Change Your Image
epicintron
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Millie and the Lords (2015)
Great Blend of Fiction and Fact
This deserves a 10 just for the rarity of the subject. There are so few movies that deal with The Young Lords, the Puerto Rican Black Panthers, and their efforts and contributions during the revolution of the 1960s and 70s.
The movie is a great blend of fiction and documentary and the transitions are smooth. The interviews with the aging members of the Lords felt real and I recognized Felipe Luciano, who I know was a Lord. Further, the actors in the narrative were representative of Latinos physically, a good mix of both color and size.
But more than anything, there were moments of poetry in the script. Moments, I almost cried. As a Latina, I am proud.
Insecure (2016)
Fresh, funny and unique to 21st Century TV
Love this character! She's real, refreshing, constantly evolving and like no other currently on television. I am eager to see what else she gets into. The scenarios are endless because this character has so much unmined territory. I only hope the network and the viewing public give her the chance. So far she has dealt with the complexities of male/female relationships for millennials from the educated black female perspective, how "girlfriends" (platonic female friends) keep you sane, and trying to remain true to oneself in a hostile work environment. Unlike "Girlfriends", a comedy about four black women that aired for eight seasons beginning in 2000, "Insecure" breaks it (real life) down. We are allowed inside Issa's head and can feel her insecurities, the doubts that make her second guess herself and act, often, foolishly. We also see how she shakes the foolishness off and finds a way of working it out. The language and situations are often raw--in your face, but that is an aspect of its realness. "Insecure" brings "Girlfriends" all the way into the 21st century void of the restrictions, mediation and second-guessing that the Tracee Ellis Ross sit-com was subject to. Hopefully, America's viewing public is finally ready for it.
Sheena (2000)
Very Pretty Sawdust
Wow! Bad acting, questionable costumes, poorly written. Characters are cardboard cutouts that move. However, there are more black actors in this 2001 television show than in the whole entertainment industry that year. But hey, did the heroine have to be so blond? I'd never seen it when it was on, but I'm watching it now (winter, 2016) on an off-beat channel on a sunny Saturday in the afternoon. It's hilarious. Although, I'm not sure it's supposed to be. Never saw Baywatch either, except for those promotional shots of Pamela Anderson's bouncing boobs as she ran across the sand. I can certainly see how the two shows were produced by the same studio. I must say, the film quality and color are very good. It's like eating an attractive dessert that tastes like sawdust. Edgar Rice Burroughs would cringe at what he'd spawned--or maybe not.
Rostam & Esfandyar (2011)
Unrelated to the Persian Myth
This is an odd little black and white film that consists primarily of cars parked on a narrow street and later driving on an expressway at night. The audio was muffled, but then there were few lines and fewer actors. The man who drove the car, got out, locked it and went to the door of a row house apartment where he called for Esfandyar. That in effect was the highlight of the action. Later the guys came out of the apartment and began talking about a game that was coming up. Maybe it was meant to be nouveau Dadaist minimalism or something, but if that's the case it went over my head. For the most part, there were long static moments of a shadowy street. Poorly lit and in search of a plot, this movie had nothing to do with the Prince of Persia, Esfandyar and his nemesis Rostam. It would seem that when an artist uses names that are prominent in mythology there would be some meaning in the reference, but alas there was none that I could discern.