#Mark Elderkin

[robynsassenmyview]

Ode to the Patron Saint of Mediocrity

TAKE that! Antonio Salieri (Alan Committie) above, in a fit of jealousy with Mozart (Mark Elderkin). Photography courtesy of Montecasino Theatre. WHEN YOU THINK of Amadeus, Peter Shaffer’s perfectly wonderful play of 1979 that cast mischievous light into the mysterious nooks and untold crannies of the life of 18th century Vienna composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the first thing that comes to…

[thebeautifulbook]

LOTOS LEAVES: Original stories, Essays, and Poems edited by James Brougham and John Elderkin by (Boston: Gill, 1875/London: Chatto & Windus, 1875).

Original work by members of the Lotos Club: Mark Twain. Wilkie Collins, Whitclaw Reid, Alfred Tennyson, John Hay, Edward Greey, et al.

source

[aestheticvoyage2024]

Day 163b: Tuesday June 11, 2024 - "Riding the Badger Boat on William's 3rd Birthday"

Song: Dustin Lynch - Chevrolet

Quote: “Some people won't dog-ear the pages. Others won't place the book facedown, pages splayed. Some won't dare make a mark in the margin. Get over it. Books exist to impart their worlds to you, not to be beautiful objects to save for some other day. We implore you to fold, crack, and scribble on your books whenever the desire takes you. Underline the good bits, exclaim "YES!" and "NO!" in the margins. Invite others to inscribe and date the frontispiece. Draw pictures, jot down phone numbers and Web addresses, make journal entries, draft letters to friends or world leaders. Scribble down ideas for a novel of your own, sketch bridges you want to build, dresses you want to design. Stick postcards and pressed flowers between the pages.

When next you open the book, you'll be able to find the bits that made you think, laugh, and cry the first time around. And you'll remember that you picked up that coffee stain in the cafe where you also picked up that handsome waiter. Favorite books should be naked, faded, torn, their pages spilling out. Love them like a friend, or at least a favorite toy. Let them wrinkle and age along with you.” ― Ella Berthoud & Susan Elderkin

[steveskafte]

OUT OF HABIT We’re taught that trailer homes are no one's first choice. We've got a culture of dreams about where we should love to live, a roof over our heads, but a straight and narrow shelter is the epitome of waking up. Any way to keep warm and dry will do, but history rarely finds a place for these rectangular refuges, the vast majority raised and demolished in the span of a half-century. I've seen entire parks levelled and rebuilt like the past never happened – once they'd worked their way from shiny and new, down to crumbling and undesirable. With the cable company, I spent many hours in their surroundings, worlds constructed of time running out. From the start, my heart was hounded by some dying, run-down remnants from the 70s and 80s. They were long past life expectancy, hanging on out of habit. One I remember was out of sight and mind for most, just west of the Irving on Prospect Road, New Minas. In earshot and sight of the roaring Highway 101, trees grown tall to hide the sin of being poor. Still marked with a plywood sign in big black letters, the Countryside Mobile Home Park was fading fast when I first arrived, lost to an era that no one bothered to remember. I showed up early one frost-bitten fall morning, dew turned to ice like glass in the grass, still unmelted in the shade. Near the shores of Elderkin Brook, a burnt-out hulk haunted the field – a well-charred trailer draping down in melted siding and plastic children’s toys tack-welded to the ground. I never knew what to make of myself, like the voices in my head had come aloud as living examples of what it meant to feel lost. Everything was ten years gone, a decade misplaced to the in-between. There was a sense of a sputtering halt, final stop on a dead-end route. Inside the trailers, I shuffled paths past hoarded possessions, whole lives underfoot on narrow trails to back bedrooms, carpeted with months of unwashed clothing. I’d drill holes through wood panelling and thin insulation, shoving a line of RG-6 in from the outside and firing up a television, buried in a bird’s nest made from human hopes. This was the last of a past that couldn’t exist now, penultimate panting of an analog history, death rattle of a world so used to invisibility that no one noticed when it was bulldozed under. There’s just a big box called Kent Building Supplies there now – perfectly paved over a memory no one knows. October 17, 2023 Kings County, Nova Scotia Year 16, Day 5819 of my daily journal.

