin knowing that Adonis is abandoning a million dollar home and a good paying job to become a boxer, his "poverty" isn't genuine.This beginning doesn't Serve justice to the theme of the American Dream because no part of that dream includes choosing poverty over wealth because of ego. That might be this films most major flaw, Creed is fueled by pure ego. In no other Rocky film is ego a driving factor in any of Rocky's actions, making Creed's mere motivation a major set back in the quality of the film. On top of this there are some moments in the film when it feels like Coogler is trying a little too hard to nod at the the original Rocky. Having creed chase chickens, and run through Philly like Rocky did just makes me feel like I'm watching the original Rocky film— so why not  just watch the original Rocky film?  I definitely appreciate his attempts to pay homage to the Advilsen adaptation, but I just think for a reboot, it has to be done more subtly. The little things like having creed wear a sweater with the quote "Why do You fight?.. Because I can't sing or dance" is a perfect example of this. There's beauty in simplicity, you don't have to recreate the whole "gonna fly now" training montage for viewers to see the connection your trying make. With that being said there's a couple other nods to the original Rocky sprinkled through the film like easter eggs, that's how it should be, I think the film is just weighed down a little by a plethora of cringy replicated scenes.

I don't want to drag Creed too much because overall all I think it's a pretty solid film and I would actually go as far as saying it's the best Rocky film to come out this millennium. As a matter of fact I might even entertain a conversation on whether or not its better than Rocky 5, which I consider the last "real" Rocky film. With that being said I would give this film a 6.5/10 and recommend it to anyone in my age group. I usually wouldn't suggest watching a franchise backwords, but I feel like Creed has the type of appeal that might make somebody want to see what came before it.

Chris Colons Creed

Christopher colon

1/25/18

Creed

The movie creed is about a young man called Adonis Creed he is the son of Apollo Creed a legend in the boxing world, Adonis grew up without his father because he was killed in the ring in the earlier rocky movies. Adonis grew up bouncing from foster care to foster care until Apollos wife found him and took him in after his father past away. Adonis started to take in Apollos foot steps and began to fight underground boxing in mexico. After awhile Adonis wanted to fight pro but not a single person where he lived wanted to train him so he ended up quitting his job which he just got a big promotion in and moving to Philadelphia. When he moved there he ended up meeting up with Philadelphis own Rocky Bolboa. Rocky started training the up and coming legend to fight for a big fight with one of the best professional boxers for his last fight. Even though Adonis didn't want to let anyone know that he was Apollos son because if they did he would of been praised the way he didn't want to and if he lost the fight he would be called a "fake creed", Adonis wanted to make his own name and prove he is worth it to himself and to everyone watching him, but his girlfriend Bianca persuaded him to embrace the fact  that he was Apollo Creeds son and carry on in his footsteps to make his own legacy and continue his fathers.

Creed-Stephen Collins

Creed, the 2015 Rocky spin-off sequel of the franchise. I considered more of a sequel because it involves enough of Rocky to be a sequel. Is it good. Absolutely!


Apollo Creed's son Adonis also haves the heart of a boxing and contact the now retired Rocky Balboa to train. And there's training, fights and drama and its all great.


Ryan Coogler is two for two and likely three for three very soon.  Something about his directing is very fantastic and the fights scenes are just spectacular. He is a great director for somebody who is 31.


Michael B. Jordan is fantastic as Adonis. He brings the drama, heart and soul to this character and he brought 110% to the role. This could be Sylvester Stallone best role, a least as Rocky who brings back the soul and humanity of the character. He should won the Oscar that year, but Mark Rylance, who did won was the best pest of Bridge of Spies. Tessa Thompson is great as Bianca and I love her relationship with Adonis. I want to see more from her, especially after Thor: Ragnarok. 


I loved the drama in this movie. There's three scenes that stuck out to me. The first is the scene is where Rocky puts flowers on the graves of Paulie and Adrian which is emotional. The second is after Adonis ends up in jail and Rocky visits him and tell him to lets go of his emotions of his father. I loved because having a relationship to a person you never met must be so hard to deal with. I also loved the last scene because it so emotional and motivational.


