Black Cake is an American drama film, with a compilation of genres, a need for escape from a reality filled with pain, and heart wrenching sacrifices.
Eleanor travels across the ocean running from a life she hates. Eleanor will have to take on a new Identity in order to live a peaceful life far from a marriage she was forced into at 16.
The story makes her children question their parents relationship, it places them in an intense state of shock with the reality of their family origin.
The siblings thought about the pain their mother faced all through her lifetime, and the thought of their father being aware of Eleanor’s secrets.
A tale of family, reunion, love, secrets, mystery, characters, experience, and harsh reality. Black Cake is an essentially sweet movie, a melo drama with a plethora of interests, and plots.
In addition surface of this film conceals the truth yet we uncover a childhood that stretches while she journeys from the Caribbean to America.
Black Cake premiered on Hulu November 1.
#Clique, this is definitely one you should keep yourself locked in with.
Two astronauts in a broken space left with little or no hope of rescue, spend the days beginning a new friendship that springs to something more.
Adam and Jane have been in a three-year long mission with NASA that now seems to be going wrong. A broken ship in-between Jupiter and Saturn, they both think of all the creative ways to pass time, they have little hope of rescue.
In a bid to seek solutions, they argue and flirt with each other, realizing that they’re better off spending the remaining days developing a special kind of friendship.
If You Were the Last is a 2023 American science fiction romantic comedy by Kristian Mercado from an original screenplay by Angela Bourassa.
Anthony Mackie and Zoë Chao portray the roles of two astronauts who are stranded aboard a NASA shuttle that eventually got lost in space.
This film is a beautiful love story. The chemistry onscreen between the actors helps drive a romantic comedy that challenges questions of loyalty, friendship.
Swinging through comedy, romance, sci-fi, laughs.
The film’s exasperating vagueness pulls together all its many intriguing thoughts and ideas combines.
May December is a film with a layer of melodrama, shining it’s focus on a psychological swing between Gracie and Elizabeth.
May December is a movie that was created to pull you in at first glance using emotional disconnect to it’s advantage.
The audience won’t see Tony Haynes, he has the audience in his grip, getting the emotional response he set out for. He stretches the minds of the audience in ways to hit the right nerve and to get the best reaction.
A carefully clever film that gleefully deploys a range of metaphors.
Twenty something years later after a tabloid of their romance blew out of proportion and it gripped the nation, Gracie and her husband Joe must face their new reality.
A film in the make about the couple brings Hollywood actress Elizabeth Berry to spend time with the family to better understand Gracie, whose character she will be playing in the film.
May December is a movie that centered around a trip made by a global TV star Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman) to visit Gracie Atherton-Yoo (Julianne Moore) and her husband Joe Yoo (Charles Melton). Gracie who was a 36-year-old mother of two and Joe who had just finished seventh grade, had an affair.
Joe, who never took time to figure all that has happened in his life began to process what happened in his youth, he starts to confront the harsh reality of life placed before him. Whereas Elizabeth and Gracie studied each other, we find out that the similarities and differences.
Years have passed and these films remain a great watch for lovers of film, it resonates with audiences emotions that cut across time, letting viewers to connect with the characters and their experiences.
1. “Casablanca” (1942)
A traditional film emphatically set during the World War II that tells a love triangle story in the backdrop of political disarray. Overall the film captures the essence of time by showing the moral difficulty faced by individuals during wartime.
2. “Gone with the Wind” (1939)
This is an excellent piece of art, set in the American South during the Civil War and Reconstruction era,
For the most part this is an epic film that explores love, survival, and societal change.
Showcasing the transformation of a society, the struggles faced by its characters amidst the shifting dynamics of power, race, and gender.
3. “The Godfather” (1972)
This iconic crime film follows the Corleone family’s rise and fall in the world of organized crime. It captures the essence of time delving into the themes of power, loyalty, and the consequences of one’s actions. This film portrays the changing landscape of organized crime over several decades and highlights the timeless struggle for control and complexities of family dynamics.