[yourdailyqueer]

Mark Elderkin

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Gay

DOB: 27 September 1963

Ethnicity: White

Occupation: Entrepreneur 

Note: Co founder of Gay.com and founded Gay Ad Network

[alex6186]

‪I’m binge watching Black Sails, what a great show. Wow the female cast are a group of gorgeous goddesses and there characters they play are intelligent sexy women

[justlookitthat]

Dark Tide (2012) dir. John Stockwell

[cinematic-literature]

Black Sails S03E09 (XXVII)

Book title: the Holy Bible

[olincino]

Yesterday I started this miniseries Saints & Strangers. I new Dale Jackson played in it. After few minutes the watching turn out to be ‘How many members of Black Sails cast can you spot?’

I spoted 8, according to IMDB there are 4 more I didn’t see or recognize.

Dale Jackson (Lt. Utley)

Ray Stevenson (Blackbeard)

Chris Fisher (Ben Gunn)

Aidan Whytock (Jacob Garrett)

Nick Borane (Peter Ashe)

Meganne Young (Abigail Ashe)

Brandon Sean Murray (Meeks) and Danny Keogh (Alfred Hamilton)

Melisa Haiden (distressed whore)

 + Richard Wright - Firth (Muldoon)

+ Paul Snodgrass (Mr. Sanderson)

+ Mark Elderkin (pastor Lambrick)

[onceuponamirror]

I think Sabrina is a little... questionable. I found the race depictions to be so problematic, in a way that tells me the showrunners thought that by casting a diverse cast they were done, when really they played into so many nasty race stereotypes and tropes that it ended up reading so offensive to me. (1/x)

For example, this show did not issue a trigger warning for an image of a lynched Black woman in 2018; it comes on suddenly and in close-up view. To do so without warning was so tone-deaf: It feels rare to go a day without seeing some news story about brutality against Black people. Showing it on a fictional TV show as one storyline of many felt like needless insult to injury, and it’s a telling marker of whose trauma is considered legitimate, and under what circumstances. (2/x)

It also seemed as if the show’s primary positioning of Prudence as an antagonist plays into a centuries-old myth developed by colonizers to dehumanize Black people for their traditional African spiritual beliefs and practices. The show positions Prudence as the angry Black woman who attacks the misunderstood, small, blonde, white girl. It’s a harmful conflict viewers simply did not need to see, especially when the cards are so clearly stacked in Sabrina’s favor. Prudence never stood a chance (3)

Representation is nice and all, but it should encourage writers to address characters of color like Prudence with dimension — including acknowledgements of how race affects the way they move through the world. Instead they totally ignored her race in some kind of colorblind haze, without acknowledging that even among women, power takes on a completely different meaning when blackness is a part of their identity. That to me is why CAOS is a bit of a failure. What do you think?—–

so, i’m definitely not going to dispute this. i mentioned in a few of my write ups for the show thus far that the treatment of race is never given any consideration the way sexuality and gender are cared for. 

i get this especially in the arc for roz, who essentially functions as a plot device rather than get the same kind of character development that harvey, susie, and sabrina get, for instance. 

as for prudence specifically, yes, the lynching scene has horrible optics and definitely perpetuates traumatic threats that were so unnecessary, in any case. it clearly wasn’t considered and i find it shocking (read: not too shocking) that no one, along the line, said hey, let’s not. you’d think that’d be obvious, but—it is RAS. he’s never been good at positive or equal racial representation, whatsoever, so let’s not beat around that bush.

beyond that, there are certain things that i feel i can’t speak to, but there’s a very good write up here, which i’ll post. 

Prudence is never depicted as an outright villain. The writers behind the series clearly want audiences to like her: She has bombastic entrances, great comebacks, and a stylistic fierceness that honors Gabrielle’s inspiration from the iconic Eartha Kitt. For every scene where she is cruel to Sabrina, there are others meant to highlight her depth beyond that mean-girl archetype, like their thoughtful argument about faith in the “Feast of Feasts” episode. Even as they have wildly different perspectives, they learn to respect each other. For Sabrina, she is willing to disregard the rules in order to get freedom and power; for Prudence, power is enough. In many ways, Prudence reminds me of Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Cordelia Chase (portrayed with vigor and venom by Charisma Carpenter) — a mean girl who becomes a hero with dimension in her own right.

