JOHN SINGLETON (1968 - 2019)

John Singleton, the first African-American nominated for a Best Director Oscar for his debut 1991 feature, "Boyz n The Hood" and the youngest person to have ever been nominated for the award at the age of twenty-four, passed away yesterday at the age of fifty-one after suffering from a massive stroke on April 17th. His vivid films brought to the big screen gritty realism and poignant stories involving African-Americans living in the inner city which exposed the danger and difficulties that confronted them, particularly for young black men. Singleton's work would help influence and inspire future African-American filmmakers to create films that would offer perspectives that go far beyond typical Hollywood fare.

A graduate from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Singleton's early work focused on his experiences growing up in South Los Angeles with some of his characters based on people he knew in his neighborhood. "Boyz" tells the story of a divorced mother (Angela Bassett) fearing for the future of her young son, Tre (Cuba Gooding, Jr. in his first starring role) living in Inglewood and decides to send him off to live with his no-nonsense father (Laurence Fishburne) in a Crenshaw neighborhood. We watch as Tre grows up hanging out with his friends and falls in love while gangs and violence eventually takes hold of the neighborhood. The film (which also earned Singleton an Oscar nod for Best Original Screenplay) was a critical and box-office hit and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2002.

Other highlights from Singleton's filmography includes "Poetic Justice" (1993) with Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur; "Higher Learning" (1995); the historical drama, "Rosewood" (1997); "Baby Boy" (2001); a 2000 remake of "Shaft" with Samuel L. Jackson; "2 Fast 2 Furious", a 2003 sequel to that action franchise and "Four Brothers" (2005).  Singleton certainly had an eye for talent and gave early major roles to now well-known actors like Morris Chestnut, Nia Long, Regina King, Tyrese Gibson, Taraji P. Henson and rapper, Ice Cube. The latest project he had been working on was the television crime-drama series "Snowfall" which he had co-created and was in the process of filming the upcoming third season.

John Singleton was an important filmmaker that we lost way too soon who brought a bold, inventive vision to black cinema while helping to open doors and put a spotlight on other African-American talent.

HAPPY 10TH ANNIVERSARY TO I LUV MOVIES

It was ten years ago today that I started writing this blog, I Luv Movies and I can't believe how quickly time has seemed to pass by. I had always been passionate about going to the movies ever since my mother would take me and my sisters to the cinema regularly since we were young children. It was just always an exciting and magical experience to share with my family that would transport me to other worlds and places.

The first movie I reviewed here was "Obsessed". If you might recall, it was an erotic thriller about a seemingly happily married, business executive (Idris Elba) and his office temp (Ali Larter) who becomes obsessed with trying to seduce him. But his wife (played by Beyoncé in a rare non-singing role) is not having it. It was your typical low-budget, campy drama that was slightly elevated by these charismatic performers. I thought it was harmless fun. Since then, I have covered about two-hundred and fifty reviews of all types of movies. Looking back over these reviews, I think I have evolved as a writer over time and hope I will continue to better communicate my thoughts about some of the movies I see. I was never interested in being provocative or bitchy with my reviews but to just give my honest, unfiltered opinion.

When I first started, Netflix was simply a popular and convenient way to rent DVDs with streaming movies just beginning to be introduced. But I have watched with amazement and apprehension as this company has grown to become a worldwide industry giant who has completely overhauled how entertainment is being viewed and released. While it may not be accurate to say that the movie theaters are heading towards the way of the dinosaurs but I am concerned that there will be a time in the near future that the only way to get people to leave their homes at all to go to their local cinema is to see big-budget event movies.

I strongly feel that it's important that all genres of film should continue to be a part of the shared viewing experience and be shown on the big screen. But I also feel that there is room for the convenience of streaming services to provide original content and offer an inviting place for offbeat and challenging films that may struggle to find an audience in traditional theaters. It just seems that neither side is willing to give in to find a happy compromise which they could all benefit from in the battle for viewers.

Who knows what exactly the future holds for theatrical cinema and the movie-going experience but I can say that for over the last ten years I have enjoyed sharing my thoughts and expressing how much I really love the movies.

The second post I did was a listing of ten things about myself as an introduction. Here is a reprint of that list from April 27, 2009:

1. I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and I was raised in Westland, Michigan.

2. I moved to California in 1988 because I wanted to get far away from Westland, Michigan.

3. I am an art school drop-out.

4. The first movie I remember seeing is "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" at a drive-in. I think I was about five years old. I remember the wicked stepmother scaring the hell out of me. I saw the film again recently and she still scares me.

