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Reviews
The Hate U Give (2018)
A Balanced Story in an Unbalanced World
The Hate U Give has no big named stars, CGI or a stirring "must have" soundtrack. But it is a well crafted coming-of-age story with a bright young lady as the central character. She lives in a tight-knit African American community with her loving and (mostly) supportive family. With all of it's emotional peaks and scenes with clutching suspense, the viewers are not being called upon to champion any particular cause. There are heroes and villains but the lines between those two groups are not so neatly drawn. It is a gripping and thought provoking film.
Black Panther (2018)
A New Year Blockbuster
First, it's important to remember that this, like all comic book to screen films, is derived from material that is made to appeal to the intellect of a 14 year old so the plot lines will not help anyone's quest to understanding the meaning of life (its just a movie folks!). The historically significant and ground breaking fact that it has a (nearly) all black cast and the impact that will have on the audiences, Hollywood producers and the earning potential of non-white actors going forward is noteworthy. Basically, it is a well crafted film with generous amounts of humor and suspense sprinkled throughout and, peeking at some of the reviews here before seeing it for myself, I expected less but got much more. Its an entertaining two hour amusement park ride that I enjoyed very much.
Detroit (2017)
Great Filmmaking with a Point Of View
Unless you believe the Black Lives Matters movement has unanimous appeal, do not expect the reviews of Kathryn Bigelow's "Detroit" to garner universal praise. By no means does this movie play it safe and, for that reason, it does not seek or expect mass appeal. I suspect that the film will unleash fierce critics of "Hollywood Liberal Bias" and generate howls from those who want to remind us that most cops really are good as well as others who are equally vocal and can't stomach seeing more non-threatening citizens brutally murdered by policemen of a different stripe.
"Detroit" is a movie that is set in 1967 but it is a statement about the type of policing that continues to occur far too frequently in many African American communities. Just as it is not possible to talk about the recent events in Ferguson, NYC, Minneapolis,Baltimore, Chicago, Charleston, Cleveland etc., etc. without expressing a particular point of view, "Detroit" will also reveal many pf our biases as we process the portrayal of the searing events as they may have occurred at the Algiers Motel in the midst of a race riot.
"Detroit" will also force us to talk about our preferences for films that move and disturb us over those that simply entertain and the amount of "historical accuracy" we expect to see in non- documentaries that are set in earlier times.
Bigelow shoots the movie with an unflinching eye and her point of view is obvious. She errs on the side of the cringe worthy and outrageous when depicting evil and the actors are committed, inspired and superbly directed.
"Detroit" is a film that is as difficult to watch as any two hour merciless tragedy involving people we know and care about and it is deeply stirring as it incites (if not assaults) our emotions. This is a stunning film but well crafted art, like our own reflections in the finest of mirrors, isn't always pretty.
"Detroit" intends to upset, provoke and unsettle and, by that account, it is an unmitigated success.
A Ghost Story (2017)
Mid Level Film Fest Movie with a Big Name Actor
Motionless camera shots that linger too long and a modicum of dialogue does not an important film make - even if it says it is. I have nothing against shoestring budgets or set-ups that scream that it must be discussed afterwards over espresso and biscotti, its just that when films try too hard and make a particularly heavy handed attempt to be "artful" (i.e, you fill in the blanks because the film has little content), it can come off as little more than a senior class project and is "artful" only because it had a shoestring budget and couldn't afford to deliver an intended message (or didn't really have one). I don't need a sledge hammer or explosive car chases to "get" a story, but I do expect more than just a diminished series of stills and summer camp skit "costuming" to generate minimum respect for the film.