Kasi Lemmons is the rare filmmaker as comfortable in dreamworlds as histories. This week, Be Reel celebrates the groundbreaking director’s 60th trip around the sun by discussing three of Lemmons’ best-known films: “Eve’s Bayou” (1997), “Talk To Me” (2007), and “Harriet” (2019). 

We’re thrilled to be joined by Christina Baker, a professor of critical race and ethnic studies at the University of California, Merced and the author of “Kasi Lemmons: Interviews.” Baker has written extensively on Lemmons’ films and interviewed the director herself, crafting new theories about Lemmons’ expertise with symbolism and her commitment to storytelling via deep, complex character relationships. 

LISTEN: Alan J.

Continue reading Kasi Lemmons: The Power of Myth, History, And Black Love [Be Reel Podcast] at The Playlist.

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on-demand, vintage and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalog titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This weekly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching. 

This week brings us three new Oscar nominees, an early Oscar hopeful, a pair of first-rate biopics, two new additions to the Criterion Collection, catalog and genre oddities, and somehow, even more.

Continue reading The 11 Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘Parasite,’ ‘Harriet,’ ‘Terminator’ at The Playlist.

Some of the biggest music stars in history are in contention for the 2020 Original Song Oscar after the Academy of Motion Pictures announced the shortlist today.  Songwriters Beyonce (“Spirit” from “The Lion King”), Thom Yorke (“Daily Battles” from “Motherless Brooklyn”), Pharrell Williams (“Letter To My Godfather” from “The Black Godfather”) and Elton John (“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from “Rocketman”) are all in contention as well as “Frozen II’s” Kristen Anderson-Lopez and EGOT winner Robert Lopez (“Into the Unknown”).

Continue reading Beyonce, Thom Yorke & ‘Frozen II’ Make Oscar’s 2020 Original Song Shortlist at The Playlist.

Over the decades, stories have emerged about some of the truly horrific ideas that Hollywood studios have thrown out there. Hell, at one point, there were reports that Sony was exploring a spy film about Spider-Man’s Aunt May. But this story about the origins of the film “Harriet” might just take the cake in showing just how insane studios can be when trying to make money.

Speaking in an interview with Focus Features, “Harriet” writer Gregory Allen Howard (who also reiterated the story in a new LA Times essay) told a story about how he originally pitched the idea of the film back in 1994.

Continue reading ‘Harriet’ Writer Reveals That A Studio Once Suggested Julia Roberts To Play Harriet Tubman In The Film at The Playlist.

After Sunday, and to the surprise of many naysayers, Kasi Lemmons’ “Harriet” has earned a very impressive $31.8 million at the box office with a long way to go in its theatrical run.  The success of the biopic is a testament to the enduring interest its legendary subject, Harriet Tubman, and the word of mouth worthy performance from its star, Cynthia Erivo.  A Tony Award and Grammy Award winner who may soon add an Oscar to her increasingly crowded mantle.

Continue reading Cynthia Erivo On ‘Harriet’s’ Gratifying Success & The ‘Weird & Wonderful’ Mini-Series ‘The Outsider’ [Interview] at The Playlist.

Even with reviews that paint “Terminator: Dark Fate” as the best ‘Terminator’ sequel since the classic ‘T2: Judgment Day,’ it appears that the franchise, as a whole, is officially terminated. (Did you expect to get through this box office report without one termination pun? Come on!)

Though it did debut at the top of the box office, the weekend domestic total for “Terminator: Dark Fate” is abysmal, earning only an estimated $29 million.

Continue reading The ‘Terminator’ Franchise Suffers A ‘Dark Fate’ With A Terrible Box Office Debut at The Playlist.

Lost a little under the radar this awards season is Kasi Lemmons’ “Harriet.” Based on the life of legendary Harriet Tubman, a former slave who made over 13 trips to bring 70 people to freedom, the Focus Features release opens wide on Friday after debuting at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.  Lemmons first movie since 2013’s “Black Nativity,” the historical drama has a more than solid 63 on Metacritic so far and a 64% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Continue reading ‘Harriet’s’ Cynthia Erivo Sings Her Best Original Song Contender, ‘Stand Up’ at The Playlist.