5. I have my mother to thank for my love of movies.

6. I actually don't mind reading subtitles.

7. I have only walked out of a movie twice. I don't remember which movies but I think one of them had Sharon Stone in it. One movie I walked out of only because the person I went with wanted to go. I almost walked out of "Reservoir Dogs" during the ear cutting scene. I was out of my seat and in the aisle but I stayed to the end.

8. I don't mind going to a movie by myself. Sometimes I prefer it.

9. My least favorite film genre is horror. What I really mean is slasher flicks.

10. I've only seen the first "Harry Potter" movie. I didn't mind the movie but I just couldn't bring myself to see the others.

AMAZING GRACE (2019)

Realized by Alan Elliott



Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA.  April 6, 2019 8:15 PM



"Amazing Grace", the transcendent and transformative visual document of the live recording of Aretha Franklin's first gospel album, has been unearthed, restored and finally released over forty-six years after it was initially made. The story behind why it had been shelved all this time is as fascinating as the film itself.

Ms Franklin, at this point at the age of twenty-nine, had become one of the biggest soul singers in the world and crossed over to find equal success in pop music while selling millions of records in the process. During this time, she had covered all genres of music but had never made an actual gospel record. As she had honed her skills as a vocalist since she was a child as part of the choir at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, MI. where her father, the Rev. C. L. Franklin was minister, it seemed like something well overdue.

With her long-time producers, Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin, Franklin decided to record the album live at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles. She had been interested in getting in to the movies and wanted to film the recording as an theatrical concert event for Warner Bros. Sydney Pollack, a rising director at the time who had been Oscar-nominated for his work in the 1969 depression-era drama, "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?", was selected to direct the project.

It's really incomprehensible how it could happen on a professional movie shoot yet none of the footage had been properly marked before filming so the sound and picture were not in sync. Unable to use anything that had been shot, there was no choice but to shelve the film where it sat tragically in a vault for years. Alan Elliott, a producer, had heard about this legendary Aretha Franklin film and desperately wanted to try and salvage it. Shortly before his death in 2008, Pollack gave the footage to Elliott and he worked on it for two years before finally being able to complete the documentary feature.

The original plan was for "Amazing Grace" to be released in 2011 but Ms Franklin strongly objected and sued to prevent the film from being shown. After Franklin's contract with Warner Bros. had been found, Elliott once again tried to release the film in 2015 where he had plans to have it first shown at the Telluride, Toronto, and Chicago International Film Festivals. However, Franklin lawyered-up again and was granted an emergency injunction which effectively cancelled the highly anticipated screenings.

Shortly after Ms Franklin's passing in August of last year, Elliott approached her family and was allowed to screen the film for them. They were thrilled with it and "Amazing Grace" finally premiered at the Doc NYC Fest on November 12, 2018. We will never know why Ms Franklin was so set against "Amazing Grace" being shown and I don't believe she ever saw the completed film but she had absolutely nothing to fear. This film beautifully captures the Queen of Soul at the peak of her astonishing power and Mr. Elliott really should be commended for seeing this wonderful project through despite all of the many obstacles he faced.

Shot over two days beginning on January 13, 1972, Franklin had her childhood friend, Rev. James Cleveland and the Southern California Community Choir participate on the album. The church is surprisingly sparsely filled on the first night but Rev. Cleveland gives instructions to the attendees to make sure they are seen and heard for this special recording before introducing the guest of honor. Ms Franklin emerges, regal in a sparkling white gown, and takes to the piano to perform Marvin Gaye's "Wholy Holy". This is just the beginning of several stirring songs of praise which is capped off by an soul-shaking rendition of the title hymn. While Mr. Pollack may have handled the filming of this recording incompetently, he did know where to place his cameras. He expertly captures all of the varied reactions from the choir and the audience, with many visibly moved, as Franklin performs throughout, particularly as she roars through "Amazing Grace".

I guess word must have spread about the first night because on the second evening, it was standing room only in the church. It even captured the attention of a couple of Rolling Stones as Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts are seen sitting among the faithful. Ms. Franklin's father, Rev. C.L. Franklin is also present along with the great gospel artist, Clara Ward who was a family friend and mentor to a young Aretha. Rev. Cleveland has her father offer a few words to the audience about his daughter where he expresses how proud he is and briefly shares stories of how he watched her develop her talent.

The structure of documentary feature films has been altered significantly since "Amazing Grace" was originally conceived. It's not really a documentary in the current sense of the word as there are no interviews, no dramatic arc trying to be formed and the only time Ms Franklin is heard throughout the film is when she is singing. And it's not actually a concert film as it's more in line with a church service than people going to a show to be entertained. But "Amazing Grace" perfectly captures a once-in-a-lifetime moment that appeared to be lost forever of a remarkable talent musically reconnecting to her spiritual roots while subtly blending this with the sounds of her secular success.