4. “Citizen Kane” (1941)
Regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, this movie tells the story of a wealthy newspaper magnate and his mysterious life. Portraying the essence of time it explores themes of ambition, the pursuit of happiness, and the fleeting nature of power and success. This film’s non-linear narrative and innovative storytelling techniques reflect the passage of time and the complexities of memory and perception.
#Clique, what are your thoughts on these period films?
Making a film popular with a story, and a great actor is lots of work.
In the era of sequels, long before new movies came along, movies like Creed, Blade, Equalizer and even Fast & Furious are received with generally warm reception.
Michael B Jordan (Creed)
The epic story of Creed continues as Michael B. Jordan brings the hit franchise to the big screen.
Creed is an American sports drama directed by Ryan Coogler. It is the first remake of and is the seventh installment in the Rocky film series. It stars Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Tony Bellew, and Graham McTavish.
Jordan stars as Adonis “Donnie” Creed, son of former heavy boxing champion Apollo Creed. Adonis is trained and inspired by Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), the former rival turned friend of his late father.
Jordan proved he could carry an entire boxing franchise on his shoulders with Creed. Year’s went by and a directorial debut to add to his versatile list, it’s clear that Adonis Creed is becoming a career-defining role for the actor.
Michael shows his versatility, sense of ownership that allows him to arc and caliberate his performance in the franchise “Creed” thrice and now directing himself in the role in Creed III. Creed shows a series of emotional vulnerability in his home with wife and daughter, allowing Jordan to take on a range of emotions and display them each rigorously.
Denzel Washington (Equalizer)
Denzel Washington has appeared as Robert McCall in three films of the The Equalizer franchise.
The Equalizer is a 2014 American action film directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by Richard Wenk. It is the first installment of The Equalizer trilogy and loosely based on the 1980s TV series of the same title. The film stars Denzel Washington.
Robert McCall, a former U.S. Marine and DIA officer, now lives a quiet life in Boston, where he works at a hardware store. He helps his colleague Ralphie train to become a security guard. Unable to sleep, Robert often spends late nights reading at a night diner.
A intense and steep performance from Denzel Washington as one of theatre best acted action heroes is what makes THE EQUALIZER franchise stand out from the crowd.
The execution and performance of Denzel is what makes this film excel. Not your regular action filled movie, but when the action hits hard and heavy, without shying away from violence meted out to the villains.
Wesley Snipes (Blade)
A Marvel Hero, Blade is an American superhero film by Stephen Norrington. It is the first installment of the Blade franchise. The film stars Wesley Snipes as the titular character. This Blade is a human with vampire strengths but not their weaknesses, who fights vampires.
A pregnant woman is attacked by a vampire, causing her to go into premature labor.The Doctors were able to save her baby, however the woman dies. Thirty years later, the child has become the vampire hunter, Blade, who is a human-vampire hybrid that possesses the supernatural abilities of the vampires without any of their weaknesses, except for the requirement to consume human blood.
Snipes in his performances as Blade projects a mentality and guarded interior life as only a nuanced actor could. As the
“Daywalker,”
a legendary half-human vampire on a crusade to eradicate his fellow bloodsuckers, he creates the contradictory impression of an antisocial human.
Blade is not the default Wesley Snipes persona. His shit-talking ways are deployed only in strategic scenes, punctuating his wordless action scenes.
Dwayne Johnson (Fast&Furious)
Fast & Furious is a franchise around a series of action films that are largely concerned with street racing, and family. The film’s franchise includes short films, a television series, toys, video games, live shows, and theme park attractions.
Johnson’s character, Luke Hobbs, first arrives in the 2011 film Fast Five. Johnson stars in Fast & Furious 6, Furious 7, and The Fate of The Furious in the franchise’s mainline as well as being the lead actor in the spinoff Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw with Jason Statham.
Johnson’s inclusion in Fast Five skyrocketed the franchise to brand-new heights and into the bombastic action franchise we now know. His impeccable bravado and epic one-liners is where the franchise shines.
