If you watched the New York Knicks game last night, you no doubt noticed a lot of celebrities in the background. Madison Square Garden played host to Taylor Swift, Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, Timothée Chalamet, Kylie Jenner, Mariska Hargitay, Tracy Morgan, Adam Sandler, John McEnroe, Spike Lee and dozens more famous faces. The first few rows were particularly star-studded given the team is in the NBA Finals, but even during the regular season, you can always spot recognizable people in the background. That’s because the Knicks actually give away tickets to celebrities, but there are reportedly expectations.

The specifics of how many tickets are available and who gets them are only known to the organization, but enough celebrities have talked about the basic process that we know, in general, how it works. Former players and celebrities send word to the team that they’d like to attend the game. Based on a variety of factors including celeb status, how often you go and what your relationship is to owner James Dolan, the team decides who is on the list and makes a seating chart.

The theory is that celebrities are part of the entertainment. Fans get a kick out of seeing them. Their presence makes Madison Square Garden feel more exclusive, and it adds some excitement to the background. That’s why the tickets are free, but the expectation is apparently that you’re paying attention and into the game, that you’ll appear on camera and that, in some cases, you’re willing to film quick little shoutouts or segments to play on the jumbotron.

Some celebrities reportedly aren’t interested in doing that. They’d rather attend games on their own terms. That’s allegedly why Spike Lee purchases his own tickets and why some celebrities are usually a few rows back from the action. They’d rather just be a paying customer like anyone else. Others like Ben Stiller, however, happily accept the free tickets and are always game to pump up the crowd and have their pictures taken.

There are, of course, consequences if you take the tickets and don’t follow the rules. A story went around a few years ago that Emily Ratajkowski and Irina Shayk were comped tickets in the Garden’s so-called celeb row but then left before the Knicks completed a big comeback in a key regular season game.

Ratajkowski reportedly asked for comp tickets to a Rangers game not long after, another team Dolan owns, and she was told she could buy tickets if she wanted to attend. An MSG spokesman even confirmed to Page Six on the record that they denied her comp tickets.

The Knicks definitely leave a lot of money on the table by giving away these seats. The richest in New York City were reportedly paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to sit near the floor during the last two games, but I get why the Knicks hold many of those seats for celebrities. It’s been so much fun watching videos of all the famous people reacting to OG Anunoby’s gamewinner, as well as talking about Taylor Swift's girl squad coordinated shirts, Tina Fey dealing with manspreading and more.

Michael – the Antoine Fuqua-directed movie about Michael Jackson – has sparked more than a few discussions since it was first screened for audiences. Critics were down on the biopic and shared their issues with the film earlier on and, since the film’s wide release at the end of April, a portion of the general audience seems to disagree with pundits. Needless to say, debates have arisen in regard to the merits of Fuqua’s latest film, though Spike Lee is making it clear that he really enjoys it while simultaneously addressing critics’ responses.

Lee, who was a close friend of Michael Jackson, recently spoke about his perception of the late entertainer. With that, he also discussed their collaboration on the “short film” for Jackson’s 1996 single, “They Don’t Care About Us.” During that discussion with CNN, Lee went on to share his thoughts about Michael, and he succinctly shared his positive feelings on the movie:

Amid that interview, the Malcolm X director also showed just how cognizant he was of the negative reviews Michael received. What Lee specifically highlighted was the continued discussion about the film’s exclusion of the sexual abuse allegations Jackson faced in the ‘90s. When addressing those who took issue with those details not being featured in the film, Lee said the following:

The sexual abuse allegations were initially addressed in the film via the prologue and epilogue, though any mention of them had to be removed due to a legal technicality discovered by Jackson’s estate. With that, the film’s initial ending was deemed “unusable” and had to be reshot for a sum of money between $10 and $15 million. All of that aside, Spike Lee’s argument seems to be that anyone “complaining” about the change should acknowledge the film’s timeline.

Critics seem to have issues with Michael that go beyond the exclusion of the allegations, however. While Jaafar Jackson’s lead performance as his late uncle has been praised along with many of the concert sequences, many considered the film to be a surface-level examination of its subject. Some pundits pointed out a lack of focus on the relationship between Jackson and his brothers or his business acumen among other critiques.

Nevertheless, Michael has been successful at the box office, as Spike Lee pointed out. As of this writing, the film has earned over $425 million worldwide against a reported production budget between $165 and $200 million. There’s recently been speculation about whether a follow-up will be produced. While addressing that prospect, Adam Fogelson – the chairman of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group – wouldn’t confirm a sequel, though he expressed his belief about there being more story to tell.

In the meantime, it doesn’t seem like the discourse surrounding Michael is slowing down, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if some critics and general audience members share more thoughts after hearing Spike Lee’s viewpoint. Anyone who hasn’t seen the film can see it in theaters, where it’s playing alongside other titles on the 2026 movie schedule.

Antoine Fuqua’s Michael Jackson biopic will bring strong reminders to fans of what an iconic musician the King of Pop was. Many talented artists were fortunate enough to collaborate with Jackson and witness firsthand how he dominated the music game. In the lead-up to Michael's release, Spike Lee, who directed one of the late Grammy winner’s music videos, shared a sweet take on the late singer.

Back in 1996, Spike Lee directed Michael Jackson’s music video for “They Don’t Care About Us.” Since the award-winning director was known for his socially relevant movies, “Bad” singer felt like Lee was the perfect man for the job. With the Michael biopic around the corner, Lee took to Instagram to share a throwback photo as well as his take on why Jackson was more than a music maker:

It’s true that Michael Jackson was more than a singer. He brought audiences to their feet with his outstanding choreography, plot-heavy music videos and songs featuring strong messages. “They Don’t Care About Us” communicated to the world the struggles that minorities were dealing with. By shouting in the air and stomping his feet in defiance, Jackson channeled anger and solidarity into a protest that allowed listeners to feel. Under Lee’s direction, it was the ultimate empowerment music video.

Spike Lee would certainly know a “prophet” when he sees one. That's because Lee's most iconic characters are modern-day truth tellers in their own right. Do the Right Thing’s Mookie had no problems calling anyone out on stereotypes of minority groups, and that forced the audience to see the horrors of racial injustice. Lee’s Malcolm X sees the titular freedom fighter dedicate his life to social change for Black people. As Michael Jackson used music to shed light on prejudice, Lee couldn’t ignore the profound social effect the legendary performer’s music had on the world.

With that in mind, there are many things fans like to see in Antoine Fuqua’s Michael, like Jackson's early struggles in the music industry and his attempts to put together his breakthrough solo album, Off the Wall.

While the first trailer showed Jackson throughout the years, I’d like to also see the behind-the-scenes accounts of what went into the production of his most famous music videos. Each one was epic in scale, complete with intricate dance sequences and special cameos. Highlighting how these musical moments were created would perfectly emphasize what a once-in-a-generation artist he was.

In the meantime, it seems Spike Lee feels fortunate to have known and worked with Michael Jackson and to have been able to discover what a “prophet” he was. Through the power of music and film, the two pushed society to confront injustice, and I'm appreciative of them doing it.

Fans can see Michael, which opens in theaters on April 24th as part of the 2026 movie schedule.

The film and television world is mourning the loss of Isiah Whitlock Jr., who died at age 71, prompting an immediate wave of tributes from collaborators and fans. Best known for his unforgettable turn as Senator Clay Davis on The Wire, the veteran actor was a rare character performer whose presence could elevate a scene with just a look.

Among the first to publicly acknowledge Whitlock’s passing was Spike Lee, who worked with the actor across several projects.

News of the Clay Davis actor’s passing was confirmed Tuesday by his longtime manager, Brian Liebman, who described him as “a brilliant actor and even better person.” From prestige television to major studio films, the late star built a career defined by range, authority, authenticity, and an iconic catchphrase. Lee, a longtime collaborator and friend, shared a message on Instagram alongside a photo of the two together, announcing the actor’s death in his own words:

Whitlock appeared in several of Lee’s films, including Red Hook Summer, Chi-Raq, She Hate Me, and 25th Hour. His most prominent roles in Lee’s filmography were in Da 5 Bloods, available to stream with a Netflix subscription, where he played Vietnam veteran Melvin, and in BlacKkKlansman, in which he portrayed police officer Mr. Turrentine. In each case, the HBO alum brought a grounded intensity that made even smaller roles feel essential.

Members of The Wire cast also shared emotional reactions to the loss. Wendell Pierce, who starred alongside Whitlock throughout the show’s run, responded on X to HBO’s tribute post before sharing his own reflection:

Andre Royo, another The Wire alum, expressed his grief in a deeply personal message on his X account, writing:

Royo later followed up with stunned reactions that captured the disbelief many felt as the news spread.

Outside of The Wire, tributes also came from actors who worked with Whitlock on later projects. Tony Hale, who appeared alongside the late TV icon on Veep, shared a black-and-white tribute image on his Instagram Story and wrote simply:

Niecy Nash also honored her former costar on Instagram, sharing a clip referencing one of his most iconic moments, paired with a “Rest in Love” message. The tribute blended affection, humor, and reverence, qualities many fans associate with Whitlock’s work and personality.

Over the course of his career, the Chappelle’s Show alum appeared in an expansive range of projects, including Goodfellas, Veep, Cars 3, and Lightyear. His voice work will continue posthumously in Pixar’s Hoppers, which is set for release on the 2026 movie schedule.

As tributes continue to circulate, one thing is clear, and that is that Isiah Whitlock Jr.’s impact extended far beyond a single role or a catchphrase. He was a trusted scene partner, a memorable collaborator, and an actor whose work left a lasting mark on everyone who worked with him and on those who watched his body of work.

For fans looking to honor the late actor with a rewatch of his most memorable performances, he appeared on multiple HBO series and those are currently available to stream with an HBO Max subscription.

Lenny Kravitz And Denzel Washington have apparently been pals for more than three decades. Meeting in the ‘90s, their bromance broke wider when Washington was presented with a “Best Actor” award by Kravitz back in 2002. Since then, they’ve continued to make time for one another, with the a-lister even showing up last year for Kravitz’s Walk of Fame ceremony. They hang out, their kids hang out, and the families hang out. Kravitz even got Washington into fitness. This is all well-documented, but somehow I’d missed the memo. That is until the “American Woman” singer told this funny story about talking to his pal after watching Spike Lee’s famous movie Malcolm X.

One tenet of the two men’s friendship is apparently keeping up with one another on the phone. In an interview with Rob Report, Kravitz opened up about a call that happened right after the incredibly fit singer got through Malcolm X. Apparently, Denzel told him he hadn’t seen the movie in decades, and the singer had an amusing response.

This is definitely a true story, as Denzel Washington has confirmed he hasn't re-watched Malcolm X previously. It's also very funny; who knew they were so bromantic?

He went on to explain that Denzel Washington, who at 70 is nine years older than Kravitz, is ultimately a “big brother,” also saying about how their families have “blended.”

This is all similar to comments Denzel Washington made during the Walk of Fame celebration for his pal back in 2024, when he said he had been “tied” to his friend for a long time, also noting they have more of a "brothership."

Unlike Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's friendship or Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman's public "faux feud", Denzel Washington and Lenny Kravitz’s friendship is a lot more low-key. However, that actually probably speaks to how special and meaningful it is to the two men.

Earlier this year, the two connected over another Spike Lee movie when the actor was promoting Highest 2 Lowest. During an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, Washington actually called his "brother," surprising him on FaceTime right after he'd gotten out of the shower! (This in itself was a throwback to another time this had happened mid-concert.) Now that I'm privy to hijinks like these, I can't wait to see what's next.

Many celebrities were shocked on Sunday when it was learned that James Ransone had died at age 46, allegedly by suicide. The actor was known for his roles in movies like It: Chapter Two, The Black Phone and its sequel, as well as TV shows including The Wire. Many of Ransone’s friends and fellow actors took to social media to pay tribute upon learning about the tragedy.

Andy Muschietti, who directed James “PJ” Ransone in the 2019 Stephen King adaptation's sequel, posted a picture to Instagram of himself with the Eddie Kaspbrak portrayer, who was holding a puppy:

The director included a heartfelt message, expressing his love for the late actor by saying:

Filmmaker Spike Lee worked with James Ransone on several movies — Inside Man, Red Hook Summer and Oldboy. He also acknowledged the great loss by posting a photo of the two of them with a caption that read:

On December 19, Los Angeles police officers responded to a call at James Ransone’s home, where they found the actor alone in his shed. His death was being investigated as a suicide by hanging, and no foul play was suspected.

Madeleine McGraw, who worked with Ransone on his last credited project the 2025 movie Black Phone 2 (as well as its predecessor), posted a lengthy tribute to her co-star on Instagram Stories. She recalled The Black Phone premiere, where McGraw said he pulled her and her parents aside for 45 minutes to share advice on how they could guide and protect McGraw through a career in the entertainment industry. Her post read, in part:

Sean Baker, the director of Best Picture Oscar-winner Anora, had the opportunity to work with James Ransone several times and wrote on Instagram that he would miss his friend dearly. Filmmaker Larry Clark, who worked with Ransone on Ken Park also posted his condolences.

Wendell Pierce, who starred in the HBO dramas Treme and The Wire with James Ransone, included a heartbreaking apology in his tribute on X, writing:

This is such a terrible loss for so many who worked with PJ Ransone over the course of his career. This year, in addition to The Black Phone 2, he appeared on the 2025 TV schedule in the Poker Face Season 2 episode “One Last Job,” which can be streamed with a Peacock subscription.

Other notable projects from the actor, including It: Chapter Two, The Wire and Treme, can be streamed with an HBO Max subscription.

Our condolences go out to all of those affected by James Ransone’s death. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of self-harm, please call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.

Ryan Coogler's horror movie, Sinners, was one of the hottest topics of the 2025 movie schedule, partly because of the history-making deal he made with the studio. Coogler received first-dollar gross points, had final cut, and will own the movie outright after 25 years–an almost unheard of set of circumstances that filmmaking icon Spike Lee is reacting to, revealing the “only” one of his films he owns outright.

In a new interview promoting his latest work, his fifth collaboration with Denzel Washington, Highest 2 Lowest, Lee saluted Coogler and the executives who backed Sinners, calling the move both gutsy and brilliant. Speaking to Business Insider, the She’s Gotta Have It director shared:

If you missed the headlines earlier this year, Coogler struck a highly unusual studio pact on Sinners, with a bit of help from Tyler Perry. The bet has paid off creatively and commercially. Sinners (available to stream with an HBO Max subscription) is a bloody, blues-soaked genre swing, and opened above projections and sparked months of conversation around authorship, IP, and how legacy studios court A-list storytellers.

The Malcolm X filmmaker also used the moment to highlight how rare true ownership is for directors of his generation. Asked if any of his films have reverted back to him, he was blunt, continuing:

That admission lands with extra weight against the Black Panther director’s historic deal, because for decades, even iconic filmmakers have seen their classics locked inside corporate libraries.

Lee’s 1986 indie breakthrough was self-financed and retains a unique place in his catalog. She's Gotta Have It is still one of his best films, even if it's not the one most strangers still bring up to him as their favorite, hence why it’s the lone title he controls outright. Meanwhile, Sinners is positioned to become one of the few modern, studio-released originals that will eventually be creator-owned.

There’s a broader storyline here, too. Lee’s shout-out to Warner Bros. co-chairs Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca underscores how executive risk tolerance shapes the movies we get. Backing an original, R-rated, star-driven swing and letting the filmmaker keep meaningful back-end and future rights wasn’t the safe choice on paper. But as the Atlanta-born moviemaker puts it, they “bet on Black,” and it paid off for everyone involved.

For the Chi-Raq helmer, who’s currently riding a new wave of attention with Highest 2 Lowest, Coogler’s win reads like a hopeful data point in a business that isn't afraid to say “no” to anything that isn’t a sequel or a new superhero movie.

Spike Lee’s latest work, Highest 2 Lowest, is streaming for everyone with an Apple TV+ subscription.

Director Spike Lee has an iconic filmography. From Malcolm X and Do the Right Thing to She’s Gotta Have It, there is no shortage of Lee's socially relevant films in his body of work that fans can choose as the best of his movies. However, it's a much lesser-known film that “total strangers” still approach the filmmaker about. In a recent interview promoting his 2025 movie release schedule, he shared a deep cut he still hears about, and it delightfully surprises me.

Lee shared the anecdote on IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson, where he sat down to talk craft, childhood, and his new film, the upcoming Highest 2 Lowest. You can hear the smile in the filmmaker’s voice as he explains why one particular household has stuck with audiences for three decades. As he tells it:

If you've seen Crooklyn, this probably clicks for you. Spike Lee’s lively, semi-autobiographical film takes you through the life of a schoolteacher, her stubborn jazz musician husband, and their five kids in Brooklyn back in 1973. It’s a warm and nostalgic look at his childhood, with a fantastic cast and a family that really sticks with you. CinemaBlend’s own Jerrica Tisdale wrote about it being her favorite film of Lee's, saying it was “on constant repeat” in her home.

Told through the sharp eyes of 10-year-old Troy, Crooklyn gives us a vivid look at the lively chaos of a close-knit neighborhood, filled with petty arguments, loud laughter, and genuine community vibes. As the story unfolds, it gradually leads to the heartbreaking moments surrounding Carolyn’s illness and death. However, the film still manages to maintain a hopeful tone, paying tribute to mothers, showing Troy stepping up to new responsibilities, and highlighting the beauty of flawed individuals who continue to support one another. It’s one of Lee's most rewatchable films—funny, touching, and a standout in the world of Black family movies, not to mention a fantastic coming-of-age story.

It's also worth pointing out that Crooklyn might come up more in casual chats than other famous films. While Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X are major, impactful movies that everyone recognizes, Crooklyn hits home in a different way. People connect with it on a personal level. You don’t need to know everything about the Carmichael family to feel the love in a tight household—the kind of place that really shapes how you see life. If you haven't yet had the joy of watching the movie, it's available to stream by adding the Starz channel to your Amazon Prime subscription.

Spike Lee may be known for seismic, culturally essential movies, but decades later it’s Crooklyn—the modest, sunlit Brooklyn family story—that strangers thank him for. And honestly it tracks. Meanwhile, he keeps building the canon: Highest 2 Lowest, his fifth collaboration with Denzel Washington, has been a critical hit at 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, opened in select theaters on August 15, and began streaming for anyone with an Apple TV+ subscription on September 5.

