PROS
Great performances by
LaKeith Stanfield (Bill O’Neal) .
CONS
Fred Hampton: Politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed.
Fred Hampton: Because we’ve grown so accustomed to being poor, we think it’s normal for our kids to go to school hungry. We think it’s normal for us to go to the hospital with a runny nose, and come home in a body bag. So our job as the Black Panther Party is to heighten the contradictions.
Fred Hampton: The Black Panther Party believes in progression. Now, what that mean? That mean, first, you have free breakfast. Then you have free healthcare. Then you have free education. Next thing you know, you look up, you done freed your self!
(PG-13 for some strong language, and thematic material; 1:37)
Anthony Hopkins plays a man with dementia who refuses help from his daughter (Olivia Coleman) as his reality seems to change around him in this drama from director Florian Zeller. Hopkins and Coleman have won several acting awards this season and Zeller has been honored for her screenplay with Christopher Hampton.
Release date: Feb. 26
Where to see it: Video on-demand
“Judas and the Black Messiah”
(R for violence and pervasive language; 2:06)
Bill O Neal (LaKeith Stanfield) infiltrates the Black Panther Party as chairman Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya) ascends in this historical drama from director Shaka King. Kaluuya has won several awards for his role.
Judas and the Black Messiah certainly has an appropriate title as the two main characters are a traitor and a messianic leader. Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominations were awarded to both actors even though it makes no sense to label them “supporting” since the story is focused on both, does that mean the Academy thought nobody was the lead? Anyway, gripes about nomination weirdness aside, this is a decent undercover thriller that has pertinent points about racial inequity and police brutality that is still valid today. The downside is Judas meanders with a few side plots and lots of speeches that aren’t as dramatically compelling as the story of one man selling out his newfound friends for a few dollars more.
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For liberals who regard the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency with residual suspicion, these are confusing times. While the FBI could once be dismissed as a haven for skull-crackers and fascists, today’s authorities largely limit themselves to monitoring Republican politicians and sniffing out white-bread y’all Qaeda types. Happily, the motion picture industry has hit upon a solution to liberals’ cognitive dissonance. If the Left can no longer heckle G-men in the present tense, it can do so via the magic of period filmmaking.
Set at the height of the Black Panther movement’s power and influence,
Judas and the Black Messiah s Lakeith Stanfield on mental health in Hollywood msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.