Creed is the second best Rocky movie in the series. My ranking for the series is the first, Creed, Balboa, Rocky IV, Rocky II, Rocky III (two and three might flip-flop each other) and Rocky V. Creed has the emotional core and drama the first had and is absolutely a fantastic movie.

Creed  is  a  2015  American  sports  drama  film  directed  by  Ryan  Coogler  and  written  by Coogler  and  Aaron  Covington.  A  spin-off  and  sequel  to  the  Rocky  film  series, the  film stars  Michael B.  Jordan  as  Adonis  Johnson  Creed,  Apollo Creed's son, with Sylvester Stallone reprising the role of Rocky Balboa (this is an awkward construction). It also features Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashād, Tony Bellew and Graham McTavish. The film reunites Jordan with Fruitvale Station (our next feature) writer/director Coogler, as well as Wood Harris, with whom Jordan had worked on The Wire. The movie is about a guy who is the son of Apollo Creed. and who is trying to live [up to] his [family] name out. His name is Donnie.

Donnie meets Rocky at Rocky's Italian restaurant, Adrian's, named in honor of his deceased wife, and asks Rocky to become his trainer. Rocky is reluctant to return to boxing, having already made a one-off comeback at a very advanced age despite having suffered brain trauma during his career as a fighter [and whatever negative experiences he had as a trainer in Rocky V]. However, he eventually agrees. Donnie asks him about the "secret third fight" between Apollo and he. This occurred just after Apollo helped Rocky regain the heavyweight title, and Rocky reveals that Apollo won.

Donnie goes on to train at the Front Street Gym, with several of Rocky's longtime friends as cornermen, after a brief stint at Mickey's where he encounters Pete and Leo Sporino. He also finds a love interest in Bianca (Tessa Thompson), an up-and-coming singer and songwriter who is suffering from progressive hearing loss.

Creed—Tommy Avila

 

Creed-Tommy Avila

The movie creed is a 2015 spinoff in the rocky universe. The film was directed by Ryan Coogler and stars Sylvester Stallone as Rocky, Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Creed Johnson, and Tessa Thompson as Bianca. I didn’t get to watch the beginning of the movie but from what I understand In this movie Rocky has long been retired and decides to train Creed. Creed was adopted after his dad died and he bounced around from jail and foster homes. Apparently he quits his job after he is unhappy with how is life is. In my opinion Rocky seems to take over and act as not only a trainer but a father figure and Adonis rises up with the name Adonis Johnson. But after sports center gets an “anonymous tip” who is a man angry that Rocky won’t train his kid they reveal to the world Adonis Johnson is actually Adonis creed and everyone questions if him fighting Pretty Ricky Conan would ruin or tarnish the good reputation and legacy his father Apollo left behind. In the the last part of the movie they have a great fight and Creed proves he can fight amongst the best and earns the respect of everyone who watched including Ricky. There is also a subplot in this film in which Rocky has cancer and doesn’t want to get treatment but Creed makes a deal after some conflict that if he fights the cancer with treatment Creed would fight too and he agrees. Creed also has a love interest named Bianca who is slowly losing her hearing and is a deep thinking singer. Personally I didn’t think she contributed much to the film but she was still a good actress and part of Creeds motivation to keep fighting. Personally I liked Creed but I think there should have been more fights since he seemed to have fought in a gym once with an audience and the final fight which was an HBOBoxing fight. That is a huge jump and even with the name creed under your belt you shouldn’t get a push like that. 

Creed by: Anthony Ruggiero

Creed is a 2015 boxing drama set in the Rocky universe. Creed stars Michael B. Jordan (Adonis Creed), Sylvester Stallone (Rocky Balboa), Tessa Thompson (Bianca), Tony  Bellow ("Pretty" Ricky Conlan, and Andre Ward ("Stuntman" Wheeler). 

The movie starts off with Adonis Creed nee Johnson in a juvenile detention center. His father's widow Mary Anne (Phylicia Rashad of Cosby fame) visits him offers to take him in as her foster child. Seventeen years later Adonis AKA Donnie quits his job at a securities firm right after getting a promotion so he can go and be a boxer. His foster mother opposes his idea of becoming a boxer because she fears he could die in the ring just like her husband and his father. 

