“It’s not possible. I’m a normal kid!” Famous last words. That’s what’s on the lips of teenager Miles Morales as he goes through a change in life. No, not puberty. The young Blatino brother from Brooklyn has been bitten by a radioactive spider and his life has changed forever. And so did the legend of […]
No matter how you slice it, a problem once relegated to the inner city is now all of America’s crisis. From a homeless person living under a bridge in New York City, to a kid OD’ing in a wealthy, bedroom community, drugs are killing people and making families implode. The latter is the central focus […]
It’s a situation nearly every black man has experienced at some point in his life: Being the only African American in a room, party, meeting… It can be both an alienating and insular experience all at one time. Jordan Peele captured the essence of that feeling and monetized it, winning countless awards and raking in […]
This follow up to the very popular boxing film Creed (worldwide gross $174M) throws a lot of left hooks, right jabs and uppercuts, but only a few connect and none land a knockout punch. Count on the mass appeal (young, old, urban, male and female) of Creed II to put viewers in seats this holiday season. But, […]
Back in the day, if you couldn’t get to church on Sunday to hear the pastor’s sermon, you’d put on Aretha Franklin’s Amazing Grace album, the best-selling gospel record of all time, and she would give you your spiritual fix. After a long delay, and its share of controversy, this uplifting documentary that preserved her […]
Sometimes real people are even more brave and courageous than fictional characters. That’s the case with war correspondent Marie Colvin. She was an American journalist who wrote for the British newspaper The Sunday Times, often risking her life to report from the frontlines and embattled areas where she felt it paramount to “Give voice to […]
Recently, two films explored the experiences of families living on the edge of poverty and homelessness. The Florida Project chronicled the lives of poor people living in a pink motel steps away from Disney World, in Orlando, Florida. As told through the eyes of cheery little kids, its tone was way too rosy for the subject. […]
The new film by Oscar-nominated director Barry Jenkins plays right into the New York Film Festival’s style guide. If Beale Street Could Talk is a lushly created, gorgeously crafted work of art. At times the style outweighs the storyline, but most people looking for art films won’t care. The same can be said about a lot […]