Anna Cathcart Delivers Spunk and Whimsy to ‘To All The Boys I Loved Before’ Spinoff ‘XO, Kitty’: TV Review

Katherine Song Covey (Anna Cathcart), aka Kitty, is a Gen Z dream. Since she was introduced six years ago in the “To All The Boys I Loved Before” trilogy, the precocious younger sister to Laura Jean (Lana Condor) and Margot (Janel Parrish) has walked to her own beat. Steadfast, determined and slightly nosey, Kitty’s incessant meddling helped connect LJ to her long-term love Peter (Noah Centineo). With the new spinoff TV series, “XO, Kitty,” the youngest Covey sister is stepping into the spotlight and going after the life she feels she deserves, even if that means getting her heart broken in the process. 

Continue reading at Variety.

Netflix’s ‘Transatlantic’ Leans Into Glossiness Over Realism: TV Review

Piecing together pivotal historical events in a limited series in order to create a compelling narrative is a tall task. However, creator and writer Anna Winger is no stranger to this work. Her 2020 adaptation of Deborah Feldman’s 2012 autobiography, “Unorthodox,” which followed one Jewish woman’s liberation from her Hasidic community, received critical acclaim. With her latest series, “Transatlantic,” an adaptation of Julie Orringer’s novel “The Flight Portfolio,” Winger is again centering real-life figures fighting against oppression. From 1940 to 1941, literary journalist Varian Fry and American heiress Mary Jayne Gold were instrumental in helping pivotal Jewish writers and artists flee France amid the Nazi occupation. However, while Esty Shapiro’s personal journey to freedom in the contemporary setting of “Unorthodox” was sharp and captivating, “Transatlantic” lacks the same sense of urgency and precision.

Continue reading at Variety.

Netflix's 'From Scratch,' Starring Zoe Saldaña, Is An Act Of Pure Love For Attica And Tembi Locke

Black women experience epic love stories. It may not seem that way based on what the media says and how often Hollywood ignores the romantic lives of Black women, but like everyone else, we have moments that sweep us off of our feet and take our breath away. Writer/producer Attica Locke has always known the importance of seeing all facets of Black women’s lives on-screen, especially as leading ladies. Therefore, the Little Fires Everywhere writer learned that her sister, Tembi Locke, was penning her memoir, From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home, about her epic love story; Attica knew that it also needed to come to life on screen. 

Before Tembi even finished penning the novel, Attica pitched the film to Hello Sunshine — Reese Witherspoon’s production company. “I literally pitched my sister’s entire book in one sitting and said, ‘You have to read it,'” the From Scratch showrunner told Shadow and Act. “[Hello Sunshine President Lauren Neustadter] went, ‘Okay.’ She was a little dubious like, ‘Your sister wrote a book?’ But they read it, and within a week, we were in their office just talking about ‘How are we going to do this?'”

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

'Is That Black Enough For You?!?' Is A Powerful Examination of Black Film Representation That Will Leave You Wanting More [NYFF Review]

Black films have existed since the silent era. Filmmakers like Oscar Micheaux and later Spencer Williams worked tirelessly to write, direct and represent Black life on screen. However, amid unbridled anti-Blackness and the Jim Crow era, Hollywood studios, who owned the biggest movie houses at the time, locked Black films out of their cinemas. White writers, directors and producers of that era had their own ideas about Black life — ones that were riddled with demeaning stereotypes and degrading roles. 

Yet, as film scholar and historian Elvis Mitchell describes in his dense but riveting film essay, Is That Black Enough For You?!?, racism didn’t stop Black people from falling in love with movies. Nor did it stop the deep yearning within many of them, Mitchell included, from wanting to see themselves represented on the big screen. 