Adonis tries out for a boxing opportunity at a family friend's gym [the Adelphi Gym (allusion?) where his father trained] and gets turned down once he gets destroyed in the ring. Adonis travels to Philadelphia to seek out Rocky Balboa's help. He finds Rocky at the rocky owned Italian restaurant "Adrian".  Rocky eventually agrees and reveals that Apollo won a secret third fight against Rocky. Adonis trains at the front street gym with several of rocky's friends. After a while he meets his love interest; Bianca, who likes to sing and write songs. When Adonis defeats a local fighter word gets out that he is Apollo Creeds son and he is asked if he wants to fight the light heavyweight champion Ricky Conlan. Soon after Adonis finds out that Rocky has cancer and starts to convince him to get treatment. At the fight Adonis eventually loses but he gets praise from Ricky Conlan because of how well of a fight he put up. 

Creed was an amazing movie. The story telling and the continuation of the Rocky story made the film great. I love the chemistry Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone have. I also love how well the director Ryan Coogler put the story together. Now I can't wait to see Black Panther which is directed by Ryan Coogler and it stars Michael B. Jordan.

Creed by Zanaya Yancey-Gordon

In the movie Creed, the main character Adonis Creed chased his dream of becoming a boxer. Rocky Balboa was his trainer in achieving what he wanted to do. Adonis grew up in poverty with his mother in a poor neighborhood. His mother ended up dying and he got thrown into the foster care system. Adonis didn't know he was Apollo Creed's son until his widow came and adopted him while he was in foster care. Soon came Rocky who was interested in training him. He won his first fight and then Pretty Ricky's manager came to him asking for a fight but, Adonis had to take the last name Creed. At first he didn't want to to take the last name Creed and he wanted to keep his last name which was Johnson. His girlfriend Bianca encouraged him to take the last name because it was his and he should wear it. Adonis trained to fight Ricky since he was the light heavyweight champion. When the fight came about Adonis was extremely nervous since it was a lot of people and he didn’t think he was ready yet Rocky said he was. Creed And Ricky’s fight last a full 12 rounds and nobody thought Creed could last that long. Ricky won the fight but, Creed won the night. The entire crowd respected him and questioned was he continuing the legend of his father Apollo Creed. I feel that without Rocky Balboa pushing Creed to continue to fight. Sometimes in life you just need that one person to believe in you to push you to continue to work hard.

The Woman of the House

Crooklyn. Dir. Spike Lee
   Feat. Alfre Woodard (Carolyn), Delroy Lindo  (Woody),
   &Zelda Harris (Troy), 1994


        At first the film seems as though it's about the entire family, but as it goes on you see that the main focus is on the daughter. Troy is the only girl out of five children. She had a special connection with her parents, but she and her mother had the strongest bond in the film.

Towards the early middle of the movie Carolyn (Alfre Woodard) and Woody (Delroy Lindo), the parents, start having problems and temporarily separated. Troy tries to help patch things up and when things go back to normal  the father is getting to have a show and for them summer they send the children get separated and sent to stay with other families, but Troy ends up staying with her aunt, uncle, and cousin [this is confusing;  Troy goes down south because her mother is teaching summer school, and it "wouldn't be proper for her to run the streets like her older brothers"]. Troy wasn't very fond of the people she was staying with [Uncle Clem and Aunt Song], but after a while she creates a bond with her cousin Viola and gets to see how different they live from her family.

She is given the chance  -  asserts herself and insists on going home after her birthday celebration  -  to come back home or stay longer and after being away from her family she decides to go back home only to find out that her mother is extremely sick and on her death bed. Before her mother passed away she whispers something in Troy's ear, right after that Troy tries her hardest to hold in all her emotions because she wants to be strong. From that point on Troy becomes the head of the house as if she was taking the place of her mother.

          I enjoyed watching this film, it was something that some people can relate to and it tells a good story. There wasn't a time where I got bored watching it, I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone.

