Bob Marley One Love
Playing a real-life individual always presents a challenge with an actor working within the confines of history, memory, and appearance and the lead actors in this Marley biopic all rose to the challenge. A film that celebrates the life and music of Jamaica’s reggae ambassador, “Bob Marley: One Love,” humanizes Bob with a well-deserved spotlight on Mrs. Marley, who was that backbone to his life. Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir, who portrayed Malcolm X in the Amazon Studios film “One Night in Miami,” stars as Bob and Lashana Lynch (“The Woman King”) plays Rita Marley.
Conclave
The cinematography, score and plot twist are the real standouts in this engaging drama which follows the selection of a new Pope. After the unexpected death of the beloved Pope, the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders gather from around the world to select his successor. As they are locked together in the Vatican halls, a trail of deep secrets is uncovered which shake the foundations of the Church. Based on the 2016 novel by Robert Harris and directed by Edward Berger, British actor Lucian Msamati stars as the Nigerian cardinal vying to be the new leader.
Dahomey
Written and directed by Mati Diop, it’s a delicate documentary piece which tracks the journey of royal treasures looted during colonization by France as they are returned to Africa. A three-part film which starts with the treasure’s departure from Quai Branly Museum to their arrival in Cotonou, it’s a film about restitution from an African perspective and it also focuses on how young people in Benin view the restitution of the treasures.
Heretic
A smart, tense and extremely engaging horror flick, this Hugh Grant starrer follows two young missionaries who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door. It’s a dialogue-heavy script about religion and faith and the performances really anchor the film.
Hard Truths
We all could use a little anger management in our lives but Marianne Jean-Baptiste’s character in this film could do with a lot. In Mike Leigh’s latest drama, Jean-Baptiste plays a miserable old woman called Pansy who spends most of the film ranting and screaming at random individuals. It’s a movie that reunites the British actress and director who first worked together in the 1996 award winning movie “Secrets & Lies” – which scored Oscar nominations for best picture as well as best director and best supporting actress respectively. A very touching film that features some quality performances, it’s a compassionate and often darkly humorous study of family dynamics.
Sing Sing
A beautifully made film which dramatizes a real rehabilitation prison program, “Sing Sing” is a movie about a prison arts program putting on a play and focuses on the transformative power of art and how it can help process pain. Many of its performers were once incarcerated which adds to its authenticity. It stars Colman Domingo as an innocent man serving 25 to life in New York’s Sing Sing Maximum Security Correctional Facility who along with a few other inmates puts on performances with the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program to help men with no outlet for their trauma and emotions.
The Six Triple Eight
Tyler Perry’s drama about black achievers is a must see as it highlights the contributions of unsung heroes. Perry wrote and directed the project which tells the inspiring true story of the females of the first and only Women’s Army Corps unit of color to be stationed overseas during World War II. The film stars Kerry Washington and Ebony Obsidian.
The Piano Lesson
Sibling rivalry is centerstage in this moving drama which follows two siblings played by John David Washington and Danielle Deadwyler battling over a prized heirloom piano. Adapted from August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, it’s beautifully cast and is a well-acted masterpiece produced by Denzel Washington and directed by his son, Malcolm Washington.
The Wild Robot
A movie based on Peter Brown’s book, “The Wild Robot” is a story of environmentalism, artificial intelligence and the friendship that develops between a lost robot and a wild animal. Lupita Nyong’o voices a robot called Roz that is shipwrecked on an uninhabited island and the film has a genuine message about belonging and how to adapt when you find yourself in a foreign world. Written and directed by Chris Sanders, it has just the right mix of action, humor, humanity and charm.
