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Monday, February 6, 2023
Comic Books, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for February 8, 2023
Friday, March 18, 2022
Review: "COMING 2 AMERICA" is Simply a Nice Reunion Movie
Coming 2 America (2021) – streaming film
Running time: 110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)
MPA – PG-13 for crude and sexual content, language and drug content
DIRECTOR: Craig Brewer
WRITERS: Kenya Barris and David Sheffield & Barry W. Blaustein; from a story by Justin Kanew and David Sheffield & Barry W. Blaustein (based on characters created by Eddie Murphy)
PRODUCERS: Eddie Murphy and Kevin Misher
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Joe “Jody” Williams (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: David S. Clark, Billy Fox, and Debra Neil-Fisher
COMPOSER: Jermaine Stegall
Academy Award nominee
COMEDY/ROMANCE
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Shari Headley, Jermaine Fowler, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, KiKi Layne, Wesley Snipes, James Earl Jones, John Amos, Teyana Taylor, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Nomzamo Mbatha, Bella Murphy, Paul Bates, Akiley Love, Rotimi, Louie Anderson, Trevor Noah, and Morgan Freeman
Coming 2 America is a 2021 American comedy film from director Craig Brewer. It serves as a sequel to the 1998 film, Coming to America. The film originally streamed on Amazon Prime. In Coming 2 America, the crowned prince of a prosperous African nation discovers that he has an illegitimate son in America.
Coming 2 America opens in the African nation of Zamunda. It is the 30th anniversary of the wedding of Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy) to Lisa McDowell (Shari Headley). They have three beautiful daughters: the eldest, Meeka (KiKi Layne); the middle, Omma (Bella Murphy); and the youngest, Tinashe (Akiley Love).
Akeem is summoned before his dying father, King Jaffe Joffer (James Earl Jones), and the King's shaman, Baba (Arsenio Hall). King Jaffe is upset that Akeem never sired a son, and by Zamundan law, only a male can inherit the throne. However, Baba reveals that Akeem did indeed sire a son in Queens, New York City when he visited the United States over three decades ago (as seen in Coming to America). In fact, Semmi (Arsenio Hall), Akeem's best friend and aide, knows the circumstances that led to Akeem conceiving a son with a bar patron.
Akeem and Semmi again travel to America where they meet Akeem's “bastard,” a young man named Lavelle Junson (Jermaine Fowler); his mother, Mary Junson (Leslie Jones), the bar patron; and Kareem “Uncle Reem” Junson (Tracy Morgan), Mary's brother and Lavelle's uncle. Akeem really needs Lavelle to return to Zamunda with him. He requires a son who can marry the daughter of General Izzi (Wesley Snipes), the leader of Zamunda's neighbor, Nexdoria. Izzi is a threat to Akeem and Zamunda, unless the two nations can be united by marriage. Can Lavelle be the heir Akeem needs, and if so, what about Akeem's eldest daughter, Princess Meeka?
Coming to America remains one of my favorite Eddie Murphy films, topped only the fantastic 1983 film, Trading Places. Coming 2 America is not so much a sequel as it is a film that acts like a sequel to Coming to America. The new film is more like one of the TV reunion movies of old 1950s and 1960s television series that used to pop up on network television in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. Like them, Coming 2 America gives us our favorite old characters (at least the ones that are still alive) and some new characters, and sprinkles in some cameos, for instance, Morgan Freeman and his famous voice.
As usual, Ruth E. Carter delivers solid gold with her costume design, and the film's production values are marvelous. The film has a good song score and soundtrack. There are a lot of funny scenes in Coming 2 America, but overall, the film's narrative drags. Most of the film takes place not in America, but in Zamunda, although the scenes that take place in America (Queens, NY) pop and are generally fun.
There is not much else to say other than that I really like Coming 2 America as a reunion movie. I have been a fan of Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall for decades, and I am always happy to see them. So, to be honest, I am happy that Coming to America has a sequel, of sorts, in Coming 2 America.
