Combine their ages and these legends, Mavis Staples (80 years old) and Buddy Guy (83), have 163 years’ worth of living to sing about. And when they do, it’s a music and history lesson extraordinaire.  Staples built a reputation for her rugged R&B chops, social activism and fame as the lead singer of the classic […]

Recreating the aura of the historic Battle of Midway isn’t an easy task.  In the early 1940s, after the tragic Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had zapped America’s spirit, Midway became a turning point in World War II. And though this screen adaptation of that event has a very commercial and slick feel, credit it […]

Black and Blue, a very modern dirty cop movie, is blessed with a tough-as-nails protagonist, set in a town where locals don’t trust police and told in short succinct scenes that have a steady rhythm.  B&B doesn’t have the pedigree of a Sidney Lumet crime drama (Prince of the City), the blistering sadistic peril of an Antoine Fuqua movie (Training […]

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 […]

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 […]