- AFI Film Festival, Coming Attractions, Documentary Film Review, entertainment, Film Festivals, Film Reviews
AFI DOCS: Deportation of 1917 Bisbee Arizona Revisited in Riveting Documentary
News reports of thousands of immigrants being deported after their contribution to making America great again dominate on a daily basis. As annoyed or shocked as we are about these actions brought about by our current administration, nothing compares to the 1,200 immigrant copper miners snatched from their homes and left to die in the middle of the Bisbee, Arizona desert. Directed by Robert Green, Bisbee ’17 follows the 21st century community of this small mining ghost town as they reenact the 100 anniversary uncovering personal stories and complex family histories along the way. Watching this town put themselves in the shoes of these immigrants, who some of which had…
Ellis Haizlip’s Niece Pays Tribute in Audience Winning Doc Mr SOUL!
A graduate of Howard University, Haizlip set the vibe of the times and changed the minds of what and how Americans viewed what Black American culture was really all about. It was the first time we saw the likes of Nikki Giovani, James Baldwin and even the famed leader of the Nation of Islam - Honorable Elijah Mohammed.
- AFI Film Festival, Coming Attractions, Documentary Film Review, entertainment, Film Festivals, Film Reviews
Hollywood Bombshell Hedy Lamarr was Brainy Inventor and Single Mother
One of my favorite movies to come on television when I was a kid was an old film by Don Knotts called “The Incredible Mr. Limpet.” Knots fall into water turning into a fish and becoming a secret weapon during wartime saving hundreds of lives with his throttle. The satellite signal used to communicate with the submarine is now known to be something called “frequency hopping”. A technology developed by filmmaker, scientist and movie star – Hedy Lamarr. Deemed as the “Year of Women” in science, at this year’s Sloan Film Summit, it was noted that over half of the filmmakers in the room were women and news was shared…
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.
Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water is a Cinematically Stunning
My love of movies ranges across many genres. But, I am a plain old sucker for a love story and that is exactly what director Guillermo del Toro is giving us its his latest cinematic masterpiece The Shape of Water. Taking place in 1952, the attention to detail with this film is quite impressive. It’s one of my favorite things about The Shape of Water. An unusual love story of a deaf-mute janitor (Sally Hawkins) who falls in love with something that literally looks like the Creature From The Black Lagoon (Doug Jones) made an impact because it feels like a cinematic ode to several styles of film (Horror, Thriller,…
- AFI Film Festival, Coming Attractions, entertainment, Film Festivals, Film Reviews, TCM Classic Film Festival
AFI FILM FEST 2017: 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. I, Tonya…
AFI FILM FESTIVAL 2017: Noel Wells Moves Center Stage with Mr. Roosevelt
Everyone has had a pet that they love like family. Some of us have even had marriages and relationships where a pet was shared. But, what happens when the honeymoon is over and the couple has to decide who gets to keep the furry four-legged best friend. Is the doggy parent who bounces considered a deadbeat or MIA? Does the dog grieve the loss of the relationship or is the parent left behind grieving the loss of a relationship? Straight rom her sketch comedy at SNL and her role as Rachel in Netflix’s Master of None, Noel Wells moves center stage with Mr. Roosevelt, marking her directorial and…
AFI FILM FEST 2017: Annette Benning is Superb as Gloria Grahame in Film Stars Don’t Die I Liverpool
If you have ever seen It’s A Wonderful Life, then you have seen and are familiar with Gloria Grahame. Grahame was the femme fatale in many a classic Hollywood Film Noir who always played the chick from the wrong side of the tracks. Think of her as the unpolished, white trash version of Marilyn Monroe. It was 1978, Peter Turner was a 26-year-old English actor living a Primrose Hill boarding house. Gloria Grahame lived downstairs and was nearly 30 years his senior, an Oscar-winner who had counted Humphrey Bogart, Robert Mitchum and Jimmy Stewart among her leading men. When movie roles dried up, she came to England to perform in…
- AFI Film Festival, American Black Film Festival, Coming Attractions, entertainment, Film Festivals, Film Reviews, los angeles film festival
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…