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

Inside The Wacky, Wondrous World Of Netflix's 'Wendell & Wild,' The Reteaming Of Jordan Peele And Keegan-Michael Key

As technology has expanded, the use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) and other special effects to bring narratives to life has become commonplace in cinema. Stop-motion animation, which requires a film crew to work in absolute harmony and for a movie to be captured frame by frame, is, in some ways, a lost art. However, for The Nightmare Before Christmas director Henry Selick, it is still the most delectable way to tell a story. A master at his craft, the Academy Award nominee has teamed up with Academy Award winner Jordan Peele for his latest wickedly delightful project, Netflix‘s Wendell & Wild.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

'A Jazzman's Blues' Trailer: Tyler Perry Brings Netflix His Years-Spanning Tale Of Forbidden Love

Netflix has dropped the trailer for A Jazzman’s Blues, the upcoming film from Tyler Perry.

Here’s the official synopsis:

A sweeping tale of forbidden love, A JAZZMAN’S BLUES unspools forty years of secrets and lies soundtracked by juke joint blues in the deep South. Written, directed and produced by Perry, the film stars Joshua Boone and Solea Pfeiffer as star-crossed lovers Bayou and Leanne. 

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

In Netflix's 'Descendant,' The Past Bubbles Up To The Surface [MVAAFF Review]

There were many horrors born out of the enslavement of Black bodies. Terror, sexual abuse, mental anguish, despair, and the separation of families are only the tip of the iceberg. Erasure— of history and personhood — are still things that echo through the Black community. However, as filmmaker Margaret Brown’s striking documentary Descendant suggests, our histories and the truth can never stay buried for long. 

Descendant begins the search for a slave ship that should have never existed. Just one year before the American Civil War began and 52 years after the International slave trade was outlawed in the United States, a ship named Clotilda arrived on the shores of Alabama. A white plantation owner named Timothy Meaher charted the illegal expedition in a bet that he could evade the law. Clotilda carried 110 African men, women, and children to the Alabama shores before Meaher set the vessel ablaze —determined to erase what he’d done. 

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

'Beauty' Director Andrew Dosunmu Says The Lena Waithe-Penned Netflix Film Is A Love Letter To Black Women Vocalists

The intricacies of our identities are what make us unique. However, ostracization and othering are also used in a society that delights in placing people in boxes. Netflix’s Beauty, directed by Nigerian director Andrew Dosunmu and written by Lena Waithe, centers on one young woman’s determination to hold on to her identity amid her rising fame. Set in the ’80s on the East Coast, Beauty follows a young singer (Gracie Marie Bradley) who, after earning a lucrative recording contract, is determined to define herself outside of the oppressive household of her hyper-religious parents (portrayed by Niecy Nash and Giancarlo Esposito).

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

Netflix's 'Civil' Couldn't Be More Urgent Or Timely [ABFF 2022]

For more than two decades, Attorney Benjamin Crump has been at the forefront of advocating for Black Lives in America. His cases have included the families of Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Andre Hill, and countless others. When the American Justice system has refused to be an equal playing field, Crump and his team have proceeded with civil charges so that the families could obtain some monetary justice where the criminal justice system failed to work for them. 

Now, with her latest Netflix documentary Civil, Becoming filmmaker, Nadia Hallgren takes viewers through one year of Attorney Crump's life. The documentary follows Crump, who has continually advocated for Black life and humanity, not just in cases of police brutality but also in fighting back against racist banking structures and businesses who placed profit over the protection of Black life. 

Ahead of the Civil premiere as the opening night selection of the American Black Film Festival, Shadow and Act spoke with Crump and director Hallgren about the documentary and why the film has never been more timely. 

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

How ‘Pieces of Her’ and ‘The Lost Daughter’ Shatter the Illusion of Motherhood

Growing up on Chicago’s south side in the ’90s and early 2000s, Black women were always the mothers. Or at least that’s how it seemed. My mother, a gorgeous brown-skinned woman from the west side, with 12 siblings and an MBA, stood at the center. Other mothers were in her orbit as well — neighbors, aunts, cousins, even the mothers I saw on TV.

The Cosby Show’s Clair Huxtable, Moesha’s Dee Mitchell, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’s Aunt Viv felt familiar because they resembled the real-life mothers in my life, who all made motherhood seem effortless. They dressed elegantly, easily juggled the demands of their careers with parenting and still seemed to have ample time for themselves. As a result, I assumed mothering was easy. But that’s the thing: So much of what we perceive about motherhood is an illusion. It wasn’t until I was well into my 20s, reflecting back on my childhood that I realized all of the challenges that these women faced.

Continue reading at Netflix’s Tudum.

‘jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy’ Is Anchored By Fame and Friendship

Fame isn’t normal. It doesn’t even seem humane. Yet, from the beginning of his life, Kanye West was determined to be recognized and revered for his gifts. The rapper/producer/fashion designer was determined to earn his status as a musical legend even if he ran himself into the ground to see it through. 

Since his acclaimed debut album, College Dropout, some 18 years ago, so much has been said about the eccentric rapper from Chicago. Like many celebrities who reach global icon status, he’s been admired, lauded, critiqued, and condemned. Through his work, actions, and statements, Kanye has earned all of this. For a man who has become almost a caricature of how he was once perceived, it’s easy to question if we, the public —current fans and those still longing for the old Kanye — ever knew him at all. 

Continue reading at ESSENCE.

Deconstructing the Sex Appeal of LaKeith Stanfield Across Four Roles

There are few actors as versatile and intensely arresting as LaKeith Stanfield. Since appearing in Destin Daniel Cretton's Short Term 12 upon graduating from high school, Stanfield has gone on to work with premier talents, including Ava DuVernay, Jordan Peele and Donald Glover. Most recently, he joined his contemporaries Jonathan Majors, Regina King and Idris Elba in Netflix’s thunderous Western The Harder They Fall.

Continue reading at Netflix’s Tudum.

In Netflix's 'Fatherhood,' Kevin Hart gives a white dad's memoir new layers of meaning

Netflix's new dramatic comedy "Fatherhood," based on Matt Logelin's memoir, follows Matt, played by comedian Kevin Hart, a soon-to-be father who isn't quite taking the impending birth of his daughter seriously enough.

Though an emergency C-section upends his plans for a night out with the guys, both Matt and his wife, Liz (Deborah Ayorinde, of "Them"), who had health concerns during the pregnancy, are delighted with their newborn baby, Maddy.

However, shortly after giving birth, Liz dies suddenly of a pulmonary embolism, leaving a reeling Matt to try and deal with his grief and a brand-new baby on his own.

Continue reading at NBC Think.

Netflix's 'The Upshaws' rejects the outdated respectability politics of modern Black sitcoms

Since the premiere of "The Cosby Show" in 1984 — two decades after the civil rights movement — there has been a seeming obsession with presenting "respectable" and "good" Black people on network TV to majority-white Americans. That obsession, of course, has deep roots: Black Americans are raised with the expectation that they must be twice as "good" and hard-working as their white counterparts not just to succeed but also to avoid being touched by racism and racist scrutiny.

The reality, though, was that portraying one's respectability to white people is not, and never was, a shield from systemic oppression or personal racism.

Continue reading at NBC THINK.

'Malcolm & Marie' isn't a romance movie. It's a war movie set in the middle of a relationship.

"Malcolm & Marie" comes with a warning label: Despite the glittering, black and white cinematography and the brilliance of both John David Washington as Malcolm and Zendaya as Marie, it tells viewers upfront that they're not watching a romance film.

Instead of witnessing two characters meeting cute, falling for one another, encountering conflict, and making a decision about their relationship, "Euphoria" creator Sam Levinson cracks open a window into a long-term relationship, one burdened with the weight of time and the baggage of two very flawed people who happen to also be Black.

Continue reading at NBC Think.

In Netflix's 'Bridgerton,' Shonda Rhimes reinvents how to present race in a period piece

Television and cinema have had a long love affair with Great Britain during the lush Regency era. From classic novels reimagined on screen, like "Pride and Prejudice" and "Emma," to historical dramas about their authors, like "Becoming Jane" and "Bright Star," there has always been something intriguing for moviegoers about this period. But in Netflix's new series "Bridgerton," premiering on Christmas Day, producer and media mogul Shonda Rhimes, along with "Scandal" and "Grey's Anatomy" producer Chris Van Dusen, have completely reimagined how to present that time and place on film.

Continue reading at NBC Think.

Netflix's 'Jingle Jangle' adds Black girl magic to the Christmas family film pantheon

Family Christmas films have been staples in popular culture, full of whimsy, holiday cheer and hijinks, from 1946's "It's a Wonderful Life" to 1947's "Miracle on 34th Street," the cartoon heydays of the 1960s and '70s ("How the Grinch Stole Christmas," "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "A Year Without a Santa Claus," among others) and well into the 1990s and the 2000s with "Home Alone," "The Santa Clause" and even "Elf." But while many people across all backgrounds have been delighted by these films, David E. Talbert's "Jingle Jangle," now out on Netflix, delivers a magical winter wonderland with something different: Black faces at the center. That alone is something worth celebrating.

Continue reading at NBC Think.

Grand Army pushes past teen tropes into compelling storytelling

Set in early 2020 in Brooklyn, New York, Grand Army begins with a bang of Cardi B. lyrics, a city-wide emergency, and a flurry of notifications lighting up Grand Army High School students’ cellphones. Just a few minutes into the show’s premiere, the student body finds itself under lockdown following a suicide bombing attack in the community. In a frenzy of fear and crazed excitement, the students merge in stairwells and on classroom floors, waiting for the chaos to calm. This might seem far-reaching for a teen drama, but considering the times we’re in, it’s sadly typical.

In the ’90s, the short-lived teen drama My So-Called Life got to the heart and truth of the high school experience. More recently, HBO’s Euphoria cast a blazing light on Gen Z, a generation of bright-eyed humans witnessing more and discovering things quicker than older generations could have ever imagined. Based on her Slut: The Play, Katie Cappiello’s Grand Army joins the few projects that give us an authentic view of teenhood and the emotional saga of high school without exploiting its young people or hiding behind a glaze of Hollywood tropes.

Continue reading at The A.V. Club.

The Director in the Middle of the #CancelNetflix Backlash Speaks Out

Aside from rare examples like Crooklyn, Eve’s Bayou, and Beasts of a Southern Wild, Hollywood has dismissed the young Black female experience. But with her feature film debut, Cuties, French Senegalese filmmaker Maïmouna Doucouré is putting the spotlight on Black girls while helping them reclaim their girlhood.

Doucouré won a distinguished directing award for Cuties when the film debuted at Sundance in January, but months later, she found herself in the middle of a media firestorm after Netflix released a shocking poster for its English-speaking audience. The poster showed a sexualized image of young girls that stood apart from the film’s religious versus secular context and nuance. Though Netflix has apologized for its failure, Doucouré has been the recipient of numerous death threats and personal attacks.

In recent days, the hashtag #CancelNetflix has trended in response. Some viewers find the film to sexualize young girls. Others point out that the film is the unfortunate victim of a poor marketing campaign and that critics took the poster out of context.

Set in present-day Paris, Cuties follows 11-year-old Amy (Fathia Youssouf), a recent transplant from Senegal who becomes increasingly enamored with her classmate Angelica (Médina El Aidi-Azouni), the queen bee of a group of schoolgirls who call themselves the Cuties. With her mother preoccupied by the devastating news that her husband has taken a second wife, Amy desperately throws herself into becoming a Cutie, even taking part in a dance competition with Angelica and her friends. Like most girls new to town, she just wants to belong.

Amid the film’s Netflix debut and the swirling social media scandal, Doucouré spoke with ZORA about Cuties, standing in her truth, and why this story is so important for her.

Continue reading at ZORA.