A new month is here and that means it’s time for a flood of new movies and series to invade your favorite streaming services. If you’ve lost some of your favorites you may need something new to watch this week. The good news is there’s actually quite a lot, from nearly every corner o the streaming world, to enjoy this week.

Lilo & Stitch - September 3 (Disney+)

Based on the box office response to the live-action Lilo & Stitch, there’s a pretty good chance that you’ve already seen it once. If, however, you are one of the few who didn’t, or you just want to see it again, the first billion-dollar Hollywood blockbuster of 2025 will be available with your Disney+ subscription this week.

Wednesday, Season 2, Part 2 - September 3 (Netflix)

Fans had to wait quite a while after Wednesday Season 1 to get Season 2, and then Netflix decided to make fans wait to get to the end of Season 2. Luckily, the wait ends this week when the back half of Season 2 of Wednesday arrives. Luckily, we shouldn’t have to wait quite as long for more Jenna Ortega, as Wednesday Season 3 has already been given the green light.

Tony & Ziva - September 4 (Paramount+)

NCIS is one of the longest-running shows on TV, and it’s had a rotating cast of characters throughout its decade-plus run. It’s a safe bet, however, that no characters have been as popular with fans as Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David, as played by Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo. You’ll need a Paramount+ subscription to follow the new adventures of the first couple of NCIS in their spinoff series Tony & Ziva, as the show won’t be on CBS.

The Paper, Season 1 - September 4 (Peacock)

The Office is one of the best sitcoms of all time, according to basically anybody who’s ever seen it. That’s going to make for a high bar to clear when spinoff series The Paper debuts. The series, available with a Peacock subscription, stars Domhall Gleeson, the editor in chief of a failing newspaper, trying to keep it relevant.

Highest 2 Lowest - September 5 (Apple TV+)

It’s been a long time since Spike Lee and Denzel Washington have worked together, but when they do, it’s magic. Highest 2 Lowest got strong positive responses from critics when the film opened in theaters. This week the film becomes available with an Apple TV+ subscription.

The Great British Baking Show - September 5 (Netflix)

Honestly, at this point, I think the entire reason I still have a Netflix subscription might be The Great British Baking Show. The series is the definition of comfort viewing, and so I’m so happy that the series returns this week with 10 new bakers to go through a series of challenges to crown a winner.

September is going to continue to be a solid month for streaming, with a new season of Only Murders in the Building and the debut of the Marvel Zombies animated series among the new shows arriving this month.

Who is the best living actor? If one were to ask that question to a room of 100 people, there's a chance that you could get 100 different answers, as the world is populated with not only a great number of brilliant performers, but also a great number of takes on what it means for an actor to be "the best." For Spike Lee, however, there is really only one correct response to the query, and it's Denzel Washington – though he knows that friend and filmmaking colleague Martin Scorsese would disagree.

The legendary director of Do The Right Thing made his thoughts on the matter known recently in an interview with Vulture, having just had the chance to work with the Oscar-winner actor on his new drama Highest 2 Lowest. On the subject of Denzel Washington's potential nearing retirement, Lee was asked if he felt that their latest collaboration serves as "a fitting potential capstone" to their many years of working together, an he explained his grander thoughts about their partnership:

To be totally fair, Marlon Brando has been out of the "greatest living actor" conversation since he passed away in 2004... but the debate of Denzel Washington versus Robert De Niro for the title is a hefty one. Both have spent decades unleashing some of the best performances of all time in some of the most incredible movies of all time – with features directed by both Spike Lee and Martin Scorsese on the list. Perhaps what is needed to provide a proper answer to the matter is for De Niro to make a movie with Lee and for Washington to make a movie with Scorsese (it's actually kind of crazy that neither collaboration has ever happened).

As referenced by Lee, it was back in 1990 that he first had the chance to work with Denzel Washington, as the star played trumpeter Bleek Gilliam in the drama Mo' Better Blues. What is arguably their greatest collaboration came next, with Washington playing the eponymous role in 1992's Malcolm X, and the power of He Got Game in 1998 and the awesomness of 2006's Inside Man followed.

It's been nearly two decades since Spike Lee and Denzel Washington worked together, but their latest is in theaters now. Highest 2 Lowest is a reimagining of the great Akira Kurosawa classic High And Low that sees Washington play David King – a legendary music producer facing a powerful moral conundrum. After a kidnapper abducts the son of his employee/closest confidant (Jeffrey Wright) thinking that it's King's child, he must make the decision to mortgage his own family's future to pay the ransom.

Washington's work in the movie really only furthers Spike Lee's argument – and if you can't presently see the film in a theater near you, know that it will be streaming soon. Those with an Apple TV+ subscription will find Highest 2 Lowest available from the service starting on September 5.

Twenty years ago this month, Hurricane Katrina swept into New Orleans and nearby communities along the Gulf Coast, leaving behind more than 1,000 lost souls, shattered homes and businesses, and flooding on a scale never seen before. Though I didn’t grow up in NOLA, I was a senior in high school in northern Louisiana when the storm made landfall on August 29, 2005, and my life was never the same.

When I heard about Katrina: Come Hell and High Water, the new Netflix original chronicling the storm and its impact on my fellow Louisianans, I thought it was going to be just another documentary. Now that I’ve watched all three episodes full of pain and triumph, and experienced one of Spike Lee’s best projects in years, I can say that I was very wrong. Here’s why…

I Went Into The Three-Part Netflix Doc Thinking I Had Seen It All

Before I pressed play on the three-part Katrina: Come Hell and High Water, I thought I had heard and seen it all when it came to Hurricane Katrina and its impact on New Orleans. I watched the coverage nonstop when it was going down in August 2005, made friends with teenagers displaced by the storm when they came to my high school, volunteered at the local college, and so on. I’ve visited New Orlease multiple times over the years, including a trip a year or so after the storm, when you could still see watermarks on buildings and overpasses and piles of debris in vacant lots where houses once stood.

However, watching the documentary, hearing the stories of those who survived and carried on, and being exposed to parts of the story that aren’t discussed as much as issues at the Superdome or Convention Center, really opened my eyes and left me an emotional wreck.

But Then It Started Unburying All These Old Memories From 2005

Whether it was New Orleans native Wendell Pierce, local musicians and poets, or everyday residents sharing stories of survival, death, and rebirth, watching Katrina forced deeply buried memories to resurface after 20 years of hiding out in my brain.

Early on in the first episode of the documentary, various people talk about how Hurricane Ivan missing the city in 2004 led them to believe that it would be the same for Katrina. For the first time in 21 years, I remembered an interview with a musician in the French Quarter talking about how he would never leave, no matter what. As Katrina hit one year later, I remember wondering about him and whether his confidence was still unshaken in the face of the devastating storm.

And there are others, like the almost jovial tone of people going to the Superdome, thinking everything was going to be okay. Or the footage of people trying to survive in the days following the levees being breached and turning New Orleans into a swamp. All of these memories came rushing in, flooding me with raw emotions I haven’t felt in two decades.

The Interviews With Parents Talking About Losing Their Children In The Flood Cut Deep

Going in, I knew that death, loss, and grief were going to be unavoidable throughout the three episodes, but I was not ready to hear parents talk about losing their young children in the storm and ensuing flood.

The opening of the third and final episode (more on that next) features an interview with a woman recounting her five-year-old daughter’s death during the natural disaster and how she still feels her spirit 20 years later. My daughter is the same age. After I finished the documentary late at night, I went into her room, sat down, and counted my blessings, hoping that I never have to experience anything like that in my own life.

That’s just one of the stories of loss that make up this nearly four-hour documentary. I tried to watch all of this without crying, but it was a losing battle, and I was left in tears.

The Third And Final Episode (Directed By Spike Lee) Painted A Beautiful Portrait Of A Healing City

The first two episodes – “We Gonna Ride it Out Like We Always Do” by Geeta Gandbhir and “Shelter of Last Resort” by Samantha Knowles – are stunning, personal, and engaging deconstructions of the storm, the events that led to it, and the triumph and tragedy that followed. However, the documentary really shines when it gets to the third and final episode, “God Takes Care of Fools and Babies,” which was directed by none other than Spike Lee.

While the first two chapters take a more straightforward approach to the tragedy, Lee’s closing act is best compared to a visual poem with its freeze-frames on, text appearing on the screen, and a portrait of a healing city. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of heartbreak in the final episode, especially when it comes to the way lower-income families got the shaft in the rebuild, but there’s also this triumphant spirit that can be felt throughout its nearly 90-minute runtime. It’s raw, it’s honest, and it’s uplifting…

This Is The Most Impactful Katrina Documentary I've Watched Since Spike Lee's When The Levees Broke

It should come as no surprise, but Katrina: Come Hell and High Water is the most impactful documentary about the storm that I’ve watched since Spike Lee’s When The Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Parts came out one year after the storm in 2006. The epic documentary, which is streaming with an HBO Max subscription, along with If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise, centered on the lives of New Orleanians in the days, weeks, and months following the storm and documented their struggle to rise above the floodwaters, life-and-death situations, and the political and cultural fallout of the disaster.

It’s still too early to tell if Lee’s latest chronicling of the most devastating storm in New Orleans' history will be held in as high a regard as his first exploration of a hurting city, but it’s honestly a remarkable achievement for the documentary format.

All three parts of Katrina: Come Hell and High Water are available with a Netflix subscription. If you want, the documentary’s trailer does a great job of teasing what you’ll see over the course of nearly four hours.

Spike Lee is no stranger to documentaries about Hurricane Katrina and the devastation it brought to New Orleans, as he previously made two of the best: When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Parts and If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise. The acclaimed director and documentarian has seemingly completed his trilogy with his part in making Katrina: Come Hell and High Water, a three-part 2025 Netflix original docuseries about the storm, the flood, and its aftermath. Critics have watched the series, which is now streaming with a Netflix subscription, and seem to be saying the same thing about the new TV series.

The first two episodes directed by Geeta Gandbhir (“We Gonna Ride it Out Like We Always Do”) and Samantha Knowles (“Shelter of Last Resort”), respectively, help create a “stirring tribute,” as the Guardian’s Jack Seale writes, but it’s Lee’s “God Takes Care of Fools and Babies,” which features interviews with the likes of NOLA native Wendell Pierce, where the doc becomes a “rich oral history”:

Esther Zuckerman of the New York Times made similar comments about three-part Come Hell and High Water, pointing out that while the first two episodes do a great job of telling the story, it’s the Spike Lee portion that “set this series apart”:

Comparing it to the vast number of other Hurricane Katrina documentaries that have come out ahead of the storm’s 20th anniversary, Ben Travers of IndieWire writes that the first two chapters “play like loosely connected context” ahead of Spike Lee’s 90-minute finale:

Then there is the Boston Globe’s Chris Vognar, who described “God Takes Care of Fools and Babies” as a “Spike Lee Joint” that charts its own path that is something completely unique with the filmmaker’s unflinching commentary and visual style:

It’s safe to say that critics really enjoy the third and final act of Katrina: Come Hell and High Water, which is evident by the acclaimed documentary’s perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes. If you want to learn about the tragedy Hurricane Katrina and how New Orleans changed in the aftermath, Spike Lee's painfully relevant doc will do the trick.

Sometimes, the best way to understand somebody is to see them in their true element. When they’re doing what they do best, and they are fully embedded in their own world, you can see them shine and grasp what they are truly about. It can be enlightening in a special way no matter how long you’ve known that person – and it’s this kind of experience that Jeffrey Wright had in the making of the drama Highest 2 Lowest with Spike Lee.

With the exception of a voiceover role for an episode of the Netflix series She’s Gotta Have It, Wright never had the chance to work with Lee prior to the production of new 2025 movie, but as I learned during the virtual press day for Highest 2 Lowest earlier this month, they didn’t go to the collaboration as total strangers. Discussing what it was like to get to know the writer/director in the making of the feature, the Academy Award-nominated actor told me that he lives in Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn (where Lee grew up and where his film production company is headquartered), and he has known the filmmaker personally, but his understanding of the man changed as they worked together. Said Wright,

Highest 2 Lowest is in many ways a great total reflection of Spike Lee’s style as a filmmaker – the work featuring high stakes drama, a terrific soundtrack, and a reflection of New York’s unique energy. A reimagining of the 1963 Akira Kurosawa film High And Low, the movie is a thriller that finds a music mogul (Denzel Washington) stuck in a moral quandary: after initially believing that his son has been kidnapped, he learns that the teenager who has been taken is actually the son of his driver and closest confidant (Jeffrey Wright). With the future of his company potentially at stake and the well-being and lifestyle of his family at risk, a hard decision is demanded of him as he has to decide whether or not to pay the ransom.

Playing a desperate father who is wholly reliant on his friend and employer to save the life of his son, Jeffrey Wright delivers a tremendous performance, and it’s clear that he and Spike Lee worked tremendously well together. And while the latter has garnered an amazing reputation in the film industry since the mid-1980s, the former walked away from the experience making Highest 2 Lowest even more impressed with the man than he had been. Wright continued,

Co-starring ASAP Rocky, Ilfenesh Hadera, Dean Winters, Wendell Pierce and Ice Spice, Highest 2 Lowest is now in theaters, and if you have an AppleTV+ subscription, you’ll be able to stream it when it lands on the service in less than two weeks on September 5.

Celebrities, they're just like us. They also enjoy the NBA, but when a superfan like Spike Lee wants to see the New York Knicks, he can afford the premium seats that most of us salary workers couldn't afford. He's long been synonymous with courtside fandom, but so are many other stars. With Timothée Chalamet making headlines during this past playoff run, is it time for Lee to pass the torch?

As Chalamet made headlines this year for attending Knicks games and his girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, supposedly being a good luck charm for the team, Spike Jones was asked about the actor during a TikTok interview with First Take. Specifically, he was asked if Chalamet could take up the job of being the biggest celebrity superfan of the Knicks once Jones steps away, and I'm not surprised by his response:

I'm not surprised by Spike Lee's response in the slightest. He's been loyal to the franchise for decades and is only 68 years old. Just for context, he's been a season ticket holder since 1985 (via USA Today), which is a decade longer than Timotée Chalamet has lived. Sure, Chalamet got a rub getting called out by Pat McAfee, but he still has a long way to go before he can become "the" celebrity superfan of the New York Knicks.

While there are plenty of great Timothée Chalamet movies to give him a claim to the throne of biggest celebrity Knicks superfan, there are a ton of celebrities who regularly appear at games. Ben Stiller and Tracy Morgan are frequently at games, and Mariska Hargitay gets the special honor of hugging Jalen Brunson. If Chalamet wants the title of biggest fan, he may have to get in line behind several celebrities who also want that mantle.

Again, though, Spike Lee has no plans of going anywhere. This is a guy who treated a screening of Sinners like a Knicks game, so he carries his fandom with him even when he's outside of Madison Square Garden. As an NBA fan and Indiana Pacers fan familiar with his rivalry with Reggie Miller, I have a great respect for Lee and can say the Knicks fandom will have lost a great fan when he finally does stop coming to games.

That day is seemingly far off, however, especially with the New York Knicks in an advantageous position to win the Eastern Conference in the upcoming NBA season. Basketball fans believe the current lineup is the closest its been in decades to win a championship, which is something New Yorkers haven't seen from the franchise since 1973. We'll see if they can pull it off, and make both Spike Lee and Timothée Chalamet.

The official start of the NBA season doesn't happen until late October, so settle in with some football and some potentially cooler weather ahead of its arrival. We'll see how the Knicks do once the season actually starts, and if Spike Lee will reconsider keeping his mantle as the season goes on.

As a huge fan of Spike Lee, I’m looking forward to seeing his latest film, Highest 2 Lowest, as part of the 2025 movie schedule. Before I see it, can I just rave about the 1963 Akira Kurosawa film that inspired it, High and Low?

While I typically love Spike Lee’s characters, and I adore pretty much everything Denzel Washington does, I’m having a hard time believing that the two of them will be able to match or even surpass the work of Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune. High and Low is, quite frankly, one of the greatest movies ever made.

Thankfully, Highest 2 Lowest has been getting pretty great reviews as of late (unlike Lee’s other adaptation from an Asian movie, Oldboy, which we gave a pretty low review at the time), and I’m looking forward to watching it. However, before I do, let me just tell you about the outstanding original.

High And Low Is One Of The More Interesting Toshiro Mifune Performances In A Kurosawa Film

You know, there are some actor/director pairings that are so noteworthy that people stand up and take notice. For instance, I’ve already talked about the many movies between Scorsese and Robert De Niro (as well as the movies between Scorsese and DiCaprio – with De Niro and DiCaprio BOTH starring in Killers of the Flower Moon). I’ve also talked about Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, who made 8 movies together. That’s a lot.

But, do you know how many movies Toshiro Mifune and Akira Kurosawa made together? Sixteen. You heard that right. Mifune and Kurosawa made double the movies that Burton and Depp have made.

And, of those 16 movies, most people are probably familiar with Kurosawa's “samurai” movies (Also known as Jidaigeki films, which basically translates to “period dramas"). You know, films like Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, and The Hidden Fortress (which is the movie people associate with Star Wars). Those kinds of movies.

That said, Mifune made a number of films with Kurosawa that weren’t Jidaigeki, such as Stray Dog, Drunken Angel, and yes, High and Low. Of these films, I find the latter the most interesting. The story of a businessman in the shoe industry who is about to make a major deal when he gets a call about a kidnapping, High and Low takes the viewer all over the place, and never settles on anywhere comfortable.

You see, Mifune’s character doesn’t want to pay the ransom at first, since even though he initially thought his own son was kidnapped, he learns that it’s his chauffeur's child who’s been taken, which changes his tune. He eventually decides to pay since he’s guilt-tripped into doing it, but what follows is a tangled web that is way different from many other Mifune/Kurosawa pairings, which I’ll get into next.

It's A Film Noir Classic

Here’s an interesting thing that you might not know about Kurosawa. It’s said that he was initially viewed with higher esteem in the West than he was in his native land. This actually tracks, since his work was often influenced by stories from the West, like Shakespeare with Ran and Throne of Blood (adaptations of King Lear and Macbeth, respectively), or yes, High and Low, which was loosely based on the 1959 novel, King’s Ransom, by American author, Ed McBain (which was the pen name of Evan Hunter).

And, if you watch lots of Japanese cinema like I do, then you’ll notice that other Japanese directors make very different films from Kurosawa.

However, even if you watch the more popular Kurosawa movies, like Rashomon, Kagemusha, and Seven Samurai, you might not be aware that Kurosawa actually delved into the crime drama quite a bit, with High and Low being his film noir masterpiece.