#aysiastarr Beasts of the Southern Wild: Rise of the Aurochs

“In a million years, when kids go to school, they gonna know: once there was a Hushpuppy, and she lived with her daddy in The Bathtub.” Isolated from the mainland and surrounded by water, the Bathtub is a wilderness of poverty with a small community struggling to survive. Hushpuppy is a six-year-old girl who lives with her father, Wink. She’s fierce and unbreakable and considers the Bathtub “the prettiest place on Earth.” The Bathtub is offshore from New Orleans, isolated by levees, existing self-contained on its own terms. The distant profiles of drilling rigs and oil refineries might as well be mysterious prehistoric artifacts. A fearsome storm is said to be on the way, but existence here is already post-apocalyptic, with the people cobbling together discarded items of civilization like the truck bed and oil drums that have been made into a boat. Their ramshackle houses perch uneasily on bits of high ground, and some are rebuilding them into arks that they hope will float through the flood. Hushpuppy is on intimate terms with the natural world, with the pigs she feeds and the fish she captures with her bare hands; sometimes she believes animals speak to her in codes. She lives in desolation, and her inner resources are miraculous. She is so focused, so sure, so defiant and brave, that she is like a new generation put forward in desperate times by the human race.

Hushpuppy and Wink are close, and her father does all he can to teach her survival skills. That doesn't stop him from giving her a whack alongside the head when she carelessly starts a fire. We understand how literally her mind deals with the world when she tries to hide from the fire inside a cardboard box — as if she will be safe if the flames can't see her.

In one of the beginning scenes in the film, Hushpuppy goes to a makeshift school. There she is introduced by her teacher to aurochs, an extinct beast frozen in ice caps at the South Pole. I find this very crucial to the film because from this scene, the viewer is introduced to close-angle shots of the beasts. They journey from the North Pole to Hushpuppy’s home of the “bathtub.” The beasts add a fanciful element to the film, focusing on mythology. This is their explicit role. The aurochs also have a meaningful role in the theme, as they symbolize a conflict (the death of her father) nearing closer and closer to Hushpuppy. During this scene, the viewer sees close up angles of the huge aurochs crashing through towns and “breaking” them. Throughout the film, the audience begins to see more of the beasts in line with understanding more of the nature of Hushpuppy’s struggle. This climaxes in the final scene when we see all of the aurochs facing down Hushpuppy. They appear as huge and menacing pig-like creatures. This symbolizes the menacing realization that Hushpuppy will be left alone after her father’s looming death. By molding the aurochs into the sequence of the film, Zeitlin adds to the feeling of childish wonder. He helps the viewer connect with Hushpuppy’s fear.

Because of this connection between us and Hushpuppy, I highly recommend this film. Not only do you feel this connection, but you also see things put into perspective. Are we the uncivilized people? Have we destroyed all that nature has to offer? This movie makes you think about what you’re not only living in, but what you are living for.

Siramad Gonzalez "the beast of the southern wild"

The film " beasts of the southern wild "is directed by Benh Zeitlin. This movie is based by an bayou in Louisiana called the "bathtub". This little girl that six years old they call her hush puppy she lives with her dad. Her mom passed away when she was younger so she never got to met her. The children in the school are being taught by Miss Bathsheba about nature and about how the ice is melting in the antarctic and how if the ice keeps melting the Bathtub can sink since its surrounded by water. As soon as Hush puppy gets home she try's looking for her dad then she notices that he is missing. When her father returns he is wearing a hospital gown showing that he came from the hospital, Hush puppy is confused and asking him why was he gone and then they begin to argue thats when hush puppy gets mad and starts a fire in the house and trys hiding so her father won't find her eventually he does and starts yelling at her and they start going at it again and hush puppy says some harsh words to her dad. After, saying those harsh words her dad begins to have a heart attack. The film to me was Ok. I say this because it wasn't a film that really caught my attention yes it did have many interesting parts but it also had many parts that were confusing to me. I rate this film a 6 out of 10. 

lil' Creed - Victoria Romprey

Creed

Dir. Ryan Coogler

Michael B. Jordan (Adonis Creed), Sylvester Sallone (Rocky Balboa), Tess.

MGM 2015

Apollo's secret son Adonis [nice use of allitteration], played by Michael B. Jordan, discovers he inherited the gift of fighting and begs to be trained by a [a or the?] retired Italian Stallion. The former fighter eventually agrees and, if you've seen any other of the Rocky films, you can predict what happens next.

