Clockers 25 years on
When Spike Lee took over directorial duties from his friend and mentor Martin Scorsese, his intention for “Clockers” was to put the, “final nail in the coffin” of the Hood genre, the cycle of...
Tag: film
Recalibrate the media, reconstruct the system, reimagine the police: pointing the way through movies (and a podcast and a web-series)
With trust in the media, in institutions, in each other at a depressing low, it’s important to know how we got here - and how to flip the script. Which is why I’ve compiled an eclectic...
CATS review: “a bonkers, terrifying, glorious masterpiece”
Last week I went to see Cats, the movie. I fully expected to hate it, having forgotten the wonder the nerdy, musicals-obsessed 13 year old I once was felt years ago in the Bradford Alhambra. In fact,...
10+ pop culture releases from 2019 worth revisiting—or discovering—in 2020
While 2019 was a crappy year for politics and the effects of climate change (among other things), it was an outstanding year for pop culture. If you had trouble navigating the firehose-like release...
Review: The Big Meeting
Durham Miners’ Gala is an annual event that has been held in Durham every year since 1871. It is a celebration of mining in the area and the associated trade unionism. Many people attend the “big...
17 Blocks: review
Premiering at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, where it picked up the Award for Best Editing in a Documentary Feature Film, Davy Rothbart’s 17 Blocks is a compelling, two-decades-long look at...
Review: Apocalypse Now: The Final Cut
There is a point in Apocalypse Now: The Final Cut when soldier-assassin, Capt. Willard emerges from Col. Kurtz’s compound, shrouded in black, hair like an oil slick, eyes blazing with Nietzschean...
Biopics give us something to hope for
Cast your eye over the films released in the past few years and those slated to come out in the near future and you'll notice a trend. Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman, Judy—these films aren't...
4 Black takes better than the white originals
Time to call it a wrap on Black History Month (until June, in which we celebrate Black Music) with something else different yet again: the black versions! There has always been a mainstream (read:...
After controversy, the Academy has learned basically nothing
Well, it’s January and you know what that means… time to hit the Oscars trail yet again! Sigh. Let’s get the journey over with. If you’re not feeling terribly enthused about the season, join...