Since performing with Statham, the chemistry between them is infectious, seeing the two hurl insult after insult at one another is quite entertaining, we are here for the bromance. We are so glad to see Johnson return to the franchise after his long feud with Vin.
#Clique, what are your thoughts on this, which of these films would you like to see again?
Regina King continues to be one of the most talented actors who has starred in many popular movies in her career.
Her witty performances, enthralling dialogues, and on screen charm shows her versatility in each picture.
Regina Rene King is an American actress and director. In 2019, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Here are five movies that proves her versatility
The Boondocks
Huey and Riley Freeman, King voiced both the Huey and Riley Freeman characters on this popular animated series.
King’s voice-over work in The Boondocks is a whole talent she excels at. The series follows two young boys named Huey and Riley who move to the suburbs to live with their grandfather.
Set in a Chicago suburb, The Boondocks is the brainchild of cartoonist Aaron McGruder. The series uses sharp wit and satire to explore the relationship between activist-minded Huey and his rap-obsessed younger brother Riley.
Through the stoic Huey and the mischievous Riley, King helps to showcase both the nuance and complexity of the African diaspora while allowing her immeasurable talent to shine.
The Harder They Fall
The Harder They Fall is a bloody pleasure: a revenge Western packed with memorable characters played by memorable actors, each scene and moment staged for beauty and kinetic power.
Trudy played by Regina, chewing up the screen she plays the bad guy, a sneering badass. The treacherous Trudy Smith, the tough-as-nails enforcer of an outlaw gang headed up by the notorious Rufus Buck, portrayed by Idris Elba. In this movie, we face King and her fearsome figure with her distinctive bowler hat.
King discussed the amount of time developing “Treacherous” Trudy Smith, a character based on a little-known woman named Gertrude Smith in an interview
“I directed One Night in Miami right before this in New Orleans, and there is something about New Orlean that Louisiana dialect that I just love,”
she said.
“I can speak to someone from New Orleans all day.”
“Speaking to James, we kind of felt like truly was a nomad, she traveled so much of the country, and when you do travel the country and spend time in different places, just as human beings, we tend to pick up things,” she added. “I kind of infuse that in Trudy and the inspiration was New Orleans.”
In this movie, King is definitely having the time of her life, riding horses, releasing a prisoner, stopping a moving train and shooting up the town. Underneath her hat, she reveals a complicated character. Trudy is doing a man’s job in a man’s world which makes it an absolute hoot.
Boys N The Hood
King made her big screen debut in the all time great John Singleton movie about a group of friends coming of age in South Central, California. While brief, King plays Shalika, an expert 40-ounce drinker who gives Tre a hard time at the neighborhood cookout.
Regina Hall discussed the impact of her break out film years after her debut feature in Boys In the hood. On the Kelly and Ryan show, she said
“I think we all knew it was something special just because we’ve never seen anything like that.”
“This was our culture, this was what we knew. We were representing ourselves and we hadn’t seen ourselves in movies and tv and we knew that this was our story, so that part we knew,”
said the actress when referring to the film.
She went on to say,
“did we know that it would be, like, apart of college studies in colleges? No.”
A truly important movie made at the right time and place, Boyz n the Hood’s incredible depiction of the disenfranchised Black Americans living in L.A.’s urban landscape.
The characters are convincing, relentless, daring, sympathetic every step of the way that leading to a devastating finale. In addition to launching countless imitations, the film also began the careers of the late great writer/director John Singleton as well as Ice Cube, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Regina King.
If Beale Street Could Talk
“If Beale Street Can Talk”
is an exceptional piece. With love stories that have been seen through the years, this one occasionally takes a flight with every scene, triggered by subtle gestures and emotions.
The beloved person under glass is Fonny, her boyfriend and the father of her unborn child. Fonny is incarcerated for a rape he did not commit.
King won an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for If Beale Street Could Talk, the second-highest-rated movie of her career.
