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Paul Mooney: Know Your History - Jesus Is Black... So Was Cleopatra 2007
We’re all born entertainers, you know that? Flip Wilson—true story—was hitchhiking and the white man gave him a ride. He said, “What do you do for a living?" Flip said "I'm an entertainer". He said, “But...aren’t you all?” That’s a true story.
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The Acquaintances of a Lonely John 2008
Forgot to log. Watched late at night with my brother, followed by a good talk and a Dragon Ball Super mini-marathon.
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Night Shifts 2020
Forgot that I watched this $20K YouTube video the other night. I remember thinking I’d just watched somebody launder money right in front of my eyes, and maybe I’m hating (and if I am, fuck it) but a part of me felt a bit depressed afterwards. Less about the absorbent amount of money this "used", but more about this treating gofundme campaigns as just another means to bolster a celebrity’s personal branding—this time as being an "indie" or "grassroots" artist.…
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There's Nothing You Can Do 2008
Pretty cool seeing Bronstein in this. I have no clue who this Casey Neistat guy is, but the kids seem to like him. The guy from Catfish is in this apparently? Weird. Also, fuck that baby.
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Man Rots from the Head 2016
Lovely. Every Janicza Bravo interview and short film just makes me more excited to see Zola.
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The Chicken 2020
Fascinating short that makes me contemplate the kinds of life we value. The cinematography is nice, and somehow invokes feelings of IKEA. I think this is playing all week on Le Cinéma Club, so check it out there.
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Hour Glass 1971
I don’t know why, but watching this made me realize that if I’d had a teacher like Haile Gerima I’d have never dropped out of college. Dope to hear Niggers Are Scared of Revolution by The Last Poets in here. Even in his first film, Gerima’s war on the cinema and its lineage of colonization has clearly been waged.
Check out this film and other L.A. Rebellion first shorts here.
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A Walk with Charles Burnett 2019
The fact that this ends with Burnett getting his Oscar to the sound of the final trumpet song (played by a kid who is a stand in for Burnett as a child) from To Sleep With Anger really and truly warms my fucking heart.
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Body and Soul 1925
Paul Robeson’s name and life story have been rotating in my mind this entire year, so I decided I’d check out his (oddly unacknowledged) screen debut. I don’t really have a review for this. It inspires a lot more reading, for me, than it does writing. A few observations though:
• Paul Robeson is a fucking movie star.
• Micheaux is experimental with his use of seamless flashback, intercutting and casting. But what I most enjoyed from a technical standpoint…