I will admit whenever Prudence referred to Sabrina as “half-breed” to nod to her half-witch, half-mortal lineage, I winced. Those words coming out of the mouth of a black woman — especially a character who is revealed to be the mixed-race daughter of Father Blackwood (Richard Coyle) — is like stepping into a home with fun house mirrors. It’s a jarring occurence repeated at different points in the series, and it seems born from the same well of ignorance that led to the most prickly moment in the series’ fourth episode, “Witch Academy.”

The most controversial scene in Chilling Adventures, at least in regards to Prudence, comes at the end of that episode, which charts Sabrina’s early days in the Academy of the Unseen Arts as she suffers through a cruel hazing experience known as the Harrowing. The Weird Sisters, with Prudence guiding the way, relish torturing Sabrina — imprisoning her in a narrow chamber, forcing her into the cold night where a demon taunts her by imitating her loved ones being grotesquely tortured — and save their cruelest punishment for last. They take Sabrina to a clearing in the dead of night. A noose festoons her neck, rope binds her wrists. But instead of being strung up and perhaps even killed, Sabrina flips the script: With the help of the ghosts of Academy students killed during their own Harrowings, she flings up the Weird Sisters on invisible nooses, strangling them as she declares there will be no more hazing at the school. In a recent io9 piece, Beth Elderkin and Charles Pulliam-Moore critiqued this scene succinctly: “This should not have to be explained, but it is in extremely bad taste to depict black people being hanged on television without an extraordinary amount of context and care that make it clear that (a) the creators of the television show understand the significance of that imagery, and (b) said hanging serves a narrative point.”

Lynching is not a horror transcribed to history, but a present and vicious act. The goal of those that perform these monstrosities throughout the sickening history of this country is more than just pain or violence, it is to consign black people to utter oblivion. As the marvelous journalist Ida B. Wells said to a Chicago crowd in 1900, “Our country’s national crime is lynching. It is not the creature of an hour, the sudden outburst of uncontrolled fury, or the unspeakable brutality of an insane mob. It represents the cool, calculating deliberation of intelligent people who openly avow that there is an ‘unwritten law’ that justifies them in putting human beings to death without complaint under oath, without trial by jury, without opportunity to make defense, and without right of appeal.”

I wasn’t riled by what happens in Chilling Adventures, but I can see how it betrays an ignorance to the optics of the matter, even as the hangings are meant to evoke the history of witch trials leading up to the emergence of the Greendale 13 in the closing episode. Yet to call what happens a lynching is to strip actual lynchings of their tangled complexities and to willfully ignore the context of the scene in the series. Sabrina doesn’t kill Prudence or the other Weird Sisters; she was defending herself in the only way she saw fit to avoid her own demise. (This act also foreshadows the darkness Sabrina is willing to enact by season’s end.) Most importantly, Chilling Adventures from the very beginning treats Prudence as an alluring mean girl, not a villain meant to be punished. If anything, Gabrielle brings her to life with such fierce grace, she becomes more than just a charming supporting character, but an accomplished scene-stealer who at times could be a more engaging anchor for the series than Shipka’s Sabrina.

[…]

Meanwhile, the history of black witches in pop culture is a tangled one defined by exoticization and marginalization. Black witches may be granted style and grace, but rarely are the written with any interiority. In The Craft, Rachel True’s Rochelle is mired in the racist attacks of a peer, but she is hastily drawn in comparison to the other, white members of her coven. In American Horror Story: Coven, Angela Bassett brings a fierce grace to Madame Marie Laveau, one of the most important figures of witchcraft in New Orleans and American history, but that series framed race in a way that betrays a queasy ignorance (and her power often paled to that of the white witches, who seemingly cribbed their skills from black women in the first place). Although Tituba is one of the most iconic black witches, thanks to portrayals in a variety of books, films, and series about the Salem witch trials, historical documents prove she wasn’t black at all but a South American Native. The most successful black witches in all of pop culture, to me, remain Mozelle Batiste Delacroix (Debbi Morgan) and the women of Eve’s Bayou, a gorgeous coming-of-age tale that respects and celebrates the rich culture of rural Louisiana.