If Beale Street Could Talk is adapted from the 1974 James Baldwin novel of the same name. A romantic drama of perseverance and redemption, the story finds Sharon Rivers (King) doing everything in her power to clear the name of her daughter’s wrongly accused lover while preparing to give birth to their child. King’s commanding turn as a mother takes center stage with her dialogues and performance,m. The length at which black women in the community go through in fighting for their children’s happiness.
Enemy Of The State
Tony Scott’s
“Enemy of the State”
is still vastly underrated. The plot follows Robert Dean, a D.C. lawyer who becomes targeted by corrupt government officials after inadvertently obtaining a video depicting a political assassination.
King adds humor as Dean’s shrewd wife, Carla, by ranting about the lack of privacy laws in the U.S.
Enemy of the State has proven to be more timely and topical as time has gone on over the years.
Part of the frame-up is a false implication that Bobby laundered money and resumed an affair with his ex-girlfriend. Understandably, Carla throws him out, even though we know that all the charges are untrue. Until she knows the truth, Carla is an unsympathetic role, but King is not afraid to play it hard.
A mode at which she is an exceptional actress indeed.
#Clique, what are your thoughts on Regina’s performance in these films?
Kanan navigates this world of glamour and grit as he comes into his own and gets out of the shadow of his mother, Raq, who runs the streets of Southside Jamaica, Queens, with her brothers, Marvin and Lou-Lou.
Despite Kanan being under their watchful eyes, danger lurks just around the corner.
There’s Unique, a rival dealer who has his eye on the family’s turf, and Detective Malcolm Howard, a pestering cop who gets a kick out of harassing community members and getting under Raq’s skin.
Power Book III: Raising Kanan, or simply Raising Kanan is an American crime drama television series created by Sascha Penn that premiered on July 18, 2021 on Starz. It is a prequel and second spin-off to Power.
The series is set in the 90s. An early year life of Kanan Stark, played initially by Curtis Jackson who is also an Executive producer, the ordeals that led him into the drug business.
In the opening scene of the trailer, Raq let’s Kanan know that she’s out of the drug business, while expecting things to be different from here on; however, Kanan doesn’t buy into all that. He’s not ready for a reconciliation with her, and now more than ever he is determined to make his own money.
Kanan makes it clear to Raq that she doesn’t decide when he’s out of the drug business.
The end of the trailer, we see Raq walk into a Southside shopping plaza as she says:
“Some people are born to be doctors, lawyers, ball players, I’m here to move weight, it’s what I do, it’s who I am.”
#Clique, what are your thoughts on this, are you ready for a new season filled with lots of crime and drama.
This love story chronicles the lifelong relationship of conductor-composer Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein.
Maestro is a 2023 American biographical drama film that centers on the relationship between American composer Leonard Bernstein and his wife Felicia Montealegre.
It’s directed by Bradley Cooper, from a screenplay he wrote with Josh Singer. The film was produced by Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and Cooper, among others.
The film stars Cooper as Bernstein alongside Carey Mulligan as Montealegre. Matt Bomer, Maya Hawke, and Sarah Silverman appear as supporting roles.
Maestro is an emotionally epic portrayal of family and love. A movie about a great artist, considering how effectively it tells the story in an unconventional way. It’s a work of art led by a pair of powerful performances. Maestro serves as a stirring overview of a tremendous talent’s life and legacy.
Maestro’s cinematic language speaks to one’s heart. Cooper’s direction is matched by a transformative performance as he plays music in cathedrals and attics.
The couple experience love, betrayal and music. The movie encompasses Bernstein’s professional life but focuses more on his complicated relationship with Montealegre.
#Clique, what are your thoughts on this, are you anticipating this already?
is a 2023 Australian psychological thriller film directed by Kitty Green, who co-wrote the screenplay with Oscar Redding. It stars Julia Garner, Jessica Henwick, Toby Wallace, and Hugo Weaving. The film is inspired by the 2016 documentary
“Hotel Coolgardie”
by Pete Gleeson.
Americans Hanna (Garner) and Liv (Henwick) are backpacking in Australia and take a temporary live-in job in a remote Outback mining town. Soon, they find themselves trapped in an unnerving situation that rapidly grows out of their control.
