He didn’t live to see today’s America, but James Baldwin (1924-1987) predicted that a-then divided America would continue to exist so long as the country refused to see Black people as Americans. Unlike last year’s 13th by Ava DuVernay that used a myriad of voices to explain the 13th Amendment and its origins and failures since its passage, Baldwin is the lone […]
Movies
Movies: a space for local and national arts and entertainment stories, with an emphasis on stories pertaining to African and African Americans.
Posted inArts + Culture
‘Hidden Figures’ takes top ensemble honor
Denzel, Viola and Mahershala garner individual acting accolades The La La Land juggernaut hit a speed bump at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards on Sunday, when it only took home one trophy, Emma Stone’s for Best Actress in a Leading Role. On an evening dominated by African American entrants, Blacks prevailed in the other three […]
Posted inArts + Culture
‘I Am Not Your Negro’ powerfully connects past and present struggles
James Baldwin, the intellectual, civil rights activist and renowned author, left behind some biting and enlightening words about racism and the status of the Black community that are just as relevant today in this age of the Black Lives Matter movement. Baldwin was born in Harlem in 1924. He moved to Paris around 1950, eventually […]
Posted inArts + Culture
2017 Oscar Nominations: Academy embraces diversity
La La Land Record 14 Academy Award Nominations La La Land, Damien Chazelle’s enchanting homage to the Hollywood musical is up for Academy Awards in the Best Picture, Director, Lead Actor (Ryan Gosling), Lead Actress (Emma Stone), Song, Original Screenplay, Original Score and a host of other categories. The Academy also embraced diversity this year, […]
Posted inArts + Culture
Q&A with ‘Hidden Figures’ director Theodore Melfi
Imagine being in the running to direct the newest Spiderman film. What kind of script would have to cross your desk to make you drop out of consideration? For me, it would have to be something that moved my soul, told a story that has never been expressed on screen before, and had the potential […]
Posted inArts + Culture
“Hidden Figures” — NASA docu-drama belatedly credits unsung African American mathematicians
All of the astronauts picked by NASA to participate in its maiden manned space programs, Mercury and Gemini, were White males. However, behind the scenes, there was a dedicated team of African American women mathematicians who played a pivotal role in ensuring that they launched and returned safely, whether from orbiting the Earth or a […]
Posted inArts + Culture, Movies
Denzel and Viola co-star in adaptation of Pulitzer prize-winning play
Back in 1987, Fences won both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play. The August Wilson classic, set in the Pittsburgh in the ’50s, chronicled the day-to-day struggle of a blue collar, African American family. The production was brought back to Broadway in 2010, and it landed the Tony for […]
Posted inArts + Culture
FILM REVIEW: ‘Almost Christmas’
Watching this humorous film is like getting a funny greeting card that makes you laugh as it warms your heart. This ode to the joy and angst people feel as their family reconvenes for the certain chaos, gluttony and joy during Christmas is a nice way to start the holiday season. It’s a very entertaining […]
Posted inArts + Culture, Movies
‘Tear the Roof Off’ reveals untold drama behind Parliament Funkadelic
The revolutionary funk band Parliament Funkadelic started in a barber shop in New Jersey in 1956. George Clinton and four others formed a doo-wop group and named themselves after a popular cigarette at the time, performing around the East Coast area. Parliament’s breakout hit, “I Wanna Testify” (1967) was recorded and released on a Detroit-based […]
Posted inArts + Culture
REVIEW | ‘Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise’
Reverential retrospective offers intimate look at the life of late icon Maya Angelou (1928-2014) was born Marguerite Annie Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4, 1928 to parents for whom she and her big brother Bailey soon became a burden. When Maya was just three, the siblings were sent alone by train to live […]
Posted inArts + Culture
Nate Park talks ‘The Birth of a Nation’
Actor/humanitarian-turned-writer/director Nate Parker first received critical attention for his starring role in The Great Debaters opposite Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker. Parker received an honorary doctorate from Wiley College, the school featured in the fact-based story. More recently, Parker starred in Beyond the Lights opposite Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Minnie Driver, and Danny Glover. He also appeared […]
Posted inMovies
‘Birth of a Nation,’ powerful retelling of Nat Turner’s story, resonates with audience
If you can watch Nate Parker’s Birth of a Nation and not leave the theater affected in some way or another, you just may not be human. “It is very powerful,” declared moviegoer Andra Robinson of Brooklyn Park to the MSR after viewing the film. She attended the September 22 screening of the film at […]
Posted inArts + Culture
Denzel stars in worthy overhaul of classic western
Directed by the legendary Akira Kurosawa in 1954, Seven Samurai was a groundbreaking film which had a profound influence on the evolution of cinema for generations to come. Superficially, that seminal work merely reads like a martial arts epic set in 16th Century Japan. Yet, over the years, it has spawned a cottage industry of […]
Posted inArts + Culture
Bill Murray reflects on his storied career
Second of a two-part story Oscar-nominated actor and St. Paul Saints co-owner Bill Murray spoke with the MSR while in town August 2 for the American Association All-Star Game. Below is the second part of his interview with the MSR. Related content: A chat with actor and Saints co-owner Bill Murray — from baseball to films Bill Murray’s career […]
Posted inMovies
Morris Chestnut and Regina Hall talk ‘When the Bough Breaks’
When the Bough Breaks, the new Screen Gems’ thriller that opened Sept. 9 to an estimate of 14.2 million, hits all the emotional and psychological buttons, said its co-stars. Morris Chestnut and Regina Hall play married couple John and Laura Taylor, each with successful careers. Thus far, they have been unable to have a baby, […]
Posted inArts + Culture
Teen tries to retrieve stolen sneakers in gritty inner-city saga
Brandon (Jahking Guillory) saved up for a pricey pair of Air Jordans, only to suffer the utter humiliation of having them stolen right off his feet at gunpoint by a gang of ghetto predators. Thus arrives a moment of truth for the nerdy 15 year old who finds himself stuck at an unpleasant station in life where […]
Posted inArts + Culture
Awkward African American teen adjusts to Germany in bittersweet coming-of-age dramedy
It’s hard being Morris Gentry (Markees Christmas) just now. The lonely 13 year old is not only mourning the loss of his late mother, but is having a difficult time adjusting to life in Germany. He had to leave his pals and hometown of Richmond behind when his father (Craig Robinson) landed a job in Heidelberg as a […]
Posted inArts + Culture
Inspirational biopic revisits Barack and Michelle’s very first date
Who would ever think of making a movie just about Barack (Parker Sawyers) and Michelle Obama’s (Tika Sumpter) first date? Richard Tanne would, that’s who, and he makes an impressive directorial debut with this inspirational biopic chronicling a very eventful day in the lives of the future president and First Lady. The story unfolds in Chicago during the […]
Posted inArts + Culture
Berlin wasn’t just Jesse Owens’ Olympics
Gymnast Simone Biles. Swimmer Simone Manuel. Shot putter Michelle Carter. All three won gold medals at the Rio 2016 Olympics in sports not typically associated with Black American athletes. Eighty years ago, a grand total of two Black American women athletes, Tidye Pickett and Louise Stokes, both in track and field, traveled to the 1936 […]
Posted inArts + Culture
Film Review: ‘Miss Sharon Jones!’
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are a Grammy-nominated R&B band from Brooklyn. Their groove is funky like James Brown’s. Jones’ gyrations are as wild and ferocious as Tina Tuner’s. The group’s soul shakes and their lead singer’s indomitable spirit blend into something very special, heartfelt and familial. When Jones is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, it […]