#jeffrey wright

Who’s the daddy now?

In the spellbinding Moonlight, Ashton Sanders commanded the screen in the most heartbreaking act of the film, communicating a great deal of emotion with the slightest tremor in his facial expression. Unfortunately, his silently tortured performance is just about the only memorable thing about new Netflix film All Day and a Night, an underwhelming crime drama that does little to distinguish itself from other tales of boyz in the hood.

In prospect, there are a lot of reasons to have expected more here. As well as a strong cast that includes Jeffrey Wright and Watchmen’s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, it’s written and directed by a co-writer of Black Panther, Joe Robert Cole, who explores a similar story about the sins of fathers, and the cyclical tragedy that this can bring to families. We follow Jahkor (Sanders); a troubled young man who we learn is serving life in prison for murder. Tracing three instrumental time lines in his life – a time structure that feels too clumsy to fully connect – the story traces the abusive upbringing that got him in his situation.

This should be a premise brimming with tense anticipation, but Cole struggles to generate much interest in what follows, largely because a lot of the material feels so familiar. Jahkor’s trials with an abusive gangbanging father (a slightly off-key performance from Jeffrey Wright) feel rote, as do the random flashes of brutal violence, and Jahkor’s futile aspirations of using rap to get out of the hood. The film also tries to fit in a romance, a gang turf war, and a story of father-son reconciliation into its two-hour running time, meaning that neither section manages to convince. Sanders’ compelling presence does a lot to hold the story together, but with it’s dour tone and plodding story, you would be better off watching Moonlight for a more rewarding exploration of black male masculinity.

All Day and a Night is about how long it feels watching this uninspiring crime drama.

★★

Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun.

The French Dispatch(2021). Director. Wes Anderson.

Wes Anderson for the best director!

The BATMAN (2022, dir. Matt Reeves)

That’s some transformation

As we now come to the end of Daniel Craig’s dynamic dynasty in the history of JamesBond… An alternative poster for his first outing, the gutsy and visceral Casino Royale

Something something Vengeance

blueforthevirus:

Westworld season 4: June 26th!!!!