Famed abolitionist Harriet Tubman is not on the American $20 bill yet, thanks to political Trumpian bureaucracy and delay, but even the consideration puts her historical and cultural importance into immediate context. Her courageous story as a political activist and risk-taking Underground Railroad leader is legendary, larger than life, and more than deserving of a fitting cinematic treatment. Director Kasi Lemmons (“Eve‘s Bayou“) and Tony-winning actor Cynthia Erivo (“Widows“) try their best to do her life and legacy justice in the biopic “Harriet,”but the results— beyond the actresses’ terrific performance— are flat, familiar, and largely uninspired in the tradition of unremarkable, eager-to-please awards bait.

Continue reading ‘Harriet’: Cynthia Erivo Cannot Emancipate The Harriet Tubman Story From A Generic Biopic [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

You’ve heard the refrain from us a lot lately. The fall film festival season is upon us and life is nuts. The Telluride Film Festival just ended on Monday. The Venice Film Festival is still going strong, though near the end. And now it’s time for the largest festival in North America, arguably the world: the Toronto International Film Festival. Now TIFF can be seen, in some ways, as pretty broad, McDonald’s-like, featuring many, many stars and red-carpet glamor, all the things that make film festivals feel superficial from the outside.

Continue reading 2019 Toronto International Film Festival: 25 Most Anticipated Movies at The Playlist.

The Toronto International Film Festival should be riding high. The 2018 festival included world premieres of critically lauded films such as Claire Denis’ “High Life,” Matthew Heineman’s “A Private War,” Steve McQueen’s “Widows,” Sebastián Lelio’s “Gloria Bell,” Barry Jenkins’ “If Beale Street Could Talk” and Alex Ross Perry’s “Her Smell.” And its audience winner, “Green Book,” became the first TIFF debut to win Best Picture since “The Hurt Locker” in 2010.

Continue reading Nine Things We Learned From TIFF’s 2019 Slate: ‘Judy,’ ‘Marriage Story,’ ‘Hustlers’ & More at The Playlist.

Based on the life of abolitionist Harriet Tubman, “Harriet” showcases the heroism of the freedom fighter as she helped save slaves via the Underground Railway.

READ MORE: Summer Movie Preview: 35 Films You Shouldn’t Miss

The film, which is directed by Kasi Lemmons (“Eve’s Bayou” and “Talk To Me”) and co-written with Gregory Allen Howard (“Remember the Titans”), showcases the life of Tubman as she not only escaped slavery, but also help end it.

Continue reading ‘Harriet’ Trailer: Kasi Lemmons’ Biopic On The Life of Harriet Tubman at The Playlist.

“Marriage Story,” “Jojo Rabbit,” “Irishman,” “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” and “Parasite” are likely in.  What are the other three to four titles that will join them?  [Updated Nov 14]

REVIEW:  Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” [Cannes Review]

PRETTY MUCH NOMINEES
“Marriage Story”
“Once Upon A Time In Hollywood”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Parasite”
“The Irishman”

LIKELY
“Bombshell”
“1917”
“The Farewell”
“Little Women”

ALMOST THERE
“Judy”
“The Two Popes”
“Ford v.

Continue reading 2020 Best Picture Oscars Contenders And Predictions at The Playlist.

You didn’t forget about Joe Alwyn, did you? Yeah, we’re pretty sure you did.  Well, get ready for a surprise as the 27-year-old Brit is set to appear in three highly anticipated releases over the next two months with roles in Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Favourite,” Joel Edgerton’s “Boy Erased” and Josie Rourke’s “Mary Queen of Scots.” And if you’re so inclined you may be aware he’s currently dating none other than Taylor Swift which, well…sure.

Continue reading Joe Alwyn Is Almost Unrecognizable Playing ‘Favourite’ In Three New Movies [Interview] at The Playlist.