Look back: A vintage that gets better with age: a celebration of ‘Jennifer’s Body’ 10 years later
Originally posted August 16, 2019. Google “Jennifer’s Body” and let the panning of 2009 begin, from the in–the–gutter critic reviews to the 44% Rotten Tomatoes score. Go on Letterboxd (a site for film geeks like myself who write their own reviews), and you will read passionate, glowing reviews from over the past couple of years. The love that seemed dormant ten […]
Look back: ‘Moonlight’: removing the physical armour
“Moonlight” (2016) is a poetic and universal tale. It is a coming-of-age story for everyone who has every questioned “Who am I?” The central character in Tarell Alvin McCraney’s story is a Black American young man in Miami, yet he is also all of us, in all locations of this world growing up and coming to terms with our unique identities and surroundings.
“Little Woods” sets the stage for Nia DaCosta’s anticipated follow up “Candyman”
Who’s excited for “Candyman”? It’s an understatement how thrilled I am about Nia DaCosta’s remake coming out this fall. I’m a fan of the original, but I see how DaCosta’s take on the film may bring it to more of a relevant place, in light of her perspective as a Black female filmmaker and the […]
‘The Office’: A Comedy of Love
There is a rare moment of character revelation, in the popular American sitcom (first adapted from the original British show) “The Office,” when Michael Scott, says this about Pam, the office’s secretary: “I would never say this to her face, but she is a wonderful person and a gifted artist.” Shortly after, his coworker Oscar […]
Chosen ‘Family’
Family is about the lengths you will go to listen and hear others, not just the blood bonds that you have. Kate and Maddie are each other’s chosen family, and that is poignant.
‘Booksmart’: Class of Gen Z
Throw a reunion if you’ve graduated within the last ten years because “Booksmart” is the most accurate depiction of what it’s like to be a high schooler in the 2010s.
I can’t understand
Both willingly and unwillingly, Yance and so many others have done so much emotional labor to tell us their stories and relive their trauma, all to reveal to us the racism, sexism, bigotry, homophobia, and overall hatred that still exists and causes unfathomable pain, and it’s our job and responsibility to pay attention.
The burden of heartbreak
When the lights in “Strong Island” (2017) begin to dim and the credits start to roll, the viewer is left with an echo of a scream ringing intensely in their ears. Director and filmmaker Yance Ford has just spoken with the District Attorney in charge of his brother’s case and learns a story left untold […]
‘Strong Island’: documentary filmmaking as a coming-of-age tale
It’s always the women, the queer, and the blacks. They are the ones who tell stories. They are the ones who dig deep into their families’ histories. They are the ones who try to uncover the truth and make amends with the past so they can live a different future. It’s always people like us—those […]
The contours of fear: a documentary elegy
It is a pessimistic view of life in America, and for Yance Ford and millions of people who look like him, it is a daily reality: living with the fear of being treated as a second-class citizen in school, housing, employment, and the law.
The watchers: the compelling gaze in ‘The Virgin Suicides’
“The Virgin Suicides” film is a feast of watchers: it confirms that we are all watched and we all watch. Like George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” this film reminds the viewer that we are all under constant surveillance.
Enchanted by the Details
I don’t know about you, but I get chills by the intimacy of the details. Her films vary in story, but no matter what the story is about—a seventeenth-century queen, spoiled teenagers in Hollywood, a middle-aged celebrity traveling in Tokyo—I know that I’m going to be enchanted by the artistry of the cinematic details that bring me deeper.