[??? Creed?] is no work of art, but it's not meant to be. The 28-year-old Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Creed is by no Creed  [I think I see this is a weird formatting thing] means, a Stallone. His performance is solid, but he struggles with the emotional part [really?] that made Balboa and Apollo shine. Apollo Creed owned a fierce power, but Adonis, Apollo's son, lacks the fire. His biggest struggle is being perceived as a rich kid who only made it to the ring because of his father's name.

Also, there is a random side note focusing on Adonis and his attempts to love a singer-songwriter

with a hearing issue. But if I am completely honest, the most awkward moment of the movie

was the attempt to create a memorable training scene like Rocky running up the steps of the

Philadelphia Art Museum. Adonis follows a group of bikers as he runs through the blocks of

his neighborhood, ending up at Rocky's window with cheers. The scene never achieves that glory.

Although the film is about Apollo Creed's son, Adonis, Rocky steals every scene, giving the film its true heart to old fans. As the movie comes to a fight, we find out that the old loved “Rocky” is struggling with cancer and the loss of his wife in the years passed. Overall, Creed is a good

addition to Stallone's legacy, and I will be finishing the series soon [alright - lots of strong opinion in this post. I would like to see more evidence and analysis suppporting your ideas in future posts. As of MAR 6 - CO/EX].

Unc' Rock

Creed Dir. Ryan Coogler
Michael B. Jordan (Adonis), Sylvester Stallone (Rocky Balboa), Tessa Thompson (Bianca)

MGM, 2015.

Ryan Coogler’s 2015 film Creed is all about the life of Adonis “Donnie” Johnson-Creed, the son of the late fighter Apollo Creed. As we eventually find out in the film Adonis’s “Uncle” is Rocky Balboa. I can honestly say that Adonis somewhat lived the same way as Rocky was. Rocky started from the bottom and in the end made a big name for himself.
Adonis had it rough growing up, if not rougher than Rocky. Adonis was very disconnected with his mother and lived in a juvenile detention facility where he frequently part took in altercations. His mom got him out of there eventually, and then he became a successful businessman. After he resigned from there he flew to Philadelphia with one goal in mind: fight like daddy. Better yet, who did he eventually convince to train him? Rocky Balboa; the man who dethroned his father a number of years ago.

Adonis and Rocky became inseparable; they trained together, they ate together, and they lived together. Rocky built Donnie into the type of fighter he was. He even brought him to his old training facility. Donnie persevered through his first fight against Leo Sporino. When word got out that he was the blood of the former champion of the world, Adonis gained a lot of attention. He did not want this attention, in fact he wanted to build his own legacy, and he did. English punch-for punch- fighter Ricky “Pretty Ricky” Conlan eventually contacted Rocky and Donnie, asking to fight. His reason was because he thought it would be great financially, and he wanted to prove that Adonis was only a good fighter because of his last name. Donnie had other plans; when he fought Ricky, he went the distance. He did not win, but he went a full 12 rounds with the champion of the world. He proved that yes he was a Creed, but he was not Apollo 2.0 he was Adonis. He gained a lot of respect from Ricky after the fight as well. None of this would not have happened if Adonis did not have one thing: Heart. Through his heart, desire, dedication, and hardwork he was able to achieve what for many would be impossible.

Every main character has one or two people that have a huge influence on their life. Adonis had two people who really kept him going: Rocky and Bianca.

Adonis called Rocky “unc” short for uncle, and he did everything with him. Without Rocky, I do not think Adonis would of made a name for himself as a fighter without Rocky’s help. When Rocky was diagnosed with non-hodgkins lymphoma (a form of cancer) Adonis wanted nothing more than for Rocky to battle the cancer. Rocky did not want to because his former wife (Adrian) died from chemotherapy. Donnie made a deal with Rocky “if I fight Pretty Ricky, you fight cancer.”

Right after he started up in Philly Adonis met his neighbor Bianca who immensely fell in love with. He lied to her at first though; he did not tell her that his father was the great Apollo Creed. She did not know that she could trust him, but he won her back. They had many downs like when he embarrassed her after fighting someone at her show hours after finding out Rocky had cancer. She did not want to talk to him for awhile, but in the end, she was the one there to support him at his biggest fight of his life.

They say “you cannot choose your family”, but in all aspects you can, and Creed proved that was correct. Yes, Apollo loved his mother after they became connected during his teenage years, but Rocky was the one he loved most (besides Bianca) and he was not related to him at all. This was an outstanding piece of work by Ryan Coogler, and I am very anxious to see what Creed 2 had in store for us.

