Black on Black Cinema | Black Movie Reviews

This week on Black on Black Cinema we break down the collapse of Graham Platner's Maine Senate campaign and why none of us were surprised. For months, white leftists rallied behind Platner despite a tattoo associated with WW2 fascism, resurfaced posts disparaging veterans and sexual assault survivors on Reddit, and troubling accounts from past relationships. None of it mattered until an ex-girlfri...

This week on Black on Black Cinema we take a deep dive into Above the Rim (1994), the final entry in Barry Michael Cooper's Harlem Trilogy following New Jack City and Sugar Hill. Directed by Jeff Pollack in his feature debut, the film stars Duane Martin as Kyle Watson, a high school basketball star torn between two men; Shep (Leon), a security guard with a complicated past seeking redemption, and...

Black on Black Cinema announces our next full review: Above the Rim (1994), the final entry in Barry Michael Cooper's Harlem Trilogy. Directed by Jeff Pollack and starring Duane Martin, Tupac Shakur, Leon, Marlon Wayans, Bernie Mac, and Wood Harris. Above the Rim follows high school basketball star Kyle Watson torn between Shep, a fallen athlete trying to redeem himself, and Birdie, a dangerous dr...

This week Black on Black Cinema finally gives Sugar Hill (1994) the deep analysis it deserves. Directed by Leon Ichaso and written by Barry Michael Cooper — the architect behind New Jack City and Above the Rim — Sugar Hill is the second and most emotionally dramatic entry in Cooper's Harlem Trilogy. Wesley Snipes as Roemello Skuggs, a high-level Harlem drug dealer who wants out. He's got money, po...

Black on Black Cinema announces our next film review: Sugar Hill (1994), directed by Leon Ichaso and written by Barry Michael Cooper; the second film in his legendary Harlem Trilogy alongside New Jack City and Above the Rim. Wesley Snipes stars as Roemello Skuggs, a high-level Harlem drug dealer who decides to walk away from the life to start fresh with his girlfriend Melissa (Theresa Randle), onl...

Black on Black Cinema dives deep into Is God Is (2026), Aleshea Harris' feature directorial debut adapted from her Obie Award-winning stage play. Starring Kara Young as "The Rough One" and Mallori Johnson as "The Quiet One," the film follows twin sisters bearing the disfiguring burn scars of a childhood tragedy, ordered by their bedridden mother to kill the abusive father who destroyed their famil...

This week on Black on Black Cinema, the crew returns to announce the next film, "Is God Is." The film follows two sisters who embark on an epic quest for revenge; confronting a charged family history that will push them to extraordinary lengths. The movie is written and directed by Aleshea Harris who is also the playwright for the original play the film is based on. This week's random topic tackle...

Black on Black Cinema reviews Michael (2026), Antoine Fuqua's Michael Jackson biopic starring Jaafar Jackson as the King of Pop. While Jaafar delivers a great impression of his uncle Michael, the film itself is a shallow, sanitized music biopic that refuses to engage with Jackson's complexity and controversies. Director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer) crafts a visually stunning but emo...

This week on Black on Black Cinema, the crew returns to announce the next full film review on the 2026 music biopic "Michael." The film follows the life of famed musician Michael Jackson from early childhood to the middle of his career as one of the biggest names in music history. The random topic this week is all about the Supreme Court further damaging the Voting Rights Act, and how online Black...

Black on Black Cinema breaks down Love, Brooklyn (2025), Rachael Abigail Holder's directorial debut that premiered at Sundance Film Festival. Starring André Holland, Nicole Beharie, DeWanda Wise, and Roy Wood Jr., this indie romantic drama follows writer Roger as he navigates complicated relationships with his ex Casey (an art gallery owner) and current lover Nicole (a newly-single mother) against...

This week on Black on Black Cinema, the crew returns to announce the next film to be reviewed, "Love, Brooklyn." The film follows three longtime Brooklynites navigate careers, love, loss, and friendship against the rapidly changing landscape of their beloved city. The movie stars Andre Holland, Nicole Beharie, DeWanda Wise, and Roy Wood Jr. The random topic this week is an overarching conversation...

Black on Black Cinema examines Black Belt Jones (1974), the groundbreaking Blaxploitation martial arts film that solidified Jim Kelly as an action star following his breakout role in Enter the Dragon. Directed by Oscar Williams and produced by Warner Bros during the height of the Blaxploitation era, the film stars Kelly as a martial arts instructor who battles the mob to protect his community's ka...

