Tag Archives: Lakeith Stanfield

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Drama, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

The Book of Clarence (2024) Movie Review

January 12, 2024 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

Jeymes Samuel’s The Harder They Fall was a pleasant surprise and a critical success for Netflix. His follow-up, The Book of Clarence, takes a similarly anachronistic approach to a familiar genre. This time, Samuel takes on the religious epic. The film presents an alternative biblical story adjacent to the story of the last days of Jesus Christ. This apocrypha is simplistic and familiar, so much so that when David Oyelowo’s John the Baptist exposition dumps the premise unnecessarily the plot itself almost feels like a punchline.

Clarence (LaKeith Stanfield) and his friend Elijah (RJ Cyler) owe a man known as Jedediah the Terrible (Eric Kofi Abrefa) money that they don’t have. To further complicate things, Clarence is Continue reading The Book of Clarence (2024) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words), Romance

The Photograph (2020) Movie Review

February 14, 2020 Alex Brannan 1 Comment

While on assignment in Louisiana, journalist Michael Block (LaKeith Stanfield) interviews a man named Isaac (Rob Morgan). Michael is struck by a photo in Isaac’s home of a woman (Chante Adams) and decides to follow up on the woman’s story when he returns to New York. She is a recently deceased photographer, and she left behind letters to Isaac and her daughter Mae (Issa Rae). It is through this photograph that Mae and Michael collide, and they do so with an immediate sense of romantic connection.

Stella Meghie’s The Photograph oscillates between Michael and Mae’s present day relationship and the story of Continue reading The Photograph (2020) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Drama, Long Reviews (>400 Words), Love It

Uncut Gems (2019) Movie Review

December 25, 2019 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

Harold (Adam Sandler) always thinks he is one step away from hitting big. A compulsive sports gambler who runs a dubious gem store, Harold is firmly placed within the seedy underbelly of New York City. And he likes it there. He thrives in the mire of it. He smiles as he schemes his way around town, placing bets with money he should be using to pay back his debts.

Harold’s Sisyphean journey of self-destruction centers on an Ethiopian stone embedded with black opals. It is a stone he claims is worth about $3,000 a carat, totaling to an approximately $1 million value. Through Harold’s partner Demany (LaKeith Stanfield), the stone winds up in the hands of Continue reading Uncut Gems (2019) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words), Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Sorry to Bother You (2018) Movie Review

July 25, 2018 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

Sorry to Bother You is the sort of film that wants to do so much, and delights so much in each thing that it attempts to do, that it is hard not to get caught up in the manic world and unique artistic voice. On the other hand, the further you go into unpacking the densely-packed funhouse of oddities in the film, the harder it is to wrap your head around why you enjoyed the viewing experience in the first place.

To be clear, it is difficult to explore this funhouse without delving into crucial plot details that are better experienced untarnished, as predictability is a word that holds no meaning in the final third of the film. But there is something that Continue reading Sorry to Bother You (2018) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Death Note (2017) Movie Review

September 4, 2017 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

In Death Note, the Netflix original film based on the anime and manga of the same name, Light Turner (Nat Wolff) stumbles upon a book that carries with it enormous power. Write someone’s name in the Death Note while picturing their face, and they will die.

Light and new love interest Mia (Margaret Qualley) use the book to Continue reading Death Note (2017) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Drama, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

War Machine (2017) Movie Review

May 30, 2017 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

Glenn McMahon (Brad Pitt) is a celebrated, if not eccentric, United States Marine General tasked with leading NATO forces in 2009 Afghanistan. In 10 minutes, David Michod’s War Machine introduces McMahon’s team, none of which appear as appealing as Pitt’s left-eye bulging, tight-lipped officer of the people.

McMahon is tasked with handling relations with Afghanistan while the war winds down under the Barack Obama administration. It is a “nation-building exercise,” one which McMahon takes on with gusto.

Pitt’s character is, in delivery, an aged version of Lt. Aldo Raine. A gruff southern accent and a high degree of eyebrow expressivity control them both. Except, here, Pitt’s McMahon is Continue reading War Machine (2017) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Horror, Love It

Get Out (2017) Movie Review

February 7, 2017 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

The opening to Get Out, the new thriller from Key & Peele‘s Jordan Peele, plays out in a single, meandering take that is gorgeously composed. The single shot depicts a man (Lakeith Stanfield) being plucked off of a suburban street in the middle of the night.

This cold open pivots to an idyllic, happy young couple, Chris and Rose (Daniel Kaluuya and Allison Williams), packing for a weekend at Rose’s parents’ house. This retreat to the woods, however, promises to be far more Continue reading Get Out (2017) Movie Review →