Avengers: Infinity War is Exhilarating, Jaw Dropping Superhero Yumminess

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Avengers: Infinity War is Exhilarating, Jaw Dropping Superhero Yumminess

Avengers: Infinity War, the third installment in the “Avengers” franchise and 19th Marvel Studios film to date, marks the 10-year anniversary of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which began with the release of “Iron Man” in 2008.  Assembling a team from every Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise ever, the Avengers align in solidarity attempting to defeat the powerful Thanos (James Brolin) before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.  

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Charlize Theron's Real, Raw Take on Motherhood Gives Tully Heart

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Charlize Theron's Real, Raw Take on Motherhood Gives Tully Heart

Charlize Theron has never been one of those starlets who stayed  away from a part because it wasn't glamorous. With Marlos, she goes in full-throttle with raw emotion and an uncomfortable physicality that fully helps someone like me understand the mental and physical toll going birth can be on an entire fa

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Paula Patton is Action Vigilante in Deon Cole Indie Film Traffik

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Paula Patton is Action Vigilante in Deon Cole Indie Film Traffik

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.

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Wrinkle in Time Taps Into Inner Child & Warrior Mode

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Wrinkle in Time Taps Into Inner Child & Warrior Mode

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.'

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The Final Year Shares Insider View of a Presidential Transition

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The Final Year Shares Insider View of a Presidential Transition

Barack Obama made history as the first person of color to become President of the United States...twice.  It goes without saying that in these dark days we are dwelling in, longing for the days when I turned on the news and saw POTUS singing some Al Green, dancing with his Queen Michelle,  joking around with Jimmy Kimmel or giving a speech that ALL Americans could be proud of would be an understatement.

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Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind

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Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind

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.

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Why Black Panther is the Crown Jewel of the Marvel Franchise

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Why Black Panther is the Crown Jewel of the Marvel Franchise

Black Panther is hands down the best film in the Marvel Franchise!!!  Why?  Black Panther is on the road to do for Marvel what The Lion King did for Disney.  The Lion King had Mufasa, Simba and The Pridelands...Black Panther has Wakanda, King T'Challa, Nakia and Killmonger.  Black Panther also manages to show tender young love between a man and a woman, a man and his parents and unflinching love for one's country no matter what the sacrifice.

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Gary Oldman IS Winston Churchill in the Darkest Hour

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Gary Oldman IS Winston Churchill in the Darkest Hour

Gary Oldman is like the Lon Chaney of our generation. He virtually gets so lost in a character that you believe you are  watching the real deal.  Simply said - Gary Oldman IS Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour.

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Sammy Davis, Jr. : I Gotta Be Me is the Ultimate Tribute to the Ultimate Entertainer

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Sammy Davis, Jr. : I Gotta Be Me is the Ultimate Tribute to the Ultimate Entertainer

Sammy Davis, Jr. was the ultimate entertainer.  He could sing.  He could dance.  He could do a killer celebrity impersonation.  He could act.  He was a member of the Rat Pack.  And...he bridged the racial gap of entertainment like no other.  There will never be another.

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I, Tonya

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I, Tonya

In 1991, Tonya Harding was on top of the world!  Holding titles as the 1991 U.S. Women's Figure Skating Champion and 1991 World Championship Silver medallist. Harding was also a two-time Olympian and a two-time Skate America Champion.  Her achievements in the Women's Figure Skating history books would simultaneously disappear over one incident in 1994.  How can any of us forget that footage of Silver Medalist Nancy Kerrigan at the Olympic Games crying out in pain "Why?' over and over again after being cracked in the knee.  I don't know about you, but I always wondered why that happened and what were the events leading up to it.

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AMERICAN ASSASSIN→

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AMERICAN ASSASSIN

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.

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HIRED GUN: OUT OF THE SHADOWS - INTO THE SPOTLIGHT

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HIRED GUN: OUT OF THE SHADOWS - INTO THE SPOTLIGHT

What is a hired gun?  It's a musician that has the ability to read charts fast, fit in like a missing piece of a jigsaw puzzle and be ready to tour at a moment's notice.  Sounds like a great way to earn a living right?  Not all of the musicians  interviewed would agree with you.  As a matter of fact, several members of Billy Joe's band referred to him as 'heartless'.  Most attribute this attitude as an aftermath of his former manager stealing 90 million dollars and vanishing into thin air.  That kind of betrayal would leave a bad taste in anyone's mouth.

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LA FILM FESTIVAL: THE BEGUILDED→

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LA FILM FESTIVAL: THE BEGUILDED

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.

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LA FILM FESTIVAL 2017: SHOT CALLER→

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LA FILM FESTIVAL 2017: SHOT CALLER

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.

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LA FILM FESTIVAL 2017: OUT OF STATE→

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LA FILM FESTIVAL 2017: OUT OF STATE

"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

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LA FILM FESTIVAL 2017: SKID ROW MARATHON→

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LA FILM FESTIVAL 2017: SKID ROW MARATHON

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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CARS 3→

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CARS 3

I think if I had known about a female race car driver, I could've probably been the 1st African-American chick to blaze NASCAR!!! Naw, not really, but in Disney/Pixar's latest in the Car franchise - Cars 3, there is some serious female empowerment going on!

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LA FILM FESTIVAL 2017: THE BOOK OF HENRY→

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LA FILM FESTIVAL 2017: THE BOOK OF HENRY

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?

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ABFF 2017: CREATED EQUAL→

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ABFF 2017: CREATED EQUAL

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."

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