Highest 2 Lowest

Highest 2 Lowest; Another tight wire act by Spike & Denzel, serving up an amazing performance in a stylishly tense morality play. The shots of New York in newly minted opulent or more worn down locales are stunning and parallel the film’s themes. Confounding at times, but ultimately entertaining; B

Do the Right Thing

Do the Right Thing; Powerful, prescient, and anything but perfunctory about the past. Performances are full of fire, while the filmmaking is bursting with style. Every single frame forces us towards the final events, confronting our friends and community; A

BlacKkKlansman

BlacKkKlansman; Powerful yet playful telling of a crazy but true story with very relevant tones for today. Spike Lee masterfully finds the humour, the danger, the anger and balances it all on great performances and excellent score; A

Clockers

Directed by:  Spike Lee
Starring:  Harvey Keitel, Delroy Lindo, John Turturro, Mehki Phiffer
Running Time:  2h 09min

No one has more style to his films than Spike Lee.  Some of it may be borrowed (from his executive producer no doubt) but the way he puts it all together is stunning.  Some of it filmed in documentary style gives the subject matter added life, truly expressing the reality of it all.  He adds old cinematic techniques to release the drama in the dynamite and tense emotional scenes.  Then to make the film truly his own he adds his style.  The mock video game which mimicks reel life (or is it the other way around?), the camera spinning around Strike, the reflection of Keitel in the eyeball, this movie has more impact than any hood film, Hollywood cop story, or mystery murder.  Sure to become a classic in time.

Grade: A

Get on the Bus

Get on the Bus; A tight documentary style film about a group of Black men on their way to the Million Man March. Lee develops the characters nicely, in interesting and unconventional ways. I especially enjoyed the "roll call" way of recapping the characters and their relationships with each other. The fact that the majority of the film takes place on a bus doesn't hinder the atmosphere one bit. Lee makes sure that the viewer doesn't feel claustrophobic unless intended. In fact, he makes it seem like there is more room on the bus than there actually is. The writing is excellent, without being too preachy, yet still getting the message across. The length is appropriate, and the ending sad, yet satisfying; B