Known as "The Wrecking Crew," Q (Omar Epps), Bishop (Tupac Shakur), Raheem (Khalil Kain), and Steel (Jermaine Hopkins) pass through their teens by cutting school and innocently bullshitting their way through life. When Spike Lee's longtime friend and collaborator Ernest Dickerson sat in the director's chair for the first time to helm Juice, he created a harrowing story about four Harlem teens whose friendship is tested by a bitter power struggle. Stars: Omar Epps, Tupac Shakur, Khalil Kain, Jermaine "Huggy" Hopkins, Samuel L. It's a crime that he didn't win the Oscar for Best Actor that year. The quiet moments leading up to his death are some of the most moving scenes he's ever been involved in. Washington delivers what is possibly the finest performance of his career, portraying X at different stages of his life and capturing every nuance. The film follows X up until his assassination at Harlem's Audobon Ballroom in 1965. Upon his return to the United States, he denounces racism and becomes open to working with the civil rights leaders he had previously shunned. Suspended by the Nation, he makes his pilgrimage to Mecca, where he learns that there is good in all races. Upon his release from prison, he adopts the last name "X" and rises within the Nation of Islam, but his ascent is met with resentment and opposition, especially when he and mentor Elijah Muhammad begin to feud. He's sent to jail for burglary, but his incarceration proves to be a blessing in disguise, as he's exposed to the teachings of Islam and learns discipline. Heavily inspired by Alex Haley's The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Malcolm X begins with Malcolm Little (Denzel Washington) still a petty criminal. As the crowd voices its support, an American flag catches fire, burning until it forms a perfect "X." It's spellbinding cinema. Lee's expert direction begins with the opening scene, which features X delivering an anti-white America speech over grainy footage of the LAPD's beating of Rodney King. Malcolm X is one of the most thorough and impressive biopics ever made. Lee had little room for error considering the subject matter, and he delivered because he had to. In the early '90s, he faced his biggest task to date: bringing the life of Malcolm X to the big screen. In fact, he welcomes them. He has tackled subjects too many filmmakers haven't had the guts for. Spike Lee never cowers in the face of a challenge. Stars: Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Albert Hall, Al Freeman, Jr., Delroy Lindo, Spike Lee, Theresa Randle, Roger Guenveur Smith, Wendell Pierce, Giancarlo Esposito, James McDaniel, Tommy Hollis To celebrate that, here are the best Black movies of the last 30 years. Jackson to Denzel Washington to Viola Davis, to newer talents like Zola star Taylour Paige and Creed’s Tessa Thompson, we’ve seen Black film evolve from a niche genre to a necessary component of Hollywood. In the past few years, we’ve seen Black creators push the boundaries of Black cinema into superhero and horror genres while also expanding on romantic comedies. More creators are following suit and telling stories from the perspective of Black characters. In 2021, in the midst of low theater turnouts and mid movie selections, Jeymes Samuel crafted The Harder They Fall, an awesome Western based on real Black cowboys and figures in the West, with Shawn Carter as an executive producer. He changed the game when he released Get Out in 2017 and continued delivering other notable projects like 2019’s Us and 2022’s Nope. Jordan Peele has shifted the horror film genre and has made a great impact on Hollywood. Other wins worth mentioning lately include the Oscar win for Moonlight, or the legendary Spike Lee finally winning a non-honorary Oscar. It didn’t win, but Daniel Kaluuya took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Judas and the Black Messiah, which tells the tale of the man who helped set up the murder of Chairman Fred Hampton, made history as the first film with an all-Black production team to be nominated for an Oscar. The last three decades specifically have seen amazing growth in the medium. It has been amazing to see the progression of Black creatives in cinema since. Then 24 years after that, Sidney Poitier would win his Academy Award for Best Actor for Lilies of the Field, becoming the first African American man to do so. Later, Hattie McDaniel would become the first African American person to win an Academy Award. Although the Lumière Brothers released the first motion picture in 1895, it took at least 30 years for the first Black person, Stepin Fetchit, to earn screen credit.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |