Tag: Lakeith Stanfield

‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ is essential cinema | Sundance movie review
Judas and the Black Messiah is an electrifying and contemplative biopic about Black Panther party chairman Fred Hampton and the plot to bring him down

Chloé Zhao makes Nomadland‘s melancholic but hopeful story of nomads traversing the American West a stunningly complex character study of life on the margins of society.

Of the movies that have come out after last year’s Black Lives Matter protests, Judas and the Black Messiah is perhaps the most essential. A raw and in the trenches look at the Black Panther party through the eyes of Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya returning to Chicago after his incredible turn in Widows), the chairman of The Illinois chapter, and FBI informant William O’Neal (Lakeith Stanfield), director Shaka King’s sophomore feature feels like a magnum opus.

That’s stunning considering his last feature, which also premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, came out six years ago to little fanfare. However, what makes Judas and the Black Messiah so essential is its ability to switch between electric moments of rebellion against an oppressive system and quiet moments of beauty, sadness, and love in the movement.

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To properly communicate my feelings towards the movie, I have to talk about my very visceral reaction to watching it. In one scene after returning from prison for a throwaway charge, Hampton gives a speech to a packed church of party supporters. Kaluuya is brimming with emotion — happiness, pride, rage — as his onlookers cheer him on. I was shaking like I was in the room, unable to sit any longer.

In another moment, as Hampton is talking to the mother of his child, Deborah Johnson (played sensitively by Dominique Fishback). She recites a poem to him about the fear of bringing a child into this “war zone.” Not the war between the party and the cops, the war between the country and Black people. It’s impossible not to ache physically. To feel empathetic for the experience of being Black in America.

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I’m writing this review immediately after watching the film and I’m having trouble communicating what makes it work so well. It’s above plot and above character. It’s a feeling. It’s purely human. Even O’Neal, seen as a traitor to many, is humanized. However, as Stanfield put in the post screening Q&A, that humanization isn’t meant to explain away his behavior. It’s meant to show us he felt guilty, but did what he did anyway.

Judas and the Black Messiah is perhaps the closest I’ve gotten in this long quarantine to feeling engulfed by a film like it is to watch one in a theater. It’s oscillation between electric moments of genre storytelling — thrilling moments of action — and quiet introspective studies of character keep you spellbound. That’s the word I’ve been looking for this whole review. It’s a spellbinding movie. One that will be studied for years to come.

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Hey! I’m Karl. You can find me on Twitter and Letterboxd. I’m also a Tomatometer-approved critic.

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February 1, 2021
'Knives Out' is a whodunit done well — movie review

On his 80th birthday, Harlan Thrombey is found dead and sets off a classic whodunit where all the suspects have their knives out for each other

One-sentence review: Knives Out creates one of the great movie families with the ridiculous Thrombeys and puts them in a murder mystery that’s as compelling as it is relevant.

Details: ? Rian Johnson // ⏳ 130 minutes // ? 2019

The cast: Ana de Armas, Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, Christopher Plummer

Though Ready or Not is a horror, Knives Out is a whodunit mystery, and Parasite is… well, Parasite, they all center on a character (or characters) spending time around people in another class. In Knives Out, that character is Marta (Blade Runner 2049’s breakout Ana De Armas) and the people of another class is the Thrombey Family. And while the movie is packaged as a neat, tidy, and ridiculous sendup of the classic murder mystery, director and writer Rian Johnson has a lot more on his mind and the movie is all the better for it.

However, Johnson isn’t opaque about his point-of-view, the fun of the movie is that you know exactly what he’s talking about. You see, the Thrombeys are the kind of rich people that think they’re entitled to being rich. Something the recently passed patriarch and famed crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is keenly aware of. During the reading of his will you can tell what each character wants — his publishing business, the house, his money. However, Harlan’s untimely demise — which is initially ruled a suicide — means there’s more in the way of the Thrombeys and their money.

Knives Out poster. Credit: Lionsgate.

That’s because someone hired famed private investigator Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), a heavily southern Hercule Poirot-type that Harlan’s grandson Ransom (Chris Evans) refers to as “CSI: KFC,” to investigate whether Harlan’s death was truly a suicide. The suspects are largely his family. There’s his son Walt (Michael Shannon), who is bent on getting control of the publishing business so he can sell film rights to Netflix. Then there’s his daughter and Ransom’s mother Linda (Jamie Lee Curtis), a “self-made” business woman who just needed $1 million of daddy’s money to get her business off the ground — her husband Richard (Don Johnson) is being towed along. And best of all, there’s Joni (Toni Collette), a Gwyneth Paltrow-inspired lifecycle blogger who runs a website called Flam.

Each of them — and the people connected to them — has a reason for wanting Harlan dead. And at the center of it all is Marta. Blanc takes a shining to her because she has a very unique “superpower.” She cannot help but throw up violently when she tells a lie. He sees that as an asset. But like everyone in this movie, she has something to hide.

Leave it to Johnson, who managed to piece together one of the most compelling Star Wars movies with The Last Jedi, to construct a nearly perfect murder mystery. Despite the many twists and turns, all the pieces to solve the mystery are always there. He doesn’t insert any out of nowhere surprises. You can truly solve the puzzle. That doesn’t stop him from presenting it in an interesting way.

The first act is largely comprised of interviews with each family member who gives their account of the night in question — Harlan’s 80th birthday party. However, each of them twists the facts to make themselves look innocent. Hilariously, all their terrible sides are uncovered. In one of my favorite small details, each family member says a different country the Marta immigrated from despite them constantly saying she’s “part of the family.” In another, Richard praises Marta for immigrating “correctly.” As integrated she is into their lives, she’s still a class visitor.

