Night in Paradise (on Netflix) – Are you Okay? Should I be Okay?
Official Trailer:
Night in Paradise is a gritty gangster drama, with wonderfully staged scenes. What works is well paced action scenes, dramatic interaction scenes, cinematography, and music. Loved the interaction scenes between Tae-gu and Jae-Yeon, few conversations bordering on surreal. Sequence where the cop brokers a deal between two rival gang leaders gets you on the edge. Blood-level meter goes up from first action sequence to the last one. Don’t get misled by paradise in the title, movie is dark, realistic, and there are no winners.
Trial of the Chicago 7 (on Netflix) – Give me a moment, would you, friend? I’ve never been on trial for my thoughts before
Official Trailer:
Trial of the Chicago 7 is based on famous unfair trial of seven ringleaders on charges of conspiracy by the hostile Nixon administration. I have a liking for Aaron Sorkin’s writing and well-done courtroom dramas. This movie has both plus great cast and performances. I am not that much familiar with the real events, but setting that aside (how close the narration is to real event), movie succeeds in what it sets out to do, to show how the powers can conspire to deny justice to democratic protests, violating the fundamental rights. Things haven’t changed much in 50 years. The message is more relatable to our current predicament. We live in a time where people get arrested not for what they did but for who they are.
BlacKkKlansman, One Night in Miami, Da 5 Bloods
Another secret, I have a positive bias for movies that talk about oppression and discrimination, as long as they offer something fresh, and scores high on both content and form. With BlacKkKlansman and Da 5 Bloods, you need to get accustomed to Spike Lee’s in your face approach. But he makes up for it with great dialogues, and sarcasm. I would put One Night in Miami and BlacKkKlansman ahead of Da 5 Bloods. While all 3 movies have great actors and performances, One Night in Miami stands out on how the ensemble cast bounce off each other brilliantly, so exciting to watch. And yes, all 3 have excellent BGM and soundtracks.
BlacKkKlansman (on Netflix) – All the power to all the people
Official Trailer:
Based on actual events. African American police officer successfully manages to infiltrate the local KKK branch with the help of Jewish backup who eventually becomes its leader.
One Night in Miami (on Amazon Prime) – Power just means a world where we’re safe to be ourselves. To look like we want. To think like we want. Without having to answer to anybody for it
Official Trailer:
Based on real events, this movie depicts what could have taken place after the legendary fight on that incredible night where Cassius Clay, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown come together in a hotel in Miami in the backdrop of Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
Da 5 Bloods (on Netflix) – We fought in an immoral war that wasn’t ours for rights we didn’t have
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Four African-American vets return to Vietnam seeking the remains of their fallen squad leader and the gold fortune he helped them hide.
Unhinged (on Amazon Prime) – We seem to have developed a fundamental inability to apologize to anyone, for anything
Official Trailer:
Unhinged is an illogical, violent psychological thriller. But in a warped way, I found the movie engaging😀 One is Russell Crowe, he fits the role perfectly as an unstable, aggressive persona. Second, it was well paced. Finally, it does ask one pertinent question: is it too hard to apologize when the other side accepts the mistake and apologizes?