At the last minute, due to Omicron concerns, the 2022 Sundance Film Festival morphed from an in-person and virtual event to a purely digital experience. Thanks to streaming, Black filmmakers and Black films were on center stage all over the world. Check them out… Aftershock (***)According to WHO, the U.S. ranks 60th on the list of […]
(****) The Tragedy of Macbeth was theatrically released nationwide in 2021 and is now streaming on AppleTV+. Watch this work of art on a TV screen and you’ll likely agree that last year’s “Best Film” is this year’s masterpiece. Joel Coen (O, Brother, Where Art Thou) has created a magnus opus that sets a high bar […]
(**1/2) Need a break from COVID mania and winter melancholia? A dose of pure escapism may help. For 122 minutes this often generic but surprisingly engaging espionage action/thriller may take your mind off your troubles. You’ll suspend belief for James Bond and all his improbable stunts. You’re perfectly OK with Shang-Chi fighting a dozen men […]
“I love you Cameron Tanner. Always have. Always will.” Most husbands adore their wives’ words of love. Cameron’s (Mahershala Ali, Moonlight) ambivalence stems from his secret, painful ordeal. He’s dying and his wife Poppy (Naomie Harris, Moonlight) doesn’t know it. Convulsions. Blackouts. Brain disease is draining the life out of him. Poppy has just emerged from months […]
In 2021 we could watch movies in theaters or screen them on streaming services. Two venues. Two choices. It’s a great way for more films to be seen by more people. The best and brightest of this year’s films were inspiring, noteworthy and will vie for awards in weeks to come. Check out the best productions, […]
Twenty-five years and counting. The American Black Film Festival has grown from a small fest in Acapulco, Mexico to the world’s premier black showcase for African American/heritage films. Now residing in sunny Miami, Florida but living in the age of COVID, this year ABFF movies shined virtually on ABFFPLAY.COM. Films to remember… Doutor Gama (**1/2) – Brazil was the last country in […]
The American Black Film Festival named actress-turned-director Halle Berry its official ABFF Ambassador in 2021. As the fest celebrated its 25th year, Berry proudly showcased her directorial debut Bruised. Normally the fest takes place in Miami, but this year ABFF’s Black films screened on their streaming service ABFFPLAY.com. Berry’s new film was one of the bright spots. Bruised (**1/2) – “I’m big and you’re little. And […]
Every March the city of Miami comes alive when the Miami Film Festival premieres global and Ibero-American films. Every fall MFF GEMS selects the best films on the international film fests circuit and screens them at Little Havana’s historic MDC’s Tower Theater Miami. These gems shined in their own ways. Belfast (***) Actor/writer/director Kenneth Branagh is more likely to adapt a Shakespearian […]
King Richard has won the coveted Miami Film Festival GEMS 2021 Audience Award, and it’s no wonder. It’s a crowd-pleaser! The spirit of the prescient planner, dreamer and barker Richard Williams, the work ethic and faith of his wife Oracene “Brandy” Price coupled with the talent of Venus and Serena molded the Williams sisters into tennis icons. […]
They’re roughriders. Badasses. Pistol packing outlaws blasting bullets. The setup for this shoot ’em up started with the 2013 short film They Die by Dawn, the brainchild of Jeymes Samuel, aka “The Bullitts.” He’s a British singer-songwriter, producer and writer/director who is also the brother of the Grammy Award-winning musician Seal. In the past, Samuel would make […]