SIDNEY – Review by Martha K Baker

Sidney Poitier became a legend, as an actor, as an activist, as a Black man in racist America. He died in January, 2022, at age 94. This documentary honors him as that legend, avoiding hagiography but certainly raving about the contributions of one hard-working actor, the first Black man to win an Oscar. Within the adulation of the bio-doc, Poitier stands out from the many interviewees, who include his five daughters and two wives. His voice, largely from a 2012 interview with Oprah Winfrey, remains quiet and sure, modest and cool. Winfrey produced the laudatory film of her friend, whom she called her “great Black Hope.”

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MOONFALL – Review by T.J. Callahan

Moonfall: What would Elon Musk do? When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s Moonfall. When life on Earth goes to heck thanks to a swarm of nano tech, that’s Moonfall. That master of disaster, Roland Emmerich , uses bits and pieces of every sci fi, action movie he ever made and borrowed from a few others to put together another apocalyptic adventure of disastrous proportions…literally and figuratively.

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MOONFALL – Review by Leslie Combemale

There are many aspects that feel Frankensteined together from Roland Emmerich’s previous works and various sci-fi and disaster movies. Still, the mix of schadenfreude, catharsis, and hope is exactly what many of us need to get us to March, or the end of the pandemic, or the next variant, or whatever disaster awaits us in reality. See Moonfall if you think some floods, earthquakes, and plucky heroes might help you do that, but you’ll need a suspension of disbelief as big as the moon.

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WEEK IN WOMEN: Halle Berry’s multi-film partnership with Netflix Brandy McDonnell reports

Academy Award winner Halle Berry and Netflix will continue to collaborate though a new partnership that will see Berry star in and produce new films. Berry’s feature directorial debut, Bruised, was released globally on Netflix last month and landed at the No. 1 spot in the United States and No. 2 spot on the Top 10 Global English Film List. The film was No. 1 in 21 countries and was watched for 47.7 million hours in its first five days.

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20 Femme-Helmers in the 2020 Oscars Pipeline – Susan Wloszczyna reports

One upside to this topsy-turvy season is the release of superb femme-centric, femme-helmed titles that are solid Oscars contenders that could easily make the Best Picture and Best Director cut. There are at least five actresses making their directing debuts, a pop star going behind the camera, old-school directors, new-school directors, blockbuster overseers and at least two former competitors in the category. Here is what might be the best of an encouragingly large batch.

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JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 – PARABELLUM — Review by Sarah Knight Adamson

Halle Berry’s Feisty Sofia Enhances Chapter 3. The opening scene of Chapter 3 in New York City’s iconic Public library is pure fantasy and entertainment, as not only does Super Assassin John Wick kill a perpetrator with a book, he respectably takes the time to place the book exactly back in its rightful place on the bookshelf. By setting the tone early, we reconcile into a fictional world, this by no means diminishes the violence, although it’s easier to shrug off as non-realistic.

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WEEK IN WOMEN: Halle Berry to direct mixed martial arts drama BRUISED – Brandy McDonnell reports

Oscar winner Halle Berry plans to make her directorial debut with a mixed martial arts action drama titled “Bruised,” in which she will also star. Berry will work with the team that does the fight choreography for the “John Wick” franchise, . Production will start March.

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