Where does Prudence fit within this lineage? Does she mark a fascinating step forward in granting black women (and black audiences by proxy) the delight that comes with being a witch, or is she another example of the ways black witches in pop culture garner little respect and even less interiority by the writers that conjure them? Prudence is a tremendous character — beguiling, sharp-witted, fierce. She’s also something I wish I got to see as a kid: a black witch having fun with her powers and reveling in the world she lives in. If anything, she’s dynamic enough thanks to Gabrielle’s slinky performance that she trumps the show’s nagging issues of colorblind perspective. The creators behind Chilling Adventures would be smart to give her even more focus going forward and define the dynamics of race within their world of witchcraft.The conversation swirling around Chilling Adventures reflects the fascinating, wildly shifting intersections between politics and art that often simplify the former and flatten the latter. 

Representation need not be a mirror for individual members of the audience, but should encourage writers to address characters of color like Prudence with dimension — including acknowledgements of how race affects the way they move through the world. Chilling Adventures seeks to interrogate the ways women yearn for, experience, and at times, are prohibited from power through its clever, rich story about witches. But to give this story justice, the show must acknowledge that even among women, power takes on a completely different meaning when blackness is a part of their identity.

[x] (i think the whole article is really great and worth reading too)

so for me, yes, caos absolutely fails in many regards. it’s very whitefeminism!now! and that’s clear. 

but i do really agree with the last part of this article as well, which highlights that prudence is a very strong character in her own right and her relationship with sabrina very much shifts; before the show aired, i mentioned i was nervous that they made sabrina’s foil a black girl, but as it progressed, i didn’t really feel prudence was an antagonist. at the start, sure, but she feels very much a victim to the same world (for different reasons, obviously) and seemed to realize that towards the end. how she addresses her place in the witch world as a woman of color is something i hope the writers are paying attention to. i hope. 

witches are always going to be fairly fraught in terms of subject matter; caos invokes so much catholic vs satanism that it absolutely stomps all over any other religion, particularly iconography or stereotypes. i have plenty of criticisms in this regard, especially from my own place as a jewish woman. so many western witch stereotypes come from anti-semitism. the pointed hat was a medieval jewish hat and the physical depiction of witches also comes from very aggressive anti-semitic stereotypes, as well as the stories of blood libel (ie, child snatching and eating). it goes on. 

still to this day, most witches in films are portrayed by or described as jewish women. (elphaba, the witches in any oz incarnation, the coding of mother gothel in tangled etc) in caos specifically, they utilize lilith, who was a jewish figure, as the original demon and i could see that upsetting some in the context. it doesn’t for me, as a jewish woman, but i get it. 

and yet, i still enjoy the exploration of the witch, because i think it has the capacity to move or wade more deeply into these historical contexts, and also can be steeped with so much other meaning as well. witches have often been a gendered issue, the vilification of the woman, and how that spills onto the woman’s individual non-christian or non whiteness is a case by case basis. caos definitely, definitely fails in this. 

tl;dr, i do agree. i really do. and these are critiques that make the show worth not watching for some, worth openly pointing out. race is just as wrapped up in witch tales as much as religion or gender is, so to only address two out of those three things felt deliberately “colorblind” in a way that is not effective (and straight out offensive) for where we’re at in society. 

[letterniece8-blog]

Black Films and Artists Thrive at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival

By NNPA News Wire Film Critic Dwight Brown

The 18th annual Tribeca Film Festival featured films, docs, shorts, TV, tech seminars and immersive experiences. It was a 21st century gathering place for filmmakers, artists and fans.  

Black films, directors, actors and artists shared the glory and attention with other contemporaries who were proud to have TFF as an international venue. As the festival inches towards the two-decade mark, it’s only getting better and maturing like a fine wine.  

Black Films, Filmmakers, Actors and Artists

17 Blocks (****) Life expectancy in the U.S. averages out to around 79 years of age. That statistic skews much lower in this poignant and profound documentary about a Washington, D.C. family that’s on a different path. In 1999, nine-year old Emmanuel is given a movie camera. He uses it to chronicle the exploits of his mom, older brother, older sister and extended family. His lens captures the love in the air, the danger outside and the hope he brings to his family for a son who could be the first in their brood to go to college. Drugs, gangs and violence lurk. Emmanuel’s destiny takes a turn that will leave viewers spellbound. Over a 20-year period, this family’s dynamics, conflicts, breath throughs and tribulations are recorded like an urban allegory. The span of time is reminiscent of the Oscar-nominated drama Boyhood. The soul of a young man gets an enduring legacy thanks to the power of film.

