Category: Upcoming Films

The Burial

Release Date:  9/11/23; Toronto International Film Festival
Genre:  Drama
Rating:  R
Running Time:  126 mins.
Director:  Maggie Betts
Studio(s):  Amazon Studios

Cast:  Jamie Foxx (Willie E. Gary), Tommy Lee Jones (Jerry O’Keefe), Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie, Bill Camp (Raymond Loewen), Dorian Missick (Reggie Douglas).

Story:  Courtroom drama inspired by true events.  As he turns 75, Biloxi, Mississippi funeral director Jeremiah O’Keefe feels blessed by his wife and children and the legacy he’s proud to leave to them. But debts force Jeremiah to sell parts of his business to a corporation rapidly buying up funeral homes, cemeteries, and insurance companies to profit from what its CEO, Ray Loewen refers to as the golden age of death.  When Jeremiah’s contract with Ray is in dispute, he solicits the services of Willie E. Gary, a flamboyant personal-injury lawyer who hasn’t lost a case in 12 years — but who doesn’t know a thing about contract law. After Ray hires a hotshot defense team, it becomes clear the odds are stacked against Jeremiah and Willie. But despite their different backgrounds, they recognize qualities in each other they feel certain will see them through: faith, integrity, and a tireless fighting spirit.  Source:  tiff.net.  Photo Sources:   people.com, slashfilm.com.

by Categories: Upcoming FilmsTags: , , , Leave a comment

Sitting in Bars With Cake

Release Date:  9/8/23; Prime Video

Genre:  Romance/Comedy

Rating:   PG-13

Running Time:  120 mins.

Director:  Trish Sie

Studio(s):  Resonate Entertainment, All Night Diner, Amazon Studios

Cast:  Yara Shahidi (Jane), Odessa A’zion (Corinne), Bette Midler (Benita), Ron Livingston (Fred), Adina Porter (Tasha).

 

 

 

 


Story:  Sitting in Bars with Cake follows two best friends—shy-but-extremely-talented home baker Jane and her best friend Corinne, the ultimate extrovert—as they navigate life in Los Angeles.  Corinne convinces Jane to commit to a year of baking cakes and bringing them to bars — known as “cakebarring” — with the goal of meeting people and developing confidence. But when Corrine receives a life-altering diagnosis, the pair face a challenge unlike anything they’ve experienced before, resulting in a moving celebration of female friendship, forging identity, and finding joy in the most unexpected places.

Inspired by real-life events and the book of the same name by Audrey Shulman, who also wrote the screenplay.  Sources:  aboutamazon.com, ew.com.  Photos:  IMDB.com, ew.com.

Trailer:

by Categories: Upcoming FilmsTags: , , Leave a comment

Rustin

Release Date:  11/3/23 – Limited; 11/17/23 – Netflix
Genre:  Biopic/Drama
Rating:   PG-13
Director:  George C. Wolfe
Studio(s):  Higher Ground Productions, Netflix

Cast:  Colman Domingo (Bayard Rustin), Chris Rock (Roy Wilkins), Glynn Turman (A. Philip Randolph), Aml Ameen (Martin Luther King, Jr.), CCH Pounder (Anna Arnold Hedgeman), Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Michael Potts (Cleveland Robinson), Bill Irwin (A. J. Muste). Jeffrey Wright (Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.), Audra McDonald (Ella Baker).

Story:  The powerful story of Bayard Rustin, the openly gay civil rights leader who dedicated his life to a quest for racial equality. Rustin follows the activist as he takes on the mammoth task of turning the 1963 March on Washington from dream into reality, all while contending with racism and homophobia in the 1960s. The film is produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company Higher Ground Productions.  Source:  Netflix.com.

by Categories: Upcoming FilmsTags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

Sisters

Release Date:  8/3/23; BET+
Genre:  Drama
Rating:   NR
Running Time:  100 mins.
Director:  Jahmar Hill
Studio(s):  Jahmar Hill Productions

Cast:  Lil Mama (Tia), Columbus Short (Kevin), Cocoa Brown (Pat), Tobias Truvillion (Reggie), K.D. Aubert (Tara), Ciera Angelia (Diamond), Alisa Reyes (Elise), De’Aundre Bonds (E), Jensen Atwood (Trae), Christine Lakin (Dr. Thomas).

Story:  The film tells the story of Diamond and her sisters, Tia and Tara.  Raised by their grandmother, their lives are greatly impacted by her influence. When the family learns she has cancer and needs surgery urgently, the sisters need to find a way to come up with enough money quickly. Willing to do anything to save their beloved grandmother’s life, the sisters turn to doing things they don’t want to, but must do.  Source:  theblkscript.

Trailer:

by Categories: Upcoming FilmsTags: , , , Leave a comment

Call Her King

Release Date:  7/6/23; BET+
Genre:  Thriller
Rating:   NR
Director:  Wes Miller
Studio(s):  Blacklight Entertainment, BET+
Cast:  Naturi Naughton (Jaeda King), Lance Gross (Gabriel a/k/a Black Caesar), Jason Mitchell (Sean Samuels), Johnny Messner, Nicholas Turturro, Tobias Truvillion, Garrett Hendricks, Shiobann Amisial, Johnny Messner.

Story:  Call Her King follows Judge Jaeda King, who has just sentenced Sean Samuels to death when the courthouse is hijacked by Samuels’ brother Gabriel, also known as Black Caesar. The Judge must then rely on her wits, strength, and skill to find a way to end the standoff, save the hostages and fight her way out.

Call Her King is the first production falling under Andrew van den Houten and Wes Miller’s newly formed BlackLight Entertainment banner, which was formed with the mission of providing quality opportunities for people of color and other traditionally disadvantaged people in front of and behind the camera.  Source:  Deadline.

Trailer:

by Categories: Upcoming FilmsTags: , , Leave a comment

Summer of Violence

Release Date: 6/16/23; American Black Film Festival
Genre: Drama
Rating: NR
Running Time: 104 mins.
Director: Nicki Micheaux
Studio(s): Three60 Films
Cast: Kasey Inez (Naomi), Damon Gupton (Thomas), Jahking Guillory (Frank), Madhulika Krishnan (Pamela), Shon Wilson (Eleanor Bradford).

Story: It was the summer of 1993. Denver was hit with a spike in gang violence, which woke up the typically sleepy state of Colorado. That summer forever changed the laws and the state began to charge 14-year-olds as adults, while others passed the Three Strikes Law. But, our hero, Naomi didn’t know much about it. She’d spent four years in college in Boulder and getting to Denver to pursue her poetry was the first step to living her life on her own terms. Cut off from her father’s money, this suburbanite finds herself living in the middle of a gang infested neighborhood. She pushes to get her poetry published and find her way in this community. But she finds that living with violence has a cost, even if you are not the one hurt. Proximity to the epidemic of violence impacts how she sees herself and her ability to find her own voice. In this new community, she and her best friend Pam, young and wide-eyed, with a belief in their invincibility, do everything they can to pay rent, be artists, and follow the love in their hearts. These are simple things so many of us take for granted, but are monumental in communities stricken by violence. Naomi has to find her identity for herself and learn how she fits in her community. Ultimately, she must decide if following her dreams is worth the costs. Sources: official site, summerofviolence.com; abff.com.

by Categories: Upcoming FilmsTags: Leave a comment