You couldn’t guess from her dramatic Oscar-winning performance in 12 Years A Slave or her kinetic warrior/spy role in Black Panther that Lupita Nyong’o has a gift for romantic comedy. But she does. In fact, this rom/com/horror movie hybrid is the perfect vehicle for her frothy comic expression. Her ingenuity, a cast of adorable kids, a smarmy children’s TV host and an army […]
New Wave of Black Films Crests at 2019 Toronto International Film Festival
Nearly 500,000 film lovers flocked to the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, screening hundreds of films from all over the world. Artistry and diversity, the hallmarks of TIFF, were on view. Black artists, filmmakers and films were a key part of the mix. Big budget movies, small indie films, documentaries and shorts filled out the […]
Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
So many legendary jazz musicians are gone. Victims of father time. And as they pass, a bit of history does too. When enlightening documentaries revive their memories, we get a do over. For a brief moment, we can appreciate them and their eras, all over again. Director Stanley Nelson is a gifted archivist who recreates […]
Good Boys
Quick! Someone call Child Protective Services. Three juvenile actors have been kidnapped and forced to play bawdy tweens in this uncontrollably hilarious coming-of-age film. With a salacious script by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, pervy direction by Stupnitsky, and a sense of devious humor that reeks of producer Seth Rogen (Pineapple Express), audiences will laugh themselves […]
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw
So, what’s the big difference between the normal Fast & Furious franchise movies and this new spin-off? Well, when Hobbs & Shaw digs into the old F&F trick bag, it’s as good as the real thing. When it reverts to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s brand of far-fetched action movies (Skyscraper), it’s an inferior project—but not […]
Brian Banks
In this MeToo age, a biofilm about a wrongfully convicted high school football player, who was accused, tried and imprisoned for rape, is timely. The real Brian Banks, the subject of this movie, lived through an ordeal that was tragic, inspiring and often profound. However, something is lost in this one-dimensional retelling of his life experiences. Something turns his extraordinary story […]
David Crosby: Remember My Name
David Crosby’s tenor voice is so angelic, it’s hard to believe that he was the most antagonistic member of the band Crosby Stills Nash & Young. But according to his own self-reflection, he wasn’t always such a nice guy. Crosby wasn’t the most popular member or highest record seller of CSN&Y; that would be Neil Young. […]
The Farewell
That thing called life. Everyone goes through it, somehow putting a greater focus on the beginning and not the end. Who’s more adorable? Babies or elders? Yea, right. The Farewell dares to venture to the last chapter of our existence as it examines how an Asian family handles the finish-line process. It does so with […]
Three Peaks
Sometimes novels that start out slowly turn out to be the books you just can’t put down. Similarly, German writer/director Jan Zabeil’s story about a modern family triad gone askew isn’t easy to discard. Like a painter, he takes his time etching in figures before brushing in colors, textures and shadows that add dimension. Lea […]
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
She’s a literary icon whose accolades include a 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature. For the African American reader who has been glued to her books since 1970, starting with her poignant debut novel The Bluest Eye, this doc is an opportunity to see how the pieces of Morrison’s life have made her whole. For those who […]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- 36
- …
- 60
- Next Page »