Review: J.D. Dillard Makes Magic With 'Sleight'

We idolize the larger-than-life figures from the Marvel and DC Cinematic Universes. As our world continues to crumble around us, we rush in droves to see these superheroes on the big screen, perhaps to escape the current predicaments of our own lives or maybe even with the naïve hope that someone will eventually come forward to save us all. These studio spectacles, no matter how epic or robust, remain on a level of fantasy that we could never hope to attain in real life. But, what if you have to be your own superhero? What if it was solely up to you to create your own magic and save yourself? In J.D. Dillard’s directorial debut “Sleight,” we meet Bo (Jacob Latimore), a twenty-something Angelino left to care for his younger sister Tina (“A Wrinkle In Time’s” Storm Reid) after their mother’s death. Forced to walk away from his engineering scholarship, Bo makes ends meet by delighting crowds with his captivating and astonishing magic tricks during the day, and by selling drugs at night for the charismatic but sinister drug kingpin Angelo (Dulé Hill in a career shifting role).

Drug running as we all know is a very dangerous game. Bo's world turns on its head when Angelo decides to promote him into the position of protégée. Hill shines here as the ruthless and emotionally even Angelo whose diabolical and violent nature comes thrashing out when you least expect it. As his responsibilities begin closing in on him, Bo realizes that there is only so much magic that he can create before he stops being able to slip away unscathed. Latimore's enthralling performance recalls Tristian "Mack" Wilds' Michael Lee in HBO's "The Wire."

Shot on an indie budget in just over two weeks while Dillard was still working a full-time job, “Sleight” is certainly a standout in a rather overcrowded genre. Still, it doesn’t come together completely seamlessly. Bo’s love interest Holly, played by the refreshing Seychelle Gabriel doesn’t quite get the fully fleshed out back-story that she deserved. Instead, she’s regulated to Bo’s helpmate making her an all too convenient stand-in mother figure from Tina. Likewise, Bo's neighbor and voice of reason, Georgi, “Saturday Night Live’s” Sasheer Zamata isn’t given nearly the amount of screen time that she deserves.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

'Underground' Recap: Plans Are Shattered In "28"

As the old saying goes, the best-laid plans often go awry. In the seventh episode of season two of Underground, plans are shattered spectacularly. One of the horrors of slavery was the fact that those in bondage could never feel as if they were standing on even ground. There was too much at stake and too many uncontrollable outliers that could tear everything apart at the blink of an eye. Every single character featured in this episode of Underground got the rug pulled out from under them.

As we’ve done for the majority of this season, Underground opens with Bookem Woodbine’s Daniel. Hidden away in the night, he’s teaching a small number of slaves to read. Unfortunately, his secret gets out, and before they even have a chance to act, enraged overseers on horseback surround Daniel and his comrades. From the looks of it, Daniel’s daughter might have been the only escapee. Though the laws varied by state and year, it was forbidden for slaves to read and write. It was also illegal to teach slaves to read or write. For both white and Black people, the punishment if caught could range from public whippings to death.

In “28” we watch Cato revert to his former self. Under the treacherous Patty Cannon’s direction, he’s tasked with capturing sixty free Black people and sending them into slavery. That’s thirty men for his freedom, and thirty men for the freedom of his girlfriend Devi (Rana Roy). When she learns of his plot, Devi is disgusted. She tells Cato that he’s only returned to the States to justify the horrible things he’s done and is going to do. In retaliation, he has her sold away with only 28 people left between himself and his freedom. Like he did when he was a driver on the Macon Plantation, Cato turns his back on his people to look out for his own interest, no matter how despicable his actions may be. Slavery was a horrendous institution, and while he shouldn’t be excused, Cato has learned to turn off his emotions to survive the inhumane and shameful state of his life.

Rosalee and Noah return to the Macon Plantation to discover nothing is as it was before. Ms. Ernestine has been sold away, the drunken overseer that tried to attack Rosalee is still alive, and James has been taken under Mistress Macon’s wing and brainwashed. Though Noah tries to get Rosalee to see reason, after their initial plan proves useless, her emotions, desperation, and determination get the best of her. When she goes to get James from the Big House, he raises the alarm, and she’s captured and branded for her crimes. In the midst of this, Noah discovers that she’s carrying his child.

Continue reading at ESSENCE.com.

The S&A 'Dear White People' Interview

The highly anticipated film-turned-series, "Dear White People" has finally hit Netflix today, April 28. The series, which follows Sam White (Logan Browning) and the other Black students at the fictional Ivy League Winchester University, picks up where the film left off. This time around all of the students will be getting their chance to eviscerate racism and speak their truths, through this wonderfully written satirical piece. Ahead of the series premiere, I sat down with writer and director Justin Simien who wrote the film and all 10-episodes of the first season, Logan Browning who stars as Sam White (a role that Tessa Thompson originated in the film), and Brandon P. Bell who will reprise his role from the film as Troy Fairbanks.

We discussed expanding the world of the film into a series, what inspired Simien to write the film in the first place, and how our current political climate will inform the show.

Aramide Tinubu: Hi guys! Justin Simien: Shadow and Act! Y’all were the first ones to put out the “Dear White People” concept trailer back in the day. So we are forever in debt!

AT: So dope! You guys are awesome. So going from the film to the television series, why was that important for you to do?

JS: There was just so much more to say about these people. And, one of the reasons why being a storyteller is so important to me is I really feel like we need to see ourselves in stories. One of the things that is challenging about being a person of color in this society is that it’s so hard to see ourselves. There are so many shades of us. Just because you have a show with a Black woman in it, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it speaks to you.

AT: Exactly!