6 of 10
B
Thursday, March 18, 2022
NOTES:
2022 Academy Awards, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling” (Michael Marino, Stacey Morris, and Carla Farmer)
2022 Black Reel Awards: “Outstanding Costume Design” (Ruth E. Carter)
2022 Image Awards (NAACP): 2 nominations: “Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture” and “Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album” (Eddie Murphy, Craig Brewer, Kevin Misher, Randy Spendlove, Jeffrey Harleston, Brittney Ramsdell for the album “Coming 2 America” – Amazon Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
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Saturday, March 12, 2022
Negromancer News Bits and Bites from March 6th to 12th, 2022 - Update #20
by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:
ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:
OSCARS - From THR: Wesley Snipes and Oscar-nominee John Travolta have been added to the list of presenters at the 2022 Oscar ceremony.
SCANDAL - From Deadline: Actor-singer, Jussie Smollett (of the former FOX series, "Empire"), received a five MONTH jail sentence for his alleged 2019 hate crime attack.
PIXAR - From Variety: The cast of Pixar's latest animated feature, "Turning Red," clap back after a controversial review of the film appears online.
MOVIES - From Deadline: Florence Pugh ("Black Widow") is in negotiations to play "Princess Irulan Corrino" in "Dune: Part Two."
From Deadline: Austin Butler is negotiations for to play "Feyd-Rautha" in "Dune: Part Two." Rock musician and actor, Sting," famously played the character in director David Lynch's 1984 version of "Dune."
VIDEO GAMES - From IGN: This is a link to a video that presents every reveal from Sony Playstation "State of Play" March 2022 in four minutes.
MARVEL STUDIOS - From Deadline: "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" director Ryan Coogler was mistaken for a bank robber in an Atlanta bank back in January.
MOVIES - From Deadline: Warner Bros. Pictures has changed the release date of six its films, including four films based on DC Comics properties.
DC FILMS - From Variety: Zoe Kravtiz is starring as "Catwoman" in the #1 movie in the world, "The Batman." But when she wanted to audition for Christopher Nolan's 2012 Batman film, "The Dark Knight Rises," Zoe was told that she was "too urban."
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro: The winner of the 3/4 to 3/6/2022 weekend box office is "The Batman" with an estimated gross of 128.5 million dollars.
From Here: Negromancer's (and "I Reads You) review of "The Batman."
TELEVISION - THR: "How HBO’s Lakers Series Ticked Off the NBA, Ended a Friendship and Became the Most Anticipated Sports Show in Decades" by Lacey Rose.
From ScreenRant: Fact check: what is real and changed in Episode 1 of HBO's "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty."
MUSIC - From Variety: 1980s funk music legend, Morris Day, says that he can no longer perform as "Morris Day & the Time" because of the current trustees of the estate of the late music legend, Prince.
OBITS:
From Deadline: Actor Emilio Delgado has died at the age of 81, Thursday, March 10, 2022. He was a pioneering force in the depiction of Mexican-Americans on television. He was best known for portraying Luis Rodriguez, the "Fix-It Shop" owner on the children's educational TV series, "Sesame Street" from 1971 to 2015, 2019).
From Deadline: American jazz musician and stage, film and TV actor, Conrad Janis, has died at the age of 94, Tuesday, March 1, 2022. A prolific character actor, Janis was best known for his recurring role on the former ABC comedy, "Mork & Mindy." His acting career began in the mid-1940 on Broadway. Janis was also noted for his "Beverly Hills Unlisted Jazz Band."
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94TH ACADEMY AWARDS:From Deadline: With his "Best Actor" nomination for "The Tragedy of Macbeth," Denzel Washington is the most nominated Black actor is Oscar history. He has been nominated in two acting categories a total of 10 times with two wins total.
From Variety: With her "Best Director" Oscar nomination for "The Power of the Dog," Jane Campion becomes the first woman nominated twice in that category. She was previously nominated in that category for "The Piano" (1993).
From Variety: With his three nominations today, Kenneth Branagh of "Belfast" becomes the first person to have been nominated in seven individual categories over his career.
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MOVIE AWARDS:From Variety: Here is a complete list of winners at 2022 / 53rd NAACP Image Awards in the film, television and music categories. Jennifer Hudson was named "Entertainer of the Year."
From Deadline: The 2022 / 9th annual Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Awards were announced. The Amazon film, "Coming 2 America" (the sequel to the 1988 film, "Coming to America"), led with three wins.
