(film review) - Judas and the Black Messiah

This guy can do no wrong!  To whom do I speak of?  Ryan? Lakeith? Daniel? At this rate, it is a matter of rephrasing that sentence to, these guys can do no wrong!  Although Ryan Coogler was not the director and he has been the director of such great, great movies like, Fruitvale Station, Creed, Black Panther and these are the ONLY 3 movies he has directed, Ryan was the producer of this movie so he helped to make it happen.  For only directing 3 short films then 3 major full-length films which have catapulted Ryan into the stratosphere to be approached and to sign a 5 year deal with Disney, speaks volumes even the deaf can hear.  3 for 3? Ryan is Talented!
Lakeith, such a talented actor! First noted to me by his role in the film 'Get Out' ALSO starring Daniel Kaluuya, such a well written movie, well acted movie and not only did it put Lakeith more on the map, but also gave him more opportunities to act in more roles as this guy IS simply great at his job.  Unfortunately where I hadn't seen Selma, Straight Outta Compton (although I heard 'the guy playing Snoop Doggy Dog is great'), his role in Purge: Anarchy didn't stick with me, but then again, nor did the film, but his role in Knives Out was great. Among an all-star cast, Lakeith held is own and well.
Daniel! Daniel stuck out to me from a TV series called Black Mirror.  His role in that show felt weird, but he was soo so good.  I recognised him as Black Death in Kick-Ass 2 but it was his work on 'Get Out' that people were asking who this guy was.  Daniel has been in great film after great film after great film.  Sicario, Black Panther, Widows (although not so great but he was great in it), Queen and Slim and now this, Daniel is becoming a household name securing his spot in Black Hollywood.  I'm guessing having said that, it goes without saying, this movie is a great watch...yes, of course it is!

Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya) was a real life person who was the Chairman of the Chicago Black Panther Party.  In 1969, Fred Hampton was killed in his sleep in a secret Police raid in which a former head of security personnel for Fred, William O'Neal (Lakeith Stanfield), worked as an infiltrator and informant to FBI agent Roy Martin Mitchell.  This film is a biographical Drama of the last 3 years before Fred Hampton's Murder at the age of 21.
This movie explores the role of Fred Hampton in the Black Panther Party, his beliefs, his ideologies and what he wanted to do.  This film also explores the role of William O'Neal and his infiltration into the party, how he gained trust and ultimately had Fred Hampton killed.

As long as I have been alive, the Black Panther Party has ALWAYS been shown as a black militia.  My understanding has always been from what I had seen in pictures, videos and in film.  Black men and women standing in formation brandishing entirely black clothing with black berets and holding guns.  It was understood that the police did not like them and that they often caused trouble for the police.  I understood they were a type of group of people, a political party who were for black people fighting against the injustices of black people in those hard times, but I was never taught in school about what they did, how they did it or why.  Even if you wiki the Black Panther Party, it will tell you that they were Anti-fascism, Anti-imperialism, Anti-racism, Anti-capitalism and for African-American leftism, Black nationalism, Revolutionary socialism, Black pride & Gun rights (the last obviously for defence of self).

The acting is superb by both Lakeith and Daniel whilst Dominique Fishback supporting helped to ground the movie showing us the dynamics of life in that era, the politics and the love, passion and also the unselfish spirit of whom Fred was.  A scene seen in the trailer, Fred is giving a speech, and while he is giving this speech as powerful as it is, Dominique sheds a tear as you fully understand as to why she is caught up in her feelings.  Fred was a man for the people essentially by the people.  If you are able to read between the lines, Roy (Jesse Plemons), along with William were simply puppets to a bigger agenda.  Whilst one was simply doing his job, the other was doing for self.  The film also highlights the callous behaviours of J.Edgar Hoover and the FBI at this time.

This film is heavy emotionally, but manages to ease the weight of digestion with the narrative, dialogue and performances.  The performances were outstanding.  I found myself often saying over and over in my head and sometimes out aloud about Daniel's performance, 'He's soo good'.  They manage to get the point across without hitting you over the head with it, so well done Shaka King for the excellent Directing.  By the end of the movie, you will understand that not all members of the Black Panther Party were militant and there were other factions out there of whom were or seemed a lot worse.

Writing this review was difficult for me because, being black and having not lived in that era but understanding the ordeals black people had to go through at that time AND because black people are still suffering to this very day in 2021, it hurts my soul.  Granted, back then could be deemed more extreme, but I'm sure there is an argument to be made.  During a pandemic in 2020, Black and non-black people alike came together to support one another on Police Brutality, on George Floyd who was killed on camera in front of people in the street like a dog.  Breonna Taylor who was killed at her home in her sleep.  Soo much injustice and to think that Black people, even having endured all they have endured across generations, whilst nothing can be said about jews and anti-semitism, at least they can come together as a community for their people, Fred and countless others have tried and tried to band us together, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King just to name a few, but just like Fred, they are killed.  It's just upsetting.  The film doesn't weigh you down like I probably have, so go watch it, it's a great film!

