Da 5 Bloods (2020) - Movie Review

Whenever filmmakers, particularly Americans, depict the Vietnam War, it’s usually for one of two reasons. Either it’s to emphasise the trauma of the soldiers who fought it, or to offer an alternate history power fantasy, a chance to reclaim some semblance of victory through the veneer of fiction. Spike Lee’s latest joint, however, offers something different. A predominantly black version of a recurrently whitewashed chapter of American history. A figurative and literal unearthing of the past not to rewrite it, but to expose those that have already done so.

Amazing Grace (2019) - Movie Review

It’s not every day you go to church for a séance, but that’s what this film has set itself up to be. Released for audience consumption after the tragic death of its main subject, this documentary is the live recording of Aretha’s album of the same name, a work that remains the most commercially successful live gospel album of all time and a substantial part of the Aretha catalogue. Between its lightning-in-a-bottle framing, its backing by the likes of Spike Lee’s 40 Acres And A Mule Filmworks, and its direction by legendary filmmaker Sydney Pollack, this looks to be one hell of a concert flick. And that it is but, for reasons I’ll get to, I can’t shake the feeling that something is missing from all this.

BlacKkKlansman (2018) - Movie Review

The plot: Freshly-minted detective Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), the first black officer the Colorado Springs police department ever hired, sees an opportunity for some real investigative work when he spots an ad in the local paper for the Ku Klux Klan. Passing himself off as a white man over the phone, and teaming up with fellow detective Flip (Adam Driver) to act as his physical surrogate, he infiltrates the Klan and gets a close look at how the enemy operates.