It’s those small microaggressions that elevate Knives Out past its premise. Not that its premise isn’t already great. Like Get Out, Johnson is careful to make the movie work as a genre pic as well as a social commentary. It’s just what gives it that extra push past being crowd-pleasing popcorn fare. Admittedly, it’s great crowd-pleasing popcorn fare.

The mystery, the characters, and the humor are all spot on. Craig is a standout as is Evans, who plays Ransom as the typical New Englander heir who probably just bought a boat. Then there’s Collette who nails it with the line, “I read a Tweet about a New Yorker article about you,” referencing Blanc. If anything, I wish we spent more time with the Thrombeys. Though, Craig, de Armas, plus Lakeith Stanfield and Noah Segan as a pair of not-so-helpful detectives are certainly fun to watch.

As I’m thinking back to watching the movie there isn’t a singular moment that stands out — perhaps the stellar final shot. But I think that’s a testament to the sheer consistency of it all. The movie is built around character and story instead of just finding the next gag. It’s so refreshing and so effective. It’s easily one of the best times I had in a theater this year.

November 24, 2019
‘Get Out’ review — Social issues meet horror with Jordan Peele’s debut

Get Out is easily one of the most original horror movies — or just movie for that matter — in years by one of the most exciting filmmakers of our generation.

Take the setup Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, the world of Stepford Wives, and the exploration of the black experience in I Am Not Your Negro and you have a movie that is certainly not as successful as Jordan Peele’s near-perfect directorial debut, Get Out. While the movie has elements of others that came before it, the horror-thriller is completely unique in the way it carries them out. It mixes old-fashioned scares and genuinely hilarious comedy with a specific perspective that makes it one of the most original movies in years.

The cold opening of the movie, which features a young black man (LaKeith Stanfield) walking alone down a deserted suburban street, shows off Peele’s aptitude for thriller directing. His uninterrupted shot down the shady street is joined by some truly hilarious comedic timing and a creeping sense of dread that culminates to a worthy opening jolt. And while the scene certainly makes you laugh, it also sets the unsettling atmosphere that never truly lifts from the film — save for a hilarious ten or so minutes where we follow Lil Rey Howrey‘s Rod.

Get Out sets up very much like Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner with Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) getting ready to meet his girlfriend Rose’s (Allison Williams) parents for the first time. “Do they know I’m black?” Chris asks Rose just before they leave, to which she jokingly responds, “Mom and Dad, my black boyfriend will be coming up this weekend. I just don’t want you to be shocked that he’s a black man.” She has a point and he takes it. However, it seems that his worries were justified when they finally meet her parents Dean (Bradley Whitford) and Missy Armitage (Catherine Keener).

This is where Get Out gets really interesting, but not in the way you think. Peele perfectly replicates this seemingly post-racial America that so many people think exists. However, comments like “I would have voted for Obama a third time if I could have” and “Do you play golf? I know Tiger!” suggest otherwise. Up until about a third of the way through the movie, the main focus of the film is the increasing tension in the house due to Rose’s parents’ odd behavior around Chris.

Peele is incredibly patient and doesn’t tip his hand until the last minute possible. Until then, he imbues us with some genuinely chilling moments including an incredible sequence involving Missy hypnotizing Chris using a tea cup. It literally sent chills down my spine. There aren’t any other bit horror set pieces, but the tension in the movie is almost unbearable at some points, as is the yearning for answers.

Unlike Karyn Kusama’s The Invitation, there’s almost no question that something is amiss in this household, whether it be with Rose’s family or the Georgina (Betty Gabriel) and Walter (Marcus Gabriel), the family’s staff.Although Peele doesn’t blow his big reveal until late into the movie, that doesn’t stop him from dropping hints along the way. In fact, the attention to detail is remarkable. Even details outside of the plot make a huge impression.

Although Peele doesn’t blow his big reveal until late into the movie, that doesn’t stop him from dropping hints along the way. In fact, the attention to detail is remarkable. Even details outside of the plot make a huge impression. Early in the movie as Chris and Rose are driving up to the house, they hit a deer. Chris goes into the woods when he hears the animal crying. And as he’s looking at it, there’s a look of familiarity and sympathy. This is because Chris knows what it’s like to be the prey.

That theme continues throughout the movie. Another detail is in the costuming. When the entire neighborhood goes to the Armitage’s house for an annual party, there is a small detail separating Chris from everyone else. While he wears blue, everyone else wears some form of red. It’s that attention to even the smallest facets of the film — the set, small lines of dialogue, clothing, cereal — that make it such a fun puzzle for the audience to solve. It begs to be watched over and over to dissect it.

However, there’s one piece of the film that is almost as pivotal to its success as any other: the humor. Obviously, with Jordan Peele directing a script that he wrote you expect it to be funny. And it is. Every joke lands squarely every time. What’s more impressive, though, is that he earns those laughs. Don’t be fooled. This is not a horror comedy. The first goal of those movies is to make you laugh. The comedy comes from the natural awkwardness of the situation. It comes from the characters — Lil Rey Howrey is particularly strong. Most importantly, it comes from the fact that these interactions, as exaggerated as they may be, are unfortunately true.

Get Out is easily one of the most original horror movies — or just movie for that matter — in years. It perfectly homages classic horror movies while feeling contemporary in its themes. However, it’s also one of the most entertaining movie experiences I’ve ever had. Both times I watched it, the crowd was laughing, screaming, and cheering the entire time. That’s rare to get an entire group of different people eating out of the palm of your hand or the clink of your teacup.

Get Out is available on Amazon!

Karl’s rating:

March 8, 2017