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(trailer review) - Judas and the Black Messiah

I swear this has to be one of the most humble guys I've seen in acting who is just AMAZING at his craft.  Not to say that other actors are not amazing and/or humble, but I really do feel that Daniel brings a different kind of energy to his craftsmanship.
He was in Kick Ass 2, he was in a Black Mirror Episode, starred in Get Out WITH Lakeith Stanfield, in Black Panther DIRECTED by Ryan Coogler (who also produces this movie) and also in Queen and Slim, a film that made me cry and angry and his performance was also great in that.  he has been in other movies i haven't mentioned, but this trailer alone looks Award winning for this award nominated actor.

There's nothing much I can say in regards to this trailer as the trailer speaks volumes loud and clear, unless there will be some twists involved.  Fred Hampton is set up by close ally and/or friend due to his co-operation with the police who are trying to take Fred down.  I don't know the real life story along with countless others, so I'm totally unaware of how the story is meant to have gone but I'm sure it would be great to learn this story directed by Shaka King.  I've watched this trailer like 3-4 times now and it just get's more powerful with every watch.  I think, the movie being released now would be very poignant to what is happening in society right now and also brings me back to Umbrella Academy Season 2. 1963 and 1969 are only 6 years apart.

Directed by Shaka King and starring Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Ashton Sanders, Martin Sheen, Algee Smith, Lil Rel Howery, Jermaine Fowler, Darrell Britt-Gibson,

(film review) [STREAMING] - All Day and a Night

It's nice to get movies like this.  Movies where people can relate to the characters on a more personal level.  Not to say I could, but I can understand why a lot of people like the main character would.  I knew from the direction, the music and style of filming, this movie reminded me of another.  Having looked up who wrote the movie, it then became clear.  If you haven't seen Moonlight you should.  An excellent movie and having now seen these two movies, I see the similarities.  Maybe they were going for a similar thing, but I don't believe this one quite hit the mark like how Moonlight did and for me, that was because of the ending.  I'll explain.

The film is about a young man named Jahkor (Ashton Sanders) who is now expected to serve life in prison for the murder of another man, Malcolm (Stephen Barrington) and his wife.  Once in prison, Jahkor reflects on his circumstances, his upbringing, his life at home, his friends TQ (Isaiah John), Lamark (Christopher Meyer) or the people around him Big Stunna (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and JD (Jeffrey Wright).  Through some self discovery told through flashbacks, we find out where Jahkor wanted to go in life, the trauma he has endored and the choices he made which led him to where he is.

This movie is intimate.  It's lovely but heartbreaking.  It's shocking but it is personal.  The story is told by way of narration by Ashton's character, Jahkor.  The film does a series of jumps backwards and forwards through time as flashbacks to help put the story together.  However, although this was great, I felt a situation in the movie flashed by soo quickly, that I didn't understand what was going on and why the next scene was happening.  Upon re-watching, it is marginally made clear, but I felt it could have been handled better because it is a blink and you'll miss it situation, leading to a scene which at first doesn't make any sense.

Other than that, I felt the movie did a great job explaining life's cycle and a corrupted system that doesn't help black men living in specific areas.  The racism, the lack of jobs, the hood life which is constantly thrusted in your face daily in which seems inescapable.  Even when you are doing well for yourself, sometimes you cannot move out of the hood.  I felt this movie, but I also felt that it just wasn't strong enough.  I felt it wasn't as impactful as Moonlight was as that was a powerful film, it even won awards.  And if you are paying attention, Sanders is also in that movie too.  It was the delivery of the last few scenes which led to confusion and could possibly be the reason (for me anyway) why this movie did not stick the landing.  Jeffrey Wright and Ashton Sanders are powerful and excellent.  Ashton with not many words, acts a lot with his face and what he doesn't say.  The actor who plays his mum, Kelly Jenrette, was also good along with Yahya, who seems to be on a roll in every role creating a name for himself as and doing very well, a superb actor.

There are some more things I could say about this movie, but it would give away some of the story beats leading us into spoiler territory, so it is best I be quiet.  Some nice quotes too.  What I will say though, this film can be thought provoking, so if anyone who watches this movie and feel they are in a similar situation as Jahkor, I hope this movie enlightens you and pushes you to also do more or do better.