Unfinished Business Passes

20^th Century Fox’s new film, UNFINISHED BUSINESS, which is being released on Friday, March 6, is making an early stop to Pittsburgh…

Starring Vince Vaughn, Dave Franco, and Tom Wilkinson, Unfinished Business is about a hard-working small business owner and his two associates travel to Europe to close the most important deal of their lives. But what began as a routine business trip goes off the rails in every imaginable – and unimaginable – way, including unplanned stops at a massive sex fetish event and a global economic summit.

The special screening is tomorrow, March 4, 2015 at AMC Waterfront 22, beginnign promptly at 7:00PM. Below is a screening link and code for passes

http://www.gofobo.com/PMSQUB

Gofobo Code: PMSQUB

Once you grab your tickets, please comment below: “Thank You!”

Much Love,

Movie Scene Queen

March 3, 2015 21

Selma

Dozens of films have been created to depict the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.—but none have been as riveting and piercing as ‘Selma’. In delicate detail, the movie highlights the three 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches which ultimately led to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The movie also resurfaces sensitive topics like MLK’s marital infidelity, FBI wire tapings and intimidation tactics, and the initial pushback from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

Directed by Ava DuVernay, the movie has a crowded lineup including David Oyelowo, Oprah Winfrey, Carmen Ejogo, Tom Wilkinson, Tim Roth, Common, Lorraine Toussaint, and Cuba Gooding, Jr. Oyelowo and Ejogo were spitting images of the Nobel Peace Prize recipient and his late wife. From voice to posture to presentation, the pair is the most potent part of the film. Their lonesome moments together on screen echoes true unification of one of the greatest couples of all time.

Even some of the notable moments in history makes your whole body shake in disbelief when ‘Selma’ reenacts the occurrences. For example, the 4 little girls and the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church is one of the country’s most heinous crimes. We ought to all be familiar with it, but for some reason when DuVernay gives her rendition of the bombing it takes cinematic recreation to a whole new level.

The same approaches civil rights activists displayed in 1965 are mirror images of the work being committed today. Riots and protests have emerged all over the country for Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner. In my mind the biggest uproar has been in the small suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Ferguson has drawn thousands of people in hope to get answers and justice.

Selma is the ideal learning tool for this Black History Month. As the first major motion picture depicting Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life, ‘Selma’ can be a direct connection to opening up conversation about other tense cities like Watts in 1965, Los Angeles in 1992, and even, Ferguson in 2014.

Gun violence and police brutality in 2015 is what voting rights was in 1965– a call to action to promote unity and change. Fifty years later, racially motivated disparities of the world are an opportunity to respond like they did in Selma. Anytime we witness a racial injustice or inequality it is our duty to mount up in the same fashion as the leaders in Selma.

The most rewarding part of Selma is the showcase of the unsung heroes like Coretta Scott King, Andrew Young, Viola Liuzzo, John Lewis, James Reeb, and Ralph Abernathy. American history injects lethal amount of untold truths surrounding African American history. As a child, I was taught the bare minimum about slavery and Martin Luther King Jr. was the poster child for the Civil Rights Movements. It is pure excitement when movies like Selma, 12 Years A Slave, and Lee Daniels’ The Butler can bring cinematic clarity to these unknown circumstances of historical events.

DuVernay wasted no time getting straight to the point. My only question is: Where has Ava DuVernay been? Although she has other smaller film projects, we, as movie spectators, need more from her cinematic bank. Her delivery was mere perfection and visually, trumps every introductory African American History course by strategically focusing on the height of Dr. Martin Luther King’s career and intricate details that surrounded it.

5 STARS: ‘Selma’ is the best film of 2014 and serves a timely purpose in the wake of the civil rights and liberties that are currently being taken advantage of. This film is a fruitful yet frightening, gut-wrenching yet glorious reminder that Selma was just a battle in an on-going race war.

January 14, 2015 1

Selma Passes

SELMA is the story of a movement. The film chronicles the tumultuous three-month period in 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The epic march from Selma to Montgomery culminated in President Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement. Director Ava DuVernay’s SELMA tells the real story of how the revered leader and visionary Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) and his brothers and sisters in the movement prompted change that forever altered history.

A special screening of Selma (PG-13) will take place at South Side Works Cinema on Tuesday, January 06, 2015, beginning at 7:30 PM

Please comment below with your favorite movie based off of American history. I’ll start with mine- Ghosts of Mississippi (1996).

Much Love,

Movie Scene Queen

December 24, 2014 64

Belle

Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays a mixed-race 18th century England aristocrat in the movie, Belle. The movie is based off the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the illegitimate daughter of White Royal Navy officer, Captain Sir John Lindsay (Matthew Goode) and an African slave woman. Left in the care of her Uncle Lord Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson), Belle was above the ranks of captured slaves, but still not able to join the company of her White relatives during public or formal events.

Belle’s uncle, who was also the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, was deliberating on the infamous Zong slave ship case (Gregson v. Gilbert), where about 140 enslaved Africans were thrown overboard and drowned by the crew of the slave ship. The case decided whether Zong slave ship owners were able to claim the loss with insurers. Lord Mansfield’s decision was a landmark judgment in the abolition of slavery in England.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who is mixed herself with English and African, is undeniably beautiful. You cannot keep your eyes off of her. While her resume is petite, the formal training she received from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts attests her excellent acting skills in Belle.

You might remember Mbatha-Raw from her supporting role in Tom Hanks’ 2011 project Larry Crowne. I must admit that Belle is my first big screen experience with the 30-year-old actress, but I am truly impressed. She is radiant and notably one of the most beautiful woman in recent films.

Belle is powerful. There is no way someone can watch the movie and not be charged for change, convicted by the human mistreatment of the slave trade, and grateful for the slight progress accomplished since the 1700s. I truly commend British writer and director Amma Asante for this bold venture.

Despite the seriousness of the film, Belle still has a fairy tale like piece; a woman with money, freedom and (partial) royal status is still in search of love. Belle is a sweet mixture of Color of Friendship (2000) and the Man in the Iron Mask (1998).

Solomon Northup and his 12 Years A Slave autobiographical narrative took 2013 by storm with its unique tale and cruel injustice. But I think we were so intrigued by his story because most of us were not familiar with his story. The same can be said for Dido Belle.

Of the many movies involving slavery, it is films like Belle and 12 Years A Slave that stick out like sore thumbs. Whereas others were ripped from their homes and forced into captivity, including Dido Belle’s mother, some like Solomon Northup and Dido Belle, were free but not fortunate enough to not endure the reality of racism and racial disparity.

Although their stories are centuries old, the Dido Belles and Solomon Northups of the world are still applicable and necessary even today. Both movies, which were previously introduced in smaller film circuits, are taking over the cinematic world by opening minds to untold, rare accounts.

4.5 Stars: Belle’s atypical story is no longer swept under the rug. The world, on a much larger scale, knows Dido Elizabeth Belle. She was remarkable, eminent, and a driving force to all women dealing with race related issues. Belle is in theatres on Friday, May 23rd (Pittsubrgh: Only showing at AMC Waterfront 22.)

The 1779 painting of Dido Belle with her cousin Elizabeth

May 23, 2014 0