Throughout her entire career, Aretha Franklin never lost sight of who she was and where she came from and "Amazing Grace" reveals this in no uncertain terms. I have always been a huge fan of the Queen and this film made me love and miss her her even more. This cinematic treasure serves as a miraculous testament to her outstanding gift as a vocalist and innate ability to stimulate and excite an audience simply through the sheer power of her voice.

2019 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL

The 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, will continue its tradition of showcasing the latest feature films, documentaries and shorts by first-time and established filmmakers. For the eighteenth edition of the fest, the Opening Night film on April 24th will be the world premiere of "The Apollo", a documentary by director, Roger Ross Williams which looks at the history and legacy of this iconic New York landmark, the Apollo Theater. The film, which will be screened at the Harlem venue, explores how this theater for the last eighty five years has created opportunities for fledgling African-American performers to be seen and helped paved the way for them go on to become international stars.

Some of the Special Screenings include a brand-new restored version in 4K Ultra HD of Francis Ford Coppola's classic, "Apocalypse Now: Final Cut"; a 30th anniversary screening of Cameron Crowe's coming-of-age romance, "Say Anything" with a cast reunion and discussion; and a 25th anniversary of the grunge-comedy, "Reality Bites" with director, Ben Stiller and some of the cast on hand after the screening.





Movies Plus will provide a unique opportunity to experience noteworthy conversations and performance following the screenings. The celebrity sex therapist, Dr. Ruth Westheimer will be on hand to discuss the feature documentary about her life, "Ask Dr. Ruth"; "Gay Chorus Deep South" looks at the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus as they tour the American South as a way to challenge intolerance and fear; and a special performance by Sheryl Crow to honor one of pop music's greatest singers will follow the documentary, "Linda Rondstadt: The Sound of My Voice" which examines her remarkable life and current struggles.





The Tribeca Talks series will feature fascinating discussions about the movie business which includes the future of film, a Master Class with producer, Irwin Winkler and the Director Series with Guillermo del Toro, Marielle Heller, David O. Russell with actress, Jennifer Lawrence and Martin Scorsese with actor, Robert De Niro. And new program has been added to the fest called This Used To Be New York which will feature select films that reflect on the cultural history and evolving community of NYC.

And on May 5th, the latest from Oscar-winning director, Danny Boyle, "Yesterday" was selected as the Closing Night film. This British rock & roll comedy is about a struggling musician (Himesh Patel), after recovering from his involvement in a terrible bus accident, who discovers that the world has never heard of band, the Beatles. And after claiming to write their songs, he becomes a major pop star.



For the complete list of films and to purchase tickets, please click below:

2019 Tribeca Film Festival

AGNES VARDA (1928 - 2019)

Agnès Varda, who had been affectionately dubbed, "the grandmother of the French New Wave", lived her creative and personal life to the fullest but it has sadly come to an end as she passed away on March 29th at the age of ninety. She had received plenty of honorary awards from many of the top film festivals over the years as well as a Honorary Academy Award in 2017 for her contributions to cinema but Ms Varda was still very much involved in making films. She teamed up with French art filmmaker, JR to co-direct the documentary, "Faces Places (Visages Villages)" which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2017, making her the oldest Oscar nominee in history. She had completed one last film, "Varda by Agnès" which was screened at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year. I'm sure it will make it's way stateside very soon.

She was born Arlette Varda on May 30, 1928 in Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium and her family relocated to her mother's home country of France during the second World War. Varda, who legally changed her first name to "Agnès" at the age of eighteen, had intended to become a museum curator, studying art history at the École du Louvre but decided to switch to photography. She began as a still photographer, then worked as a photo-journalist throughout Europe before drifting over to cinema. With no experience as a filmmaker, Varda used her history with photography to help shape her first feature, "La Pointe Courte" in 1955 with this film being cited as a forerunner of the French New Wave.

In 1958, Varda met Jacques Demy, who was also a film director and best known for the French musicals, "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" and "The Young Girls of Rochefort". They were married in 1962 and were together until his death in 1990. Varda had two children, Rosalie Varda, a producer, writer and actress, from a previous relationship with actor, Antoine Bourseiller (who starred in her early film "Cléo from 5 to 7") and Mathieu Demy who also followed in the family business as an actor, director and producer.

Varda would go on to make over forty feature films, documentaries and shorts including such celebrated works as "Cléo from 5 to 7" (1962), "Happiness (Le Bonheur)" (1965), "Vagabond (Sans toit ni loi)" (1985), and "The Gleaners and I (Les Glaneurs et la Glaneuse)" (2000).