JS: With the movie, every single one of those characters are characters that I have not seen in anything before. With the show, we get to go even deeper into those characters lives and introduce some new characters that I also haven’t seen in anything before. So, anybody who felt like, “Gosh, I didn’t really get enough of the gay experience, or I didn’t get enough of the male experience or I didn’t get enough of the female perspective.” Whatever you feel like you didn’t get enough of in the movie, we’re giving it to you in this series! (Laughing) Every episode is from a different character’s point of view. So, you get to go home with Coco (Antoinette Robertson), you don’t just see her through the eyes of other people, you see her through her own eyes as she looks at her reflection in the mirror. I just think that’s so important because we aren’t archetypes, we aren’t these sort of ideas of people, we’re people. We have hopes and dreams and contradictions and flaws. A television show gives you the canvas to go that deep.

AT: Logan, you are picking up where Tessa Thompson left off with Sam White, but you’ve really made her your own character. What was that process like for you; looking at what Tessa built and then spinning it for yourself?

Logan Browning: I learned to relate it to theater, which was really fun because I personally haven’t had the joy of being in many theater productions. So, there was this great piece of work, and I saw someone perform brilliantly, and I got to absorb that. (Laughing) It almost feels like cheating, you know? You have so many things to go off of, and I went back to the screenplay, and that was really fun. Just seeing the stage directions, or seeing things that changed and to see them come to life. Reading the lines for myself from the screenplay and saying, that was Tessa’s interpretation as Sam, how does Logan feel about it? So, that was my approach.

AT: Brandon, you’ve lived with your character, Troy for a little bit longer because you were also in the film. So what shocked you about Troy that you didn’t expect coming into the series. What did you learn about him that you didn’t know previously?

Brandon P. Bell: A lot of things actually. Troy’s main relationships are with his dad (Obba Babatundé), Coco, women, Lionel (DeRon Horton) and his role within the Black community and the community at large on campus because he’s in politics. He’s the head of C.O.R.E., the Coalition of Racial Equality, and at the end of the film he was running for President. So for me, it was going deeper and exploring the toll that that’s going to take on Troy. We all know that he likes to smoke weed and write jokes by his lonesome in the bathroom out of a toilet paper roll. That is a part of Troy’s identity that he doesn’t share with anyone. For me, it’s how does he manage all of that but also maintain some sense of sanity and himself? Who is Troy? Without spoiling anything, there is a lot of things that I think the audience will love and get to discover. As an actor, you want that. You want to build and be challenged. Where Troy ends up is great. I couldn’t have asked for a better arc.

AT: All of you went to predominantly white universities, I did as well, and it was …interesting. (Laughing) So Justin how did you come up with the concept for “Dear White People” while in school? Was it because you felt isolated, did you feel like you didn’t belong?

JS: For me, it actually grew out of a conversation that I was having with my best friends at the time about the fact that we were hanging out with other Black kids from the Black Student Union, but we didn’t necessarily like all of them. (Laughing) We were just sort of like; we’re hanging out with these people because they’re Black and for no other reason. So, this conversation that we were having amongst ourselves, it just struck me as so funny that I’d never seen it in a movie before. It was like a conundrum of being Black in America that was never dealt with. Every time you saw a Black movie or a Black television show, magically everyone in the show was Black. The cab drivers are Black, the people working at the coffee shop were Black. My favorite thing about “Boomerang” is that everybody in New York was Black! My experience has always been one of few. My mother who is Creole, is a very light-skinned woman, so people didn’t understand why were holding hands through the mall. Just that feeling of being the only one who understood who you were; and not seeing yourself reflected back in the culture. I just felt like that was something that a lot of us were and are going through, and it just felt like doing a college satire was the perfect way to articulate that feeling. It felt like new territory. It was a jumping off point to get into all of these other issues. But, it all started with the sense of feeling like, “Why is it that I feel like I have to play a version of myself for my Black friends and then another version of myself for my white friends, and a version of myself in class?” Is that unique to the Black experience? Is that a human condition thing? Those were the questions that were on my mind when I started writing the film, and I don’t know if they’ve ever left.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

Underground Recap: Harriet Tubman Stands At the Center Of ‘Minty’

As a guide, warrior and no-nonsense champion, Aisha Hinds’ Harriet Tubman has been a visceral force during this season of Underground. Teaching Rosalee how to move cargo undetected and working with Georgia and Elizabeth’s abolitionist sewing circle, “the most notorious runaway" has integrated herself among all aspects of the cause and in “Minty,” we finally get the full view of her life and backstory. In an unprecedented move on television, Underground chose to put the spotlight on one character to drive the entire episode, and Hinds’ performance was exhilarating and masterful to watch. In a 19th century “TED Talk” of sorts, the audience meets the woman behind the legend as she paints an intricate tapestry of her childhood and how she became General Tubman. Born Araminta Ross around 1820, Tubman discusses the sisters that were sold away from her, and the horrendous abuse that she suffered as a child after bring hired out by her master to different estates. Even as a young girl, though she was often sickly, Harriet had a rebellious streak. She was mischievous and would use small acts of defiance to assert herself despite the conditions of her bondage. For Harriet Tubman, Harriet Beacher Stowe’s 1852 novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin didn’t even scratch the surface of the horrors of slavery.

For Harriet, it was not just about abolitionists knowing her story; it was about them contemplating and fully understanding the violence of the institution of slavery and bondage itself. Despite her spunk and acts of resistance, Tubman came to realize that there could be no triumphs under slavery. Bolstered by rumors of her own sale to another plantation, Harriet decided to run for her freedom. However, as we learn in “Minty,” her actual journey to freedom did not begin the very first time she tried to run with her brothers. Though she only got a mile away from her plantation that first time, it sparked an inferno in Harriet that could not be doused. After befriending a white abolitionist, Harriet embarked on the journey that would lead to her tenuous freedom.

Continue reading at ESSENCE.

Jacob Asserts Himself & Grace Loses Her Way In 'Greenleaf's "Point Of No Return" (Season 2, Episode 5 Recap)

“Point Of No Return” finds the two older Greenleaf children in polar opposite stages of their lives. Jacob, who has previously struggled to find his footing not just within his family, but also as a head Pastor at Triumph, has finally found his voice and he’s not about to be silenced any time soon. In contrast, Grace seems to have lost both her faith and her calling as she continues to feel paralyzed by her Uncle Mac’s freedom. Her daughter, Sophia’s newfound relationship with the Lord, doesn’t even revive her. Though Jacob is finally standing on his two feet, things aren’t exactly going well in his new home or at Triumph. He and Kerissa’s bungalow has some major electrical issues among other things, and Kerissa is fed up. While she attempts to get their home life in order, Jacob finds himself standing up to his parents and Triumph’s lead Pastor, Basie Skanks. He’s determined that this is a new chapter in his life, and he’s going to make the most of it. Jacob even tells Grace that he’s not going to sit back and pretend that her returning home, didn’t upend his entire life. Despite his enthusiasm and determination, it looks like Jacob’s plans are about to be thwarted in a very big way. Not only have the Greenleafs issued an injunction against Triumph 2.0, but Kerissa also discovers through Pastor Skanks’ wife Tasha, that everything might not be on the up and up when it comes to Triumph’s financials. (I wonder how they paid Kirk Franklin to perform.) Whatever they’ve gotten themselves into is probably going to be really bad. By the way, I’m finally starting to like Kerissa; it took long enough.

While Jacob is standing tall, Grace is wilting. As the episode opens, Sophia catches her mama sneaking in from being with Darius in the wee-hours of the morning, and later, a wedding that Grace is supposed to be officiating crumbles around her. Though the would-be bride is obviously a head case, Grace takes the demise of the relationship to heart, and her internal struggle with her faith seems to have her at an all-time low. Unlike before, there is no option for her to run, so at some point, she’s going to have to confront her feelings head on. I think prayer was a good first step.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

Review: 'The Fate Of The Furious' Proves The Beloved Franchise Hasn't Quite Run Out Of Steam

My hopes weren’t exactly high for the eighth installment of the “Fast and the Furious” franchise. However, despite a tawdry, lackluster opening sequence that could have been inserted in any action film featuring fast cars and scantily clad women, about twenty minutes into the film the majority of the cast and director F. Gary Gray found their footing and kept it moving through the duration of the film. As a result, “The Fate of the Furious” manages to run on more than just fumes. The explosive action film focuses on Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto who is enjoying his honeymoon with his new bride, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), in picturesque in Havana, Cuba. However, things go left when the diabolical Cipher (Charlize Theron) shows up forcing our favorite outlaw to turn his back on his code and his family. Theron slays as the psychopathic icy blonde who is holding a major bombshell over Toretto’s head. She enlists him to do her bidding in capturing some nuclear warheads and the codes to set them off. Unfortunately, the ghastly choice to drape Theron in horrid limp blonde dreads was a distraction for the majority of the film, and if she wasn’t so chillingly believable, this costuming mishap could have easily propelled her into the realm of caricature.

Other highlights in the film are Academy Award winner Helen Mirren whose delicious cameo-like appearance will have you laughing out loud. Additionally are franchise late-comers Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jason Statham, whose characters – Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw respectively – have some of the only backstories that run cohesively throughout the entire plot of the film. Also, their hilarious banter and iconic prison sequence are the gems that will keep audiences excited throughout. With the cumbersome overall narrative of the film, these two are the glue that holds it all together.

Speaking of a shaky narrative and the bloated cast, it’s past time for the franchise to start pairing things down. Tyrese Gibson’s Roman Pierce and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges’ Tej Parker are given absolutely nothing to do. The comic relief in “The Fate of the Furious” has been taken over by Johnson and Statham, so characters played by Gibson and Bridges have been reduced to corny exclamations, and what seemed like a paragraph worth of dialogue between them. The cast is quite robust without trying to make room for every single person that ever touched the franchise. Therefore, if Roman and Tej are going to continue on; I hope the screenwriters make them more than living, breathing relics of past films.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

'Greenleaf' Confronts Old Friends & Even Older Wounds In "Revival" (Season 2, Episode 2 Recap)

From her sadistic relationship with her father Henry to her torrid affair with a family friend, it appears that Lady Mae’s secrets run deep. Ahead of Calvary’s annual revival, Bishop James calls on his friend, Bishop Lionel Jeffrey (Tim Reid), to attend and preach in front of the congregation. Nothing seems amiss until we witness the look between Bishop Jeffrey and Lady Mae as soon as he crosses the threshold of the Greenleaf mansion. It was a mixture of both hatred and lust, and I knew then that whatever happened between the two of them, which was so passionate that they actually considered running off together, isn’t buried as deep in the past as they might like it to be. I also don’t entirely trust Bishop Jeffrey. While he seems to be keeping up appearances, the presence of his son, Aaron, definitely caused me to raise my eyebrows. Bishop James and Lady Mae are still desperate to squash Pastor Skanks and Jacob from erecting Triumph 2.0. It just seems all too convenient (even for TV) that Bishop Jeffery’s son Aaron has the solution to their problem. With one call from his father, Aaron comes to town to file an injunction on the construction of Triumph 2.0 with the hopes that Jacob and Skanks will give up on building the new church. Still, Aaron’s presence alone wasn’t the only thing that raised the alarm for me. The fact that Bishop James is so willing to let Aaron move into Jacob’s old quarters made we wonder if he didn’t have some inkling of Lady Mae’s affair with Bishop Jeffrey. There is something much more sinister happening here. I don’t know if Bishop Jeffrey has just sent his son to spy on Lady Mae or if Aaron knows about their affair or what, but things jut aren’t adding up.

Charity and Kevin’s relationship was also at the center of “Revival,” but it looks like there will be no resurrecting their marriage. With a sexy new bob and her music producer giving her the eye, Charity is ready to pull the plug on her relationship, and I can’t say that I blame her. Her look of horror when Kevin tried to come on to her made me laugh and cringe at the same time. Though they have decided that their marriage over, the duo has chosen to keep it under wraps for now. Hopefully, that means Kevin will refrain from taking that toxic poison he was given by his support group to combat “impure thoughts.” Overall, I’m not too worried about these two, they are still really good friends, so perhaps their split won’t be volatile. Hopefully, this will be an opportunity for Kevin to finally be true to himself.

Bishop and Lady Mae aren’t the only one’s getting in touch with old friends. One of Grace’s girlhood friends Rebecca, a fellow Pastor has come to visit for the revival. She and Grace reminisce over old times and Rebecca bonds with Sophia, who seems to be in search of something of her own in the wake of  Zora’s absence. Seeing Rebecca also brings forth old memories for GG. Back in the day, Grace, Faith, Rebecca, and Charity had a singing group called Mystic, and seeing her sister on those old tapes reinvigorates Grace’s desire to do something about the fact that Uncle Mac is just out here in these streets.

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Kerry Washington Says Olivia Pope Was Initially "Raceless" On 'Scandal'

A lot has changed since the first season of ABC’s “Scandal” which first premiered back in 2012. Characters have died and evolved, relationships have ended, the format of the series has shifted drastically, and most importantly, Olivia Pope is not the same woman we first met. Now in its sixth season, the Washington, D.C.-based drama has found its footing once again after a rocky past couple of seasons. One thing that has changed considerably over the past few years is the way that “Scandal” addresses Olivia Pope’s identity as a Black woman. During the first season, Olivia Pope’s Blackness was nearly ignored.

In a recent interview with “Glamour,” the series’ star Kerry Washington spoke out about how “Scandal’s” stance on race has evolved and gotten stronger over time. Washington said, “In the first season it was as if Olivia Pope was raceless. There was no denying that Olivia was a Black woman, because I’m a Black woman, playing her in badass white trench coats that call to attention the fact that I’m not looking like anybody else on television. But we didn’t talk about her identity as a Black person.”

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Review: 'Fatherless' Is One Man's Humorous & Honest Quest To Find His Father And Eviscerate Statistics

For decades, the Black community has been beaten over the head with statistics and reports surrounding the absence of Black fathers within the community. There have been dissertations and investigations about the impact that single-parent households have on Black people as a whole. However, these statistics often seem to ignore the entire picture. In fact, when stacked up against white America, these numbers are nearly even. 33% of Black fathers live with at least one of their kids in comparison to 36% of white fathers. Also, though 70% of Black babies are born to unmarried mothers as opposed to 35% of white babies, only 50% of long-term couples in the United States are actually legally married. Paperwork or lack thereof does not necessarily negate fatherhood. In his heartfelt and often humorous documentary, “Fatherless,” “Grace and Frankie” actor and comedian Baron Vaughn, explores his own life without his biological father as he goes on a quest in search for the man he’s never met. Raised by his mother, grandmother and maternal great- grandparents, Baron grew up in the 1980’s at a time when Blackness in America, particularly in the midst of the crack cocaine epidemic and the war on drugs was under attack. Baron recalls idolizing comedians, Richard Pryor, Robert Townsend, Eddie Murphy, the Wayans, and Bill Cosby, who all became theoretical father figures to him. And yet, it was his great-grandfather, Poppa Richard, a towering Baptist deacon who raised him during his early youth, that made the most formidable impression on him. A man who built his home with his bare hands, Baron recalls worshiping his great-grandfather and clinging on to him and the church community that welcomed him with open arms.

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A War Is Brewing On 'Greenleaf' -- Unpacking Season 2, Episode 3 With 5 Questions That Need Answers

Though it had a few hilariously shady moments and a couple of revelations, season 2, episode three of “Greenleaf” (titled “A Mother’s Love”) mostly felt like filler. To be fair, I believe that this episode is setting us up for the next several episodes, which are probably going to be jaw dropping. The episode opens with Grace getting a troubling phone call. She rushes to the hospital, and we find out that Danielle, the young girl Grace was able to convince to come forward and testify against her Uncle Mac for sexual assault, has tried to kill herself. Somehow (even though she’s a minor) her name has been leaked to the public, and the students at her high school are making her life a living hell. The young girl can’t seem to understand why Mac is still out roaming the streets as a free man and neither can I. Seeing Danielle again shocks Grace into action. We know that she’s been littering Mac’s new neighborhood with sex-offender fliers, but after seeing Danielle, it looks like Grace is finally ready to go to war.

Away from his mama and the Greenleaf mansion for the first time in his life, Jacob is finally standing on his own two feet. Desperate to get her son to return home, Lady Mae tells Jacob that Pastor Skanks is out for revenge. She reveals to him that Skanks is the son of the caretaker who died in the church fire. Jacob doesn’t seem all that concerned; he is determined to press forward carving out a path for himself away from his family, even if it is under Skanks’ direction. However, that doesn’t mean he’s going to be a puppet. When Skanks tries to convince Jacob to go con a wealthy dying woman out of her money for some costly unforeseen work on the Triumph 2.0 site, Jacob sticks to his scruples. For the first time, he’s also super present at home scolding his teenage daughter Zora, after she sneaks out of the church to hang out with the worship singer Isaiah. Jacob might survive all of this after all, but I can’t say the same for his wife, Kerissa.

Kerrisa is just miserable. But, what else is new? Though Pastor Skanks’ wife desperately tries to befriend her and offer her help with decorating their new home, the Ice Queen is having none of it. When Grace visits Jacob and Kerrisa’s new house to offer some well wishes, Kerissa flat out tells her that she and Jacob wouldn’t even be there if Grace hadn’t come home. Whatever happened to that teacher who was grinning in Kerrisa’s face? Perhaps she needs to give him a call. Either way, Pastor Skanks’ wife and Kerissa are definitely going to have some words in the future, and it will probably get really ugly.

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Will 'Greenleaf' Take A Stand For The LGBTQ Community? Recapping Episode 2, 'Strange Bedfellows'

In episode 2, “Strange Bedfellows”, the Greenleafs are moving in all different directions. Jacob is determined to move out of the Greenleaf mansion and take charge as the head pastor at Triumph’s second location. However, Lady Mae wants Bishop to talk to him about Pastor Skanks claiming to be the son of Darryl, the deceased caretaker who was killed in the arson James committed years ago. Both Lady Mae and Bishop are puzzled by the claim, since they only remember Darryl having daughters. Meanwhile, Jacob’s transition to Triumph isn’t going quite as smoothly as he would like. Skanks demands that Jacob go door to door in Calvary territory, telling folks about Triumph’s new location. It feels like a cheap move to Jacob, but he does it anyway. In the midst of this, Pastor Skanks’ wife finally shows Kerissa the home she and Jacob will be moving their family into. Kerissa is LESS THAN impressed, and I couldn’t stop laughing.

Despite the upcoming move, Sophia and Zora are still two peas in a pod (for now). Sophia has her sights set on a Triumph singer named Isaiah Hambrick, and the girls plot and plan to attend his rehearsal. The only trouble is, when they arrive, Isaiah only has eyes for Zora. This is going to be bad!

The younger girls aren’t the only ones who are trying to figure out their love lives. I guess Grace’s ex-flame Noah has officially gone back to his fiancée. However, Grace has caught the attention of a journalist by the name of Darius Nash (Hey Rick Fox!). If you recall, he was the writer who aired the Greenleafs’ dirty laundry in the newspaper when Bishop was under investigation. After some convincing, GG goes out with Darius, and they have a great time.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act. 

Underground Recap: A Surprising Return And Unexpected Twist In 'Things Unsaid'

The second episode of the second season of Underground, “Things Unsaid” opens with Daniel (Bokeem Woodbine), the slave we initially met in the season premiere, the one who was teaching himself to read. He enters his cabin to greet his wife and infant child. Excitedly, he reveals to his wife that he’s learned to read and write. His wife stares down at the small piece of parchment where he's etched the word, “LOVE” and rips the paper to shreds, reminding him that this could get them killed. Back in Ohio, Elizabeth sits on the courthouse steps screaming and wailing, staring down at the blood stain where John’s body once laid. Meanwhile, at the Hawkes’ home, Rosalee rushes through her tasks of preparing some herbs for some of the injured escaped slaves to take on their journey, tears steadily falling from her face. Pastor Grant, an abolitionist conductor, arrives to pick the cargo up. Seeing Rosalee in distress, he reminds her to focus on her family. He tells her, “Elizabeth is going to need you.”

At Georgia’s boarding house, Harriet and Rosalee discuss a plan to move forward and help free more slaves. In the middle of their conversation, Harriet passes out, which alarms Georgia. Starring down at the scar on Harriet’s forehead (she was hit in the head with an iron as a child), Rosalee assures her new friend that these episodes are normal. She also asks Georgia to send Elizabeth a wire apologizing for her absence. It looks like Rosalee isn’t taking Pastor Grant’s advice to stay back and help Elizabeth through her grief. When Harriet comes to, she announces, “The plan has changed.”

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Review: 'Deidre & Laney Rob A Train' Is A Whimsical, Freshly Acted Tale Of Sisterhood & Sheer Determination

Though we are drastically different human beings, I trust my sister more than anyone else on this planet. Despite the fact that we are only two years apart in age, our life experiences have often been worlds apart. I’ve frequently felt stifled under the weight of responsibilities and decision making (our lives drastically changed the year I turned twenty, and she turned eighteen), and I suspect that she’s often felt cast aside and misunderstood. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that other siblings, particularly sisters, have had similar experiences. In her witty and amusing second feature film “Deidra & Laney Rob a Train,” filmmaker Sydney Freeland highlights these aspects of sisterhood, the desire to escape, and the overbearing weight of an unclear future. Shot almost like a comic book come to life, we meet Deidre (Ashleigh Murray) and Laney (Rachel Crow), teenage sisters living with their mother Marigold (Danielle Nicolet) and younger brother Jet (Lance Gray), somewhere in the middle of Idaho. Deidre, the eldest, is fiercely determined to use her brain to escape her tragically white and dull town for college. A consummate perfectionist, she rigidly plans out her entire life on three calendars that account for her tutoring sessions, the test answers she sells for extra cash, and her scholarship deadlines. In contrast, her younger sister Laney is angsty and often overlooked both at home and in school. Painfully shy in the face of anyone that is not her family, she and Deidre are often at each other’s throats, having throw down knock out fights to settle their disagreements. (Perhaps it was so amusing because I have literally been there.) Despite the chaos of their daily lives, the Tanner sisters seem to be trudging along until life blows up in their faces.

After suffering a breakdown and destroying merchandise at her place of employment, the Good Buy discount electronic store, Marigold finds herself behind bars. With no other source of income and as the only Tanner sibling of legal age, Deidre is forced to come up with a solution to keep child protective services off her back and to bail her mother out of jail. In need of $12,000 and a whole new weight of responsibilities on her shoulders, Deidre’s dreams of higher education suddenly fizzle into the air.

Desperate for a solution to her family’s financial woes, Deidre begrudgingly visits their deadbeat but charming father Chet, a mechanic on the railroads that run behind the Tanner home. Though Chet only offers up five dollars, Deidre is inspired to begin robbing trains. Enlisting Laney’s help, the girls hatch a legendary and nearly fool-proof plan of stealing merchandise off the train cars and fencing it through Deidre’s weed-dealing ex, Jerry (Myko Olivier).

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5 Burning Questions We Have After Watching The Season Premiere Of 'Greenleaf'

The Greenleafs have returned for a second season in episode 201,”A House Divided,” and quite frankly, the Lord is not smiling down upon them. Despite the heaps of sexual abuse evidence against Uncle Mac, he’s walking free after getting his father Henry to testify against Bishop James. Apparently, back in 1983, James burned down his original church, First Baptist in order to collect the insurance money and build Calvary. Unfortunately, the church’s caretaker, a man named Darryl, was still inside the structure as it burned to the ground. Three months after Mac’s release from jail, things are only sliding further downhill for the Greenleafs. Grace is barely holding it together at the pulpit with her sermons boring everyone to tears. The church’s donations are down forty percent, and it’s not because of the investigation into the Bishop or the allegations against nasty Uncle Mac. Nope! Apparently, people are more worried about the gay choir director and his husband (hey Kyle from “Living Single”) and not the fact that an apparent murderer and child rapist are running around on the loose. <INSERT SIDE EYE HERE.>

We learn that Grace’s baby sister Charity has lost one of her twins, and though she gives birth to a healthy baby boy named Nathan, she and Kevin are still on the outs. Props to her for not going to that horrible pray the gay away therapy group with him. Honestly, Kevin needs to be real with himself, and come out so they can co-parent and move on.

Speaking of moving on, Grace’s brother Jacob has been given the reigns over at Triumph’s new location. Triumph is Calvary’s rival church so this puts further strain on Jacob’s relationship with Bishop. At least he’s finally moving out and becoming his own man. In the midst of all of this, Aunt Mavis is having her own downward spiral. Without a club to tend to, Auntie has set her sights on being a talent manager when she’s not preoccupied with drinking herself into an early grave.

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Interview: The Cast & Crew Of Underground Talk Tumultuous, Heart Racing Second Season

 

“We make ourselves free by the choices we make.” The inaugural season of WGN America’s stunning series “Underground” followed the Macon 7 as they made their harrowing escape from the shackles that bound them to the Macon Plantation in Georgia, to the free states in the North. A captivating series that has shined a bright light on the Underground Railroad, the horrific and morally corrupt antebellum South, and the abolitionist movement, the second season of “Underground” is out to prove that season one wasn’t even the tip of the iceberg. With higher stakes, heart-shattering storylines and the emergence of real-life historical figures, season two fleshes out the movement in a whole new way.

In late January, I traveled to Los Angeles, California to screen the first episode of the new season of “Underground” and to chat with the cast and crew ahead of the season premiere. I sat down and spoke with the series’ creators and writers, Misha Green and Joe Pokaski, director Anthony Hemingway, and cast members Jurnee Smollett-Bell (Rosalee), Aldis Hodge (Noah), Jessica De Gouw (Elizabeth), Alano Miller (Cato), and Amirah Vann (Ernestine). Season two newcomers, Jasika Nicole (Georgia) and Aisha Hinds (Harriet Tubman) were also present to discuss America in 1858, the high stakes of the series, and the challenges they faced as actors delving into this tumultuous period.

Aramide Tinubu: Jurnee, what was it like to step back in Rosalee’s shoes after seeing her go through so much in the first season of the series? Did it affect you differently because you were pregnant while filming?

Jurnee Smollett-Bell: It was definitely unlike anything I’ve ever done before. Physically, “Underground” is already the most physically challenging role I’ve ever done in my life. But, then to be seven months pregnant doing it. (Laughing) Luckily I had a great support team. But, I love Rosalee so much, and I think she’s just changed so drastically. She’s grown up; she’s a woman now. Not only is she a woman, but she is a warrior and a soldier when we see her in season two. I think she always instinctively had that, but now out of desperation she had no choice but for it to come out. She’s lost everyone that she loves, Noah, her mother, her brothers, the Macon 7. Even though she’s attained her own freedom, she realizes that it’s not so free. How can she really live in the North when everyone else is in bondage? So, when she meets up with Harriet; Harriet trains her to be a solider, and that’s what she’s become; gun-slinging Rosalee.

AT: Aldis, what always gets me about Noah is the fact that he is constantly fighting for freedom, he never stops. He’s always got a plan; he’s always got something up his sleeve. How do you get into the mindset to play someone who is always searching for more, who is always trying to figure his way out of a situation?

Aldis Hodge: I’m always searching for more in my real life. (Laughing) Coming up where I came from and especially being in this business for such a long time, it’s always a fight going on. You have to readjust your strategy as the times change or as you change personally. So, going into this, I really just try to play into the fact that Noah’s fight comes from his idea of himself. He understands his value. I carry this character knowing that he walks as if he is free. Mentally he knows he is free; he knows his value, he knows who he is as a man. He just has to convince everyone else around him. But, knowing your worth set in a situation where all they do is take it and try to strip that from you, you’re going to be a little bit aggressive. You’re going to be agitated and a little bit feral, but at the same time, he has to be strategic with how he goes about it. I just carry him knowing that he is free and he understands exactly who and what he is, given the time frame.

AT: Was there a specific moment that really shocked you during this season? I know there are always twists and turns, but was there anything that really stunned you to your core and shifted the way you understand your character?

JSB: Oh boy, yeah.

AH: (Laughing) There are some moments we can’t talk about just yet. But the answer is YES, and you’ll see it later on in the season.

JSB: I know that as Rosalee, I end up doing a lot of questionable things. Just like Ernestine knows how to work the system, we see that Rosalee knows how to as well. But sometimes in doing that you hurt the people closest to you. Even though your intentions are very pure. In your mind, you’re justifying yourself because you love them. So there are a lot of risks, a lot of secrets and a lot of questionable actions. In the first episode, one thing that did actually emotionally shock me to my core was the scene with John, when Rosalee is yelling at him about Noah. John has this naïveté that somehow the justice system is going to be just for a man that looks like Noah. As I was saying these words, I realized, “Oh my gosh! I could be saying this right now! How many of my brothers and how many of my sisters could I be saying this about?” That was just something where it was like, “Man. Yes, we come far, but we’ve got so far to go!”