Unc

Creed. Dir. Ryan Coogler

Michael B. Jordan (Adonis Johnson-Creed), Sylvester Stallone (Rocky Balboa), Tess      Thompson (Bianca), Phylicia Rashad (Mary Anne Creed)

MGM, 2015

It begins It begins in a modern-day Hell, a juvenile-detention center in Los Angeles that’s run with the terrorizing martial authority of a prison, and focuses on a modern victim of that broken system—young Adonis Johnson (Alex Henderson), an orphaned teen-ager in the center, who’s involved in a bloody and harrowing fistfight with another, bigger inmate. Badly beaten but still game, Adonis ends up in solitary, and in a way the movie is over before it starts: the terrifying future at hand is a life of confrontation with monstrously hostile or indifferent authority, a violent struggle to survive while bearing the stigmata of social exclusion. The nationwide crime of the cavalier incarceration of young black men is where the movie begins. Then an angel, a dea ex machina, arrives, in the person of Mary Anne Creed , Apollo Creed’s widow. She informs Adonis of his true heritage—Apollo, who died before Adonis’s birth, was his biological father—and Mary Anne adopts him. Suddenly, Adonis is plunged into luxury, raised in a mansion on a gated estate, and he makes the most of it. As an adult, he has a promising job at a bank, where he has just received a promotion—but his passion is boxing, which he pursues as an independent in a minor circuit in Tijuana, where he’s undefeated. Defying Mary Anne’s wishes (she has, of course, seen her husband die in the ring), Adonis quits his job and heads to Philadelphia, in the hope of being trained by his father’s nemesis and friend, Rocky Balboa. Throughout the movie—foremost, in the tentative first encounters of Adonis and Rocky—scenes that skirt the edge of cliché veer into new light through Coogler’s keen attention to emotional specifics richly endowed with the weight of the past. One of the strengths of his writing and direction—strengths that are greatly reinforced by the performances and the presences of Jordan and Stallone—is the ambivalent force of memory and heritage. From the start of their sentimental yet fraught connection, the director and the actors dramatize the equal likelihood of powerful experiences proving burdensome or energizing, of an enduring pain serving as motivation or as destruction. Here, Rocky is haunted by death. He’s alive but his soul is among the dead; he seems to have a foot poised over the open grave, and Stallone brings a terse distractedness to the role, a wisdom born of pain and a detachment born of masked grief. Adonis, of course, is his call back to life (“If I fight, you fight”), and in the process he also calls the older man back to his past—to his memories as well as to his connections, to his departed loved ones as well as to friends in the sport, from whom he had long cut himself off. In the process, Rocky, too , will have his own demons, of bitter memories and new physical struggles, to confront. When Adonis puts himself in his first professional ring, both him and Rocky will be put to the test and see how strong they really are.

“Creed” begins with a cry for justice, for a society that would rescue every young Adonis from isolation, poverty, and brutality in order to foster their strength and cultivate their incipient spark of genius and originality. It’s a movie about an exceptional young man who has the benefit of an exceptional past and turns it into an exceptional future—and it evokes the young people who are condemned to ordinary neglect, ordinary racism, ordinary incarceration, and who are all the more extraordinary in the force of their endurance. For this underlying theme, I recommend this film to everyone.

Jonah Nazier Galan- Beast of the Southern Wild

Director. Benh Zeitlin

Feat. Quvenzhané Wallis (Hushpuppy), Dwight Henry (Wink), Levy Easterly (Jean Battiste)

Fox Searchlight Pictures & Entertainment One, 2012

Hushpuppy, a six-year-old girl, lives with her father, Wink, at forgotten yet defiant bayou community called the Bathtub. Throughout the film, Wink's tough love prepares her for the unraveling of the universe; for a time when he's no longer there to protect her. When Wink contracts a mysterious illness, nature begins to take turn. Temperatures rise and the ice caps melt unleashing an army of prehistoric creatures called aurochs. As the water begins rising, the aurochs begin to arrive, and Wink's health fading, Hushpuppy goes in search of her lost mother.

