TIFF22 REVIEW: Susie Searches [2023]

Be positive, homie. Susie Wallis (Kiersey Clemons) has never met a mystery she couldn’t solve. At least not when it comes to those that populate the crime books her mother (Jammie Patton‘s Anne) read to her as a child. It got to the point where she wondered if they should stop reading them altogether, but Susie refused. She didn’t care that she always guessed the culprit. All she cared about was spending time with Mom. So, when Anne’s MS diagnosis advanced enough to take away her speech, Susie took over…

Read More

DESIGN: 2018 In Music

Tracklisting:Disc 11. “Crazy, Classic, Life” • Janelle Monáe • 04:47 • Dirty Computer, Bad Boy Records LLC2. “Two High” • Moon Taxi • 03:33 • Let the Record Play, RCA Records3. “Go Your Own Way” • Raithe Laurence • 03:14 • A Little Better, Audio Network Ltd4. “Rose In Harlem” • Teyana Taylor • 03:43 • K.T.S.E., Getting Out Our Dreams, Inc. / Def Jam Recordings5. “Missing U” • Robyn • 04:57 • Honey, Konichiwa Records6. “Lately” • Wet • 03:52 • Still Run, Columbia Records7. “BOSS” • The Carters…

Read More

REVIEW: Hearts Beat Loud [2018]

Whoopie pies and Spotify. It’s often at extreme times of upheaval that we find ourselves taking stock of our life, ambitions, and loves. While working hard to be successful enough to support our families, we have a tendency of leaving our dreams by the wayside and/or compartmentalizing our identities to serve the unavoidable pressures of the present rather than hopes for the future. And on the flipside we can also youthfully avoid our basic human desire for compassion and interaction in order to maintain focus on career paths we’ve yet…

Read More

REVIEW: Dope [2015]

“Congratulations. You have found your iPhone.” Malcolm Adekanbi (Shameik Moore) is a geek. You don’t even need the opening line of Rick Famuyiwa‘s Inglewood-set high school adventure Dope to state as much once we meet him. A self-proclaimed “oreo” with straight-As, constant beat-downs by Bloods-member Bug (Keith Stanfield), and Harvard aspirations his guidance counselor (Bruce Beatty) even scoffs at, the time to finally escape and be what his neighborhood loves to mock him for has arrived. SATs are around the corner, an interview with an Ivy League-alum in the position…

Read More