The Apollo (***1/2) The Apollo Theater was always so much more than a performing arts venue. Since 1934, it’s been a community center, talent scout hub, training ground for countless artists and a mecca that is destined to be both a shrine and a progressive cultural home—for years to come. Director Roger Ross Williams helms this ambitious project, Lisa Cortes is a producer and the perceptive writing by Cassidy Hartmann and Roger Ross Williams pays respect to the hall’s past and its extended family. The footage is most exciting when it depicts performances by legendary artists (Ella, Duke, Dinah, Billie), Motown (Smokey, Supremes, Temptations) and comedians (Moms Mabley, Richard Pryor). Veterans (e.g. Patti Labelle) share their anecdotes. The late Ralph Cooper recollects starting Amateur Night. Rarely has a history lesson been so damn entertaining.  

Burning Cane (***) And what were you doing at age 17? Phillip Youmans was writing his first script, which he turned into this Southern Louisiana melodrama about a mother (Karen Kaia Livers) who deals with an alcoholic adult son (Dominique McClellan), his boy (Braelyn Kelly) and a recently widowed and stressed-out preacher (Wendell Pierce). The sun beats down on this luckless family, who grinds itself into a deeper and deeper hole. Youmans’ premise and maturity go well beyond his years. He puts his characters in an angst that hovers over the entire production. For tone and drama, he gets an A+. For storytelling, a B-. For tech elements a C. The gritty feel is reminiscent of a John Cassavetes movie. Youmans’ cinematography needs developing; camera placement is questionable as is the lighting. If the footage has a Beast of the Southern Wild synergy, it’s because this movie’s executive producer, Ben Zeitlin, was that film’s director. 

Devil’s Pie—D’Angelo (***1/2) Lots of musicians attract a following, but D’Angelo’s fans can be classified as an avid cult with extremely good taste in soul music. Part of the Grammy winner’s mystique centers around his 14-year-absence from recording (Voodoo in 2000; Black Messiah in 2014), which stunned his admirers. That mystery, his childhood, resurgence, live shows, recording sessions and musings are on view in this wonderfully crafted homage. Home movies and photos depict his upbringing, influential grandmother and days as his church’s organist. Personal anecdotes reveal his problems with alcohol and drugs. Attesting to his musical savvy and eccentricities are Questlove, Dave Chappelle and Erykah Badu. Though many put D’Angelo in his own niche (R&B, soul, funk, sexy songs with a hint of jazz), Prince’s influence is quite obvious when the singer wails. Thank documentarian Carina Bijlsma for the candid glimpse at a musical innovator who should be called a genius. Get ready to tap your toes and sing along to “Brown Sugar.” 

Gully (*1/2)  Music video director Nabil Elderkin steps into the deep end of feature filmmaking and flounders. His technique is solid, especially the ways he moves the camera (cinematographer Adriano Goldman) around on evocative shots of palm tree-lined streets in Los Angeles. However, he’s wasted his talent on a misguided script (Marcus Guillory) that focuses on three unlikable and aimless adolescents (Jacob Latimore, Charlie Plummer, Kelvin Harrison Jr.). The trio go from playing violent video games to assaulting people on the streets—without any obvious motivation. Yes, they each have troubled pasts, but nothing that warrants physical attacks. Never believable. Never compelling. Pointless. Kids have excuses for making bad decisions. Adults, like the ones who made this repulsive drivel, do not. 

Inna De Yard: The Soul of Jamaica (***) Showing admiration for reggae musicians from the ‘70s and ‘80s is this very inspiring doc’s goal. Shot largely in the hills above Kingston, British director Peter Webber gives a comeback platform to senior reggae stars like Ken Boothe, Winston McAnuff, Kiddus I, and Cedric Myton. Long past their heyday but still able to sell a song. Their stories of past triumphs are riveting and it’s a joy to watch them record again. They’re backed up by young musicians eager to play with their heroes. Judy Mowatt, legendary former Bob Marley backup singer, is a revelation. Reggae music, like Jamaica, is all about peace and love. That’s the takeaway. That’s what the audience will remember about this rousing, heartfelt documentary. 