Throughout the film Hushpuppy exemplifies an independent woman. In the beginning scenes you see Hushpuppy making dinner, which may seem typical but she is a six year old girl who also owns her own house. But one thing that grabbed my attention is how Hushpuppy and Troy from Crooklyn share similarities and differences. Hushpuppy is seen making dinner while talking to her “dead” mother in one of the opening scenes. In Crooklyn, Troy is seen picking her little brother’s hair like her mother used to do. They are doing different tasks, but they share a similarity  -   they took on the duties that they’re mother used to do before they passed away. This is great example of how these two films revolve around female protagonists. They also crave attention. Since Hushpuppy felt neglected by her father as he didn’t want to pay her any attention and wanted her to leave him alone, she decided to burn her house on fire  [Right idea, but strange construction syntactically]. She did this because she knew Wink would have no choice but to look for her, meaning he would have to give her the attention she wanted. Troy would steal food, her brother’s collectable coins, and clean around the house so that she would receive attention from various crowds. Although they are seen doing very different actions to receive the attention they wanted they ultimately got the same end goal.

Although age is seen to limit a person’s level of wisdom, that was proven wrong by Hushpuppy. Throughout the film she provides insight of her wisdom through quote she makes throughout the film from third person point of view. There are two quotes she makes that show her biggest fear, to be forgotten. 

“When daddy kill me I won't be forgotten. I'm recording my story for the scientists in the future. In a million years, when kids go to school, they gonna know: Once there was a Hushpuppy, and she lived with her daddy in The Bathtub.” “When it all goes quiet behind my eyes, I see everything that made me lying around in invisible pieces. When I look too hard, it goes away. And when it all goes quiet, I see they are right here. I see that I'm a little piece in a big, big universe. And that makes things right. When I die, the scientists of the future, they're gonna find it all. They gonna know, once there was a Hushpuppy, and she live with her daddy in the Bathtub.”

The reason I feel that her biggest fear is to be forgotten is because she constantly craves attention as well as not being alone, always wanting to be around her father despite his commands. But the quotes tell us she wants her story to be heard around the world. She’ll say little phrases and do certain actions throughout the film telling us that she wants to be heard and recognized. 

Personally, I viewed the film as unorthodox in a good way. The plot and theme is certainly not typical but provides a whole new perspective on life of others who live off the grid as well as life in general. I would highly reccomend this film to anyone who is open-minded to new perspective and lacks appreciation of their life.

Brave Men Don't Run From the Bathtub

Beast of the Southern Wild. Dir. Benh Zeitlin

Feat. Quvenzhane Wallis (Hushpuppy), and Dwight Henry (Wink)

20th Century Fox, 2012.

Benh Zeitlin’s 2012 film Beast of the Southern Wild was the kickoff to very young Quvenzhane Wallis’s acting career. Wallis plays the character “Hushpuppy” in the film, and she is a very curious, independent, and strong female protagonist. She was an only child who grew up in bayou community on the outskirts of New Orleans. They referred to her community as “the bathtub”; a community cut off from the rest of society by a levee. It is mentioned early on that her and her father are leaving without a female figure in the family (the mother is presumed dead. Hushpuppy tries to take her mother’s place, and keep her alcoholic father in check; and she did.

The community that she grew in had a very strong bond; there was not many of them, but they were all very close. After a storm rattled their community, flooding it with several feet of water something had to be done… Wink suggested that someone breach the levee, but Miss Bathsheba (Hushpuppy’s teacher, and fellow community member) believed that was a bad idea. Her philosophy was that when that if the levee was breached, the authorities would notice that there were people living “off the grid”, and come and evict them. Hushpuppy went ahead listening to her father’s idea, blew the levee up, and drained out the water from the bathtub.

As I said before, Hushpuppy was very close with her father; she was also somewhat inspired by his actions. What I mean by this is, her father suffered from alcoholism, and that led him to lash out, and be belligerent from time to time. When he was belligerent, so was Hushpuppy. For example, when they were in their “house” one night, he was drinking and he became belligerent, Hushpuppy then started to act up. Before you could even tell what was going on, they were throwing stuffed animals at each other, and kegs on the floor. Overall, Hushpuppy was very much affected by her father’s alcoholism.