In a lot of ways, High and Low is a police procedural, as Tatsuya Nakadai plays the chief investigator in the kidnapping. His plan is to find the identity of the kidnapper, and he involves Mifune's character to locate him.

This is an interesting turn since Mifune's character starts out as the reluctant protagonist who is just trying to overtake the shoe company that he works for, only to get embroiled in a crime. So, if you've only seen Kurosawa's Jidaigeki films, I encourage you to check out this film noir classic. I assure you, you'll be impressed.

Almost All Of The Characters Are Morally Grey

I love unlikeable characters, especially when they're our protagonist, and at the start of this film, there's probably no more unlikeable character than our “hero,” Kingo Gondo, played by Mifune.

From the very start, he wants to use his own income in a leveraged buyout to get more control of his company. And, when the kidnapping occurs, he feels more vexed about it than worried, especially once he learns it's not his child. He decides that he won't meet the demands.

Plus, when the hostage is eventually returned, Kingo uses it against his company, as if the kid were just a pawn. He goes straight to the paper and makes it so that he comes out a hero, making his company look bad, as they were trying to vilify him over the kidnapping.

I mean, he is not a nice guy. And, Inspector Tokura (Tatsuya Nakadai) doesn't exactly have his heart in the right place, either. In a bid to get the kidnapper's identity, the police put a false story in the newspaper to get him to come out of hiding, and he winds up killing somebody with uncut drugs in the process. So, that’s blood on the police officers’ hands as well.

And, you know the kidnapper has malicious intent, but it's mostly because he's jealous of our protagonist and purposely targeted him. In this way, all of the major characters are morally gray, which makes this movie feel dirty, but also more realistic because of it.

By The End Of It You Feel Like Nobody Wins

High and Low is one of those movies where nobody wins out in the end. I mean, you're not expecting a happy ending, but I wasn't particularly prepared for the dour conclusion that we get in the end, either.

Because the kidnapper, played by Tsutomu Yamazaki, is apprehended and taken into custody. When we learn why he did the kidnapping (it's because he was envious of Gondo's lifestyle) we both loathe him, but somewhat understand him. Yes, he was wrong, and yes, he should suffer the consequences, but we also sort of get his reasoning, since we've all been envious at times.

In turn, Gondo is perplexed as to why the kidnapper would go to such lengths just because of jealousy, but he doesn't even realize the lengths he himself went through just to get higher up in the company (even willing to sacrifice a child just because it wasn't his).

In this way, by the end of the film, you feel like nobody's learned a lesson, and that everybody is much worse off than they were when they initially started, which sticks with you a lot more than if things had ended positively.

It's a masterpiece in international cinema, and I'm excited to see if Spike Lee and Denzel Washington can come anywhere close to matching its excellence. Only time will tell.

Spike Lee isn’t just one of the most beloved directors of all time, he's also a true fan of cinema. The filmmaker has been emphatic in his praise of his mentors as well as the great work new artists are doing within the medium. He recently expressed his praise for Ryan Coogler’s box office hit, Sinners, and recalled being able to see the film early with Coogler and his wife, Zinzi. Lee spoke fondly about the experience while also explaining exactly how he reacted amid the screening.

The Malcolm X helmer was a guest on The Bill Simmons Podcast, where he talked to the titular host about his 2025 film release with Denzel Washington, Highest 2 Lowest. Simmons and Lee's conversation included a mixture of movie and sports-related topics, given the latter's love for the New York Knicks. When asked what his favorite film of the year is, though, Lee didn’t hesitate to say Sinners. The Oscar-winning filmmaker revealed that his first experience with the film began with a cold call:

Spike Lee is a famous resident of New York City, so it was seemingly fate that brought him to the movie theater that day. Coogler has expressed his own love for the Crooklyn director, so showing Lee his film was a pivotal moment for him as well. Coogler previously said that Lee’s enthusiastic reception of Sinners brought him to tears, and it marked something of a full-circle moment. Lee concurred that he had quite the outward reaction to the film, as he said:

The musical scene in question from the 1932-set film is a sequence in which the character Sammie, played by Miles Caton, plays an intoxicating blues number at the juke joint. "I Lied to You" (an earworm of a song) conjures up imagery of figures representing various eras of Black music. Not only are musicians representing the African roots of the music present in the time-bending scene but so are those who represent rap and hip hop of the 21st century.

Although Spike Lee says he doesn't think Ryan and Zinzi Coogler would want to watch a movie with him again, I can understand just why he was so excited by the juke joint scene and the film as a whole. The musical moment is a gorgeous tribute and adds crucial cultural context to Sinners. It also subtly foreshadows the post-credit scenes, which features a time jump. Clearly, the film struck a chord with Lee, who has nothing but kind words for Ryan's movie:

Lee isn’t the only one that feels this way, as it seems many viewers have had plenty of praise for Sinners. It’s one of the rare instances in modern moviemaking where an original idea is given the scale and the backing to really shine, and audiences come out in droves to see it as well. While Lee may have noticed the musical inspirations in Sinners the most, it’s easy to identify his own influences in Coogler’s work.

It’s incredibly special to not only for Spike Lee to be enthusiastic about seeing the film, but also respond to it in a visceral way, like Ryan Coogler did with Lee's work growing up. It feels very much like a “passing of the torch” moment, and it's incredibly touching. Here's hoping that early screening also wasn't the last one that Coogler and Lee end up sharing.

You can see Sinners for yourself, as the movie is streaming now with an HBO Max subscription. Fans of Spike Lee should also check out Highest 2 Lowest, which is receiving fantastic reviews, and is currently playing in theaters.

Spike Lee and Denzel Washington are two of the most iconic filmmakers in modern Hollywood. The pair have made some equally iconic movies together. The new film Highest 2 Lowest marks their fifth film together, though it’s shockingly been nearly two decades since the last one.

While seeing Spike and Denzel work together again is certainly a topic worthy of note, and many have done that, the other thing that makes their project on the 2025 movie schedule interesting to me is the way Spike Lee used it to reference another friend and collaborator, Prince.

Spike Lee and Denzel Washington Had No Idea They Hadn’t Worked Together In Nearly Two Decades

It’s been 35 years since Denzel Washington and Spike Lee made their first movie together, Mo’ Better Blues. From there, the pair would go on to make Malcolm X, one of Denzel's best movies, He Got Game, and Inside Man. It certainly doesn’t feel like it’s been almost 20 years since Inside Man came out, and it seems that Lee and Washington didn’t realize so much time had passed either, as Lee told the Los Angeles Times…

To be fair, both Lee and Washington have remained pretty busy for the last 18 years, so time probably flew by. They’ve both been racking up the awards by making great movies with others. And the pair probably see each other enough and talk about working together often enough that they simply didn’t do the math on how long it had actually been.

Highest 2 Lowest’s Title Is Inspired By Prince

Based on the critical response to Highest 2 Lowest, it’s been worth the wait to see Denzel Washington and Spike Lee work together again, but there’s another collaborator of Spike Lee’s who also had something of a hand in making the new film, Prince.

Highest 2 Lowest is a remake, or in Lee’s words, a “reinterpretation” of Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low. Lee says the twist on the title, Highest 2 Lowest, “is a shout-out to my brother Prince.” Prince would frequently use numbers in place of words in his song and album titles like “I would Die 4 U” or “Nothing Compares 2 U.”

Lee and Prince were friends for decades, with Lee directing one of Prince’s music videos in the early 1990s, “Money Don’t Matter 2 Night,” which also used the number/word swap style. Prince provided the soundtrack to Lee’s movie, Girl 6, five years later. Lee also included an unreleased Prince song in BlacKkKlansman.

So Highest 2 Lowest is, in more than one way, a collaboration between Spike Lee and his friends, who are both great talents themselves.

It’s hard to believe that director Spike Lee and actor Denzel Washington have only made five films together, but I’d be lying if I said otherwise. The fifth is set to release as part of the 2025 movie schedule, as Highest 2 Lowest marks the first collaboration between the titans since 2006’s Inside Man. With a new trailer released to get the crowd ready for what to expect, Lee has also taken the time to write a totally fitting tribute to his frequent leading man.

We now have a longer look at the A24/Apple TV+ subscription title (which debuts in theaters on August 15th), and the remake to Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low appears to be worth the wait. Showing us Washington’s record mogul David King seemingly on top at the start, sour notes start to land in his life before you know it. Which is the total opposite of the vibe you’ll get from reading Spike Lee’s Instagram caption, shared below:

You’ve gotta love when friends like these absolutely gas each other up in the press. As far as that five picture run is concerned, Washington has been part of some of the most acclaimed pictures on Lee’s resume. Though that's not to overlook the current run of streaming heaters the Crooklyn director has been putting out.

In fact, some of Spike Lee's most socially relevant movies have been platform based originals like Prime Video's Chi-Raq and Netflix's Da 5 Bloods. That makes this reunion even more fruitful, as Washington can now be added to the roster of recent hits banked by Brooklyn's cinema hype man.

But of course, the wait between Inside Man and this new movie is one that fans have been braving for a while. You could see that as Lee’s message accompanying Highest 2 Lowest’s teaser acknowledged that “hella long” wait. That seems to be a specialty for Apple Original Films, as around this same time last year the platform delivered the George Clooney/Brad Pitt reunion we know as Wolfs.

What’s even more fitting is that yesterday Spike Lee posted another clip to his social media, one that may have been his tip off that a new Highest 2 Lowest look was coming. Sharing the snippet of Mo’ Better Blues you see below, the Atlanta-born filmmaker threw us all the way back to the beginning of his professional relationship with Denzel Washington:

As if the fan hype for Highest 2 Lowest wasn't enough, you've also got stories like ASAP Rocky's experience working with Mr. Washington, which only stoke those flames all the more. It's probably a good thing that audiences won't have to wait too much longer before they can catch Highest 2 Lowest, and with two very different options available.

You’ll be able to try and find the picture at a theater near you, as its theatrical release starts on August 15th. However, Apple TV+ subscribers will be able to partake in the reunion of Spike Lee and Denzel Washington soon after, as it will hit the streaming platform on September 5th.

Spike Lee is one of Hollywood’s most prolific filmmakers, with his movies having earned acclaim and helped define Generation X and beyond. Aside from his work behind the camera, though, Lee is also known for never mincing words on a given topic. Lee will let people know if he likes something (like Sinners) or disagrees with something (like in Oppenheimer). MLB icon Derek Jeter has been on the wrong end of Lee’s shade, as he once received some very blunt advice after asking to be in one of the director’s films.

While Derek Jeter is mostly known for his work on the baseball diamond as a member of the New York Yankees, he’s also made a handful of movie and TV appearances during his career. Jeter famously appeared as himself on an episode of Seinfeld back in the day, and he cameoed in the films Anger Management and The Other Guys. Ahead of landing those small film roles, though, the five-time World Series champion wanted to be in a “Spike Lee joint.” With that, he apparently shot his shot during a ball game in the ‘90s:

Honestly, I can appreciate just how confident the seasoned athlete was at the time. I mean, he had nothing to lose and much to gain, after all. As the baseball hall of famer further recalled to People, though, the Do the Right Thing helmer responded with a blunt – but hilarious – suggestion:

Derek Jeter experienced a few injuries over the course of his career, but that verbal jab from the New York-raised director is particularly brutal. However, the funny shot probably shouldn’t be too surprising, considering the Malcolm X helmer’s typically honest way of dealing with athletes. (Reggie Miller knows about that all too well.) At the very least, it seems that Jeter took that incredibly direct piece of advice in stride and committed to heart. His baseball résumé, after all, does speak for itself.

Something that should be mentioned is that Spike Lee doesn’t have any qualms about working with athletes. He did, after all, cast basketball player Ray Allen as the co-lead of his 1996 sports drama, He Got Game. Lee also collaborated with Michael Jordan on a series of Nike commercials in which the multihyphenate reprised his role of Mars Blackmon from She’s Gotta Have It. (As a sports fan, I’d love to know if Lee ever had the gumption to critique Jordan while they were on set together.)

As for Derek Jeter, I’d say the chances of him joining a Spike Lee movie now are probably slim, though I guess just about anything is possible. While Jeter is currently busy with his various business ventures, Lee is looking towards the release of his 2025 movie release, Highest 2 Lowest, which opens in theaters on August 22 and will available to stream with an Apple TV+ subscription on September 5. So, years after Lee and Jeter’s funny exchange, I’d say things worked out well for both men.

There's an old adage about how it's best to never meet your heroes, and while I respect the general idea behind it (they can never truly live up to your own expectations), one can also read that notion to be a touch cowardly. Yes, there is a chance that things will go horribly and part of your worldview will be shattered... but there is also the possibility that you can have one of the greatest experiences of your life. If you're ever in doubt about this, just think about what happened when director Ryan Coogler got the chance to show his new 2025 movie Sinners to one of his idols: the legendary Spike Lee.

Coogler recently shared the story as a guest on an episode of 7PM In Brooklyn With Carmelo Anthony – the conversation turning to the work of Spike Lee during a discussion of the trailer for the filmmaker's upcoming remake of Akira Kurosawa's High And Low starring Denzel Washington. It was mentioned that Lee had been a recent guest on the show and had dubbed Sinners as "the greatest cinematic experience" he had had "in a long time," and it was a comment that humbled the writer/director. Coogler first expressed his deep love for Malcolm X (Lee's biopic from 1992), and then he described what it was like for him to be in a theater with him watching his latest feature:

Getting proper and earned validation from anybody can be an emotional experience... but getting that validation from somebody you've spent your whole life looking up to and idolizing? I think that if any of us were in the circumstance that Ryan Coogler describes here, we would be shedding tears as well.

Of course, while getting approval and encouragement from Spike Lee was a big deal, the reality is that Sinners was widely praised by just about every single person who saw it prior to and during its theatrical release. The crime/horror epic starring Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Wunmi Mosaku, Jack O'Connell and Delroy Lindo has earned rave reviews from critics and audiences alike (I personally gave it a five-star review for CinemaBlend), and it has been one of the biggest box office success stories of 2025. It's still playing in some locations domestically, but to date, it has made $278 million domestically and $364.5 million worldwide.

Sinners is a movie that certainly benefitted from the big screen experience, but I highly doubt it will lose all of its impact as it moves to the home video market. The film is currently available for digital rental and purchase from all major online outlets, and it will be streamable for HBO Max subscribers starting this Friday, July 4. Those of you who are physical media collectors can pre-order the film on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD prior to its street date on July 8.

The 2025 NBA playoffs have been quite dramatic this year, as two storied rivals are battling for a chance to go to their first Finals in decades. The New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers faced off in the latter's arena for a crucial Game 4 matchup, and the stars were there to witness it. Timothée Chalamet, Spike Lee and Ben Stiller were among celebrities in attendance there to cheer on the Knicks, and Pacers fan Pat McAfee straight-up called them out when hyping up the crowd.

Weeks after I speculated he might be done with WWE, McAfee cut a promo in Gainbridge Fieldhouse that had the crowd fired up. The host of one of ESPN's hottest shows encouraged the crowd to boo the celebrity Knicks fans in attendance, and Ben Stiller wasn't too happy about being called out. Check out what Pat McAfee said, as well as Stiller's response below:

Ben Stiller is one of the few celebrities who is more than willing to interact with people on social media, whether it's about their love of Severance or to talk about the NBA. While the actor didn't explicitly say he was upset at Pat McAfee for what he did, I think calling the callout "weird" and making sure to point out that other Pacers fans were awesome spoke volumes about how he received the moment.

While the comedian received support from fellow New York Knicks fans, others were quick to call out that the moment didn't seem to be as malicious as he might've thought. Stiller did acknowledge the boos sent to him and other celebrities likely wasn't personal, but added an addendum. And we'll have to see holds up when the teams return to Madison Square Garden:

Ben Stiller's iconic movies remain celebrated, and he's also a great comedian. However, I think his love for New York might be blinding him a bit here. In fact, New York firefighter Hans Perez was in attendance at this very game thanks to Tyrese Haliburton after a video of Knicks fans throwing trash on him after a game went viral. Maybe a celebrity wouldn't call out other ones at a basketball game in New York, but that's not to say bad things haven't happened between both teams.

As for Pat McAfee, we'll have to see if he has anything to say back to Ben Stiller in regard to his show. Considering McAfee's status as one of the many commentators to grace the WWE over the years, I'll be eager to see if he leans into a potential feud.

As a wrestling fan very invested in all of this, I couldn't help but clock that Triple H was in the building last night, and he's worked with Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Haliburton before. If the WWE leans into a supposed feud between Pat McAfee and Ben Stiller, I think there's a chance we see a bizarre showdown between all four when SummerSlam is in East Rutherford, New Jersey, later this summer.

I'd be eager to stream that with a Peacock subscription, and maybe Trips has what it takes to bring all four together. This is all wishful thinking on my part, of course but, after that call-out at the NBA game, I can imagine such McAfee/Stiller showdown being a blast.

As for the Pacers and Knicks, they go head-to-head again on Thursday, May 29th at 8:00 p.m. ET amid the 2025 TV schedule. I think it'll be a must-watch game for those looking for some drama, and maybe we'll see Pat McAfee in the building for that game, where Ben Stiller could possibly get some sweet revenge.

Audiences are going to witness a truly intriguing pairing of actors, as ASAP Rocky and Denzel Washington are starring in Highest 2 Lowest. The film is the latest "joint" from director Spike Lee, who teams up with Washington again after their other iconic collaborations. That's exciting, but the prospect of the former sharing the screen with Rocky is tantalizing as well. Ahead of the 2025 movie schedule entry's release, the rapper opened up about working with Washington and why it was humrously challenging.

The "Sundress" artist took some time to chat with Variety about his upcoming A24 movies, If I Could Kick You and the aforementioned Lee flick. When talk turned to Highest 2 Lowest, Washington's name was mentioned, and ASAP Rocky discussed how thrilling it was to be his scene partner. However, it would seem that the gig was also a bit challenging for Rocky, as he had to contain his personal fandom:

Honestly, I feel like a number of us would probably be starstruck by just running into Denzel Washington on the street let alone working with him. Washington's stellar filmography can only be matched by a select group of actors. So it's understandable as to why the rapper felt a bit flustered, and I applaud his honesty. It also sounds like his introduction to Washington as an actor began with one of his greatest movies:

ASAP Rocky is far from the only person who's shared glowing thoughts about working with the Gladiator II star. One of the actor's latest co-stars, Jake Gyllenhaal, gushed over working with him on the latest stage adaptation of Othello. Director Ryan Coogler also wants to work with Washington on the upcoming Black Panther 3 and has discussed his admiration for the two-time Oscar winner.

