17 year old Sweetness O'Hara, played by Zoë Kravitz ("X-Men: First Class" and daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet), is a good kid from a working class, albeit dysfunctional, family living in Queens, New York in Victoria Mahoney's semi-autobiographical, debut film "Yelling to the Sky." I was particularly drawn to the toxic dynamic in Sweetness' immediate and extended … [Read more...] about Interview with Victoria Mahoney on ‘Yelling to the Sky’ starring Zoe Kravitz, Gabourey Sidibe and Black Thought
film, documentary, theater, arts
Indie Film Review: Robert Townsend’s ‘In the Hive’
A great story translated into an OK film, "In the Hive" is the first Robert Townsend flick that I've seen since the early 90s. Nonetheless, it's worth supporting in the theaters for three reasons: Loretta Devine's brilliant portrayal as Mrs. Inez, the matriarch and school's director, that earned her a 2013 NAACP Image Award nomination for Best Actress in a … [Read more...] about Indie Film Review: Robert Townsend’s ‘In the Hive’
Review: ‘Immediate Family’ at Goodman Theater in Chicago through August 5
In "Immediate Family," playwright Paul Oakley Stovall depicts a typical black family forced to confront their not always so comfortable truths of sexuality, infidelity, and fertility that tests their value system with constructs in religion, tradition, heritage and Afrocentrism. Painful truths come to light as the Bryant siblings and family acquaintances gather the day before … [Read more...] about Review: ‘Immediate Family’ at Goodman Theater in Chicago through August 5
VH1 re-airs ‘Uprising: Hip Hop and the LA Riots’ documentary in wake of Rodney King’s death
The news of Rodney King's death, this past Sunday, June 17, 2012, really rattled me. His name was front and center this past March 3, 2012- the 20th "anniversary" (odd word to use in this circumstance) of his beating by LAPD that was caught on tape by a nearby resident. We were all angered and/or perplexed on April 29, 1992 when a verdict was reached, and none of the officers … [Read more...] about VH1 re-airs ‘Uprising: Hip Hop and the LA Riots’ documentary in wake of Rodney King’s death
‘What Black Men Think’ documentary debunks common ‘truths’ about black men
There are more black men in jail than in college. Black women make more money than black men. Most black men don't pay child support. Statements like these are commonly thrown around by common folks and experts alike as if they were unequivocally true. Janks Morton has taken it as his personal mission to debunk these "truths" about black men in his documentary "What Black … [Read more...] about ‘What Black Men Think’ documentary debunks common ‘truths’ about black men