Words and thoughts of James Baldwin compel in I Am Not Your Negro

Raoul Peck directed I Am Not Your Negro from the words and mind of James Baldwin in 2016. Baldwin is the notable Black author who died in 1987 at the age of 63. In these 95 precious minutes of filmmaking, Peck starts with a clip of Baldwin’s 1968 appearance with TV talk show host Dick…

The kids show off their pluck in Swallows and Amazons

The Walker four and the Blackett pair are most definitely British kids floating around in their boats on the lake they reluctantly share in Swallows and Amazons. After all, the 2016 family adventure/drama directed by Philippa Lowthorpe with a screenplay by Andrea Gibb was derived from not one, but two of the popular 1930s children’s…

It’s a wonder the world even sees Love and Mercy

Brian Wilson led one messed up life. Love and Mercy made me cringe at the thought of what the genius behind the music of the Beach Boys had to go through to get what was inside his head inside of mine. Written by Oren Moverman and Michael A. Lerner and directed by Bill Pohlad, this…

Did I mention that they had me from Aloha?

Aloha unwinds during Christmas time in Hawaii. Sun, lots of it, with blue water and pristine sand. Interesting myths from the islands mysterious past play out among the mountains and lush forest. Thoughts flooded my mind about that trip to the islands we took in 2010, Oahu and Kawai and Maui … Volcanoes and lava…