Seeing the hip hop artist's love for his co-star honestly has me even more amped for their new movie. The recently released Highest 2 Lowest teaser also provides a solid look at this reinterpretation of Akira Kurosawa's High and Low, a noir film with a high-stakes kidnapping within the white collar world. I'd like to think that this adaptation is in good hands with Lee and Washington.

Of course, ASAP Rocky is gradually carve out a lane for himself as an actor as well Most notably, he put on a solid performance in one of the best Black-led coming-of-age movies, Dope. I can't wait to see him and Denzel Washington mix it up on screen, and here's hoping the have great chemistry.

Highest 2 Lowest is set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 19 and will hit theaters on August 22. It'll also be available for Apple TV+ subscription holders to stream starting on September 5.

As soon as we heard Denzel Washington and ASAP Rocky would star in a Spike Lee movie, anticipation was bound to skyrocket. With such a talented cast and crew behind the upcoming A24 movie, I’m already expecting a success on our hands. As the first footage of Highest 2 Lowest arrives online, Spike Lee can’t contain his excitement, saying, “U been waiting hella long.”

Spike Lee was very low-key about Highest 2 Lowest in his latest interview on 7 PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony. He described the plot as a “reinterpretation” of Akira Kurosawa’s Japanese crime flick of a music mogul involved in a kidnapping. But knowing that ASAP Rocky and Denzel Washington would be sharing screentime made me impatient to see some footage of the 2025 movie release. Fortunately, the wait is over, as Lee posted new footage of Highest 2 Lowest on Instagram and didn’t hold back his excitement:

Yes, we have been waiting “hella long,” but it proves that good things come to those who wait. It’s clear that Spike Lee is just as excited about the release of his own movie just like audiences.

I love that the Do the Right Thing actor/director spoke about the Washington/Lee family coming back. The two have proven themselves to be a dynamic duo throughout many projects. You can thank Spike Lee for what made a lot of Denzel Washington’s movies so iconic, like Mo’ Better Blues, He Got Game and Malcolm X. Almost 20 years later, Highest 2 Lowest will mark their fifth collaboration, with success sure to follow. Washington’s well-known characters in Lee’s movies have always been layered, tackling their inner demons while facing moral challenges. If the Cannes Film Festival premiere flick does the same thing, we’ll be in for another powerful performance.

The first teaser for Highest 2 Lowest still doesn’t present a clear plot for the new movie. At the same time, it’s not necessary. Just seeing talent like Denzel Washington, ASAP Rocky and Jeffrey Wright in the trailer is enough to sell me. Not to mention, it’s an A24 movie, which is normally an appealing feature point in my book.

We also see quick glimpses of heavy activity like shootouts, police sirens and Denzel Washington’s character dropping a bag down a train. I’m already expecting a high-stakes story that will bring together a complex storyline that the BlacKkKlansman filmmaker is known for. You can watch Highest 2 Lowest’s first footage below:

Just like we’ve all been waiting for the teaser of Highest 2 Lowest, Spike Lee has been feeling the same way, with so much excitement for audiences to see his movie. With a stellar cast and anxiety-inducing action, I know we’ll be in for a real treat with Lee’s passion project. The neo-noir crime thriller will play in theaters on August 22nd and stream with your Apple TV+ subscription on September 5th.

Spike Lee is set to grace the 2025 movie schedule with a new film, Highest 2 Lowest, and it's being ushered out in style. This latest flick is set premiere at Cannes on the anniversary of one of Lee’s greatest movies, Do the Right Thing. This latest feature also reunites the director with esteemed collaborator Denzel Washington. Joining the pair as part of the cast is ASAP Rocky, and it turns out Lee has a chuckle-worthy reason for casting the rapper.

It says a lot for an iconic director like Spike Lee to want to hire you for a film, especially since the director is quite shrewd when casting. His upcoming crime thriller, which will eventually be available to stream with an Apple TV+ subscription, is a “reinterpretation” of Akira Kurosawa’s Japanese crime flick, High and Low, with Washington playing a music mogul involved in a kidnapping plot. While speaking on 7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony, Lee got candid about what made him cast the “L$D” rapper, and I’m still laughing:

I love that! Looking at the two performers, I can see the resemblance between them. Honestly, it's not often that you hear a director being partially influenced by social media memes when casting actors though, apparently, Lee couldn’t ignore them for his new movie. Quite frankly, I'm not sure I can unsee the resemblance between the two now.

Of course, there's more to casting than appearances, as actors must also have a creative spark. I’m really curious as to what Washington and Rocky's dynamic will look like on screen. We'll have to wait and see but, right now, Spike Lee is teasing that the rapper gives quite the performance. Not only that, but he apparently had no problem going toe to toe with the Othello star:

Based on Spike Lee’s kind words, I already have a feeling that ASAP Rocky is going to surprise viewers. He may be known for his Billboard Top 100 tracks, but he’s shown off his acting chops before in a few movies. He made his film debut in one of the best Black-led coming-of-age films, Dope, and also appeared in the Netflix legal drama Monster. Rocky will also appear in the upcoming A24 movie, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.

While working on Lee's film, the “Long Live ASAP” performer was in a prime position to learn from some brilliant creative minds. I'd be curious to hear about his experience working with Lee and Denzel Washington.

I'm hopeful that Highest 2 Lowest turns out to be another quality "Spike Lee Joint." If anything, I'm even more excited after hearing the Oscar-winning filmmaker hype up ASAP Rocky's work. Despite that, when I finally see the film for myself, I'll still be thinking about how those memes helped lead to Rocky's casting, and I'll probably chuckle about it to myself then, too.

Fans are already crazy excited for the scares ahead like Until Dawn, Final Destination: Bloodlines, and more. But, the highly-anticipated movie I absolutely want to see in theaters no matter what is Ryan Coogler’s transition to horror in the vampire flick Sinners. As if we weren’t psyched enough already for the upcoming horror film, director Spike Lee has seen it, and he’s got a lot of A+ responses to say.

While everyone else has to wait for Sinners to premiere in April, Spike Lee was really lucky that his pal Ryan Coogler invited him to see his upcoming movie recently at IMAX. By the time the end credits rolled, the Crooklyn filmmaker took to Instagram to give his A+ review, and now I want to move Sinners to the top of my watchlist:

Wow! With Spike Lee praising all of the elements that make a movie a masterpiece, now I’m craving to see Sinners more and more. The American filmmaker should know what makes an excellent moviegoing experience. He is the man responsible for movies we’re still talking about today, like Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, Da 5 Bloods, and more. So, it’s clear he knows magnificent filmmaking when he sees it.

There are so many reasons to be excited for Sinners. We’ve seen Ryan Coogler delve into biopic dramas with his debut Fruitvale Station, sports dramas like the first two Creed movies, and Marvel movies like Black Panther. But this will be the first time we see the Oscar-nominated filmmaker blend horror and period genres into one movie. Coogler said his supernatural horror movie was “more exciting” to film compared to Black Panther in terms of seeing an original story and characters. Compared to a movie being based on a true story or comic, a nuanced plot means audiences will have no idea what’s coming to them. Not to mention, we get to see vampires make their way in a 1930s Jim-Crow era, which is authenticity at its finest.

Based on Spike Lee’s rave review, I’m already getting vibes that Coogler will receive the same praise that Jordan Peele received when he made his horror debut with Get Out. The Honorary BAFTA Award recipient continued to say more great things about Sinners that’s hyping me up:

There’s nothing like sitting next to the filmmaker responsible for giving you “the greatest experience” in a theater. I’m sure watching the flick at IMAX must have brought the chill factor to a whole new level. You should know that Sinners’ lead, Michael B. Jordan, has seen Spike Lee’s post, and he’s got an A+ response of his own:

Yes, take it from the OG to let audiences know what movie they need to get tickets for. Spike Lee sure is a fan, and he’s not afraid to show it in his Instagram post posing by the film’s post with Ryan Coogler below:

Just when you already felt excited about Ryan Coogler’s vampire flick, Spike Lee gives us a praiseworthy review after seeing it with more reasons why it’s a must-watch. I’m already excited to see how Coogler will push the boundaries of horror and give us a 2025 movie release that will linger in our minds long after the end credits roll. Hyped up fans have the chance to see Sinners in theaters on April 18th.

After a pretty eventful 2024, Samuel L. Jackson’s slate of 2025 movies is relatively chill. Which is probably why the beloved actor and pop culture icon had the time to be a part of Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX halftime show. It was a performance as awesome as any of Mr. Jackson’s work in screen and stage, and that fact was not lost on equally iconic director/collaborator Spike Lee.

More specifically, the man behind visions such as Da Five Bloods and Do The Right Thing cited the actor’s role in 2015’s Chi-Raq, a.k.a. “the movie that pissed off Chicago’s mayor.” When it came to discussing this hot button pop culture event in a recent Instagram post, Lee issued this emphatic and heartfelt thanks that clocked the flick as a potential inspiration:

If you missed Chi-Raq, don’t worry, Spike Lee’s take on Aristophanes’ Lysistrata is available for Prime Video subscription holders to enjoy. Between the name check to the director’s production company, as well as the presence of Mr. Jackson in a very similar role, the flick feels like a pre-requisite piece of further viewing.

But for anyone who may have questioned the politically charged nature of the Academy Award nominated rapper’s mindful spectacle, let this final piece of evidence have the last word. Here, for your review, is the trailer for Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq - which features Samuel L. Jackson’s Dolmedes pretty prominently:

It’s fair to say that everyone has their favorite Spike Lee movie. Some people might be huge Malcolm X fans, while others like CinemaBlend’s own Jerrica Tisdale have their reasons to favor Crooklyn as Lee’s best work. After looking a bit closer at the parallels between the messages of Chi-Raq and the Super Bowl halftime show, I wonder if Kendrick Lamar’s favorite has to be that underrated Spike Lee title?

No matter the answer to that question, we can definitely see the man's respect for Samuel L. Jackson. And just as the MCU vet isn't bothered by lacking an Oscar, he's probably all smiles right about now when seeing a dear friend compliment his latest gig in the public eye.

Spike Lee has a legendary collection of movies that he wrote (or co-wrote) and directed. Many of Lee's films are socially relevant, and even still have something to say today, like Do the Right Thing. I have seen and loved so many of his movies throughout my lifetime. However, Crooklyn is the Spike Lee film that holds the biggest place in my heart.

It also may be his movie that I've watched the most. However, I had not seen it in a while, maybe not since reaching adulthood. Therefore, when I heard someone mention seeing Crooklyn for the first time, I decided to revisit this movie that I used to love.

Seeing it from an adult perspective contextualized it in new ways. My view of the Brooklyn neighborhood, in particular, changed and the journey of the key characters.

Warning: Crooklyn spoilers are ahead. Proceed with caution.

Crooklyn Was On Constant Repeat In My Childhood

I believe that many Black children during a certain time watched Crooklyn a lot. It was constantly on television. As someone who grew up in not the best financial situation, regular trips to the movie theater weren’t common. I watched whatever aired on television, and this wasn’t just a movie that was constantly on, but one that I really enjoyed. This was mainly because I could relate to it in many ways.

The neighborhood in the film wasn’t too different from mine on the South Side of Chicago. It was a block where everyone knew each other, and despite issues, it had a strong sense of community. I am the oldest daughter (though not the only daughter — I have two younger sisters and several brothers) and I could relate to Lee’s iconic character Troy (Zelda Harris) because we both have large families. I also understood the weight of being a daughter with expected responsibilities and leadership.

Carolyn (Alfre Woodard) also often reminded me of my no-nonsense mother. Rewatching Crooklyn brought back my childhood and my connection to it. It may not be Lee’s best technical film but it remains my favorite.

It Always Had One Major Tragedy That Stood Out To Me

Crooklyn has also always been a sad movie. The idea of your parent becoming sick and dying is scary at any age, but it’s especially so when you're a child. Carolyn’s death is one of the elements of the movie that takes up a permanent place in my memory. Therefore, I view it as one of the great tragic films. It has a lot of comedy and comedic elements, but Carolyn’s death sends the film down a somber path every time.

I also realized during this viewing that I misremembered some of the film’s details. I thought we saw Carolyn sick throughout, however, it almost feels like her illness comes out of nowhere, and then she dies. This makes sense in the context of the movie. It’s mainly told through Troy’s perspective, so as a child, she wouldn’t notice some signs of her mother’s illness. In her mind, it did come out of nowhere. Additionally, as adults, sometimes we ignore signs of poor health just because life becomes so busy, or we can’t afford to go to the doctor, whether financially or because the effort takes too much time. Therefore, Carolyn and Woody (Delroy Lindo) could have been surprised by her sickness while Troy was away. However, I suspect she went to live with her aunt so her parents could shield her from the inevitable for a while.

Rewatching It, I Saw More Of The Chaos Of The City

Probably similar to my own warped perspective of my neighborhood growing up, Troy views her Brooklyn block through a whimsical lens. People are always fighting, getting in trouble, sniffing glue, and beefing. However, it’s a community that sticks together. It’s always viewed as a loving place, despite its problems.

In Crooklyn, Spike Lee plays a glue-sniffing guy who terrorizes and steals from neighborhood children. This is played for laughs. However, having someone addicted to glue who bothers you isn’t that fun or funny in real life. Troy’s siblings terrorize their neighbor Tony Eyes (David Patrick Kelly), but you’re on their side because he seems annoying. However, in real life, and as an adult, I might be on Tony Eyes’s side. Random children throwing trash in your side of the building would be horrendous.

I noticed so much more of the neighborhood’s chaos now that I am an adult. This chaos would either drive you mad or force you to join the madness. It’s more fun joining.

I Didn't Realize That Carolyn Is The Hero Of Crooklyn Until This Viewing

Single mothers have to do a lot. Carolyn isn’t technically single, but Woody isn’t really stepping up and helping. She has the weight of the family on her shoulders. She has to keep all those kids in order and still work as a teacher. You understand her yelling and complaining. However, to a child, Carolyn seems intense and like she's too much, while Woody seems like the cool, fun dad.

He gets to take on that role because Carolyn takes on the burden of the family. Seeing it as a child, I didn’t realize how much she did for them. I would be annoyed with Woody and those children, too. I want to believe I wouldn’t scream as much, but I would be just as aggravated, frustrated, and overwhelmed.

I now realize that Crooklyn is one of the best movies about mothers. I grew to appreciate and respect Carolyn. Her death becomes more tragic watching it as an adult, and that says a lot, because it was already pretty traumatizing when I was a child.

Troy's Story Became A Lot Sadder As I Watched It As An Adult

The film ends with Troy basically taking on her mother’s role. It’s played as something she fits into naturally and enjoys. However, in reality, Troy is a ten-year-old girl who is about to grow up too fast by taking care of her brothers and father. She’s going to be stressed like her mother. Of course, Troy isn’t going to become the exact replacement for her mom, because she is a child, and Woody is likely to become a more responsible parent. But Troy will try to honor Carolyn by stepping up.

This noble pursuit will likely remove some of the carefree parts of childhood. This is a sad new reality for Troy, but not uncommon for girls and boys who lose parents at a young age.

Despite The Tragedy Surrounding The Family, I Still View The Film As Very Hopeful.

I view this as a movie about hope. Despite the chaos of the neighborhood, these people form real bonds. They help and protect each other. Even with Tony Eyes, Woody becomes more sympathetic and offers to help him clean. Despite losing her mother, Troy wants her brothers to have a motherly figure and care for them. Troy and her mother had a special bond that she now wants to honor.

Woody is a dream chaser, but you have to believe that he will conform a little (or a lot) to provide for his family. You see little moments of him now stepping up with Carolyn gone. This family’s life isn’t perfect, but it’s full of love, community, and compassion.

That’s what makes Crooklyn such a memorable and endearing movie. It’s not about a perfect family, but one that feels real and that makes their story captivating. It’s one of the best Black family movies and a great coming-of-age story.

Rent or buy Crooklyn on Amazon.

The directors on this list are among the greatest in the history of cinema, with films that are considered the best of all time; films that will never be forgotten. What about those movies they brought all their tremendous talents to, but which aren’t remembered as well? Here is our list of great movies, by great directors, that don’t get talked about enough these days. 

The Frighteners - Peter Jackson

The Frighteners is such a great movie, and it’s criminally underrated. No, it's not as sprawling or overwhelming as Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films, but it has all the heart and more. Michael J. Fox leads as a con man/exorcist who can see and interact with ghosts. The Frightners is really funny, well-paced, and delightful. 

The King Of Comedy - Martin Scorsese 

When you think of Martin Scorsese, “comedy” is not usually the first word that pops into your head, but The King Of Comedy is really a pretty great movie, and while it’s technically a comedy, it’s really dark. Goodfellas has some comedy in it, like Joe Pesci acting like a clown… but a true (dark) comedy? This Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis-led film stands alone in Scorsese’s canon. 

Peggy Sue Got Married - Francis Ford Coppola

Peggy Sue Got Married is a deceptively simple film. Unlike Francis Ford Coppola’s more-talked-about epics like The Godfather films and Apocalypse Now, this film, starring Nicolas Cage and Kathleen Turner, is smaller, but that doesn’t mean it’s lesser. It’s a weird time-travel tale, but at its heart, it’s really a love story, and while it's not Coppola’s best work, it’s well worth a watch and should be talked about more often. 

Jackie Brown - Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Taratino has famously said that his next movie, his 10th, could be his last. Whether that holds true or not remains to be seen, but it’s a safe bet Jackie Brown will still be his least talked about.

Strange Days - Kathryn Bigelow

Kathryn Bigelow’s won Oscars (for The Hurt Locker) and she’s directed cult classics (Point Break). Strange Days is certainly closer to the latter. In it, Bigelow dabbles in science fiction, a rarity for her, but it’s unsurprising, as Strange Days was written by her then-husband James Cameron. It doesn’t have the iconic quotes that Point Break has, nor is it as white-knuckle as The Hurt Locker, but it is a great time capsule to filmmaking in the mid-90s and well worth remembering. 

Amistad - Steven Spielberg

Wedged between The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Saving Private Ryan in Steven Spielberg’s filmography, is Amistad. It’s easy to understand why this powerful historical drama revolving around a landmark court case regarding the slave trade is overlooked, but it shouldn’t be. It’s a moving story, told expertly as only Spielberg can, with a monster cast including Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman, and Djimon Hounsou, among many others. 