AT: Let’s talk about the women of “Underground.” For Amirah what shocked me the most about Ernestine’s storyline in the first episode of this season was seeing how violence gets permeated back down into the Black community. It’s the violence against Black people in general and then with your character specifically, Black men towards Black women. How did you feel during that scene?

Amirah Vann: One of my favorite scenes is actually between Robert C. Riley who plays Hicks and myself later on in the season when Ernestine actually brings that up. So Misha and Joe brilliantly address those issues of how race in America in a grand scheme is affecting the daily lives of everyday individuals. It’s always so interesting to say, “I know, I get what you’re trying to say. I don’t know if I can digest it and apply it to my everyday life.” But, the idea that the writers are aware of how that permeates everyday life, I think it’s just brilliant writing.

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Image: WGN America

Interview: Pooch Hall On TV One's 'Media' & Playing A Certain Type Of Villain

In the upcoming TV One film, “Media,” Pooch Hall stars as Clay Jones, the eldest son, and CEO of Jones Universal Media Properties (JUMP). Hot-headed and determined to succeed at any cost, Clay attempts to keep a tight reign on his family’s empire in the midst of his mother’s; founder Jackie Jones (Penny Johnson Jerald) interventions as well as his siblings’ various indiscretions that lead to revenge, betrayal and a devastating tragedy. Brian White, Chrystee Pharris, Blue Kimble, Gary Dourdan, Stephen Bishop and Finesse Mitchell also star.

Produced my media mogul and Radio One founder Cathy Hughes, “Media” provides an inside look into just how ruthless family-owned business can be. I recently spoke with Pooch Hall about the upcoming TV One film which is also serving as a backdoor pilot for a potential series. We spoke about the film’s parallels to “The Godfather” trilogy, playing a particular type of villain and what he has coming up next.

Aramide Tinubu: Hi Pooch, how are you?

Pooch Hall: I’m pretty good sweetheart, and yourself?

AT: I’m great, thank you. I really appreciate you taking the time to speak with me today about “Media.”

PH: Oh sure, of course.

AT: Clay Jones is a very different character than Derwin from “The Game” or even Daryll from “Ray Donovan.” He’s quite unlike anyone you’ve ever played before; he’s very brutal and manipulative. How did you prepare for this role?

PH: It was really getting familiar with the material for one. And, I recognized the family dynamic because it felt so similar to “The Godfather.” I watched “The Godfather,” studied Sonny, and I recognized some of those elements in my character. I just really looked at that film and saw Sonny’s confidence and lack of fear as the eldest son, and I just tried to do my character justice as far making him believable and entertaining and having layers. Anyone can play a bad guy or a tough guy, but if it’s not believable, then no one is going to buy it. I’m also extremely family oriented, and I have brothers and sisters, so I just took from that.

AT: Certainly! Why did you decide to join the cast of “Media?” What was it about this project aside from those references to “The Godfather” that made you want to be a part of it?

PH: I’m a big fan of Mrs. Cathy Hughes and her story of starting from the bottom and working her way up; just seeing a strong Black woman in our community. When I first heard about this project I just thought, “Wow, this is so interesting.” I knew all of the work she’d put in because of her reputation so; I got the script, I read it and liked it. The role was something very different for me. That’s what really attracted me to the project.

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Review: ’24: Legacy’ Is A Bold & Culturally Relevant Reboot Reminiscent Of Its Predecessor

Fifteen years after the iconic television series starring Kiefer Sutherland hit TV screens, and seven years since the last official episode of the series went off the air, Fox’s spin-off series, “24: Legacy” is attempting to breathe new life into the overcrowded and often overdone genre of television political thrillers.

Starring “Straight Outta Compton” actor Corey Hawkins, “24: Legacy” is an innovate, bold, and culturally relevant reboot of the original series. It’s also the first rendition of “24” that won’t star Sutherland in any capacity. As executive producer Brian Grazer said at the premiere party that I attended earlier this week, with everything going on in the world currently, “24: Legacy” serves as the perfect port of escapism.

The pilot opens with a very gruesome bang, and the action goes non-stop until the final second on the clock calls the episode to a close. Hawkins stars as Eric Carter, an Army Ranger who has gone into hiding with his wife Nicole (“Greenleaf’s” Anna Diop). After returning to US soil following a classified mission in Afghanistan that killed terrorist Bin-Khalid and prevented an attack in the States, Eric and Nicole are looking for a fresh start. Unfortunately, it seems like everything Eric did during that fateful mission is coming back to haunt him.

With this help of his former commander, Rebecca Ingram (Miranda Otto), head of the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) who is supposed to be stepping down from her role to support her husband in his bid for Presidency, Eric must figure out how to save himself and the country that he serves. In an interview with TV Guide, executive producer Manny Coto said that “24 Legacy” was inspired by the Navy SEALS who killed Osama bin Ladan and the trauma that they felt during the months following the raid.

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Sundance Review: 'Quest' Is A Sobering But Warm Welcome Into The Lives Of A North Philly

More often than not, impoverished communities, especially those in inner cities are cast aside and forgotten about. Film, along with the rest of the world rarely pays attention to the people who live in these neighborhoods and the events that occur within them. Unless the film’s narrative is one of unimaginable tragedy or a rags-to-riches tale; one would assume from what cinema shows us, that these communities and these very real people don’t exist at all. With his beautiful and gently paced debut feature documentary “Quest,” director Jonathan Olshefski shatters the stereotypes of the inner city by giving one family a platform. We are introduced to the Raineys, an ordinary family living in North Philadelphia shortly after President Barack Obama’s first election in 2008.

