Phoenix brings an emaciated, pill popping Joker back with vengeance, vigor and vivaciousness that will have your head swirling long after the credits have rolled. Produced by Warner Brothers Studios, this film is certainly not for the faint of heart.
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Dev Patel Captivates as Hired Gun in The Wedding Guest
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Dev Patel is absolutely captivating as the mysterious man for hire with a heart. He's definitely come a long way since the Marigold Hotel franchise andSlumdog Millionaire. In The Wedding Guest, just as he began to do in Lion, Patel stretches his range to escape the image of the bright-eyed optimist roles he is famously known for. He does so beautifully and effectively. Radhika Apte (Samira) is the perfect complement to Patel. She's cunning, savvy and knows exactly how to get what she wants on her terms.
Read MoreThe Gospel According to Andre Gives Fly on Wall Insight to a Fashion Icon→
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The Gospel According to Andre will serve as the best dish of caviar money can buy to those obsessed with fashion. I, for one, was honored and gleefully proud that Andre Leon Talley opened a door to fashion that will forever be changed by his existence.
Read MorePaula Patton is Action Vigilante in Deon Cole Indie Film Traffik
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Trafficking of young women in America has turned into a form of modern-day slavery. Living in Southern California, there are daily breaking news items concerning some white van full of young non-speaking English women who have been bought, sold and transported like cattle to a farm. As a woman of color, it breaks my heart to watch women being treated with such disdain and disrespect. Even more to the point, watching these same women drugged, raped and beaten so that some man somewhere can make a quick buck.
Read MoreTHOROUGHBREDS is a Dark Dramedy Featuring White Privilege
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With a title like 'Thouroughbreds', I thought I was about to watch a film about horses...which BTW...I adore. What I witnessed instead was a story about mean girls with too much money and white privilege covered in a dark dramedy thriller.
Read MoreWrinkle in Time Taps Into Inner Child & Warrior Mode
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Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a huge child at heart. It's a characteristic handed down from my beautiful, playful mother. A quality that allows me to have an open heart and mind when watching projects meant to tap into one's inner child.
One of my favorite films of all time is The Wizard of Oz. I mean who doesn't love that moment when Dorothy realizes what she searched for in Oz was inside her all the time? Well, what The Wizard of Oz did for me is what A Wrinkle in Time will do for this new generation of young people.
Based on the popular novel by Madeline L'Engle, A Wrinkle in Time takes us on the journey of Meg (Storm Reid) and her little brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) as they 'tesseract' through time to bring back their scientist Dad (Chris Pine), who is being held captive by the 'it.'
Read MoreTell Them We Are Rising is a Love Letter to HBCU's on PBS
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Being a graduate of "The Mecca" Howard University, you know I had to check out the Stanley Nelson directed Tell Them We Are Rising culminating the rise and (in some instances) the fall of Historical Black Colleges and Universities such as Howard University, Hampton Institute,Morgan, Morehouse, Spellman, Fisk and so many other Historical Black Colleges and Universities.
Read MoreRobin Williams: Come Inside My Mind
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A few years ago, I attended a live-taping of "The Odd Couple" in which the creator Gary Marshall loved to interact with the audience during taping breaks. He shared tale after tale of all the now famous people he discovered from Julia Roberts to Henry Winkler to Robin Williams. Williams had just passed a few weeks before and Marshall gleefully spoke of how Williams' character of Mork was born on "Happy Days" because his son wanted to see a martian on the show. Mork from Ork was only the beginning for the shooting comet we knew as Robin Williams.
Read MoreChadwick Boseman Revisits History in MARSHALL→
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When Chadwick Boseman utters this line as Thurgood Marshall , it sent chills down my spine. Especially knowing not a whole lot has changed between this time in American history and the world we wake up to every day in 2017.
Read MoreA Question of Faith
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"Sometimes when tragedy strikes, instead of running toward God...we can't run away from him fast enough." These are the words spoken by Paster David Newman in the new film A Question of Faith, the first faith-based film released nationally and produced by African-American women...Lisa Diane Washington and Angela White.
Read MoreAMERICAN ASSASSIN→
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Based on the mega-bestselling book series by the late Vince Flynn, American Assassin introduces film audiences to one of contemporary fiction's most popular hero working in the shadows: CIA super-agent Mitch Rapp. Dylan O'Brien, who portrays Rapp is putting the Bourne franchise and Matt Damon to shame as he ascends into an action star for this millennia.
Read MoreDETROIT
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The old adage - "the more things change...the more they stay the same" have never been more true than during the 21st century. Living in a time when people of color are being knocked off like a mob hit has sadly become a reality. A reality that beyond the onset of the Civil Rights movement, we thought our quality of life had improved and a sector of society was well on their way to becoming equals in America. We indeed believed that a change had come.
Read MoreLA FILM FESTIVAL: THE BEGUILDED→
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When one thinks of the south in the 1800's, we envision polite, docile porcelain skinned women, whose only job is to serve their men. More often than not, these women are seen and seldom heard for an opinion or anything else. Well, in Sofia Coppola's The Beguilded, based on the Thomas Cullinan novel, these women are anything but docile.
Read MoreLA FILM FESTIVAL 2017: SHOT CALLER→
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It's bad enough to be incarcerated, but it's even worse when you realize your life ceases you know it. The humiliation, the fights, the struggle just to start alive or not be physically violated is a reality many inmates across the country deal with as routinely as brushing one may brush their teeth. But, here in California gangs in prison make up 1% of the population and are responsible for 30% of the murders. It's a culture where most of these men (part of a sector called Aryan Brotherhood ) are serving life without parole so they have NOTHING to lose.
Read MoreLA FILM FESTIVAL 2017: OUT OF STATE→
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"The first time I walked into the Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona I cried. There, in the middle of a dusty prison recreation yard, were 100 men chanting my entrance into the facility. Prior to arriving, I had reasonable concerns about filming in prison and had been advised by mentors to love my subjects but to also be cautious given their histories. Every expectation was immediately thrown out the door when I saw these men chanting in varying
Read MoreLA FILM FESTIVAL 2017: SKID ROW MARATHON→
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When one thinks about skid row, the last thing that would come to mind is running through the streets of Los Angeles to prepare for a marathon half way around the world.
The Honorable Judge Craig Matthews spends his entire day sentencing convicted criminals from the Los Angeles Superior Court. When he invites these skid row felons to join him on Mondays and Thursdays at 5:45am...the results will blow you mind.
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LA FILM FESTIVAL 2017: THE BOOK OF HENRY→
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How many times do we watch an injustice happen to a compete stranger or even a next door neighbor and run a blind eye? Better yet, what if a loved one passes on and has a final wish they are insistent be carried out...would you do it?
Read MoreABFF 2017: CREATED EQUAL→
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In a world where gender equality remains a critical issue, this controversial film, doesn't set out to challenge the Catholic Church doctrine, but asks a very modern question... Should women be allowed into seminaries to study for the priesthood? "Created Equal is a film that gives you a voyeur experience into the stained glass ceiling that exists in the Catholic Church and asks the question about women being allowed into seminaries without actually taking sides," shares Bill Duke. "We are so excited that the American Black Film Festival has officially selected our film as a world premiere and look forward to the conversation that is created around this highly debated topic."
Read MoreWonder Woman→
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This prequel, which delves into the origins of this strong-willed amazon, is a rollercoaster ride from first frame to the last. Taking place roughly a century earlier, Wonder Woman comes to "Man's World" for the first time during World War I. It was not lost on me that this is literally the third film I have seen this year directed, written and produced by a woman (Patty Jenkins)and starring a woman! Who says women don't rule the world!!!
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