Clockers - Spike Lee

Let’s be clear here, Clockers is not Spike Lee’s finest work. It doesn’t reach the heights of movies like Do The Right Thing or Malcolm X, but it's still a really good movie. It gets lost in Lee’s stellar filmography, which is understandable. It’s also a testament to just how good Lee’s career has been. 

Talk Radio - Oliver Stone

Talk Radio has everything you expect from an Oliver Stone movie. Its pacing and storytelling are perfect, it’s a fascinating and terrifying story that pulls from the real-world events of a murdered radio show host. It also has a healthy dose of conspiracy, as any great Stone film does. 

The Bling Ring - Sofia Coppola

Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring is a meta-tastic heist film that is not only a ton of fun to watch with celebrity cameos and great acting performances, but it also touches on some of the emerging trends that exploded in the years after the movie came out, notably influencer culture. It’s too often overlooked in Coppola’s stellar filmography. 

The Game - David Fincher

David Fincher is a master, and his filmography is full of great movies, like Se7en and Fight Club. The movie he made between those two classic is The Game with Sean Penn and Michael Douglas. Understandably, it’s overshadowed, but it’s an amazing film that is every bit as good as those two more talked-about movies. Even when people watch Fincher’s whole body of work, The Game gets overlooked and it shouldn’t. 

Casualties Of War - Brian De Palma

Casualties of War was released in 1989, which was the tail end of a slew of excellent Vietnam War movies released in the late ‘80s, like Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, and Hamburger Hill. Despite earning well-deserved praise from critics, the Brian De Palma film bombed, and as such, it's unfortunately one of the director’s least talked about movies when it should be one of the most. 

Matchstick Men - Ridley Scott

Usually, when movie fans talk about Ridley Scott, it’s his sprawling historical epics like Gladiator or Napoleon that dominate the conversation, along with sci-fi classics like Alien and Blade Runner. Matchstick Men is a smaller movie, a dark comedy about a con man with a myriad of personal problems played by Nicolas Cage. It’s a wonderful performance by Cage, and despite not performing well at the box office, it’s been well-reviewed over the years.

Inherent Vice - Paul Thomas Anderson

Inherent Vice from Paul Thomas Anderson is a complicated movie, based on a complicated book by Thomas Pinchon. It’s easy to understand why it’s not as talked about as some of Anderson’s other movies, like There Will Be Blood and Boogie Nights, but it’s every bit as good as those, featuring great acting performances and wonderful cinematography. 

Out Of Sight - Steven Soderbergh

Steven Soderberg is known for stylish filming techniques with snappy dialog and interesting plot twists. It’s all right there in Out Of Sight, but the movie still gets overlooked. It was Soderbergh’s first big-budget film, and maybe that’s why it doesn’t get talked about enough. It was also his first collaboration with George Clooney, which makes it even more confounding that it’s not more popular. 

Barry Lyndon - Stanley Kubrick

It’s hard to really argue that any of Stanley Kubrick’s films are not talked about enough, but Barry Lyndon comes the closest here. It’s most revered for its cinematography, but it’s also a wonderful story. While it doesn’t have the panache of A Clockwork Orange or the scope of 2001: A Space Odyssey, it’s still a Kubrick film and it’s one of the best ever made. 

Stardust - Matthew Vaughn

Matthew Vaughn has quietly put together one of the finest resumes in Hollywood. The Kingsman movies are a hot franchise, he’s dabbled in Marvel, and may have inspired the choice of Daniel Craig as James Bond after directing him in Layer Cake. Stardust seems to get lost in the shuffle, but it’s maybe, low key, his best film. 

Ryan's Daughter - David Lean

David Lean is rightfully most remembered for three films, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, and Doctor Zhivago. Lost in the discussion of those films is Ryan’s Daughter, a retelling of Madame Bovary set at the end of World War I. It was the last film Lean directed for 14 years and we can only wonder what he might have done had he not semi-retired. 

Fantastic Mr. Fox - Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson has developed one of the most distinct styles in film history, which translates brilliantly to animation, as well. Anderson’s first foray into the genre was Fantastic Mr. Fox, starring George Clooney, Meryl Streep, and Bill Murray, among others. While it may never outshine his live-action classics, it should be discussed more as one of his best works. 

Bound - The Wachowskis

The DNA of the Wachowskis is very evident in Bound, their first movie. It was made on a shoestring budget, so it doesn’t have the over-the-top effects of The Matrix series, but you can see where they were headed in their filmmaking. 

Intolerable Cruelty - Coen Brothers

When you have a filmography like the Coen Brothers, inevitably, some of the movies won’t get talked about as much as others. Intolerable Cruelty is one of those that gets lost in the mix, behind movies like The Big Lebowski and others that are among the best movies of the ‘90s and beyond. 

Insomnia - Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan is among the most beloved directors of the 21st century, creating what feels like independent films, but with monster budgets. That DNA was on display early in his career with Insomnia, which has everything you’d expect from a Nolan movie, but with less than half the budget of Oppenheimer. 

The Fan - Tony Scott

There are few better action directors in Hollywood history than Tony Scott. Most remembered today for classics like Top Gun, and Days of Thunder, The Fan should be talked about more. It’s not a perfect movie, but De Niro’s performance is terrifying (in a great way) as a baseball fan obsessed with Wesley Snipes' character. It’s action horror, and it’s great. 

Vincent And Theo - Robert Altman

Robert Altman had one of the most up-and-down careers in Hollywood history. After a string of successes in the ‘80s, his career was almost sunk by Popeye. It took years for him to rebound, but he did with Vincent & Theo. That led to a career revival, but it’s hardly remembered anymore, overshadowed by his early and later films. 

She's Having A Baby - John Hughes

One of the biggest reasons John Hughes is so loved by people who came of age in the ‘80s and ‘90s was his ability to write and direct genuine teenage characters. That extended to a young married couple starting their lives together in She’s Having A Baby. It’s not as quotable as some of Hughes’ other movies, but it’s still sharply written and a fun watch. 

Only The Lonely - Chris Columbus

Chris Columbus has some directed some huge films in his career, most notably Home Alone and Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone. He's also got movies like Mrs. Doubtfire and Adventures in Babysitting on his resume. One film that is not talked about enough is Only The Lonely starring John Candy as a man looking for a wife, but dealing with a controlling mother. 

Beowulf - Robert Zemeckis

Generations of high schoolers have been confounded and frustrated by Beowulf. Some love the old English classic, but many hate it. It takes a bold director to take it on as a movie. Robert Zemeckis makes it work, and work well. Still, given the material, it’s not a surprise it’s not talked about as much as Zemeckis’ more popular movies like Back to the Future. 

Great Expectations - Alfonso Cuaron

Director Alfonso Cuaron has made some of the best movies of the last 20 years, including Roma, Gravity, and Y tu mamá también. One of his films that doesn’t get talked about much anymore is 1998’s Great Expectations starring Gwenyth Paltrow and Ethan Hawke. It’s a bold modernization of the classic Dickens novel that can be polarizing, but still worth talking about more.

Ed Wood - Tim Burton

Of all the movies Tim Burton has made, it’s unsurprising that Ed Wood is one of his least discussed. It’s a love letter to legendary B-Movie director Ed Wood, and despite being filled to the brim with great performances, it's not as popular as many of Burton’s other works. 

Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil - Clint Eastwood

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is not exactly the kind of film you might expect from Clint Eastwood, but you should. Some of his best work is when he strays away from the tough guy movies he’s so well known for and this is a great one, starring John Cusack and Kevin Spacey. 

Away We Go - Sam Mendes

Sam Mendes is best known for movies that cover heavy topics, movies like American Beauty, 1917, and Road to Perdition. That's probably the reason 2009's Away We Go with John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph isn't talked about as much, but it's a sweet movie about a couple dealing with major changes in their life and how to handle them. 

Sleepers - Barry Levinson

Sleepers is a dark, dark film. It's also really, really good. With an all-star cast that includes Brad Pitt, Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Kevin Bacon, and many more, it's surprising it doesn't get talked about as much as some of director Barry Levinson's other work, but given the subject matter, it can be a very hard watch.  

High Anxiety - Mel Brooks

Mel Brooks is a living legend and his filmography is filled with some of the most quotable movies of all time. One that doesn't get quoted much, or even talked about much, is High Anxiety. It was, believe it or not, the first time Mel Brooks also played the lead in one of his movies, so that alone should garner more attention. 

Great directors usually have long filmographies, so it's only natural that some of their finest work would be talked about less than their most groundbreaking or biggest films. That said, many movies should be talked about as much as those classics, but aren't. Here's to that changing now! 

Among all the 2023 new movie releases, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer has become one of the most successful films of the year behind Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Across the past few months, the epic biopic has received tons of praise, which includes filmmakers Denis Villeneuve and Paul Thomas Anderson commending Nolan for his accomplishment. Do The Right Thing writer/director Spike Lee, however, had one notable issue with Oppenheimer he recently pointed out. 

Spike Lee is noted for being inspired by historic events for his critically-acclaimed films, from 1992’s Malcolm X serving as a biopic about the African-American activist, to Lee being inspired to tell a fictional story about veterans of the Vietnam War with his most recent movie, 2020’s Da 5 Bloods. Here’s what Lee had to say about Oppenheimer: 

During an interview with The Washington Post, Spike Lee shared that while he was impressed by Oppenheimer, he noticed the omission of any conversation or attention regarding how the father of the atomic bomb’s story directly affected the Japanese people when the United States detonated atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki following Robert Oppenheimer serving as the principal leader of the Manhattan Project. 

The two atomic bombings are briefly referenced in Oppenheimer, but there is never mention of the great and tragic impact of them on Japan. Between the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, it's estimated that over 200 thousand people died, and the survivors who were around the area faced horrible side effects from the radiation, such as leukemia and cancer. 

Spike Lee isn’t the only person who has taken issue with this aspect of Oppenheimer, as it has also mustered up controversy among Japan and Japanese people as well. For example, Naoko Wake, professor of history at Michigan State University and author of American Survivors: Trans-Pacific Memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, told the LA Times that Nolan’s movie “leaves out so much” and cites “missed opportunities in terms of how Japanese survivors’ experience” were not at all featured in the film.”  

Oppenheimer has not been released in Japan and has no opening date. When Barbie and Oppenheimer photoshopped posters were going viral, Warner Bros’ own Japanese arm condemned its North American arm for interacting and retweeting the images. WB apologized, sharing it “regrets its recent insensitive social media engagement.” As Lee’s comments communicate, his thoughts on Oppenheimer are made on his end with “love,” and he welcomed commentary from the filmmaker from his own films as well. 

There are certain filmmakers who frequently bring in the same group of actors on every project. That sort of relationship can certainly make people as close as family, and as with family that closeness can also lead to conflict. Just look at Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel. It turns out Samuel L. Jackson and Spike Lee once had a feud of their own, but as with the best families, they eventually made up.

Samuel L. Jackson appeared in several Spike Lee movies in the 1990s but then the pair seemed to split, with Jackson not appearing in a Spike Lee joint again until 2013’s Oldboy. In a recent interview with Vulture, Jackson reveals that the conflict stemmed from Malcolm X, a movie that Jackson was going to appear in, but he took issue with what he was getting paid. He explained…

Spike Lee’s movies have frequently been awards darlings that are lauded by critics, but they’re not exactly box office blockbusters. Having said that, Lee’s films do tend to be profitable for studios, and especially in the early years that was likely in large part due to his ability to keep costs down. This was probably the reason that the iconic filmmaker kept salaries down-- but after a few years Jackson apparently decided that it was not something he could do anymore. 

Feuds between stars are nothing new. When personalities are in contact they will sometimes clash. Such was the case with Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel, who seemed to have a much more heated battle. Johnson took issue with the way Vin Diesel handled himself on set, which The Rock saw as unprofessional, leading to Johnson exiting the Fast & Furious franchise.

While it would still be a couple more years before Samuel L. Jackson would truly breakout in Hollywood with Pulp Fiction, his star was on the rise. Around the same time that Malcolm X was going into production, Jackson had been awarded a rare honor at Cannes for his previous film with Spike Lee, Jungle Fever, which had led to the opportunity to make a different movie, that one assumes paid better. Jackson continued… 

So Lee was reportedly upset that Jackson had chosen to do a movie other than Malcolm X, and Jackson was upset that Lee wouldn’t budge on the pay, leading to the conflict. The falling out seemingly lasted for a couple of decades, though Jackson has said the two are friends again, in part thanks to their wives, who had remained friends with each other through it all. 

As with Lee and Jackson, Vin Diesel and The Rock are apparently friends again. As seen in the Fast X ending, The Rock is now returning to the Fast & Furious franchise after all. It's nice when families make up. 

While Tyler Perry and Spike Lee are fine now, the two filmmakers were at odds over the former’s work for a time. Lee called out Perry’s Madea character for being a stereotype of Black women, and Perry pushed against the Do the Right Thing director’s criticism at the time. The two men have worked out their issues since then, but that doesn’t mean Lee’s past criticism is water under the bridge to others. When the Madea criticisms came up again, Perry got real about them.  

The A Jazzman’s Blues director opened again about the Oscar-winning director’s past comments on the interview series Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? (via People). Tyler Perry and Spike Lee squashed their disagreement over Madea a few years ago with Perry naming a soundstage at his studio after the Da 5 Bloods filmmaker in 2019. It appeared Lee’s past comment didn’t bother him, as he mentioned having “heard it all” before about the character. Perry addressed the lingering Madea discourse by saying:

Tyler Perry has mentioned multiple times how influential certain female figures were in his work. It’s not surprising given Madea was based on his late grandmother.  Of course, listening to his mother and her friends’ conversations can be heard and seen in the female characters seen in his films and TV shows. So he’s drawing from those experiences rather than creating a stereotype of Black women, which he's been criticized for over the years.

While Perry is used to the critique of his work, he felt critics were ignoring the real stories from a certain segment of Black culture. The filmmaker even brought up the idea of ignoring past traumas to move forward without addressing them. The A Madea Homecoming star opened up about tapping into certain aspects in his work, saying:

Perry just wrote what he knew. He grew up surrounded by those from a lower class dealing with everyday life. That’s just part of his work as he knew courting Black audiences was important to his career success. It’s no secret his stories and portrayals have forged a still lingering stigma in Hollywood. Despite his uphill battle in Hollywood, Tyler Perry has managed to keep going, and he recently shared his his feelings about adding diverse voices in film and television.

You can currently watch A Jazzman’s Blues , which has received a mixed reception from critics, with a Netflix subscription. Once you’re done with the musical melodrama, check out what other fall 2022 movies are left to arrive.

I've already wondered how an artsy, modern film like The Lighthouse didn't get nominated for Best Picture. I've also wondered how a superhero film (which are all the rage these days), like Spider-Man: No Way Home didn't get nominated for Best Picture. But now, I thought I would kick it old school and wonder how the classic Spike Lee Joint, Do The Right Thing, didn't get nominated for Best Picture back in 1990.     

Now, Do the Right Thing isn't like Uncut Gems (which I also wondered how it didn't get nominated for Best Picture). Because unlike the three films that I've already discussed, Do the Right Thing, even back in 1989, was considered one of the best films of not only its year, but also possibly its decade (It was Barack and Michelle Obama's first date, after all). In time, the film has only grown in esteem, so, I pose the question: Why didn't Do the Right Thing get nominated for Best Picture?  

Why Do The Right Thing Should Have Been Nominated For Best Picture 

Spike Lee has made a lot of great films over the years (and not too long ago won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, along with Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, and Kevin Willmott for BlacKkKlansman), but no film of his could arguably surpass the lit firecracker that was Do the Right Thing. Do the Right Thing is Spike Lee's Pulp Fiction. It's his Raging Bull, and by that, I mean it's the film that will always be his magnum opus.  

Taking place in one, hot, suffocating day, Do the Right Thing takes an earnest look at race relations, gentrification, and police brutality, and it's all set to the bombastic boom blast of Public Enemy. It's an unapologetically Black movie, but one that doesn't let Black people off the hook. When Buggin' Out (played deftly by Gus Fring himself, Giancarlo Esposito), asks Sal, played by the late-Danny Aiello, why there are only Italian people on the walls of Sal's pizzeria and no pictures of Black people, Sal tells him that it's his shop, and if Buggin' Out wants pictures of Black people on the walls, then he should open up his own pizzeria. And, well, he has a great point. 

The whole film has a lot of great points, though. And while it's undoubtedly a message movie, it's also one that is immensely entertaining and powerful when it needs to be. In the end, it's the kind of film that comes out only once in a decade, which is very much unlike what else came out in 1989. Speaking of which… 

What Else Was Up For Best Picture That Year?  

Know this: 1990 wasn't 2022 where we can have ten movies up for Best Picture. No, back then, there could only be five movies, and those five films were: Dead Poets Society, Field of Dreams, Born on the Fourth of July, My Left Foot, and Driving Miss Daisy, with Driving Miss Daisy actually winning Best Picture (More on that in a few). 

Now, honestly, save for Field of Dreams (Sorry!), that's a pretty good list of nominees, and if it were up to me, Born on the Fourth of July would have won, as that's arguably the best film in Oliver Stone's Vietnam trilogy (I much prefer it to Platoon). But, can we rewind for just a second and talk about the movie that did actually win?

Today, it's kind of hilarious (and ridiculous) for a film about an old white woman who bosses around a Black man only for her to learn the error of her ways to be nominated (and win!) Best Picture when the better, more meaningful film is not even nominated. But, just think back to 1989 when Driving Miss Daisy came out. It was a likable enough film, and a crowd-pleaser in the sense that it was definitely ABOUT race. 

But, it also didn't have much to actually say about race other than, I don't know, that people can change? Which isn't a terrible message, to be sure (I mean, Green Book has pretty much the same exact message, and that won the Best Picture Oscar not even that long ago). But, it certainly doesn't make Driving Miss Daisy a trailblazer. That said, again, this is 1990, and the Academy didn't want to blaze any trails back then, as you'll soon see in the next section.  

What Do The Right Thing Did Get Nominated For 

Now, I will give the Academy credit for at least this: Do the Right Thing was at least NOMINATED for a couple of awards. It was nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Danny Aiello) as well as for Best Original Screenplay, which it lost in both categories. The Chicago Film Critics Association, however, nominated it for Best Supporting Actor (Aiello again), Best Director, and even Best Picture, and it won all three. 