A Kid from Coney Island (***) We’re well-acquainted with basketball’s most successful players who soared into fame and fortune (Kobe, Magic, Michael, Larry, LeBron). We’re less familiar with hoop dream athletes who struggled. Stephon Marbury grew up in the Coney Island projects, where the only choices for rising above the fray was becoming a rapper, drug dealer or basketball player. Obsessed with the sport from a young age, he was influenced by his dad and brothers and nurtured by his older sis and mom. Steph was destined for greatness. He became a city champion, college star, draft choice and NBA legend. Only fate tossed him curve balls. Under the prying eye of doc directors Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah, viewers watch a very talented man withstand the death of a parent, depression, a career that stalls and a surprisingly spiritual path to redemption. In this eye-opening and sobering documentary, we see how an eight-pound orange ball can take an inner-city kid to the other side of the world. More ups and downs and as exciting as the Cyclone roller coaster ride on Coney Island.

Lil’ Buck: Real Swan (***) The kids in Charles “Lil’ Buck” Riley’s low-income outer Memphis neighborhood flocked to the local roller rink at night and waited for the skating to stop and the dancing to begin. Jookin’ is the local dance form, akin to Crunking, Gangsta Walking and Michael Jackson’s stop-start-twirls. Lil’ Buck won a scholarship to a Memphis dance school, and added ballet to his mix. His blend of urban dance and classic technique is amazing to watch. Equally entrancing is this beguiling look at a young kid who blossoms as a person and a dancer. A career in L.A., performances with Yo-Yo Ma and touring the world are like a dream come true. Director Louis Wallecan doesn’t miss one step. Interviews with family, friends and admirers highlight a hybrid street dance, an art form created by an innovator who transcends life and description. 

Only (**1/2) What if? What if after the apocalypse a virus became a plague that only killed women? That’s the premise of writer/director Takashi Doscher’s ultra-modern and very scary sci-fi nightmare. The focus is on a couple, Eva (Freida Pinto, Slumdog Millionaire) and Will (Leslie Odom Jr., Hamilton) who survive indoors using hazmat suits to stave off danger. Every scene is as creepy as the premise. Nice performances from the two leads. Ugly cinematography (Sean Stiegemeier) done in shades of gray, greens and browns make footage dreary. Can’t say Dosher is an accomplished filmmaker—yet, but this movie hits a nerve. Also, coming from a male director there is a misogynist undertone that just doesn’t feel right. 

Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project (***) Saying she liked keepsakes is putting it mildly. Librarian, TV producer and political activist Marion Stokes had an obsession: capturing the news as it was depicted on TV. From 1979 (Iranian hostage crisis) to 2012 (Sandy Hook tragedy), she recorded newsfeeds from the networks on 70,000 VHS tapes. For an enlightening and somewhat somber history lesson, view this documentary to see how far society has evolved and what it has left in its wake. Documentarian Matt Wolf handpicks clips, adds in the essence of Stokes’ personality and interviews witnesses to her hobby. He creates a thought-provoking look at the upheavals, controversies and conflicts that have shaped this country. Racial and social issues come to the forefront.  

Roads (**1/2) Actor turned director and writer Sebastian Schipper (Run Lola Runand Victoria) examines immigration with this vibrant road movie. British teen Gyllen (Fionn Whitehead, Dunkirk) steals his stepfather’s RV while in Morocco and heads towards France to visit his father. Along the way, he picks up a fellow traveler, William (Stéphane Bak), who is from the Democratic Republic of Congo. It’s interesting to watch the way they are treated differently as they travel. Gyllen makes his anger known and is oblivious to danger. The more reserved William knows danger way too well and can smell it before it happens. Their divergent points of view and cultural differences speak more about race relations than a college course. A thoughtful script (Schipper and Oliver Ziegenbalg), nice performances from the teens. Final scenes that depict refugees’ confined lives in France are solemn. 

Skin (***1/2)  Tsotsi was the 2006 Oscar-Winner for Best Foreign Film and it chronicled the evolution of a hoodlum who seemed beyond redemption. This very daring and similar drama by writer/director Guy Nattiv is equally emancipating in its own way. Bryon Widner (Jamie Bell, Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool), a twentysomething skinhead is bullied by his adoptive parents (Vera Farmiga, Bill Camp) who are violent white supremacists. Life changes for him when he meets a single mom (Danielle Macdonald, Patti Cake$). It takes an even greater turn when he comes under the watchful eye of social activist Darlye Jenkins (Mike Colter, Luke Cage), whose foundation, One People’s Project, specializes in converting neo-Nazis. This is possibly the biggest character arc you will ever see in a film. Tense, suspenseful, dramatic, romantic and cathartic. Excellent performances from all in this stick-to-your-ribs true story. Watching human garbage turn into human beings can be extremely gratifying. Excellent. 