After the authorities found the “off the grid community”, and forced those living there to evacuate they took them to a very big shelter– where there were many other people, a lot of food, and doctors giving people check-ups. Wink had a check-up, and got some very bad news back. A doctor told him that he was basically dying… As time went on, Wink remained in the hospital barely being able to take his own medicines without help from another. In the meantime, Hushpuppy stayed in the hospital care center, and you could tell she hated it. One day there was a huge rebellion, and the “off the grid people” forced themselves passed the doctors, and broke out of the hospital/shelter. Wink forced Hushpuppy onto a bus, because he did not want her to see him die, but Hushpuppy refused, because she wanted to be with her dad for the rest of his time being. This was very sentimental.

Overall, I think this movie was very sentimental. I enjoyed it to say the least. Hushpuppy was portrayed as a fantastic female protagonist; one who was strong, brave, and independent. Her and her community friends eventually stowed away on a boat, but returned to their community a few weeks later. Hushpuppy knew she had one home: the bathtub. This is why I titled this blog: “Brave men don’t run from the bathtub.”

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Release date: June 27, 2012 (USA)

Director: Benh Zeitlin

Budget: 1.8 million USD

Awards: Caméra d'Or, MORE

Screenplay: Benh Zeitlin, Lucy Alibar

Beasts of the Southern Wild is set in Louisiana, in the Bayou. Young Quvenzhané Wallis plays Hushpuppy, a six year old girl living with her dad in the Bath Tub. The people that live in the Bath Tub are trying to restore their small village after Hurricane Katrina. Hushpuppy's dad is dying and won't tell anyone. Her mom ran away years ago. Hushpuppy lives in her own trailer, and her dad in another, until one day, she accidentally burns hers down. Reluctantly, Hushpuppy's dad allows Hushpuppy to live with him. He often comes off as mean and almost abusive, but then surprises the viewer with random acts of kindness. After Hurricane Katrina, he goes with a few other men from the village and blows up the damn. This allows the freshwater to wash back through the Bath Tub and get rid of the salt water from the storm. All the people in the Bath Tub are rounded up one day and forced to go live in a large shelter. However, after realizing that Hushpuppy's dad is dying, the village gets together and escapes back to the Bath Tub. Hushpuppy's dad dies in the Bath Tub, and she sends him off as he always wished: ablaze in their boat out on the water. 

Fences: Damyia Jackson

Fences was a great film/play the author is a very good writer and a good storyteller. I would rate this movie a 5 because it started off as a play and is now a famous play/book/movie that I am very interested in. This movie was a big lesson about family and why it’s important to love them and not take them for granted because they could be all you have. I thought that the movie would be about something else because of the name of it but the author had a good way of using the fence as a metaphor. They did talk about the fence that he was supposed to be making around the house but I think that when Troy’s friend Bono said “the fence can be made to keep people out but it can also be to keep people in” I realized the meaning of the title. Basically to me what he said means that Rose wanted to keep her family together and not let them drift apart. In the end they all came together but it was sad because they lost the father who is supposed to be the “glue” of the family but they knew that he was in a better place. The turn of events were well put together, I like the way everything flowed in the movie and how there were many different lessons other than the one I mentioned above and I would watch/read more things from this author.

Winter's Bone

                                             Granik, Debra, director. Winter's Bone. 2010.

Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) is seventeen and in charge of her household. Mom is sick, the kids look to her for care, and Dad the drug dealer has runoff after posting bail. When Ree finds out her Dad put the house up as security on the bond, she has to make sure she gets him to his court date or they’ll lose the house. But as she embarks on her search she finds that her little Ozark Mountains community hides a lot of secrets and tells a lot of lies, and some of them might get her killed.Ree finds refuge in the support from her father’s intense brother, Teardrop (John Hawkes). The two grow an unlikely relationship, one that leads to Teardrop’s eventual, yet extremely subtle Change of character. In fact, this change is so naturally presented, so artfully accomplished, that it might even go unnoticed. Still, it is there and provides the film with much of its meaning. Teardrop tells Ree that it’s Jessup’s choice whether or not to show up, and advises her to stop her search. When Ree presses him further, he grabs her by the hair and shakes her, then retreats to his room. Victoria follows, and emerges with fifty dollars. She gives it to Ree, and warns her once again to stay close to home.