It earned Golden Globe nominations for Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Screenplay, and Best Picture, where it lost all four. But the NAACP Image Awards nominated both Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis as Outstanding Actress, and Outstanding Supporting Actor, respectively, and they both won. So, yes, it won some, it lost some, but in the end, nobody can say that it isn't a great movie. Even back then. 

So, Why Didn't Do The Right Thing Get Nominated For Best Picture? 

Unlike The Lighthouse or Uncut Gems, this one is easy: the Academy just wasn't ready for a movie like Do the Right Thing back in 1989. Today, there is no doubt in my mind that if Do the Right Thing came out in 2022, it would not only be nominated, it would also even likely be the front-runner. But then again, Do the Right Thing wouldn't really fit in today's culture. Or rather, it would feel like a period piece. Because while racial tension is still very much alive and well, it's changed. Let me explain.  

Today, we live in what many people bemoan to be a "woke" society. What that just means is that people are willing to speak out now when somebody says something racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. I assure you, people were not doing that back in 1990, or at least, not on a grand scale like people are doing it today. Nowadays, even Disney makes it an initiative to add diversity to their films, and they disavow movies like Song of the South in an effort to wipe their slate clean (It won’t be on Disney+ anytime soon) of anything that might be perceived as racist.    

Spike Lee wasn't about sweeping anything under the rug, though. He was (and still is) about putting everything front and center. Our clearest ambassador for that today on a mainstream level would probably be Jordan Peele, and Get Out is one of the few horror films to ever be nominated for Best Picture, so let that sink in. Get Out, a film where white people drug and take over Black people's bodies, was nominated for Best Picture. 

It's hard to believe that a movie like Get Out (or even Black Panther) would have been nominated for Best Picture back in 1990, so in that way, Do the Right Thing had to get snubbed in order for movies like Get Out and Black Panther to shine. It sucks, but I'm not mad about it. 

So, those are my arguments. But what do you think? For more news on the 2022 Oscar nominations, make sure to swing by here often.    

Everybody makes mistakes, but it can be embarrassing when those mistakes happen on a massive stage (just ask Steve Harvey). That is especially true if they affect the outcome of an important event like, say, the Cannes Film Festival. Just ask famed director Spike Lee, who has apologized after he prematurely announced this year’s Palme d’Or.

As this year’s Cannes jury president, Spike Lee had a lot of responsibility on his hands -- watching and assessing the eligible films and deciding which will receive awards, and also announcing those prizes at the end of the festival. At the beginning of the ceremony, the Do The Right Thing director was asked to announce the first prize -- which was meant to be Best Actor, awarded to Caleb Landry Jones for his performance in Nitram. Lee misunderstood the direction and thought he was asked to reveal the first place, or Palme d’Or, winner. This year, that honor belongs to Julia Ducournau’s film, Titane, which is a bit of an historic achievement, as she is only the second woman in history to take home that prize.

The result of the confusion was that the night’s top honor, which has previously gone to films like Pulp Fiction and recent Oscar-winner Parasite, was revealed right away, which probably felt pretty anticlimactic to the festival-goers. The ceremony continued on in the right order, and Titane was eventually awarded for real at the end, as planned. Spike Lee, for his part, took full responsibility for the slip-up (via Indiewire):

The legendary director also made sure to speak to those affected by his honest mistake before he officially announced Titane’s exciting achievement. He continued:

The director later said that he had apologized to the team at Cannes and they had assured him he had nothing to worry about. In the realm of big award show mistakes, Lee’s is pretty tame. At least he didn’t announce the wrong winner for the Palme d’Or, like Steve Harvey did back in 2015 at the Miss Universe pageant.

While everyone involved was still able to be recognized properly in due time, Spike Lee's willingness to own up to his mistake in such a public setting goes to show why he’s so well-respected by film fans and his peers alike. Also, while it was an unfortunate blunder, it’s a good reminder to us all that nobody is perfect -- not even Academy-Award winning filmmakers.

Spike Lee and Denzel Washington have become synonymous with great filmmaking – both together and apart. Whether it’s seminal biopics or big-budget action flicks, the two have managed to find a rhythm and synergy many collaborators would envy. But their relationship goes beyond the big screen as documented in various interviews. The Oscar-winning director gave viewers an awesome throwback of a young Denzel Washington on social media.

Denzel Washington and Spike Lee’s cinematic chemistry has spanned multiple films over three decades. One of their best collaboration was the jazz-themed musical drama Mo’ Better Blues. Washington’s performance in the film was one of his best. Lee gave fans a peek into the actor’s process from the 1990 film on Instagram. Check out Lee’s Mo’ Better Blues throwback moment below:

As evident by Spike Lee’s post, Denzel Washington was committed to his role as a trumpet player. Seeing Washington practicing his trumpet is no surprise. The actor’s commitment to his craft is well known, and the photo was a perfect example of that. This throwback moment proved why the Oscar winner is considered the greatest actor of the 21st century.

Mo’ Better Blues is considered one of Spike Lee and Denzel Washington’s best films in their long history. Lee’s direction and Washington’s turn as troubled trumpet player Bleek Gilliam made the film a fun and crazy ride from the beginning to the end. As previously mentioned, it was the actor’s commitment to the role that truly came out. Learning how to play the trumpet made Washington’s performance more authentic. Washington’s commitment led him to collaborate with the director on multiple occasions over three decades, including his Oscar-nominated performance in the biopic Malcolm X.

Seeing a young Denzel Washington recalled back to a time where Black Hollywood was starting to come into its own. Filmmakers such as Spike Lee, John Singleton and the Hudlin brothers changed black cinema in the 1990s with stars such as Washington, Eddie Murphy and Will Smith ruling the box office. These films managed to shift some perceptions of what it meant to be Black within mainstream culture. Washington was able to hop around from genre to genre unlike some of his contemporaries. But it can be argued that his best performances came from his collaborations with Lee during the 1990s.

The throwback photo was a nice recall to Denzel Washington and Spike Lee’s long-running track record. As a constant master of his craft, Washington always studies and becomes his characters as evident by his staggering award nominations and wins. Hopefully, he and Lee will end up collaborating again in the future. But if you want to see Washington’s brilliant performance, you can check out Mo’ Better Blues on Peacock and Prime Video.

When Chadwick Boseman passed in August 2020, it came as a shock to the Hollywood community and fans around the world. The late Black Panther actor chose to keep his four-year battle with colon cancer private as he became a Marvel superhero. Throughout his career, he has also delivered an unforgettable round of performances such as Jackie Robinson in 42 and James Brown in Get On Up. Boseman’s work as an actor is now being honored through a Netflix documentary.

The trailer for the streaming service’s special Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist sets up the documentary by sharing some interviews with some of his Hollywood collaborators. The movie looks to be focusing on his career in terms of what he brought to a movie set and how knowing him impacted his peers. The 90-second trailer features a handful of actors, such as his Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom co-star Viola Davis, who says this about Boseman:

Viola Davis also worked with the actor on 2014’s Get On Up as James Brown’s mother. She apparently would always call Chadwick Boseman her “baby” after working with him on the biopic. The actors are now being recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for their leading roles in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom in the Best Actor and Best Actress categories, respectively.

At the Golden Globes, Chadwick Boseman nabbed a posthumous award for the Netflix movie in the Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama category. During the ceremony, Boseman’s wife, Taylor Simone Ledward, delivered a heartfelt speech in his name. The movie from George C. Wolfe is nominated for five Oscars ahead of the late April ceremony.

Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist looks like it will offer an inside look into his performance in the Blues film, as Glynn Turman and Taylour Paige, along with director George C. Wolfe and composer, arranger and music producer Branford Marsalis, are all involved in the documentary. Additionally, Danai Gurira of his Black Panther family said this in the trailer:

Along with the Okoye actress, Chadwick Boseman’s dialect coach Andile Nebulane is also involved in the film. Ryan Coogler is currently preparing to start filming Black Panther 2 this summer without Boseman, nor casting his replacement. The writer/director has opened up about the hole that will be left behind without Boseman, and some fans have called for the actor to be recast in order for the Marvel character's legacy to live on following Boseman's passing.

Portrait of an Artist will also reportedly feature Spike Lee, Denzel Washington and Phylicia Rashad when the documentary hits Netflix on Saturday, April 17. The movie will only be available on the streaming service for a 30-day window. Boseman will also be up for his post-humorous Oscar on April 25 during the 93rd Academy Awards.

Every awards season, there are certain films, directors and actors who don’t receive the recognition that many believe they deserve. The Academy Awards recently released this year’s nominees and unsurprisingly, there were quite a few snubs, depending on who you ask. Iconic director Spike Lee is the latest to share his thoughts on Da 5 Bloods star Delroy Lindo and the news of his snub going viral.

Spike Lee took to Instagram to share a Delroy Lindo appreciation post, noting the actor's incredible performances across his entire career and acknowledging this year’s Academy Awards. Check it out:

In the heartfelt post, Da 5 Bloods director Spike Lee noted that the lack of a nomination means little compared to the impact of Lindo’s career on the big screen. Lindo, who has appeared in a number of Spike Lee’s films, such as Crooklyn and Clockers, was considered by many to be an Oscar front runner after his performance in Da 5 Bloods.

Despite winning a number of early awards, the nominations end up falling off. Lindo failed to secure a nomination at the Golden Globes, leading to speculation that he was going to be snubbed by the Academy as well. Well, it looks like the predictions panned out. Despite the internet going wild for his impressive performance as Vietnam veteren Paul in Da 5 Bloods, it looks like he will be sitting out of this year’s ceremony.

I know that I’m pretty disappointed Lindo didn’t earn a nomination at this year’s Academy Awards. His monologue in the latter half of Da 5 Bloods is one of the most impressive performances that I’ve personally seen in years. Based on Spike Lee’s post and the rest of the internet’s reaction, I’m not the only one who is disappointed by the snub, either.

Delroy Lindo was beat out in the Best Actor category by Riz Ahmed, Anthony Hopkins, Gary Oldman, Steven Yeun and his Da 5 Bloods co-star Chadwick Boseman. Despite Lindo’s snub, it’s not all bad news for the cast and crew of Spike Lee’s latest joint. Da 5 Bloods ended up earning a single Oscar nomination in the Best Score category.

While it’s certainly not how some fans thought Lindo’s Oscar race would come to an end, it’s not terribly surprising considering the year we’ve had. Awards season has been marred by controversy since kicking off earlier this year. Spike Lee’s post is just another reminder that awards aren’t everything, especially for someone as talented as Delroy Lindo.

Fans can revisit Delroy Lindo’s all-star performance in Da 5 Bloods on Netflix right now. From there, you can decide if he was snubbed after all. As for me? I’m pretty solidly in the “I can’t believe he didn’t even get nominated for this” category, but to each their own. Let us know what you think in the poll below!

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Netflix’s Da 5 Bloods was one of 2020’s most acclaimed films, scoring multiple award nominations in the process. Along with its gut-wrenching storyline and stellar performances, the film’s opening scene captured many viewers. Of course, the opening followed the tradition of other notable Spike Lee openings, and the director explained why Da 5 Bloods opens the way it does.

Since the beginning of his career, Spike Lee’s beautiful, yet complicated openings have been a signature part of his films. Over time, many of these openings have become iconic outside the actual films. Lee’s recent Netflix film fell right in line as one of his most memorable. Variety recently interviewed the Oscar-winning director about the history-cramming yet timely opening. Lee said:

Given the premise and Vietnam references in Da 5 Bloods, Spike Lee made sure to connect the various movements and moments of the 1960s and 1970s. Lee went on to explain about educating the current generation, while also illustrating his connection to the time. Lee stated:

Spike Lee was able to make his opening a time capsule of the tumultuous 1960s. With his characters being Vietnam War veterans, using the footage only made sense to illustrate what the conflict did to the United States and other countries. Seeing huge moments, such as the Moon landing and Kent State University shootings, kept the film grounded.

Spike Lee used Da 5 Bloods opening to reach across different generations. The footage allowed the film to remind Baby Boomers and Gen X of a time that still lives on in their minds. At the same time, he was able to show Millennials and Gen Z a part of history they may be unaware of. Using old footage showed so many parallels between the modern day movements, such as Black Lives Matter and Defund the Police, and movements of the 1960s. Being a child of the 1960s, Lee could see those similarities between his generation and current generations.

Da 5 Bloods opening was given the same Spike Lee touch just like films, such as Crooklyn and Do the Right Thing. While the Oscars may have wronged the film and star Delroy Lindo, it will stand as one of Lee’s best works in his filmmaking career.

When you think of 2020, more than a few film performances are likely to stick out for you. Riz Ahmed’s emotional work in Sound of Metal or Maria Bakalova’s comedic breakthrough in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. But among such excellent work, one of the most impressive performances of the year had to be Delroy Lindo’s performance in Spike Lee’s acclaimed war drama, Da 5 Bloods. Unfortunately, the veteran actor was passed over for a number of major awards and, just this morning, we learned he had been snubbed for an Oscar nod. Now, many are probably wondering if it was this year’s biggest snub. Well, the internet has some thoughts.

Since the 2021 Oscar nominations were announced, critics and general viewers alike have taken to the web to ponder why Delroy Lindo wasn’t recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. One Twitter user has even gone as far as to call it the biggest snubs the film industry has ever seen:

It was pretty hard to miss Delroy Lindo’s performance, let alone Da 5 Bloods as a whole. The film centers a group of Vietnam War veterans who return to the country to find the remains of their squadron leader and recover a serious treasure they buried during their service. Lindo plays the role of Paul, a vet dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. It made for a chilling and beautiful performance, which leaves fans all the more disappointed that it wasn’t nominated for an Oscar:

Believe it or not, Delroy Lindo’s snub wasn’t the strangest thing to happen during the Oscar nominations. Judas and the Black Messiah’s Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield were both nominated, and one fan couldn’t help but link that anomaly to Lindo’s situation:

Very few people would argue the merits of Delroy Lindo’s work, as it’s simply a performance that doesn’t come around all too often. To that point, one disappointed fan gave the actor a major compliment when comparing the performance to Best Actor winners of the past decade:

Delroy Lindo has a number of powerful scenes in Da 5 Bloods, from Paul’s rescue of his son to the vet’s mesmerizing monologue near the end of the film. Of course, when talking about the snub, some fans can’t help but reflect on one of Paul’s most relaxed (and now iconic) moments:

On the surface, Paul could have been a one note character, but Delroy Lindo and Spike Lee managed to transform him into a multifaceted figure audiences could identify with. During his appearance on our own ReelBlend podcast, Lindo even revealed how some have reached out to him, starting conversations about PTSD.

It’s very possible that Delroy Lindo’s Da 5 Bloods snub could indeed be the biggest of this year - and possibly one of the biggest in Oscars history. While it’s absolutely disappointing that the veteran actor won’t be honored at the big show this year, it’s good to see film buffs across the internet shine a light on his work.

Da 5 Bloods is currently available to stream on Netflix.

I can’t remember the first time I saw Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing, but I now know that I was too young then to truly understand or feel the impact of it. I know this because I recently rewatched the movie and found myself shocked at how relevant and important the film is when it comes to topics of race, police brutality, and other things like climate change, ageism, gentrification, and a division among underrepresented groups. Do the Right Thing follows one hot day in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant. Seemingly small incidents eventually boil over into an explosive confrontation.

Fans of Do the Right Thing know how impactful and socially relevant the film remains even in 2021, over 30 years after its 1989 release. For everyone else, you may need a reminder on a few reasons why Do the Right Thing is still relevant.

Warning: Do the Right Thing Spoilers Ahead.

Do The Right Things Portrayal Of Police Brutality

The conclusion of Do the Right Thing involves Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn) being choked to death by a police officer. The confrontation happens after Pizzeria owner Sal (Danny Aiello) destroys Raheem’s boombox, and Raheem attacks Sal. The fight escalates into basically everyone in the pizzeria at the time-fighting everyone else. The cops are called (supposedly by one of Sal’s sons) and the police choke Raheem to death.

In 2020, Spike Lee released a short film called 3 Brothers. It showed parts of Radio Raheem’s death spliced with video footage of Eric Garner and George Floyd's deaths. The video is no longer on Spike Lee’s Twitter page, but you can see the full short film on his interview with Jimmy Fallon. It’s stunning, not only to see these three deaths (only one fictional death), but how similar the police brutality happens in these three instances.

Spike Lee wasn’t a psychic when he wrote Radio Raheem’s death, instead it was based on a real-life event. Lee has spoken in many interviews that Raheem’s death is based on the death of Michael Stewart. Stewart was a graffiti artist who was arrested by New York City Transit Police. The cause of his death was due to the NYC Police using a chokehold to detain him. Michael Stewart's death was the direct incident that inspired Radio Raheem’s death, but in the film and in the New Yorker, Lee mentioned several names of Black people, a majority of which died at the hands of the police, to whom he dedicated the film to. Their names were: Eleanor Bumpurs, Michael Griffith, Arthur Miller, Edmund Perry, and Yvonne Smallwood.

Sadly, Radio Raheem and the long list of real-life people who inspired his fictional death continue to grow at the hands of the police.

The Display Of Racial Tensions In Do The Right Thing

Racial tensions continue to grow all throughout Do the Right Thing, specifically between Italian Americans and African Americans, but also between all the racial groups represented in the film. There is one particular scene that shows the implicit biases and explicit biases by these characters and groups. After Mookie (Spike Lee) and Pino (John Turturro) discuss Pino’s disdain for Black people, but still being a fan of many Black legends like Magic Johnson and Prince, the scene cuts to Mookie, Pino, Officer Long (Rick Aiello), Stevie (Luis Antonio Ramos), and Sonny (Steve Park) breaking the fourth wall to express their racist and prejudice views of African Americans, Koreans, Italian Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Jewish Americans. It’s a very straight-to-the-gut punch with the insults thrown out.

Racial tensions still exist. We’ve seen that very clearly in the last few years, with things like the attacks on Asian Americans to different responses to the Black Lives Matter Movement. We also saw in Do The Right Thing how after tearing down Sal’s Pizzeria, attention turns to the Korean grocery store owner, but he gets them to stop by saying, “He’s black. He’s one of them.” This shows how sometimes minorities, instead of being united, turn on each other but it’s a waste of time because they’re not each other’s enemy. We still see a divide among minority groups in America.

Thirty-plus years later and racial tensions are still bubbling and exploding without any true resolution in sight.