What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali (***) Oscar-winner When We Were Kings focussed on Muhammad Ali’s “The Rumble in the Jungle” match. Does this doc have that much majesty? Almost. Director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) takes a more all-encompassing approach. Using never-before-seen archival footage, and with a great sense of pacing (editor Jake Pushinsky), Fuqua highlights Ali’s pinnacles and low points. He explores the champion’s social activism and personal life. Details about his entry into boxing, teenage years, relationships with Malcolm X and Sam Cooke are on the screen. The most surprising revelation is that Ali’s decision to flaunt a larger-than-life egocentric persona was influenced by the flamboyant wrestler Gorgeous George. Most of the memorable quotes come from Ali’s lips. It’s like he’s reaching back from the grave to remind us how brash and brave he was. Illuminating. 

Films of Note

After Parkland (****) Rarely if ever does a film put a lump in your throat and a tear in your eye for its entire length. Be prepared to be awed, humbled and inspired by the Parkland, Florida victims, survivors and activists. You’ve seen their faces on the news, now you get a close-up look at the people behind the headlines and the indomitable spirit they’ve collectively created that is bound to bring about change. The kids and adults are so bright and articulate that their words carry the film:  “Someone was hunting my classmates.” “Bullets shred anything in sight. Tissue, walls, desks, backpacks.” “We’re going to change the world.” Expert technique and sensitive filming by directors Emily Taguchi and Jake Lefferman make this an Oscar-caliber documentary.

Crown Vic  (***) The cop/crime/thriller genre gets a healthy dose of personal drama in this L.A.-based film noir that’s rough around the edges. First-time feature film director/writer Joel Souza pairs up two L.A.P.D. cops. The older crusty patrol officer Ray Mandel (Thomas Jane, Boogie Nights) shepherds the naive rookie Nick (Luke Kleintank, TV’s Bones) on an overnight shift. Meanwhile, two bank robbers/killers are on the loose. Mandel’s chilling words: “Take your badge off and put it in the glove box.” Their policing takes a turn towards the gutter. The beginning of the film is marred by too much dialogue in a claustrophobic patrol car, which kills momentum. Souza adds in a funny scene with a drunk lady, friction with undercover cops (Josh Hopkins, David Krumholtz) and a search for a missing kid to spice up the night. Jane is the glue and mortar. The dialogue is strong too. Mandel: ‘People Sleep peacefully in their beds at night because rough men do violence on their behalf.”  Someone call 911!

The Kill Team (**1/2) Dan Krauss made a doc about a true-life incident involving an infantryman in Afghanistan in 2010 who dealt with a commanding officer who was violent to innocent locals and his platoon too. He’s turned that project into a feature film, with varied results. Actor Nat Wolff plays the soldier and Alexander Skarsgård stars as the disturbed leader who doles out harsh reality to his men: “We kill people. That’s what we do. Do you have a problem with that?” The enlistee is in a quandary that could take his own life. How would you react? That intriguing premise saves the film. Edited down to 87 minutes (editor Franklin Peterson), the footage is never attractive (Stéphane Fontaine), the performances are only decent and the emotion never runs deep. Still, this film tells a powerful story.

Linda Ronstandt: The Sound of My Voice (***1/2) Singing in Linda Ronstandt’s family was as common as Sunday dinner, and she had the best voice, too. As a teen in a sibling folk group she developed a sense of harmony and a performance presence that kick-started her career in L.A. In the music industry, she stood out as a woman in a man’s world. She led her own band, made her own career decisions and went through a world-famous metamorphosis: Folk, pop, rock, soul, light opera, big band and Mexican folk music—she did it all. Directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman bless the footage with childhood photos, concert video and insights by Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Bonnie Raitt. The very well-read Ronstandt herself pipes in with anecdotes and philosophies that underline her intelligence shed light on her battle with Parkinson’s disease. A trip down memory lane, done to the tune of Grammy-winning songs by rock n’ roll’s first female superstar. A visual and audio retrospective that sticks with you. 

