Rarely are we privileged enough to see a film having not been inundated (for months sometimes) with previews that show and tell way too much. (I’ll never understand this.) Independent films have a curse and a blessing—no deep pockets to flood the market with previews means the story is guarded and fresh for first time… Continue reading LIYANA ~ A Must See Film
Category: Film
Welcome Wakanda!
‘Bout time! As Whoopi Goldberg said on The View, I have been waiting 25 years for this movie. And then along comes Black Panther, satisfying yearnings I didn’t know I had until seeing them realized in 3-D splendor. If you skip the trailer, there are no spoilers in my homage to director Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale… Continue reading Welcome Wakanda!
RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked the World (mind-blowing film)
Thank you, RUMBLE, for taking the high road.
Must-see Film ~ Screening in Albany, Georgia: Tuesday, 9/12/17
Albany Civil Rights Institute Presents Award-Winning Civil Rights Documentary & Discussion Featuring Several Black Albanians, Filmmaker The Albany Civil Rights Institute will present an award-winning civil rights film, featuring multiple black Albanians, who fought on the front lines of the bloodiest campaign of the entire Civil Rights Movement. The Institute will present the hour-long… Continue reading Must-see Film ~ Screening in Albany, Georgia: Tuesday, 9/12/17
Get Out ~ A Quantum Leap for Film Genre
Anita: Get Out is one small step for The Stepford Wives and a quantum leap for the film genre. A group of five of us went to see the new film Get Out yesterday —all of us people of color and none of us fans of horror films. I purposefully did not watch the trailer—they give away… Continue reading Get Out ~ A Quantum Leap for Film Genre
Don’t Be a Sucker
Don’t Be a Sucker is a short propaganda film produced by the U.S. War Department, released on July 4, 1943 and re-released in 1947. It has anti-racist and anti-fascist themes. The film was supposedly created to make the case for the desegregation of the United States armed forces [paradoxically I dare say] but ultimately upholds… Continue reading Don’t Be a Sucker
Amen, Dame Meryl
Last night, excepting her Lifetime Achievement Award, Mary Louise “Meryl” Streep delivered a dynamic speech at the 2017 Golden Globes, eloquently expressing her heart break over Trump politics and her hope in spite of it. We’ll be hurting for a while—grief doesn’t disappear over night, you have to work through it—and it helps to connect… Continue reading Amen, Dame Meryl
Oscars Aren’t the [Only] Problem ~ Let’s look at Hollywood, and Ourselves
I’m guilty. I like Oscar parties. Dress up, eat fancy hors d’oeuvres, drink champagne and maybe even walk down an imitation of THE red carpet. Fun night. While we’re at it let’s also take a serious look at what role we movie consumers play in feeding the gross injustices reflected on the silver screen when… Continue reading Oscars Aren’t the [Only] Problem ~ Let’s look at Hollywood, and Ourselves
#chicagogirl
See the documentary, #chicagogirl, on Netflix Instant Play. 11.9.15 ~ Today I met Ala’a Basatneh, 23-year-old Syrian expatriate who lives with her parents and brother in a suburb of Chicago. When she was 19—a college freshman—she ran a revolution in Syria from her bedroom using Facebook, Twitter and Skype. Watched the documentary, #chicagogirl—directed by Joe Piscatella—with a… Continue reading #chicagogirl
Ava DuVernay ~ Film Director (Selma)
Ava DuVernay…where have you been all my life?? This dynamic woman understands something my friend and editor A.J. Verdelle preaches all the time: Clarity is not negotiable. In her recent Fresh Air interview with Terry Gross, DuVernay was very clear about her artistic vision for the film, Selma: with regard to Oyelowo’s portrayal of… Continue reading Ava DuVernay ~ Film Director (Selma)