The Cause And Effects Of Riots In Do The Right Thing

In an interview at the Toronto International Film Festival, Spike Lee mentioned that some film critics (and people) were more upset about Sal’s Pizzeria being destroyed than they were about Radio Raheem’s death. Lee added that these people put more value on property than they do on Black bodies. He also showed this in the film with the final conversation between Sal and Mookie. Sal keeps talking about how his life work has been destroyed but Mookie keeps bringing up Radio Raheem’s death.

We hear this again when the radio host, Mister Señor Love Daddy (Samuel L. Jackson) talks about how the Mayor is coming to their neighborhood to investigate who destroyed some properties, but there is no indication that the Mayor will look into charging the police officers with Raheem’s death. We have seen this similar sentiment happen when peaceful protests or marches turn to rioting and looting, some people are more upset about the property damage than they are about the deaths that sparked the protests.

Lee has stated in multiple interviews, but specifically one in Film Comment, that Sal has valid points as do characters like Buggin Out (Giancarlo Esposito). Sal has a reason to be upset, this is his legacy being destroyed, but Mookie and his friends are just as justified in being upset about Radio Raheem’s murder. There isn’t a right or wrong way to react to these things. And that’s not what Lee is trying to do with Do the Right Thing. He’s showing different sides and letting the audience make of it what they will.

The Importance Of Representation In Do The Right Thing

The initial conflict of Do the Right Thing starts because Buggin Out believes Sal should have some Black people on his wall because most of his customers are Black, but Sal is Italian American, and this is his place, so he can put who he wants on it. Both Sal and Buggin Out are valid in their points and perspectives, but it’s the lack of feeling represented that sparks the flame.

Representation is still a major issue, not just in Hollywood, but in all fields. Some industries are making attempts to add diversity, but the progress has been slow and sometimes only done in a performative manner, instead of actual attempts to make representation and diversity a priority. Do the Right Thing only lightly glazes the topic but it still makes the lack of representation a focal point to the story.

If Sal was able to compromise and add a few Black figures, then at least some of the events of the film might have changed, but that small gesture would still not be enough to show real representation. Bigger strides would have needed to be made to show a real commitment to representation, like possibly more Black-owned businesses in the neighborhood.

Politics And The Power Of Voting In Do The Right Thing

One of Do the Right Thing’s ending messages is that there is an upcoming election and to get out there and vote. Lee has often talked about the importance of voting. He clearly sends that message in Do The Right Thing with it being one of the last things the audience hears.

In every election, but seen most recently in the 2020 election, every vote matters and it can completely change the outcome of an election. It could also help some of the issues addressed in the film Do the Right Thing progress toward improvements.

Do the Right Thing is a powerful movie that many of the jokes, topics, and debates are still relevant today. Do the Right Thing is also a film that will spark different emotions in different people, which was Lee’s whole purpose. It isn’t a film that offers any real answers or satisfying conclusions, instead, it presents real situations and lets its audience define what they see as “the right thing.”

Do the Right Thing is available to stream on Showtime. Stream it here.

Over 30 years after Do The Right Thing, Spike Lee has never been thrown off his game. You could argue the filmmaker is having the most exciting era of his career right now, between his 2018 critically-acclaimed and Oscar-winning film BlacKkKlansman, one of the best movies of the year Netflix’s Da 5 Bloods and his Talking Heads documentary David Byrne's American Utopia. Lee has just added another project to his roster and it will be an original musical about Viagra. Yes, really.

Amidst promotion for BlacKkKlansman in 2018, Spike Lee told CinemaBlend he was going to do a musical “one day for sure,” and he’s kept to his word. The filmmaker has co-written an untitled script Kwame Kwei-Armah inspired by an Esquire article called “All Rise: The Untold Story of the Guys Who Launched Viagra.” All Rise would be a great possible title by the way. Lee will direct the movie set to feature original music from Tony-winning musicians.

Stew Stewart and Heidi Rodewald, also professionally known as The Negro Problem and the pair behind the 2004 rock musical Passing Strange will collaborate with Spike Lee to make a Viagra musical, per Variety. Lee worked with the duo back in 2008 when he filmed the musical while it was on Broadway into a titular documentary. Upon the announcement of the filmmaker’s new project, Spike Lee said this in a statement:

Spike Lee’s upcoming project sounds like it has roots with his late mother Jacquelyn Shelton Lee, who he thanked specifically “first and foremost” with the statement. Lee’s mom was a huge fan of the musical genre and it greatly influenced his interest to contribute to the genre himself in the near future with this movie. Based off these words, it sounds like the project will be a no holds barred certified musical, complete with song and dance numbers.

The Esquire article by David Kushner written in 2018 told the story of the men behind the launch of Pfizer’s erectile dysfunction drug on its 20th anniversary. The story describes Rooney Nelson as “a young Jamaican marketing whiz” and Dr. Sal Giorgianni as “a crusty Italian pharmacist from Queens who became Viagra’s medical expert.” The musical will presumably follow this unlikely pair as they overcome resistance from Wall Street, M.D.'s Capitol Hill, and the Catholic church to make Viagra a $3 billion-a-year drug.

Musicals are having a great moment in film, especially this year with Hamilton being the most watched streaming movie of 2020. We can’t wait to see Spike Lee’s vision come to life. Check out what movies are already set to come out next year with CinemaBlend’s 2020 release schedule.

The following contains minor spoilers for the Netflix film, Da 5 Bloods.

With the surprising and untimely death of Chadwick Boseman, it's natural to go back and look at the actor's body of work in a new way. Spike Lee, who was one of the final directors to work with Boseman, in the recent Netflix film Da 5 Bloods, looked back at the filming of that movie recently, a time when Boseman was suffering from cancer, but few people knew it, and now sees one key scene in the film as having been touched by God.

Chadwick Boseman's character in the film, Stormin' Norman, died during the Vietnam War, and so, he's mostly only seen in flashback sequences, with younger versions of the rest of the film's main characters. However, near the end of the film Delroy Lindo's Paul finds himself having a one-way conversation with God, leading to a vision of Boseman and an emotional dialogue between them. It's a moment meant to evoke the ethereal and it does, mostly through the use of light, but Spike Lee tells Variety the scene's lighting wasn't part of the production. According to Lee...

The scene is beautifully lit. The light is filtering through the trees of the jungle. It's coming down from above and the light and the mist mix together to obscure the background, making it all feel less real. You can get an idea what the scene looks like in the image above. And it's an emotional and heartbreaking scene between the two friends. It's one of several great moments in the film.

Since Delroy Lindo is speaking with a dead man, the heavenly look to the scene makes perfect sense. So much sense that I'm sure most people, myself included, assumed that everything about the lighting had been designed by the production, or had been handled digitally after the fact. Instead, it seems this was all natural lighting that just happened to be perfect for the moment. And considering what would happen just a short time after Da 5 Bloods was released, it makes it easier to believe that there was something special in that moment, as the actor who was playing somebody who had passed away too soon, would do so himself.

Da 5 Bloods can be seen on Netflix now.

Hollywood, countless fans and Chadwick Boseman’s family, friends and colleagues are still processing the shocking death of the Black Panther actor. He died in late August of Stage 3 colon cancer at the age of 43. In the week following news broke of his passing, many of his closest collaborators admitted to be in the dark about his sickness, including Spike Lee.

Da 5 Bloods was shot in early 2019, ahead of its drop on Netflix over the summer. Co-star Chadwick Boseman was quietly battling cancer at the time, but Spike Lee never knew it. In the legendary director’s words:

Chadwick Boseman was reportedly dealing with a colon diagnosis for four years before his death. During this time, he debuted his Black Panther in Civil War, before playing the hero three more times in his solo outing and two Avengers films. He also made Marshall, 21 Bridges, Da 5 Bloods and his upcoming final film, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

As Spike Lee told Variety during his cover interview, in retrospect he respects Chadwick Boseman’s decision not to disclose his battle with cancer. If he had known, he thinks he would have had the actor pull back on his performance for his health. Lee recalls Boseman was weak during the shoot in Vietnam, but it never crossed his mind it could be cancer.

Black Panther director Ryan Coogler did not know about Boseman’s battle with cancer either until after his death. It’s almost unbelievable to hear this, especially since Boseman was in the height of his career doing strenuous stunts in action-heavy movies during a time when his health was deteriorating. This fact goes to show Boseman’s strength in character. He didn’t let the ticking clock stop him from offering up his best work.

Spike Lee recalled on the night of Chadwick Boseman’s death, he went to sleep early. When he woke up the following morning, he was flooded with messages on his phone about the news. The director said he has since watched Da 5 Bloods again, and it plays totally different now. Ironically enough, Boseman’s character in the searing war film grapples with death and legacy.

Boseman’s Da 5 Bloods co-star Clarke Peters previously admitted to noticing the actor being pampered on the set of the film and thinking, “Maybe the Black Panther thing went to his head.” Of course he had no idea what the actor was going through, and regrets having those thoughts. You never really know what someone is going through, and Boseman’s story is a testament to this.

Chadwick Boseman’s last movie Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is heading to Netflix on December 18. Keep track of what other movies are rounding out 2020 with CinemaBlend’s release schedule.

It feels like no more than a couple days can ever go by anymore without having to type out an obituary. Under the circumstances of the current environment, it's perhaps no longer shocking to learn of some great talent that has been lost, but the death of Thomas Jefferson Byrd, an actor and frequent collaborator of Spike Lee is especially tragic because his death has been unnatural.

Yesterday Spike Lee took to Instagram to inform his followers of the death by homicide of Thomas Jefferson Byrd. While Byrd might not be a household name, the actor appeared in more than a half dozen Spike Lee joints, including Chi-Raq, Get on the Bus, and Clockers. See Lee's tribute to his fallen friend is below.

At this point, there isn't a lot of detail about what exactly happened to Thomas Jefferson Byrd and the investigation is still ongoing. In the early hours of Saturday morning, police responded to a call regarding an injured person, and Byrd was found unresponsive. Emergency Medical Services were dispatched but Byrd was pronounced dead, due to multiple gunshot wounds to the back. That's essentially all that's been released so far. Atlanta police are investigating the homicide but if any new information has been discovered explaining what happened to Byrd, it has not been released.

Thomas Jefferson Byrd's feature film debut was in Spike Lee's Clockers, and as the writer and director suggests, it's probably the actor's best-known role in a Spike Lee joint, but far from his only one. Outside of working with Lee, Byrd made guests appearances on a variety of television shows and appeared in several other movies, including Ray, Bullworth, and Antoine Fuqua's Brooklyn's Finest. Byrd has one more project in the pipeline, Brett Smith's Freedom's Path.

Thomas Jefferson Byrd also appeared on the stage and he was nominated for a Tony Award in 2003 for his performance in Ma' Rainey's Black Bottom.

Spike Lee isn't the only person mourning the loss of Thomas Jefferson Byrd. Viola Davis also spoke on Twitter about Byrd when she found out the news.

Police are calling all their information "preliminary" at this point, so things could potentially change before we get a clearer picture of exactly what happened to Thomas Jefferson Byrd. It's a tragic scene nonetheless and certainly not the way anybody should have to go out. Certainly, those that new Byrd well, like Spike Lee, are thinking about the actor's family at a time like this who have all lost somebody they loved.

Spike Lee’s latest flick Da 5 Bloods was one of Chadwick Boseman’s final projects. While the actor wasn’t a lead character in the movie, his co-star Clarke Peters recently spoke out about not having the best first impression of Boseman, thanks to the entourage of people he brought with him on set. Now, he’s speaking out about regretting this first impression following the actor’s death at 43 following a battle with Stage IV colon cancer.

In a recent interview, Clarke Peters told Good Morning Britain that he was super excited to be working with Chadwick Boseman, who had been coming off of his high-profile Marvel role Black Panther when Spike Lee set Da 5 Bloods up. He recalls not really getting to know Boseman on the movie because he was always off by himself or surrounded by people he’d brought with him to the set.

Apparently, when Da 5 Bloods was filming in the hot, sweaty landscapes of Thailand, Chadwick Boseman had brought along his wife, but also a slew of people. Looking back, it’s easy to see that Boseman likely had people there to help him just get through filming as he was dealing with the ravages of cancer while also trying to make sure his performance came together. It was a silent battle and one Clarke Peters knew nothing about, but he says he honestly wishes he could go back and see the experience through another lens, revealing,

The Good Morning Britain people told Clarke Peters he can’t beat himself up about what happened because nobody knew about Chadwick Boseman’s illness. But most of us have moments in our own personal lives where we don’t look back with fondness on ways we acted or behaved, even if it’s just thoughts and not actions. Even if we just didn’t have a key piece of information to complete a picture.

In the case of Chadwick Boseman, things are more complicated. By all accounts Da 5 Bloods actor was intensely private about his personal life, to the point where most of the people who knew him did not know he was battling colon cancer, from his Avengers to 5 Bloods collaborators. As a celebrity, Boseman likely gained a lot from not being open about his diagnosis, in terms of maintaining the image he wanted to in public life and avoiding all the media scrutiny and questions, but like everything, life is complicated, and there is some loss there as well.

Ultimately, Chadwick Boseman’s not a lead in Da 5 Bloods, but he does put in an excellent performance around the movie’s leaders, Clarke Peters, Delroy Lindo (who's already landed some awards buzz for the gig), Isiah Whitlock Jr., Norm Lewis and Jonathan Majors. If you haven’t watched it yet, it’s currently available streaming on Netflix.

There is nothing about the death of Chadwick Boseman that isn't utterly heartbreaking, but a part of what makes the emotions so powerful is the understanding of the incredible strength the man demonstrated in the last four years. A testament to pure fortitude, the actor took on some remarkably challenging roles and projects while simultaneously going through treatment for a terminal illness, and in all that time he never revealed or even really hinted at his personal struggle.

This very much includes Boseman's time making writer/director Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods, which was released on Netflix earlier this summer, and during an event this past weekend the filmmaker opened up about his experience working with the man.

According to E!, Lee addressed the passing of Chadwick Boseman during his annual Brooklyn MJ Block Party (an event celebrating Michael Jackson's birthday), and he talked about the opportunity he had to work with the actor last year. According to the writer/director, the conditions on the set of his latest movie were far from comfortable, but there was never a point when he had insight into what Boseman was going through personally:

In Da 5 Bloods, a group of Vietnam Veterans (Delroy Lindo, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis, and Isiah Whitlock Jr.) travel back to the site of the international conflict with two intentions: finding a lost locker full of gold bars, and also the body of their former squad leader, "Stormin'" Norman Earl Holloway – played by Chadwick Boseman – so that he can be given a proper burial. Boseman is primarily featured in flashback sequences that feature quite a lot of action and are mostly set deep in the jungle.

Continuing, Spike Lee explained that the harsh conditions during the making of the movie never inspired a single negative reaction from the actor, and that he believes the nature of the man comes through in what we see in the finished cut. Said Lee,

The filmmaker also specifically meditated on one scene in Da 5 Bloods that was apparently cut from the movie due to the inability to use an unspecified Marvin Gaye song. Spike Lee expressed that he was particularly moved by Chadwick Boseman's performance in the moment, and that he decided to rewatch it on Saturday morning after the news broke of Boseman's passing on Friday night. The filmmaker said,

For those of you who haven't seen it, Da 5 Bloods is currently available to watch on Netflix – and we couldn't recommend it more highly. Not only is it truly one of the best films of the year so far, but Chadwick Boseman's turn really is remarkable and beautiful, and an impressive illustration by itself of his incredible talent. It can't be repeated enough times: he will be deeply, deeply missed.

Hollywood is loaded with iconic directors who have given audiences some of the best entertainment for decades. For that reason, they're often given more work, which always opens them up to giving audiences more to love... or something they may really, really hate. Most of these icons hit far more often than they miss, though even the greatest have that movie where they struck out.

To be completely upfront, there will be some hot takes on this list. Every item on this list is the lowest-rated movie from the mentioned iconic director on Rotten Tomatoes, so blame the critics of the time, not me. With that out of the way, let's run down the list of terrible movies from iconic directors that may or may not deserve a spotlight.

Guillermo Del Toro - Blade 2

Ironically, what many would consider the best Blade movie is also the worst movie made by Guillermo del Toro. Not that Del Toro is ever really given a ton of blame for that; his job was to direct, and he did his best with the script he was given. Unfortunately, even the most foreboding and dark areas fall flat when the movie uses fight scenes with dialogue only to move Blade along to the next fight scene. Thankfully, del Toro would win critics over in the superhero genre with his two Hellboy movies down the road.

David Lynch - Dune

David Lynch had a tremendous task cut out for him in Dune, and by most metrics to this day, he failed. The man who perfectly captured the life of The Elephant Man somehow couldn't find a proper way to adapt Frank Herbert's classic in a way that could be easily understood by its audience. The movie is widely considered a miss for Lynch, and while he's come close with a couple of features, it's the only movie of his considered "rotten" by critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

George Lucas- Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

George Lucas' track record is somewhat skewed considering 2/3rds of his directing work is for Star Wars projects, but he did create the franchise after all. Unfortunately, he also gifted the world the most critically panned entry in the franchise, The Phantom Menace. I thought it was fine in my younger years, but a recent re-watch made me question why plans for the trilogy weren't heavily reconsidered after that entry alone. Was the world just so desperate for more Star Wars that they looked past it? Obviously, there were people who knew right out the gate, as many critics were not shy to say this wasn't nearly on the same level as A New Hope.

Martin Scorsese- Boxcar Bertha

When it comes to violent movies that revolve around a world of crime, typically Martin Scorsese is the guy to call. That said, that wasn't known back when he made Boxcar Bertha, which was only his second directorial feature at the time. Hilariously enough, most of the complaints were due to the violence, which was often a criticism Scorsese has gotten for successive films that are now considered masterpieces. Unfortunately, Boxcar Bertha has not been nearly as acclaimed as the rest.

Tim Burton- Dark Shadows

Tim Burton has a knack for putting his own spin on classic stories, even with works that may not initially seem like they could work with his dark charm. Weirdly enough, Dark Shadows seemed like a perfect and relatively sensible fit for Burton, and he had Johnny Depp on board. It should've been a hit, but critics found the premise played out. The jokes fell flat and Burton was criticized for struggling to find a tone throughout the movie. Sometimes the "sure things" in Hollywood just don't work out in execution, and this movie is proof positive of that.

