By Dwight Brown NNPA Film Critic After Earth, Men in Black 3, Seven Pounds… It’s been a while since Will Smith lived up to his star status in a film worth having his name above the marquee. As Nicky, a con artist’s con artist in Focus, he redeems himself somewhat in a generic but often […]
Black or White
By Dwight Brown NNPA Film Critic Race relations can be a touchy subject. Only a very perceptive filmmaker could tackle the topic and be remotely successful. It would require a writer/director to be smart, balanced, sensitive and able to see both sides of the issue. The characters would almost need to be extensions of our […]
Da Sweet Blood of Jesus
By Dwight Brown NNPA Film Critic Spike Lee, the old guard of black indie filmmaking, gets his mojo back with this classy, urbane vampireish art film that is a beauty to behold. Sophisticated, demented, eerie, erotic—prepare to be shocked and flabbergasted. The root of the script is Bill Gunn’s 1973 blaxploitation film, Ganja & Hess. Lee […]
Tomorrowland
If you took the world of The Jetsons, and made it a live-action film location, that would describe the visuals for the mysterious, glorious and fantastical place Tomorrowland. Seeing it is easy. Getting there is difficult. All the work it takes to travel to this paradise may not be worth the effort for this film’s […]
BEST FILMS OF 2014
By Dwight Brown NNPA Film Critic As 2014 draws to a close it’s a perfect time to reflect on noteworthy films, strong performances and the strides that black artists made this past year. It’s also a good time to spotlight the top-quality movies that will vie for Oscars and be released in theaters and on […]
Selma
By Dwight Brown NNPA Film Critic R.I.P. Martin Luther King. Your story has been told. Your legacy passed on. Your strategies for non-violent demonstrations shared. Your ability to change hearts, minds and laws well-documented. Selma, in the most inspiring way, relays MLK’s state of grace. It is a worthy homage befitting of America’s most iconic […]
Annie
By Dwight Brown NNPA Film Critic On the surface, there is absolutely no reason to update the classic Broadway show Annie, which was already adapted for the screen in 1982. But this multicultural cast redux adds a hip swag to the classic kid’s story. This Annie is urban, emotional and fun. But far from perfect. […]
Exodus: Gods and Kings
By Dwight Brown NNPA Film Critic “Exodus: Movement of Jah people! Oh-oh-oh, yea-eah!” chants Bob Marley. In his rousing three-minute song “Exodus” he presents a more strong and spiritual feel for Moses than Ridley Scott’s 154-minute, whitewashed sword-and-sandals epic. Travel from the north to the south of Egypt and there is a variance of skin […]
Top Five
By Dwight Brown NNPA Film Critic Chris Rock recently hosted Saturday Night Live. During the show’s normal intro section, he did around 10 minutes of standup. One of the targets of his wicked humor was the new World Trade Center. He said he would never go in it. There were audible gasps, and a bit […]
Beyond the Lights
By Dwight Brown NNPA Film Critic Quick Rihanna, check to see if someone stole your diary. This ode to young black chanteuses fighting personal demons feels like the story of her life. But in fact, it’s the brainchild of writer/director Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball), who knows her way around a romantic drama. Noni (Gugu […]
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