From Deadline: The Los Angeles Film Critics Association has named the Japanese film, "Drive My Car," the "Best Picture" of 2021.
From Deadline: The 2022 / 37th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards have announced their nominations. "Zola" leads with six nominations. The winners will be announced Sun., March 6, 2022.
From THR: The 2022 / 79th Golden Globes Awards nominations have been announced. "Belfast" and "The Power of the Dog" lead with seven nominations each. Winners will be announced Jan. 9th, 2022.
From GoldDerby: The 2022 Critics Choice Awards nominations have been announced. "Belfast" and "West Side Story" leads with 11 nominations each. Winners will be announced Jan. 9th, 2022.
From Deadline: The American Film Institute announced the "2021 AFI Awards" Top 10 list, and the list includes "Dune," "The Tragedy of Macbeth," and "West Side Story."
From THR: Director Aleem Khan's "After Love" tops the 2021 British Independent Film Awards, winning six awards, including "Best Film of 2021."
From Variety: The New York Film Critics Circle has named the Japanese drama, "Drive My Car," as the "Best Film of 2021."
From Deadline: The National Board of Review hands director Paul Thomas Anderson's "Licorice Pizza" it "Best Film" and "Best Director" awards. Will Smith picks up the "Best Actor" award for "King Richard."
From THR: Netflix’s "The Lost Daughter," directed by actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, dominated the 2021 Gotham Awards in New York on Monday night (Nov. 29th). The film won in four of the five categories in which it was nominated, including "Best Feature."
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Sunday, February 28, 2021
Negromancer News Bits and Bites from February 21st to 28th, 2021 - Update #21
by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:
ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:
BOX OFFICE - From Deadline: The winner of the 2/26 to 2/28/2021 weekend box office is the animated "Tom & Jerry" with an estimated take of 13.7 million dollars, the second highest pandemic opening weekend.
GOLDEN GLOBES - From Deadline: "Deadline" is live-blogging the Golden Globes, which will allow readers to keep up with the announcement of winners.
From Deadline: Ellen Pompeo penned an open letter the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and “White Hollywood” a day before the 2021 Golden Globes.
From Deadline: The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), which puts on the Golden Globes, does not have a single voting member who is black. The Directors Guild of America has joined the chorus of voices castigating the HFPA for this.
SCANDAL - From Deadline: "Justice League" actor Ray Fisher and Warner Bros. still having a public feud.
COVID-19 - From YahooEntertainment: Oscar-nominated actress, Abigail Breslin ("Little Miss Sunshine), has revealed that her father, Michael, recently died of complications of COVID-19.
MOVIES - From YahooEntertainment: Oscar-nominated filmmaker, Lee Daniels, talks about creating his own lane in Hollywood and why he still independently finances his films.
COMICS TO FILM - From Deadline: Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and producer J.J. Abrams prep "Superman" reboot for Warner Bros. There is no word on whether Henry Cavill, who has been playing Superman since "The Man of Steel" will be back.
SPORTS - From YahooSports: The WNBA finally rids itself of its worst owner, former U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler, with a new ownership group. One of the owners is a player, Renee Montgomery, whom Loeffler once disparaged.
STREAMING - From Deadline: Winston Duke ("Black Panther") is in talks to play African-American historical figure, Marcus Garvey," in Amazon's "Marked Man."
MOVIES - From IndieWire: No longer involved in the Marvel's "Blade" franchise, Wesley Snipes is developing his own "Blade-killer" movie. It is a supernatural action movie with elements of shapeshifters and time travel.
STREAMING - From Deadline: Steve Soderbergh will direct Zoe Kravitz in New Line's "KIMI" for HBO Max.
STREAMING - From THR: ViacomCBS makes its pitch for the streaming service, "Paramount+" which is a rebranding of CBS All Access. There will be sports, reboots, sequels, and spinoffs.
COMICS TO FILM - From VanityFair: The true history of "Justice League: The Snyder Cut."
SCANDAL - From THR: Revered and controversial French actor, Gerard Depardieu, was charged by French authorities with rape this past December. The news just broke recently, and the charge relates to an accusation of the rape of a young actress back in December 2018.
