She’s a mean girl. She holds court like Maleficent, Mistress of Evil. Does she reign over a kingdom? No. A street gang? No. Prison inmates? No. She’s the black teenage mobster don at a prestigious Pennsylvania boarding school. This very eccentric look at the worst of humankind comes from the deepest creative crevices of young Philly filmmaker Tayarisha […]
Barbados Chefs are Cooking Amazing Bajan Cuisine
Need a break from the pandemic warfront? Yes I know we can’t travel anywhere, right now, but we can dream can’t we? Check out my article on three of the top emerging chefs in Barbados on Essence.com. Someday we’ll be able to run back to the Caribbean, and when we do these chefs will welcome you […]
There’s Something in the Water
They’re making a lot of noise up in Nova Scotia. Local activists of African and Native American descent are holding big businesses and the government accountable for polluting their water and causing an uptick in cancer cases. They’re sounding the alarm and applying pressure. The surprising but very worthy champion of their efforts to expose environmental racism is actress […]
Hooking Up
He’s a fool for love. She’s gotta have it—with a lot of strangers. They’re opposites destined to meet and teach each other life lessons. Writer/director Nico Raineau, honed his filmmaking sensibility with short films (Brix and the Bitch) and TV series (OMG!). If you didn’t know his stats before, you could guess his background from […]
The Roads Not Taken
It’s a character study. One that marks the spaces in between conversations. The silences, moans and groans. It’s about someone living in a parallel world of dreams and a patchwork of memories. Leo (Javier Bardem), a writer, is suffering from dementia. Barely able to live on his own. Tended to by a caregiver. His life […]
The Banker
Making films based on true events gets a lot of projects off the ground. Sometimes you watch a movie and when you discover at the end it’s based on fact, it adds something. Sometimes it doesn’t. The Banker proves that if you go to that well too many times, the yield is less and less. As the […]
Sorry We Missed You
Director Ken Loach is a working-class hero. Hard to think of another filmmaker whose movies so vividly reflect the economic, societal and emotional challenges everyday people face. As they try to raise their families on low-paying wages and still maintain a grain of dignity and hope, he’s watching. Ricky (Kris Hitchen) is the head of […]
The Invisible Man
An old concept isn’t getting a noteworthy update and that problem doesn’t go away. The Invisible Man is a mainstay in the movie world, with origins dating back to the 1897 novel by H.G. Wells. A scientist with a focus on optics finds a way to change human refractive matter into thin air. He disappears, can’t […]
Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band
Who were they? Generations that came after The Band’s era may not know. The group came and went in just six years, without touring endlessly like other artists. Bluesman Taj Mahal puts their legend into words: “If there are any American musicians comparable to the Beatles, it’s them.” This trip down memory lane is guided […]
Premature
They’re just kids. Trash talking. Ranting, joking and flirting. Hanging out in packs. Smoking blunts, twerking up on each other at dance parties and dabbling in sex. They think they’re grown. But they’re just punching above their weight. Ayanna (Zora Howard), a 17-year-old Harlem resident, has dreams. It’s summertime. College is around the corner. She’s […]
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