This week on Black on Black Cinema, the crew returns to announce the next film, "Black Belt Jones." The 1974 blaxploitation classic starring Jim Kelly, which follows the Mafia buy out of Papa Byrd's karate school downtown that ends in his death. Byrd's daughter, Sydney, refuses to sell, and wants revenge. Byrd's students call the Black Belt Jones for help. Jones reluctantly teams with Sydney in ma...

Devil in a Blue Dress (1995): Denzel Washington's most underrated performance. Directed by Carl Franklin, based on Walter Mosley's novel. Easy Rawlins, a Black WWII veteran in 1948 Los Angeles, takes a job finding a missing white woman. Simple task becomes a labyrinth of violence, corruption, and impossible choices. This week on Black on Black Cinema, we look back on one of Denzel's lesser known c...

Next week on Black on Black Cinema, we're reviewing Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), starring Denzel Washington in one of his most underrated performances. This Carl Franklin neo-noir follows Easy Rawlins navigating 1940s Los Angeles—a Black veteran trying to survive in a world designed to destroy him. But first, we need to talk about something: watching the Iran war unfold from inside the United Sta...

This week on Black on Black Cinema, the crew returns to review Soul Men (2008) which was released just two months after Bernie Mac's death, making it a bittersweet farewell to one of comedy's greatest talents. Directed by Malcolm D. Lee and starring Samuel L. Jackson alongside Mac, this road trip musical comedy follows two estranged backup singers reuniting for a tribute concert after their lead s...

This week on Black on Black Cinema, the crew returns to introduce the next film to the reviewed, "Soul Men." The 2008 film follows two estranged soul-singing legends who agree to participate in a reunion performance at the Apollo Theater to honor their recently deceased band leader. The movie stars Samuel L. Jackson and the late great Bernie Mac. Available to stream for free on Tubi. The random to...

This week on Black on Black Cinema, the crew returns to discuss the 2025 psychological thriller, "The Dutchman." Based on Amiri Baraka's groundbreaking 1964 Obie Award-winning one-act play, the film follows Clay (André Holland), a successful but troubled Black businessman navigating a crumbling marriage with his wife Kaya (Zazie Beetz). After a therapy session with the enigmatic Dr. Amiri (Stephen...

This week on Black on Black Cinema, the crew returns to announce the next film, 2025's "The Dutchman." The film follows a successful black businessman, haunted by his crumbling marriage and identity crisis, who is drawn into a sexualized game of cat and mouse with a mysterious white woman on a subway that leads to a violent conclusion. Starring Andre Holland, Kate Mara, Stephen McKinley Henderson,...

This week on Black on Black Cinema, the crew returns to review Spike Lee's 1986 directorial debut "She's Gotta Have It." The film follows Nola Darling, a woman who openly dates three men who are aware of one another and possess three wildy different personalities. Black on Black Cinema is a long-running podcast featuring in-depth Black movie reviews and frank conversations that matter to the Black...

This week on Black on Black Cinema, we preview our upcoming review of Spike Lee’s groundbreaking 1986 film "She’s Gotta Have It;" a bold, black-and-white exploration of love, agency, and identity. Our full review drops next week. We also dive into this week’s random topic: Kanye West’s public apology to fans following his past embrace of white supremacist ideology, and Nicki Minaj’s sudden alignme...

This week on Black on Black Cinema, the crew is back to discuss the 2025 action thriller film, "Shadow Force." The film stars Omar Sy, Kerry Washington, Mark Strong, Method Man, Jahleel Kamara, and Da'Vine Joy Randolph. The movie follows an estranged couple with a bounty on their heads who must go on the run with their son to avoid their former employer, a unit of shadow ops that has been sent to...

This week on Black on Black Cinema, the crew returns to preview the next film, "Shadow Force." The film follows an estranged couple (Kerry Washington and Omar Sy) with a bounty on their heads who must go on the run with their son to avoid their former employer, a unit of shadow ops that has been sent to kill them. The random topic is about the unjust murder of Renee Good in Minneapolis at the hand...

This week on Black on Black Cinema, the crew returns to discuss the 2024 dark comedy drama, "On Becoming a Guinea Fowl." The film follows Shula, who on an empty road in the middle of the night, stumbles across the body of her uncle. As funeral proceedings begin around them, she and her cousins bring to light the buried secrets of their middle-class Zambian family. Black on Black Cinema is a long-r...

This week on Black on Black Cinema, the crew returns to announce the next film to be reviewed, "On Becoming a Guinea Fowl." The film starts on an empty road in the middle of the night, where Shula stumbles across the body of her uncle. As funeral proceedings begin around them, she and her cousins bring to light the buried secrets of their middle-class Zambian family. The random topic of the week i...