TELEVISION - From Deadline: BET has renewed "Tyler Perry's The Oval" for a third season after its Season 2 premiere.
STREAMING - From Deadline: Netflix has won the auction for a story pitch for a film called, "The Bluff," which would be a vehicle for Zoe Saldana.
COVID-19 - From WebMD: 500,000 Americans now dead from COVID-19
BOX OFFICE - From Variety: The winner of the 2/19 to 2/21/21 weekend box office is "The Croods: A New Age" with an estimated take of 1.7 million dollars.
SCANDAL - From YahooEntertainment: Actress Gina Carano says that she is not going down without a fight after "devastating" firing from Disney-Lucasfilm, where she was an actress on the Disney+ series, "The Mandalorian."
BLM - From TheRoot: African-American St. Louis Officer Luther Hall has secured a $5 million settlement agreement in his lawsuit against the city, related to his alleged assault by white members of the St. Louis Police Department while he was working undercover as a demonstrator during protests against police violence.
SCANDAL - From Deadline: Fired-from-Lucasfilm actress, Gina Carano, says that she has some shocking stuff to say about Lucasfilm.
Saturday, December 19, 2020
Negromancer News Bits and Bites from December 13th to 19th, 2020 - Update #25
Support Leroy on Patreon:
ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:
BLM - From WashPost: The Rev. William H. Lamar IV is the pastor of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington D.C. that was attacked on Sat., Dec. 12th, 2020 by members of the racist group, the "Proud Boys." The "Boys" were in Washington for a pro-Trump rally/riot. Rev. Lamar wrote an opinion piece for the "Washington Post" entitled "My church will replace our Black Lives Matter sign. Will America replace its racist myth?" One of the quotes is "...that White men can employ violence to take what they want and do what they want and call that criminality justice, freedom and liberty."
COVID-19 - From CNN: US sees record Covid-19 cases as CDC advisory group votes to recommend Moderna vaccine
CELEBRITY - From THR: Inside Johnny Depp's self-made implosion.
CULTURE - From YahooEntertainment: The last "Blockbuster" video rental store keeps chugging along and is the subject of a new documentary, "The Last Blockbuster."
AWARDS - From THR: The New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) names "First Cow" its best film of 2020.
STREAMING - From YahooEW: New set photos from "Coming 2 America," Netflix's sequel to the classic Eddie Murphy film, "Coming to America," include an image of Wesley Snipes.
MOVIES - From DirtyMovies: There will be another entry in the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" film franchise in 2021. "Dirty Movies" analyzes what went wrong with the last two entries.
TELEVISION - From Deadline: NBC is working on a reboot of its classic legal comedy, "Night Court" (1984-1992), with Warner Bros. Television. John Larroquette, who won several Emmy Awards for the show, will return as "Dan Fielding," and Melissa Rauch ("The Big Bang Theory") will play the role of Judge Abby Stone, the daughter of the late Judge Harry Stone (played by the late Harry Anderson).
TELEVISION - From Deadline: ABC is in early development on "Pine Valley," a prime time follow-up to its daytime soap opera, "All My Children," which ended its run on the network in 2011.
TELEVISION-BLM - From Variety: "Heroes" Was Supposed to Be Leonard Roberts’ Big Break. Instead, It Nearly Broke Him. An African-American actor speaks about his poor treatment on the set of the former NBC series.
TOM CRUISE - From Deadline: Tom Cruise Goes Off On Crew After Covid Breach On ‘Mission: Impossible 7’ London Set – Hear The Audio.
SPORTS-BLM - From MLB: Major League Baseball has long celebrated the legacy of the Negro Leagues. But for the first time, MLB is officially recognizing that the quality of the segregation-era circuits was comparable to its own product from that time period. Addressing what MLB described as a “long overdue recognition,” Commissioner Rob Manfred on Wednesday bestowed Major League status upon seven professional Negro Leagues that operated between 1920 and 1948. The decision means that the approximately 3,400 players of the Negro Leagues during this time period are officially considered Major Leaguers, with their stats and records becoming a part of Major League history.