The duo, who claim to be Canadian because
“everyone loves Canadians,”
Are on holiday in Australia when they become strapped for cash due to Liv’s spending and drinking habits.
They take a temporary live-work job at the titular Royal Hotel, a desolate, faded pub that takes a train, a bus, and a very dusty car ride to get to. It’s the only waterhole for miles and appears to be the only building within a few hours’ drive.
The fraying relationship between Hanna and Liv is tested further as they become friendly with the locals.
While Liv embraces the men’s work-hard, party-hard mentality, Hanna remains more reserved, always aware of the danger lurking behind a drunken man’s charm.
Making movies is definitely one hell of a mind-tasking job. Every filmmaker is excited to be called in creating a picture.
Decades later, Spike proves that his creative works are a fit for research project for film scholars , notwithstanding his method of storytelling resonates with film audiences worldwide.
Cutting across every genre, consistently delivering his razor-sharp perspective to the big screen. Is it his method of revealing a character in their most vulnerable state, or the way he creates suspense and builds up tension in every scene, or the kind of stories he tells?
“Shelton Jackson “
Spike Lee is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor.
His work explores race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary life.
Lee is known for revolutionizing the landscape of independent cinema and the role of black talents in film.
Here are the top 5 of my favorite movies that make Spike Lee the Black Scorsese of this generation.
School Daze (1988)
An experience we see in The Black college gets the Lee treatment in this audacious musical that doesn’t shy away from controversial elements.
School Daze’s story follows a homecoming clash between Greek life students and their peers, colorism, elitism, hazing, amid musical numbers.
This film led to heated debates within the Black community. Lee’s desire to touch the third rail on provocative issues makes for a compelling messy drama.
Chi-Raq (2015)
The film illustrates Music, comedy, drama, that is based on the Greek play Lysistrata, serving as proof that Lee still delivers his movies unhinged.
Two gangs entrench in a never-ending battle. Lysistrata (Teyonah Parris), a gang leader’s girlfriend, organizes a sex strike between the two factions, their actions spark a worldwide protest against violence.
This film lacquers itself in layers of gray within its core, a classic message with a burst of energy.
Da 5 Bloods (2020)
Lee does his best with mixing disparate elements like a war epic, buddy comedy, father-son drama, and social justice commentary into something powerful and of the moment.
Spike remains in total control of his gifts and utilizes them to synthesize his method of storytelling.
Delroy Lindo is the leader of a group of Vietnam vets returning to the country to recover a stash of gold they buried 40 years ago.
The film never lagged, Lee’s camera style creates a unique look and approach throughout the eras set for the film.
Malcolm X (1992)
Lee displays his frustrations with the media, its double standards, biases Black people face every day into three-hour watch time.
A vivid story of the civil rights activist, who fought passionately on behalf of Black people in the 1960s is of parallel paramountcy to Martin Luther King Jr.
Malcolm X is a triumph, one of the most passionate political films ever made in black history.
Lee’s level of subtlety and emotional vividness catapults you into a realm beyond comprehension. The development and release.
The director introduces X to an entirely new generation, giving every black person a new perspective on X’s teaching, lifestyle, history, beliefs, and sense of purpose.
Do The Right Thing (1989)
In a Brooklyn neighborhood, the long-simmering racial tensions between diverse communities erupt into brutal violence over the course of a single summer day.
Do the Right Thing is a 1989 American comedy-drama film produced, written, and directed by Spike Lee.
Lee is a master in his craft, with this film which is arguably one of the greatest films of all time, Spike outdid himself.
The hip-hop, soul, and funk-infused soundtrack show Lee’s sharp dialogue and angular shooting and costume style for his characters.
This film captures the frustration and despair many Black citizens felt, many of which ripple into our modern day.
Concisely, the film has been reassessed in light of showing the depth of the political climate in America.
#Clique, which of these movies makes you agree that Spike is the Scorsese of Black Cinema?
