The Hate U Give (2018)

Don't judge the movie by its trailer. The trailer looks like a cheesy teen movie. It is so much better than that. The narration at times sounds a little forced, I'll admit that, with the cheesy street slang needed to be spelled out for the white folks in the audience.

So let me frame the movie for you the way it ought to be presented in a more just world. This is the story of Starr, an African American teenager of immense courage. The movie opens with a scene that is universal for black families in the US, the talk. Immediately the audience is thrust into a world in which young children must learn to remain composed in the face of the state. We are shown the incredible restraint this young woman must display everyday to those who know her best as she straddles two identities between two neighborhoods worlds apart. We see Starr display bravery as she enters hostile territory everyday at the fancy white private school she attends. At the height of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail called out those white moderates frustrating the cause of civil rights, and today those white moderates continue to feign utter blindness. And of course there's Starr's awful white friend Haley who doesn't help either.

The story is driven by a terrible, all-too-common case of police brutality. But it gets much deeper than that. It is about a black community terrorized by THUG LIFE, as so astutely put forth by 2pac decades ago. There is a secondary conflict between the drug lords that run Starr's neighborhood and her family that sort of dilutes that primary message about the death of Khalil. The fact that Khalil dealt drugs is irrelevant to his murder. Starr could have plausibly said presented her witness statement while making no comment on whether he dealt drugs, as she didn't even know firsthand. It is only when you take it in the wider context of a people systemically oppressed does its inclusion in the story make sense. It is perhaps this that makes the movie so much better than I had expected.

It is a very emotional movie, particularly a scene in which the children stand out in the yard and recite the Black Panther Ten Point Program. The ending is also really well done. Amandla Stenberg as Starr gives a starr-turning performance. Her father also has some very memorable lines, including showing the audience his tattoo of his reasons to live and die. The lists are the same. I think it gets at the source of emotion in the movie. It is not death, but life, survival, that evokes emotion.

The Wiz Live! (2015)

NBC stepped up its game, finally putting some real production into its live musical event this year.  There area few things that really made this production stand out.  The first is a set of fantastic performances from a star studded cast plus a newcomer who fully proved herself.  Stepping into Diana Ross's role of Dorothy was Shanice Williams, who belted out 'Home' with such power, nailing the big number.    David Alan Grier is just brilliant as the Cowardly Lion. His purr sounded so cat-like it was a little freaky.  Common has a very small part as an Emerald City gatekeeper, but he is hilarious. Queen Latifah plays the eponymous Wiz, and she plays it up with attitude.  Amber Riley graduated from Glee and put her singing chops to use as the Good Witch of the North.  Elijah Kelley stepped into Michael Jackson's shoes to play the Scarecrow. But I think this production was really defined by the Tin Man Ne-Yo, as much a dancer as he is a singer.  And this production shined thanks to excellent, energetic choreography by Fatima Robinson.  Unlike the previous NBC productions, there was some genuinely complex and entertaining dancing, which is what will really push it over the top when it makes the transition to the Broadway stage.

Finally, the set design and costumes had some really effort put into them.  The Wiz looked like a green Cruella de Vil.  The munchkins all had a distinctive look, as did the denizens of the Emerald City--they looked like something out of the Capital from The Hunger Games.  The Emerald City "club" had some great choreography too. The infamous maelstrom of a tornado that whisks Dorothy away was so incredibly well done that it seemed real with Dorothy flying through the air.  And I appreciated that the production came full circle, featuring the original Broadway Dorothy Stephanie Mills as Auntie Em.  Here's to hoping that NBC keeps up this high quality of live musical events.

Selma (2014)

Ava Duvernay's paints a vivid picture of the 1965 voting rights marches in Selma, Alabama.  She does not shirk away from violence or hatred, beginning the film with an unexpected, very graphic "BANG!"  The audience sees and hears the billy club wielding policemen brutally beating and teargassing nonviolent protesters.  There is a great shot that follows Oprah's character Annie Lee Cooper head on falling backwards to the concrete.  But amid all the violence there is hope.  This film is a testament to the idea that people of all backgrounds can come together to bring about change in society.  This message is especially important in our society today, when we are reminded of the protests in Ferguson or in Hong Kong.

It is important to be reminded that these are real people being portrayed on screen.  The characters, even supporting characters, are all actual historical figures.  A lot of research was done for this film. For the unknowing viewer, the epilogue credits give proof that the people depicted are real, some still living today.  We also see black-and-white historical footage of the march to Montgomery with the hordes of people crossing the bridge.

One interesting fact about the screenplay is that all of the speeches made by Oyelowo as King are made up.  The filmmaker did not have permission to use the text from his actual speeches. Interestingly though, the speeches in the film actually sound like things King might have said.  The cadence, the content, and even the figurative language are all reminiscent of King's words.  Oyelowo does an excellent job as King, portraying him in public and private life.  The FBI was always suspicious of King, and constantly kept him under surveillance.  We are subtly reminded of this at the end of each scene with typewriter text appearing on the screen recording the FBI's logs.  This stylistic choice of Duvernay keeps the FBI ominously lurking in the background as they actually did.

And finally, I love "Glory," the song at the end credits by Common and John Legend. Its message, rhythm and chorus resonate with the audience for an uplifting ending