COVID-19 - From GuardianUK: US Covid Deaths Pass 300,000 as First Americans Receive Coronavirus Vaccine
MOVIES - From YahooEntertainment: As we acknowledge the 25th anniversary of Michael Mann's film, "Heat," which starred Oscar-winners, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, we revisit an interview in which Pacino talks about his friendly rivalry with De Niro.
STREAMING - From Deadline: Lily James and Sebastian Stan (Marvel Studios "Winter Soldier") will play model/actress Pam Anderson and rock musician Tommy Lee in Hulu's biopic about the infamous celebrity couple.
MOVIES - From Deadline: Chris Pine is in talks to star in "Dungeons & Dragons" for eOne and Paramount Pictures. Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley are set to direct from a script they wrote.
SPORTS - From YahooSports: Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians are dropping "Indians" from their name. Here are the possibilities for a new name, including a Negro League name.
BLM - From Deadline: Tyler Perry has donated $100,000 to the legal defense fund for Kenneth Walker, the boyfriend of Breonna Taylor, the medical worker murdered in her apartment by members of the Louisville Metro Police Department.
BOX OFFICE - From Deadline: The winner of the 12/11 to 12/13/20 weekend box office is "The Croods: A New Age" with an estimated take of 3 million dollars.
COVID-19 - From YahooNewsAP: Trucks with first batches of COVID-19 vaccine in US get ready to roll
CHRISTMAS - From YahooNews: Rare planetary conjunction means a rare "Christmas Star" will light up the night for the first time since the year 1226.
OBITS:
From THR: American dancer, actress, and choreographer, Ann Reinking, has died at the age of 71, Saturday, December 12, 2020. She is best known for her association with the Broadway musical, "Chicago," both as an actress (1977 and 1996) and as a choreographer (1996). In 1997, she won a "Tony Award for Best Choreography" for the 1996 revival of "Chicago." Reinking was nominated for a Tony three other times.
From Variety: The spy-turned-spy-novelist, John le Carre, has died at the age of 89, Saturday, December 12, 2020. During the 1950s and 1960s, le Carre (born David John Moore Cornwell) worked the British "Security Service" (MI5) and "Secret Intelligence Service" (MI6). By the time he left the service, le Carre has already published three novels, including the international bestseller, "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold" (1963). Ten of his novels have been adapted into film, including 2001's "The Constant Gardener," which became the 2005 Oscar-winning film.
From RollingStone: Iconic country music singer, Charley Pride, has died at the age of 86, Saturday, December 12, 2020 of complications of COVID-19. Pride was a pioneering African-American country musician and is one of only three Black members of the "Grand Old Opry," and he was inducted into the "Country Music Hall of Fame" in 2000. In 1971, at the "Country Music Association Awards, Pride won the "Entertainer of the Year" award. Pride was a three-time Grammy Award winner, and received the "Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award" in 2017.
Saturday, December 12, 2020
Negromancer News Bits and Bites from December 6th to 12th, 2020 - Update #24
Support Leroy on Patreon:
ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:
OBIT-COVID-19 - From YahooEntertainment: Country music's first Black icon, Charley Pride, has died of COVID-19.
MOVIES - From CNN: It is official, actor Harrison Ford will return for a fifth film in the "Indiana Jones" series, which began in 1981 with the Oscar-winning "Raiders of the Lost Ark." The film is due July 2022.
PIXAR - From Deadline: Pixar is working on an origin movie for "Buzz Lightyear," the space hero from "Toy Story." "Captain America's" Chris Evans will voice the lead role. The film is due in July 2022.
DISNEY+ - From Deadline: Whoopi Goldberg is returning for a third "Sister Act" film. Goldberg will reprise her role of Deloris Wilson for "Sister Act 3" and will produce the film along with Tyler Perry for Disney+.
DISNEY+ - From Variety: Disney+ announces 10 new "Star Wars"-related series and 10 new series from Marvel Studios.
BLM - From WebMD: In an article for "WebMD," college and pro basketball legend and champion, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar talks about the health of African-Americans and the risks to that posted by the healthcare system.
STREAMING - From BleedingCool: Amazon is developing a TV series based on the 1997 teen horror flick, "I Know What You Did Last Summer." Craig Macneill will direct the series pilot.
STREAMING - From Deadline: Kevin Hart and Wesley Snipes will play brothers in "True Story," a Netflix limited series drama. It written and executive produced by Eric Newman of "Narcos: Mexico."
