I love movie reviews, even if I have not watched the reviewed film. I love how critics can extrapolate specific themes or ideas from a movie; how writers talk about their favorite actors and directors. I love reading about what moves someone about a given film, what moments still ring in their minds days, weeks or years after watching a movie.
TV and film journalist Candice Frederick's work is always one of my go-to's for such reviews. Her tweets on "30 Coins" made me start the series, and her article on "A Promising Young Woman" was one of the best essays on the film I've read. And this week, she reviews "Judas and the Black Messiah" for NCR. It stars Daniel Kaluuya as Fred Hampton, an activist and former chairman of the Black Panther Party in Illinois, and LaKeith Stanfield as William O'Neal, an FBI informant. Despite the film's outstanding performances, including Dominique Fishback as Fred's girlfriend, Deborah Johnson, the movie "seems often to be at war with itself," writes Frederick. "Does it want to be a gripping Hollywood crime thriller that just so happens to center people either confronting or constricting the racial revolution of the 1960s? Or does it want to be a political drama that investigates the psychology of Judas and messiah figures within the Black community?"
The film is a nominee at tomorrow's Golden Globes ceremony, including a best actor nomination for Kaluuya. (Other nominated movies include "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," "The Trial of the Chicago 7" and "Hillbilly Elegy.")
Our next essay is by Fran Rossi Szpylczyn. She reviews Learning to Pray: A Guide for Everyone by Jesuit Fr. James Martin. Szpylczyn describes how Martin’s book speaks to everyone, including nonbelievers. “Despite being in its way evangelizing, the book offers a way into prayer, not religion, that is neither forceful, judgmental nor discriminating,” Szpylczyn writes. “Martin does an incredible job of clarifying that prayer is the medium of our relationship with God.”
Last we've got Adelle Banks' interview with Stacey Holman, the producer and director of "The Black Church: This is our story. This is our song." Based on a book of the same name by Henry Louis "Skip" Gates Jr., the four-part documentary premiered on February 16. The documentary offers a look into U.S. Black Christianity and features interviews with the Rev. William J. Barber II, Bishop T.D. Jakes and African Methodist Episcopal Bishop Vashti McKenzie. "So this whole idea of this fervor in worship is nothing new, but I think [the documentary is] really breaking it down so that people can understand the history of it. And it's not an act. It's a feeling. It's an emotion that people get," Holman tells Banks. You can watch "The Black Church" for free.
I can’t wait to hear what you think of this weekend’s articles. Send me your favorite books, movie, tv shows or just say hello. I’m at [email protected], or follow me on Twitter.
What I’m Watching
This week I started the French Netflix series, "Lupin," based on Maurice Leblanc's fictional character, Arsène Lupin. It stars Omar Sy as a man trying to avenge his father's imprisonment and subsequent suicide. The series is well-produced, often funny, and Sy's performance as Assane Diop feels refreshing. It's not often we get to see Black characters starring as the protagonists of thriller, cat and mouse stories onscreen. "Lupin" has a lot to say about class and race, and part 2 will premiere this summer.
(P.S. I finished “30 Coins.” It was phenomenal, episode one through eight, and it’s a perfect Lenten watch. More on why next month.)
What I’m Reading
My first book was published last week. (You can read an excerpt here and get your copy here.) Instead of taking a break, like many a sadistic author, I’m already thinking about book two. If I could pick the perfect book and writer to explain the writing I dream of doing for book two, it would be Jia Tolentino’s Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self Delusion. It’s a collection of essays on everything from the internet to reality television to literature and Christianity. I return to this book often. You can read her over at the New Yorker.
What I’m Listening to
This week I can’t stop listening to “All-Amerikkkan Bad*ss,” the second album by Brooklyn-born rapper, Joey Bada$$. This album is slightly more commercial than his previous work, especially songs like “Devastated,” and it isn’t my favorite of the rapper’s discography. But one song in particular consistently speaks to me: “For My People.”
His lyrics feel like prayer, especially this Lenten season:
This for my people, tryna stay alive and just stay peaceful
So hard to survive a world so lethal
Who will take a stand and be our hero, of my people, yeah?
This for my people
See you next week.
--Olga
