In her first turn as a feature film director, Oscar-winning actress Regina King hits a home run on the first try with One Night In Miami… A more than brief prologue sets the tone of the film before we ever see the title on screen. One by one, we’re introduced to the major players Muhammad Ali (Eli Goree), Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), and Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.). The main action…
"Toronto 2020: One Night In Miami…"Month: September 2020
David Byrne’s American Utopia is an absolute joy to watch no matter how familiar you are with Byrne or the Talking Heads. Before I go any further with my review, please make sure to watch the concert film to the very end. Thanks to the joys of technology, it took three attempts to watch this concert film. After crashing twice on Thursday morning, I decided to make another attempt in the evening. Rather than continue…
"Toronto 2020: David Byrne’s American Utopia"
J Blakeson’s I Care A Lot blends a mix of comedy and thrills to deliver a satire with another strong performance from actress Rosamund Pike. Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike) is a legal guardian and is the type who will take advantage of any loophole in the system. If it means paying doctors off to have another ward of the state, so be it. Marla is the type of woman who will rob her clients and…
"Toronto 2020: I Care A Lot"
Akilla’s Escape weaves together two different timelines in Brooklyn and Toronto while tackling social issues that remain in the limelight. During a drug trade-gone-bad, Akilla Brown (Saul Williams) captures a teenage and mute Jamaican boy, Sheppard (Thamela Mpulmwana). His youth comes back to him when Akilla learns that Sheppard is a affiliated with the Garrison Army. It just so happens that Akilla’s grandfather founded the Jamaican crime syndicate. Akilla left the life some time ago…
"Toronto 2020: Akilla’s Escape"
No Ordinary Man isn’t so much a documentary of musician Billy Tipton but a major contribution to the history of trans-masculinity. For me, the most important moment in the film came when activist Jamison Green meets Billy Tipton Jr. It’s during this meeting that Green tells the musician’s son that nobody is alone in going through this. For a long time, Tipton Jr. thought he was the only one with such a history. But again,…
"Toronto 2020: No Ordinary Man"
Universal Pictures has given four iconic films an upgrade as The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection is now available to bring home in 4K UHD. The four films included in this set are Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho, and The Birds. Psycho includes two different versions in the 4K UHD release. You have the widely seen version but here for the first time on home video is Psycho Uncut. Hitchcock fans who didn’t see the film during…
"The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection on 4K UHD"
Unpregnant may be one of the most unique films to feature abortion as a story line in that this film is mostly a road trip comedy. If you haven’t figured it out after the likes of The Edge of Seventeen or Columbus, Haley Lu Richardson is a star. A bonafide star. For those readers that have yet to watch Columbus, I have some words for you. Unpregnant is even more proof that Richardson can carry…
"Unpregnant: A Blend Of Comedy And Emotions"
Geraldine Viswanathan should become a household name following the release of The Broken Hearts Gallery in theaters and later, home video. This time last year, actress Geraldine Viswanathan was honored by the Toronto International Film Festival as a TIFF Rising Star. This year, the actress makes appearances in both Bad Education and The Broken Hearts Gallery. One shouldn’t forget previous appearances in Blockers or Hala. A few things to discuss here. Because of the continuing…
"The Broken Hearts Gallery: Viswanathan Is A Star"
I Am Woman lifts up its subject, Helen Reddy, while at the same time also suffering from the same problems that plague other musical biopics. A comeback major musical performance, some text on screen, and fade out to the credits. Walk Hard was supposed to solve the problem with musical biopics. Instead, filmmakers have not learned their lessons from the cult classic. So, too, is the case here. Another problem comes by the mere fact…
"I Am Woman Tells Helen Reddy’s Story"
The Way I See It goes behind the scenes through White House photographer Pete Souza’s eyes during the Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama administrations. How many people can say they worked at the White House for both Presidents Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Not many, I would assume. However, Pete Souza could very well be the only one. Souza comments in the film that if you thought he would work for both the most iconic…
"Toronto 2020: The Way I See It"