TELEVISION - From Deadline: HBO has been working on a reboot of its vampire melodrama, "True Blood." Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (creator of "Riverdale") and Jami O'Brien (creator of AMC'S "NOS4A2") will write the pilot with O'Brien acting as the executive producer with Alan Ball, creator of the original series.
MOVIES - From IndieWire: The best undistributed films of 2020
OSCARS - From Deadline: Jesse Collins, Stacey Sher, and Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh have been announced as the producers for the 93rd Academy Awards, which will be held Sunday, April 25th, 2021.
WARNER MEDIA - From THR: Oscar-nominated director, Christopher Nolan, rips into WarnerMedia's announced plan to release its 2021 film slate on its streaming service, HBO Max, which Nolan calls "the worst streaming service."
STAR TREK - From Deadline: Actors who have starred in the "Star Trek" franchise, from the original series to the recent "Star Trek: Discovery," will hold a virtual fund raiser for U.S. Senate candidates from Georgia, Democrats Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock, on Sat. Dec. 12th, 2020.
MOVIES - From Deadline: Constantin Film has issued an apology for its film, "Monster Hunter," an adaptation of the popular video game. The film contains dialogue that was considered offensive in China, where the film has been a hit.
BOX OFFICE - From Deadline: The winner of the 12/4 to 12/6/2020 weekend box office is DreamWorks Animation's "The Croods: A New Age" with an estimated take of 4.4 million dollars.
MOVIES - From YahooEntertainment: Oscar-winning screenwriter Alan Ball wonders about the legacy of the Oscar-winning film he wrote, "American Beauty" (1999), because of the scandals related to the film's star, Kevin Spacey. Spacey won a "Best Actor" Oscar for his performance, but the last few years have seen Spacey beset by accusations of predatory behavior and sexual assault.
TELEVISION - From ShadowandAct: Oscar and Emmy-winning actress Regina King is producing "Slay," an African-American themed supernatural drama that is in development at The CW.
TELEVISION - From LATimes: Inside the TV networks' battle for Christmas movie supremacy
OBITS:
From TMZ: Character actor and occasional professional wrestler, Tom "Tiny" Lister, Jr. was found dead in his apartment, Thursday, December 10, 2020. Lister is best known for playing the character, "Deebo," in "Friday" (1995) and its sequel, "Next Friday" (2000). He appeared in numerous other films, including "The Fifth Element" (1997) and "The Dark Knight" (2008), to name a few.
From Deadline: The film and television actress, Natalie Desselle, has died at the age of 83, Monday, December 7, 2020 of colon cancer. Her best known film roles were in "B.A.P.S." (1997) and "Madea's Big Happy Family" (2010). Desselle made her television debut on a 1996 episode of ABC's former family sitcom, "Family Matters." Desselle was a main cast member on UPN's TV series, "Eve" (2003-06).
From Deadline: Film and television character actor and stage actor, Warren Berlinger, has died at the age of 83, Wednesday, December 2, 2020. He was known for playing next to bigger stars, including a role in the Elvis Presley film, "Spinout" (1966). Later in his career, he made numerous guest appearances on such TV series as "Happy Days," "Murder, She Wrote," and "Friends," to name a few. He began his stage career as a nine-year-old in the 1946 Broadway production of "Annie Get Your Gun," and he went on to perform on stage in "Blue Denim" and "Happy Time," to name a few.
From Deadline: The actor television actor, David Landers, has died at the age of 73, Friday, December 4, 2020. Landers is best known for playing the role of "Squiggy" on the former ABC sitcom, "Laverne & Shirley" (1976-83). He was also a noted voice actor who performed in multiple animated film and TV series.
From CDC: The Centers for Disease Control has a "COVID Data Tracker."
From YahooNews: Why does COVID-19 kill some people and hardly affects others?
From YahooNews: Yahoo has a dedicated page of links updating news about COVID-19.
From Deadline: The news site "Deadline" has a dedicated page for news about coronavirus and the film, TV, and entertainment industries.
From TheNewYorker: The venerable magazine has a dedicate COVID-19 page free to all readers.