An eccentric and vibrant spirit, Agnès Varda expanded the possibilities of cinema and strongly believed that film should be viewed as an art form. She blazed a bold trail for many filmmakers that have followed her and will be greatly missed.

CAPTAIN MARVEL (2019)

Written by Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck and Geneva Robertson-Dworet


Directed by Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck


Where & When: Vista Theatre, Los Angeles, CA. March 19, 2019 2:00 PM



"Captain Marvel", the latest Marvel super-hero action-thriller, is groundbreaking for exactly one reason. After twenty feature films which brought to the screen their popular characters and introduced the somewhat, lesser-known heroes, this is the first of the comic-book movies to showcase a female in the lead. Brie Lawson plays the intergalactic being with a mysterious past and little memory of it who will ultimately become Captain Marvel. And while the Oscar-winning actress is certainly able to deliver some gravitas to our hero, the colorful costume still feels ill-fitting on her. She is unable to create much of a distinctive personality for her powerful character and the film itself cannot overcome a generic quality to this ponderous adventure.

There is a brutal conflict between the alien worlds of the Kree and the Skrull. We meet Vers (Lawson)  after she awakens from another dream which involves experiences that feel like they were real. She is a young member of Starforce, a Kree military unit, and under the tutelage of the group's commander, Yon-Rogg (Jude Law). Impulsive and emotional with the ability to project energy which she's not completely able to control, the commander trains Vers hard in order to break her of this so she can become the perfect warrior.

Starforce, which includes Korath (Djimon Hounsou), Att-Lass (Algenis Pérez Soto), Bron-Char (Rune Temte) and Minn-Erva (Gemma Chan), is sent on a mission to rescue one of their undercover operatives who is infiltrating a group of Skrulls, who have the ability to shapeshift. But it's a trap and the Skrulls capture Vers. As they approach 1990's Earth, the Skrull commander, Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) attempt to extract memories from her with a probe. Realizing that her dreams are actually a reality that happened on Earth, Vers manages to escape and crash lands on our planet.

She runs in to Nick Fury, at this point just a low-level agent with S.H.I.E.L.D. (and played by Samuel L. Jackson who was digitally-enhanced to take some years off of his actual age), who team-up to discover her past. Those triggered memory fragments leads them to visit former Air Force pilot, Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch) in Louisiana. She reveals that Vers appears to be her best friend and fellow pilot, Carol Danvers that apparently died years ago in a crash with an experimental jet. And this jet was designed by Dr. Wendy Lawson (Annette Bening), a figure featured prominently in Vers' dreams.

The Skrulls are hot on her trail with Talos disguised as S.H.I.E.L.D. director, Keller while Yon-Rogg and his crew are not far behind. This leads to Vers discovering the truth behind her part in this war between the Kree and the Skrulls which will allow her to release the full potential of her incredible powers.

Another attempt by Marvel to shake up the routine was by hiring Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck to write and direct "Captain Marvel" with Ms Boden the first woman to direct one of their movies. The team (who are not a romantic couple) is best known for their indie dramas like "Half Nelson", "Sugar" and "Mississippi Grind" and their script for this film, (which was co-written with Geneva Robertson-Dworet who wrote the recent "Tomb Raider" reboot) while not completely ignoring her gender, wants to keep the focus on our hero's quirkiness and her humanity. But displaying some compassion and offering a few bad jokes isn't enough to make this cosmic Captain particularly engaging. Since this is an origin story, there's a lot of sitting through exposition and introductions with it all being done in a long-winded and mundane way. The unexpected twist in the third act regarding the actual reason behind Vers' involvement in this war is clever and intriguing but most everything that has lead us to it is not.

Ms Lawson, who we know is more than capable of being captivating on screen from her impressive work in "Short Term 12", "Trainwreck" and "Room" which won her the Best Actress Oscar, seems to struggle with finding a balance between her character's human and super-human sides with her settling for a bland middle ground. Yet Ms Bening, on the other hand, (who also makes her first appearance in a super-hero flick) is effortlessly fascinating as she embodies authority with her brief appearance as the scientist who is also mysteriously connected to the Kree–Skrull War. Someone should build a movie around her character or better still, put this actress in the lead of any Marvel adventure.

For all its efforts to be seen as a bold and monumental achievement in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, "Captain Marvel" never moves much beyond this sentiment. The movie seems content floating along with uninspired battles, predictable explosions and lame attempts at humor. But this is supposed to be viewed as an innovative advancement simply because a woman is at the center. They seem to be implying that should be enough. But it isn’t.