The United States Vs. Billie Holiday (2021) - Movie Review

I have a vivid memory of the first time I heard Strange Fruit. Well, first time I heard it in its entirety, as my first exposure to it at all was through Kanye West’s Yeezus… but let’s try and ignore that for the time being. I found myself curious about the sample choice from Blood On The Leaves, did some quick Googling, and found the Nina Simone version on YouTube. Specifically, this one, and the fact that I remember it being this one is down to how harrowing that experience was. The grotesque imagery in the lyrics, the pain and occasional sneer in Simone’s vocals, the photo montage of actual lynch victims; everyone else can argue about the phrase ‘white guilt’ all they damn well please, but I really have no other way to describe the rotting feeling in my stomach when all was sung and done.

I’m starting out with this because, upon first seeing the trailer for this film about the originator Billie Holiday, I felt tremors of that gut rot from years past. As such, the notion of a film about Holiday being targeted by the U.S. government over that song certainly grabbed my interest, and when Andra Day as Billie sings it herself, staring daggers directly at the camera… yeah, it’s still one of the most powerful pieces of music ever penned. Andra Day doing her own singing, with a solid resemblance to the real Billie’s jazzy affectations, adds to the effect, as does her acting chops in depicting the final decade in Billie’s storied life… kind of.

Bird Box (2018) - Movie Review

  

It’s a little too easy to just cut to the chase and see this as an attempt to cash in on A Quiet Place. Atmospheric horror tied directly to one of the human senses, with heavy emphasis on parenthood through the characters; the ties exist, is all I’m saying. But more so than that, this concept feels like someone looked at The Happening and went “Okay, there has to be a way to do this story without it being completely stupid.” A mysterious force is making the human population commit suicide, and the few that remain have to try and survive without getting exposed to that force. It’s an idea that honestly is worth trying to make palatable, and the attempt made here ain’t half bad.

The Predator (2018) - Movie Review

The plot: While on a mission, sniper Quinn McKenna (Boyd Holbrook) sees an alien ship craft-land on Earth. After he is shuffled off to a military prison bus to keep him quiet about his discovery, biologist Dr. Casey Bracket (Olivia Munn) examines the body retrieved from the ship... and it escapes from the facility. Quinn will have to team up with Casey as well as the other soldiers on the bus in order to stop this Predator from turning the human race into game.

Moonlight (2017) - Movie Review

I digest films the same way I digest food: Quickly and without it even touching the sides. I make it a point not to toot my own horn where I can, but when I comes to films, I often pride myself in how quickly I’m able to process films as I watch them, a skill that has grown significantly over the last 7 years. With all that said, in a way, I hate films like this; there’s a reason why I mainly stick to mainstream films on this blog with the odd indie/foreign release here and there. Films of this nature go against my sort-of instant gratification approach to media, and for the first time this year, it’s a film where I am still trying to sort out my opinions on the thing as I’m writing it. So, join me on what I’m sure is going to be a long, winding and occasionally navel-gazing attempt to break this film down in my usual style.