From YahooNews: Re: the federal government's response to COVID-19: What if the most important election of our lifetime was the last one - 2016?
From YahooLife: What is "happy hypoxia?" And do you have this COVID-19 symptom?
From JuanCole: Remember when President Donald went crazy and suggested that we ingest household cleaning supplies and UV light to fight COVID-19. Here is the video and commentary from Juan Cole.
From TheIntercept: The federal government has ramped up security and police-related spending in response to the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic, including issuing contracts for riot gear, disclosures show. The purchase orders include requests for disposable cuffs, gas masks, ballistic helmets, and riot gloves...
From TheAtlantic: The Coronavirus Was an Emergency Until Trump Found Out Who Was Dying. The pandemic has exposed the bitter terms of our racial contract, which deems certain lives of greater value than others.
From ProPublica: Hospital's Secret COVID-19 Policy Separated Native American Mothers From Their Newborns
From TheGuardian: More than 20 million Americans could have contracted COVID-19, experts say.
From RSN/WashPost: The COVID-19 mutation that has taken over the world.
7/13 - From YahooSports: Maybe a pandemic means that there will not be college football this fall.
7/13- From YahooNews: The CDC adds four new symptoms (including nausea and purple or blue lesions on feet and toes) to the list of COVID-19 symptoms.
7/19 - From YahooFinance: Harvard Public Health professor Dr. Howard Koh says the U.S. "needs to regroup" to find COVID-19.
7/22 - From YahooNews: A public health employee predicted Florida's coronavirus catastrophe — then she was fired.
7/22 - From YahooLifestyle: Florida mom loses son, 20, to coronavirus, and then days later, her daughter.
7/23 - From TheWrap: The site has a list of movie and TV stars, entertainment and sports figures who have tested positive for COVID-19
From Bloomberg: Will the COVID-19 pandemic turn Millennials into socialists?
7/27 - From CNN: Chief of critical care at Baltimore's Mercy Medical Center, Dr. Joseph Costa, passes away due to Covid-19 complications... after treating the hospital's sickest COVID-19 patients. He was 56 and leaves behind family, including a husband of 28 years.
7/31 - From Slate: COVID-19 is airborne - for reals!
8/9 - From YahooAFP: According to the real-time tally kept by John Hopkins University, the United States has hit 5 million cases of COVID-19.
8/16 - From Truthout: COVID Deaths Continue to Surge in Countries Led by Far Right Authoritarians
9/19 - From WashPost: U.S. coronavirus death toll reaches 200,000
9/23 - From CNBC: Mark Cuban, who owns the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and star of ABC's "Shark Tank," suggests that every household in American get a $1000 check every two weeks for the next two months.
11/7 - From YahooNews: "It's a slaughter," doctors say of new coronavirus wave.
11/13 - YahooNews: "We blew it": U.S. reaches 'explosive' COVID-19 spread as virus is nearly impossible to control, experts say.
11/29 From LATimes: California sets record with most COVID-19 hospitalizations since pandemic began
12/6 - From YahooNBC: President Donald has announced that his lawyer, former mayor of New York City, Rudy Giulani, has tested positive for COVID-19.
BLACK LIVES MATTER:
From RSN: Judge's Blistering Opinion Says Courts Have Placed Police Beyond Accountability
From TheGuardian: Yusef Salaam, one of the "Central Park Five," says in an interview, "Trump would have had me hanging from a tree in Central Park."
From NPR: Prosecutors' plea deal required drug suspect to name Breonna Taylor a "co-defendant."
From ChicagoSunTimes: Rev. Jesse Jackson: America has millions of people in poverty because Americans choose not to demand the policies that would lift them out of poverty.
From APNews: No one will be held accountable for the killing of Louisville African-American resident, Breonna Taylor.
From Channel4: Revealed: Trump campaign strategy to deter millions of Black Americans from voting in 2016
From GuardianUK: California is going to consider paying reparations to the descendants of African slaves after adopting a landmark law to study and to develop proposals around the issue.
