Posts Tagged ‘movies’
Movie Corner: Melvin Van Peebles
He's the ManMelvin Van Peebles (1932-2021) Melvin Van Peebles. Photo by John Matthew Smith By HOWARD McQUITTER II The African American filmmaker-actor Melvin Van Peebles, a fiercely independent filmmaker, could make memorable and remarkable films on a shoestring budget such as the 1971 bombshell film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song about a Black pimp who kills two policemen for beating up a Black militant and how he eludes law enforcement. (His son Mario, is also an actor/director.) And with Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, in particular, but in conjunction with his body of work (his directorial debut is Watermelon Man in Hollywood), the man is often known as the "Godfather of Black cinema". (The late Black director Gordon Parks is also a modern pioneer of Black cinema.) Mr. Melvin Van Peebles graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University with a B. A. in 1953. He decided to travel heavily in Europe, Mexico and the United States taking on jobs such as postal worker, painter, [...]
Nobody
MOVIE CORNER By HOWARD MCQUITTER II Universal Pictures Nobody Action/Crime/Thriller Universal Pictures ★★★☆ By Howard McQuitter II Needless to say, Nobody is that movie where in real time safety is an issue never guaranteed, much less respected in an era of dystopia, reining in all subjects whether they like it or not. Crime is such, whether serious or petty, that doesn't stop at the sleepy-eyed white suburbs. Hutch (Bob Odenkirk from TV series Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul) is a quiet hard-working gentleman with his wife Becca Mansell (Connie Niesen) and children. Perhaps his worst frustration is missing the garbage man every Tuesday. However one night, while Hutch and his family sleeps, two robbers stage a home invasion. He holds one robber off with a golf club and forces the other to step back before they steal some cash and his daughter's kitty-cat bracelet. Well, the theft of the kitty-cat [...]
Ninja Assassin
By Howard McQuitter II Demon from Hell surprises Raizo (Rain) and his party of men and some women in a warehouse suite slaughtering the men except Raizo, of course, the main character. From the opening scenes, the body count begins to soar and so does the martial arts in conjunction with sanguineous displays. Raizo is raised in an orphanage where the caretakers treat the children like slaves even murdering children deemed as traitors. The orphanage is run by a cruel master Lord Ozuni (Sho Kosugi) to whom Raizo becomes his archenemy. Raizo strikes out on his own but one thinks Lord Ozuni instills in him: hate all weakness. Raizo rents a large apartment with spare furnishings where he can practice his martial arts Raizo, unlikely ally Agent Mika Coretti (Naomi Harris), find themselves in dangerous circumstances as ninjas seem to be coming from all directions. Her cohort Agent Ryan Maslow (Ben Miles) reluctant to believe early in the goings Raizo is the “good [...]