The Quiet One (***1/2) The meek shall inherit the earth—and other stuff. Bill Wyman, the quietest musician in the Rolling Stones, is a historian. Director Oliver Murray gives the group’s bass player all the room he needs to shed light on his role as the band’s sober member. Fortunately for Stones fans, he was an avid collector of footage, photos and other memorabilia. You could almost classify him as a hoarder, except his stunning collection is so damn neat and organized. He’s stockpiled his knick-knacks in the most orderly filing system with documentation so elaborate it would shame a librarian. Hearing him talk about his idols Ray Charles, Chuck Berry, Muddy Water and Howlin’ Wolf is heart-warming. Behind-the scenes details about the Rolling Stones’ tragedies, fiascos and creative process are equally fascinating. Oddly, the film does not cover Wyman’s controversial relationship with a teenager. Special shout out to Tim Sidell’s gorgeous cinematography and Anne Perri’s astute editing. Wyman is a quiet treasure and so is this doc.  

Woodstock: Three Days That Defined a Generation (***) “Well I came upon a child of God, He was walking along the road, And I asked him, Tell me where are you going, And this he told me…” Director Barak Goodman and his co-writer Don Kleszy take audiences behind the scenes of Woodstock to the muddy fields, horrible weather and peace/love vibe that became the legend of the occasion. It’s an event that has never been repeated successfully. Still, from the viewpoint of the common people who went, we get a new perception that those “highly” spiritual and heady days were more than a one-time phenomenon, they spawned a vibe that far outlived the concerts. On the stages, in this temporary city of 400,000 hippies, musicians like Richie Havens, CSN, Jimi Hendrix and the bunch look like heroes, though not as quite as gusty or adaptable as the venue’s stunned promoters: John Roberts and Joel Rosenman. Refreshing and a complete joy to watch in this day and age of hate mongering. 

Tribeca is building a solid reputation as a film festival that values diversity, inclusion and new voices. It’s a champ at spotlighting emerging talent from around the U.S. and the world. 

It’s no wonder black films, artists, their fans and others are supporting the fest with their work, participation and attendance. 

For more information about Tribeca Film Festival go to: https://www.tribecafilm.com

Visit NNPA News Wire Film Critic Dwight Brown at DwightBrownInk.com and BlackPressUSA.com.

This article originally appeared in the Charleston Chronicle. 

Source: https://www.blackpressusa.com/black-films-and-artists-thrive-at-2019-tribeca-film-festival/

[poppaperblog]

The Dark Tower

FILM REVIEW Today I am reviewing the film, The Dark Tower. An Action, Adventure, Fantasy starring Matthew McConaughey, Idris Elba, Tom Taylor, Dennis Haysbert, Ben Gavin, Claudia Kim, Jackie Earle Haley, Fran Kranz, Abbey Lee, Katheryn Winnick, Nicholas Pauling, Michael Barbieri, José Zúñiga, Nicholas Hamilton, Eva Kaminsky, Robbie McLean, Mark Elderkin, Matthew Thomson, Karl Thaning, and Reon…

[polkaf]

FRANK OCEAN [swim good] from nabil elderkin on Vimeo.

Directed: NABIL Edited: Eric Greenburg produced by: Kathleen Heffernan DP: Mark Lindsay color: Marshall Plante EP: Jill Hammer label: Def Jam

[americanahighways]

Song Premiere: Mad Crush's "Making Complaints" From Upcoming Self-Titled Release

Song Premiere: Mad Crush's "Making Complaints" From Upcoming Self-Titled Release @MadCrush_Band @babyrobotmedia

Americana Highways is pleased to premiere this song, “Making Complaints,” from North Carolina based band Mad Crush’s upcoming self-titled album.   “Making Complaints” features vocalist Joanna Sattin,  John Elderkin (The Popes) on vocals and guitar,  Mark Whelan (The Popes, Veldt) on guitars, Laura Thomas (Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, Ray Charles, Jay-Z) on violin, and drummer Chuck…

[writerkingdom]

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[charlieplummerofficial-blog]

Amber Heard will play Charlie Plummer's mother in the indie drama Gully. The 31-year-old actress will be starring alongside the 18-year-old All the Money in the World in the new movie which marks the directorial debut of music video director Nabil Elderkin, Variety report. The film is set in a dystopian version of Los Angeles and follows three disaffected teenagers - who are all victims of childhood trauma - who are running a hedonistic riot.