From TheRoot: What to Do When Your Country Turns Into a Dumpster Fire
From Vox: It's True: 1 in 1,000 Black Americans Have Died in the Covid-19 Pandemic
From CBS: Breonna Taylor's boyfriend certain cops didn't identify themselves
From DonaldTrump: Well, because it has been in the news a lot lately (via Ice Cube and Li'l Wayne), here is "The Platinum Plan." It is impressive, but no Republican Congress would go along with even 10 percent of this plan which is basically a long list of promises to the Black Americans - individually and as a group.
From Truthout: Yes, 55 Percent of White Women Voted for Trump. No, I’m Not Surprised.
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Review: "Chi-raq" Dares to Be Truly Different
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
Chi-Raq (2015)
Running time: 127 minutes (2 hours, 7 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong sexual content including dialogue, nudity, language, some violence and drug use
PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: Spike Lee
WRITERS: Spike Lee and Kevin Willmott (based on the play by Aristophanes)
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Matthew Libatique
EDITOR: Ryan Denmark and Hye Mee Na
COMPOSER: Terence Blanchard
DRAMA/MUSICAL/POLITICS
Starring: Nick Cannon, Teyonah Parris, Wesley Snipes, Angela Bassett, Samuel L. Jackson, John Cusack, Jennifer Hudson, David Patrick Kelly, D.B. Sweeney, Dave Chappelle, Steve Harris, Harry Lennix, Irma P. Hall, Thomas J. Byrd, Roger Guenveur Smith, and La La Anthony
Chi-Raq is satirical political drama and musical from director Spike Lee. Set in Chicago, Chi-Raq uses the classical Greek comedy play, Lysistrata (written by Aristophanes), as the basis for a story about the gang violence that is plagues real-world Chicago. In Chi-Raq, a woman leads a group of like-minded females to challenge the on-going violence in Chicago's Southside.
Lysistrata (Teyonah Parris) dates Demetrius “Chi-Raq” Dupree (Nick Cannon), leader of the Spartans gang (who wear purple). He is in the middle of an on-going war against the rival gang, the Trojans (who wear orange), lead by Cyclops (Wesley Snipes), who orders a hit on Chi-Raq during a Spartan music concert.
After Chi-Raq (presumably) kills a child with a stray bullet during a shootout, Lysistrata finds herself having to examine her part in the ongoing violence in Chicago's Southside. Lysistrata organizes a group of women who are associated with male gang members and encourages them to withhold sex from their men until they stop the violence. Lysistrata's movement challenges the nature of race, sex, and violence in the United States of America, and it begins to spread around the world. However, as more people go without sex, the movement raises tensions in all of Chicago.
Chi-Raq is another bold stroke of idiosyncratic Spike Lee art. Lee was Kanye West before Kanye West. Stubborn and independent from the beginning, Lee remains that way. Chi-Raq is everything it seems: political satire, social satire, farce, comedy, Negro spiritual, racial drama, soulful musical, and even a cry in the wilderness to Black folks in America. “Stop killing ourselves!” Lee screams via his art. If only it were that simple.
Chi-Raq is film art, beautiful, poignant, brash, colorful – all of it embodied by the full-throated, shameless narration of Samuel L. Jackson's refreshing Dolmedes. In the end, hopefully, Chi-Raq can be more than art. Can it initiate social change. Well, the problems that it depicts and tackles are complicated and ingrained in ways that would have us throw up our hands in surrender if we took time to really think about those problems.
I can hope for the best, but in the meantime, I can appreciate a filmmaker who really deserves to be called a “visionary,” Spike Lee. Chi-Raq is a testament to his imagination.
9 of 10
A+
Friday, September 2, 2016
NOTES:
2016 Black Reel Awards: 1 win: “Outstanding Actress, Motion Picture” (Teyonah Parris); 6 nominations: “Outstanding Motion Picture” (Spike Lee), “Outstanding Supporting Actress, Motion Picture” (Angela Bassett), “Outstanding Director, Motion Picture” (Spike Lee), “Outstanding Ensemble” (Kim Coleman-Casting Director), “Outstanding Score” (Terence Blanchard), and “Outstanding Original or Adapted Screenplay, Motion Picture” (Spike Lee and Kevin Willmott)
2016 Image Awards: 4 nominations: “Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture” (Teyonah Parris), “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Angela Bassett), “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Jennifer Hudson), and “Outstanding Independent Motion Picture”
The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
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