We meet Christopher “Quest” Rainey and his to-be wife, Christine’a “Ma Quest” Rainey a few days before their wedding. Though the duo had been a couple for nearly two decades by that time; with a twenty-one-year-old son, William and a thirteen-year-old daughter PJ; the pair is eager for their impending nuptials. We watch as the couple is bonded in matrimony in a sea of pink and white roses with Christine’a donning a glittery tiara.  The film slides forward, slowly marking time mostly through television broadcasts of Obama as he addresses the nation about various horrific mass shootings. PJ propelling forward into teenhood and her constant growth spurts are perhaps the other only time markers.

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Image: Quest Film

Review: 'The Bounce Back' Is A Charming Solid Effort From First Time Producer Shemar Moore

I’ll deny it if you ever bring it up in conversation, but the truth is, I have a pretty large obsession with romance novels. My Kindle is nearly bursting with them. It’s something about those inevitable plot points full of grand gestures and just a bit of conflict that put a smile on my face, even when the world is literally crumbling around me. Marking his first venture into producing, Shemar Moore’s newest film “The Bounce Back” felt exactly like returning to a favorite romance book.

In the film, which is loosely based on the novel “The Bounce Back Book” by Karen Salmansohn, Moore stars as relationship and self-help expert Matthew Taylor, whose newest best seller, “The Bounce Back “ boasts that getting over heartbreak is a simple as willing yourself to get over it. A divorced dad turned sexy playboy; Matthew seems to float through life on his charms and dazzling smiles as if his past and the destruction of his marriage have no bearing on whom he is today. With his best friend and manager Terry Twist (Bill Bellamy) in tow, Matthew’s life appears to be going along perfectly until a run in with clinical physiologist, Kristin Peralta (Nadine Velazquez), has him rethinking everything he thought he knew about love, intimacy, and heartache.

A career driven woman with little time for nonsense (or love), I admittedly held my breath at first, hopeful that Kristin’s character wouldn’t be reduced to a sassy Latina stereotype. Luckily, Velazquez did not disappoint. Still reeling from a devastating breakup six years prior, Kristin does not sit in her pain, but she certainly didn’t run from it either. Determined not to be made a fool of again, she‘s successful, smart and focused on her own well-being despite being jaded about love and relationships. After being pushed by her girlfriends to attend one of Matthew’s seminars on healing after a devastating breakup, sparks fly between the pair; and not in a good way. With solid counter arguments to all of his points, Kristin is unafraid to call out Matthew on his “bounce back” method. She’s also quick to point out his “lowly” life-coach status as opposed to her license and years of practicing counseling. Their sparring was full of witty comebacks and got more than one chuckle out of me. The duos public bickering swiftly captures the attention of the media, and they soon find themselves on a cross-country book tour, showcasing their opposing views.

“The Bounce Back” doesn’t break any new ground, when it comes to it’s narrative. It’s fairly predictable, hitting all of the nuts and bolts that we are all accustomed to in any romantic comedy; right down to the corny jokes delivered mostly by Bellamy’s character Terry, and Moore’s sensational six-pack abs. (You can’t have a rom-com without a decent set of abs.) However, as a romance lover, there was certainly some charm in this film. Matthew and Kristin are both people I know (and perhaps people I’ve been at one point or another in my life). Most filmgoers will also certainly relate to what it feels like to be stuck in a rut when it comes to their romantic lives. Moreover, many of us can understand the desire to move past heartbreak and pain through sheer willpower; determined to grasp on to the hope that we can no longer see.

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Image: The Bounce Back/ Viva Films

Review: Denzel Washington & Viola Davis Honor August Wilson In A Stunning Adaptation Of August Wilson's 'Fences'

As a child, like most children I presume, I did not think of my parents as real people. They acted instead as my comforters and my providers, the people I stretched out my hands towards when I needed something. I was nearly out of the house before I considered what they might have given up; what dreams they may have sacrificed or brushed aside in the 60’s, the ’70s and ‘80s to provide my sister and myself with the best life that they could. For us, they moved through life often joyful but at times enraged; continually propping up a marriage that was long past its expiration date. Though I lived in their story with them, for the first part of my life, I observed as an outsider, labeling them as who they presented themselves to be instead of who they actually were. I, their eldest child, was guilty of not really seeing them in the full scope of their humanity.

With his ten plays in The Pittsburg Cycle, playwright August Wilson mastered, narrated and documented the African-American experience throughout the twentieth century in the United States. From “Gem of the Ocean” to “Radio Golf,” each play set in a different decade revealed new challenges, joys, and nuances of the Black experience. August Wilson forced you to see; to bear witness to Black lives, by presenting full and complete human beings in his narratives. Something I was unable to do with my own parents until my early adulthood.

It has been a long road for the film adaptation of August Wilson’s sixth play in his Pittsburg Cycle, and it seems now that the timing has never been so ideal. Set in the 1950’s, Wilson’s critically acclaimed “Fences” comes sparkling to life on the film screen with Denzel Washington in the director’s chair and starring as patriarch Troy Maxson; a middle-aged garbage collector who, despite living a respectable life, struggles deeply with internal dissatisfaction, defeat, and bitterness. Not to be outdone by Washington’s commanding performance, Viola Davis holds her own, exploding onto the screen as his wife, Rose, a long-suffering but hopeful woman, desperate to keep her family together amid racial turmoil, financial issues and dreams deferred.

Incredibly faithful to the original play which first debuted on Broadway in March of 1987, through Washington’s lens, Troy and Rose’s story gets expanded and stretched out spectacularly as if August himself were walking the audience through the narrative. Both Washington and Davis have mastered (having acted in the play in the 2010 Broadway revival) these characters – the dichotomy of what it means to be Black in America during this particular moment. To be at once joyful and deeply tormented.

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Image: Fences/ Paramount