Peter Jackson - The Lovely Bones

Peter Jackson is known for a lot of things, but paranormal thrillers aren't really his bag. Sure, Frodo did turn invisible a handful of times in The Lord Of The Rings, but even in the context of all he'd done before this movie, The Lovely Bones was a pretty out-there film for Jackson. Of course, that was part of the point, as Jackson went on the record saying he enjoyed doing something that wasn't a large-scale epic for once. Three years later he was doing The Hobbit, though it's worth noting he wasn't the first choice.

Steven Spielberg - Hook

Hook is a beloved classic by many, but that was not how it was received by critics. This movie got a thorough thrashing for being an ill-begotten story of Peter Pan and was hated by critics so much that its aggregate Rotten Tomatoes score is a measly 28%. The movie was called unimaginative, the effects were not well integrated, and the overall story was garbled down by too many Hollywood ideals. Perhaps the biggest criticism was that it had such a great premise, but did so little to further adapt or bring in elements from the original story.

Ridley Scott - A Good Year

Similar to what I touched on earlier with Peter Jackson, there are things iconic directors are known for, and things they aren't. When you think of Ridley Scott, I highly doubt you think of romantic comedies. Scott has a wide range of movies he can make a hit, and with Russell Crowe as the lead in A Good Year, it stood to reason he could do it again. This time it just didn't happen, as the end result was seen as a soulless romantic comedy that went on a little too long. It's not necessarily bad, but certainly not one anyone needs to make time for.

David Fincher - Alien 3

The final entry is the most perhaps fitting, because not even David Fincher will defend Alien 3. The third installment in the Alien franchise already had a lot to live up to with the first two movies, which was directed by two other directing icons, Ridley Scott and James Cameron. Unfortunately, Fincher's film wasn't considered nearly as exciting or bold as the prior two films, though it has gathered its share of fans over the years. Still, when even Fincher himself disowns it, it's hard not to side with the crowd who thinks this sequel just wasn't up to par.

Spike Lee - She Hate Me

She Hate Me has all the ingredients for a great film. It's a challenging script from Spike Lee and Michael Genet, it has a dynamite cast that includes Anthony Mackie, in one of his earliest roles, and Kerry Washington in the lead roles, and, of course, is directed by Lee, one of the most acclaimed directors of the last 30+ years. The movie misses though, weighted down by the heavy message it tries to make while also trying to be a comedy. 

Barry Levinson - Sphere

After the huge success of Jurassic Park in 1993, Hollywood was clamoring to adapt other Michael Crichton novels. The mid and late '90s were chock full of adaptions like The 13th Warrior, Congo, Rising Sun, and Disclosure. Right in that mix was Barry Levinson's adaptation of Sphere and while the book was fantastic, the movie just falls flat, perhaps because people staring at mysterious orb for most of a movie isn't all that exciting. 

Sam Raimi - For Love Of The Game

Director Sam Raimi has a remarkable hit record, with only a couple movies rating below 50% on Rotten Tomatoes, the lowest being the Kevin Costner baseball movie For Love Of The Game. If you love Costner and baseball, it's actually a decent movie, but it isn't Raimi's best, that's for sure. 

Francis Ford Coppola - Jack

Francis Ford Coppola had a run in the 1970s that is almost unprecedented in Hollywood with The Godfather movies, The Conversation, and Apocalypse Now. He found success in the 1980s too, with movies like The Outsiders and Tucker: A Man and His Dream. Then there is 1996's Jack. All you can ask is, "What were Coppola and Robin Williams thinking?"

Penny Marshall - Renaissance Man

The late Penny Marshall is a Hollywood icon for many reasons. Renaissance Man is not one of them. If you've never seen it (which wouldn't be surprising) think of it like Dead Poet's Society crossed with Pauly Shore's In The Army Now, and just as unfunny as the latter. Danny DeVito plays a guy who loves quoting Shakespeare and finds himself teaching army recruits how to read. That's all you need to know, really, there is no reason to ever watch it. 

Oliver Stone - Alexander

Oliver Stone knows how to tell a war story. His Vietnam films Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July rank among the best war movies of all time. His telling of the ancient battle of Alexander the Great in Alexander is as good. The original release was a hot mess and while he has improved it with a couple of subsequent director's cuts, it still doesn't hold a candle to his other films. 

Ivan Reitman - Father's Day

The late Ivan Reitman has always been hit-or-miss with critics. Even some of his most popular movies, like Twins, were poorly reviewed. His worst movie though, based on both audience and critics' scores. is Father's Day starring Billy Crystal and Robin Williams as two men trying to find their former lovers' son to determine which man is the father. It's... not funny, nor is it heartfelt. It's just a miss. 

Amy Heckerling - Night At The Roxbury

Clueless and Fast Times At Ridgemont High are two of the most beloved teen comedies of all time, both define two generations. For director Amy Heckerling they are high water marks in her career. On the other side of those is Night At The Roxbury. Though it’s her lowest-ranked movie on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s not the worst movie based on SNL characters, so it could be worse. 

Kathryn Bigelow - The Weight of Water

Oscar-winner Katheryn Bigelow is pretty picky about the movies she chooses to direct, and most of the time, she nails it, like The Hurt Locker, Point Break, and Zero Dark Thirty. Occasionally she misses, like The Weight Of Water. Though it’s nowhere near the worst movie on this list, it’s still the worst of her movies according to the critics on Rotten Tomatoes. 

The Coen Brothers - The Ladykillers

When your worst-reviewed movie on Rotten Tomatoes is still 54%, you’re doing pretty well. For the Coen Brothers, The Ladykillers is a very rare example of a miss, as they have 13 movies north of 80%. I’m a fan of The Ladykillers and I think it’s vastly underrated, but sticking with the rules, it’s the one of this list. I’d have Hail! Caesar at the bottom, however. 

Danny Boyle - The Beach

Before Alex Garland became an acclaimed director of movies like 2024’s Civil War, he was a novelist. He wrote The Beach in the ‘90s and captivated a generation of would-be adventure travelers. Combine that with the talents of the great director Danny Boyle and star Leonardo DiCaprio and you’d think there was no way the movie would be bad. The Beach isn’t terrible, but it’s not Boyle’s best work by far. It just misses the sense of adventure the novel has. 

Alfonso Cuarón - Great Expectations

Alfonso Cuarón takes his time when making a movie, and while Great Expectations is no exception, it falls short of the lofty expectations we have of the director. Sure, it’s based on a classic novel (though a modern retelling of the Dickens book) and it has a great cast, but it just misses. It’s certainly not up to his usual standards. 

Alex & Emma - Rob Reiner

Some of the best rom-coms of all time have been directed by Rob Reiner. Alex & Emma, starring Luke Wilson and Kate Hudson is not one of them. It’s a rare miss from the This is Spinal Tap director, with a brutal 11% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 

M. Night Shyamalan - The Last Airbender

M. Night Shyamalan has never really been a critical darling, but his fans always stick up for him, with one exception: The Last Airbender. The movie, based on the Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise, is despised by critics and fans alike, especially fans of the source material. 

Eagle Vs. Shark - Taika Waititi

As debut movies go, Taika Waititi’s Eagle Vs. Shark isn’t that bad. The director’s now-legendary humor is very evident, but it’s clearly a low-budget first outing for Waititi. It’s excusable, given what would come later. What is less excusable is the miss he had with Thor: Love & Thunder, but it’s still better ranked than this one, for some reason. If given the choice between the two, pick Eagle Vs. Shark.

James Cameron - Piranha II: The Spawning

Okay, so this one really isn’t fair. The worst movie that the great James Cameron directed is a B-movie called Piranha II: The Spawning. From the title alone, you know it’s going to be bad. There isn’t much redeemable about it, except that it got Cameron’s foot in the door in Hollywood and his next movie, The Terminator has a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, so you can ignore the 5% this one got. 

Ron Howard - Inferno

Did you know that Ron Howard and Tom Hanks teamed up for three movies based on the books of Dan Brown? You probably remember The Da Vinci Code and you might have even seen Angels & Demons but there is a third, terrible installment in the franchise called Inferno. CinemaBlend called Howard’s direction “slow, ponderous and dull,” which is not what you explicit from the Hollywood legend. 

Robert Altman - Beyond Therapy

Throughout his career, director Robert Altman had some serious highs, like The Player and MASH, but he also had some pretty low lows, and none were lower than Beyond Therapy in 1987. It came at a low point overall in the legendary director’s career, a time that also included similarly poorly reviewed movies like Popeye and O.C. and Stiggs.

Ivan Reitman - Beverly Hills Cop III

This one is a little unfair, because Ivan Reitman and Eddie Murphy have both made worse movies, but it likely suffers from coming on the heals of two previous Beverly Hills Cop movies that are, without a doubt, superior to this sequel. 

Elia Kazan - The Arrangement

There is no doubt of Elia Kazan’s place in Hollywood history. Considered one of the most influential directors of all time, fans of his can also boast that his movies launched the careers of actors like Marlon Brando and James Dean. However, not every movie he made was a classic and while The Arrangement has been somewhat re-evaluated in recent years, it still holds a dismal 15% ranking on Rotten Tomatoes. 

Brian De Palma - The Bonfire Of The Vanities

Tom Wolfe has only had a couple of books adapted into movies. The first, The Right Stuff is one of the best movies about The Cold War. The second, The Bonfire of the Vanities, directed by Brian De Palma, is… not very good. In fact, it’s pretty brutal. It tries hard to hit all the cultural critiques that Wolfe laid out in his novel, but it just doesn’t get the point across nearly as well. It’s a clunky mess. 

Richard Linklater - Bad News Bears

When he sticks with his own original stories and writes his own screenplays, Richard Linklater is a master. Movies like Dazed and Confused, Before Sunrise, and Boyhood are iconic. The Bad News Bears is also iconic, just not the remake Linklater directed in 2005. The original is far, far better. 

Gus Van Sant - Even Cowgirls Get The Blues

For Gen X, the combination of Gus Van Sant and novelist Tom Robbins was an enticing prospect. Sadly, the movie adaptation of Robbins’ classic Even Cowgirls Get The Blues is simply a disappointment, a very rare miss for Van Sant, especially at that point in his career coming off the back-to-back masterpieces Drugstore Cowboy and My Own Private Idaho. 

As I said in a previous article, I love Spike Lee. His films often challenge not only the medium of film, but also culture in general. From Do The Right Thing to BlacKkKlansman, Spike Lee has always had something important to say. And while he’s had a few missteps over the years, one thing that nobody could ever call Spike Lee is boring.

But here’s the thing. With such a long list of films under his belt, some of his movies have been more socially relevant than others. Sure, I love films like 25th Hour and Inside Man. Hell, I even love Summer of Sam (but not so much his Old Boy remake). But those movies are more—I don’t want to say popcorn fluff—but more populist pictures than films that really try to address a major issue. So that’s what this list is for. Here are Spike Lee’s most socially relevant movies, ranked. And hey, when you're done reading this list, do the right thing, and leave a message in the comment section.

10. Crooklyn (1994)

Crooklyn isn’t really all that “socially relevant” compared to many of the other films on this list. But it did something that many other films weren’t doing back in 1994, and that’s showing a depiction of a black neighborhood without trying to be all preachy or having some grand message about it. Delroy Lindo plays a struggling musician, and his desire to bolster his career impacts the whole family financially.

But the true star is Troy, played by Zelda Harris. She takes over the matronly responsibility of the family once her mother gets cancer. It’s a role that humanizes a black neighborhood much more than a lot of the gangster epics of the 1990's were doing. And that in itself is kind of revolutionary.

9. Da 5 Bloods (2020)

The newest Spike Lee joint as of this writing, Da 5 Bloods tackles Vietnam movies from a black perspective, painting a picture of the war from a different angle than any other Vietnam movie in the past. Running underneath the whole treasure hunting plot is a story about both oppression and repression, and it’s mostly found in Delroy Lindo’s stunning performance.

The only thing holding Da 5 Bloods back is that it’s so much more of a commentary on Vietnam movies in general than the black experience in Vietnam. But it’s still really good, of course. It’s Spike Lee at his best and I much prefer it to Miracle at St. Anna.

8. She’s Gotta Have It (1986)

Tracy Camilla Jones stars as a woman seeing three men. To her, monogamy is a form of slavery, and she doesn’t see why she has to choose a partner. And while the movie is marketed as a comedy, it goes into some dark territory. And then, there's the rape scene, which robs the movie of a lot of its good will. But still, everything around that is pretty potent.

Especially for this being Spike Lee’s first feature-length film. It was pretty bold to challenge sexual norms back in 1986. The show was pretty damn good, too.

7. Chi-Raq (2015)

Chi-Raq is a weird movie, but a worthy one. Taking its ideas from the Greek play, Lysistrata, Chi-Raq is about a woman named Lysistrata (played by Teyonah Parris) who is fed up with gang violence, and has motivated other women in her neighborhood to give up sex with their men to get them to stop fighting.

Tackling gang violence in Chicago is a pretty audacious move. Especially since it’s a black take on what is spurring all the violence in the first place. It was a controversial film upon its release, but would it be a Spike Lee joint if it wasn’t?

6. School Daze (1988)

On its surface, School Daze is mostly about warring fraternities and sororities at an historically black college. But underneath it all is the college experience from a black perspective. It tackles ideas of activism and working toward getting ahead, but also what it means to be black in a society where unity can be seen as a detriment. And like She’s Gotta Have It, it also takes a look from a female perspective. It was a definitely ahead of its time.

So much so that we likely wouldn’t have a show like A Different World or Dear White People without it. Wake up!

5. Get On the Bus

If Road Rules was a movie featuring black men, it would be Get on the Bus. A variety of different black men heading to the Million Man March bicker and argue with each other over issues of race, class, sexuality, religion, and everything else in-between.

Get on the Bus is also great because it shows an entirely unvarnished look at black people without shying away from the darker side. It’s not Spike’s best movie, but it’s close.

4. Jungle Fever (1991)

Starring Wesley Snipes as a character having an extramarital affair with a white woman, Jungle Fever feels ahead of its time and a little dated at the same time. It deals with the perception that the black community often has about dating outside of your race, and it’s a movie that doesn’t make anybody look good. Plus, Samuel L. Jackson has a knock-out performance as a crack addict.

Jungle Fever deals with a touchy subject in an honest way, which is why it still works today.

3. BlacKkKlansman (2018)

Tackling racism head on, BlacKkKlansman pulls no punches with its approach to showing off the darker side of America. But it does so deftly in a way that only Spike Lee can pull off by showing the inner conflict of how a black man can reconcile being a police officer in the face of racism. But it also shows how the only way to actually combat racism might be through the system itself.

BlackKklansman is elevated over a lot of Spike's other films because of that stunning ending that parallels today’s times. Bold move, Spike Lee. Bold move.

2. Bamboozled (2000)

Bamboozled is Spike Lee’s hidden gem. By tackling America’s perception of black people both in the past and in the then hip-hop crazed present, Bamboozled is all about how the minstrel show of yore hasn’t really changed all that much. It’s just changed its make-up a little bit.

Bamboozled works so well because the satire is just so dead on and piercing. It also shows how black people have somewhat openly invited some of the images that are perpetuated in today’s society, giving no clear solution on how to fix the problem. It’s a funny movie, but a cringy one, too, just as all good satire should be.

1. Do the Right Thing (1989)

Do the Right Thing will probably always be Spike Lee’s best movie. It’s got it all—humor, heart, heartache, and searing commentary. It shows a neighborhood on the brink of exploding. The people living there just don’t know it yet. But it sure is hot.

Do the Right Thing is just as --if not more-- powerful today than it was back in 1989. And with the events happening now, it probably speaks to today’s time more than any other movie currently being produced. Spike Lee kept his ear to the ground and gave us this masterpiece of cinema in the process.

And those are the most socially relevant movies of Spike Lee’s career. But what do you think? Were there any that I left off? Please let me know in the comments.

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Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods appears to be having a major effect on viewers, as many have formed personal connections with the critically acclaimed film. One character that’s really left a mark on audiences is the frustrated and emotionally scarred Paul, who was played beautifully by Delroy Lindo. The veteran actor steals more than a few scenes throughout the movie, but he says its Paul’s monologue in the jungle that has really grabbed people’s attention:

The scene plays out bittersweet way, as it allows Paul to vent his frustrations with his current situation and confront his demons in the process. Delroy Lindo went on to explain to HuffPost that there’s a complexity to monologues. While in many cases, characters are reciting the words alone, they’re not exactly just posing their thoughts to themselves:

Delroy Lindo raises an interesting point about monologues, as many of them do involve a character posing questions. Paul’s “Salt in the Vaseline” monologue in Da 5 Bloods is distinct in the fact that the character holds his focus on the camera the entire time. And based on his constant questions and anxious attitude, the scene can definitely be read as Paul desperately seeking out answers from someone.

However you want to interpret the scene, it can definitely be said that Delroy Lindo nailed it. Those who’ve seen Da 5 Bloods know that Paul could have been a one-note character in the wrong hands, but both Lindo and Spike Lee strayed away from this and turned him into a fleshed-out character. With this, it’s no wonder the internet is already calling for Lindo to get some major recognition when awards season arrives.

Regardless of how much buzz Lindo receives, Da 5 Bloods marks another powerful performance from him, and it’s sure to sit with audiences for years to come.

Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods is currently streaming on Netflix.

The latest Spike Lee joint is now available to watch in the comfort of your own home. Netflix’s Da 5 Bloods follows a quartet of Vietnam War veterans who travel back to that country in search of buried treasure and the remains of their fallen squad leader. The movie has been earning critical acclaim, and one actual Vietnam War vet told Lee he was glad that the director finally explored the conflict in his own special way.

It goes without saying that Spike Lee is no stranger to tackling social issues and race relations in his movies, and Da 5 Bloods is no exception. Here’s what Lee recently had to say about how this Vietnam War vet he spoke to felt about his movie:

Da 5 Bloods certainly covers a lot of ground when it comes wrapping the movie’s fictional narrative around real-world context, from the flashback scenes set in Vietnam (including one scene where the soldiers learn about Martin Luther King Jr. being assassinated) to how the older veterans have been affected by current events in the United States. The movie also throws in a lot of archival footage for audiences to absorb, particularly revolving around the civil rights movement in the late 1960s and how it addressed the experiences of black soldiers in Vietnam.

Spike Lee has been churning out feature films since the mid-1980s with She’s Gotta Have It, and while he’s no stranger to covering the general time period when Da 5 Bloods’ flashbacks take place (see the final chunk of Malcolm X and Black KkKlansman)/ Still, as the filmmaker informed Indiewire, clearly he’s hit on something particularly special with this latest feature.

It may have been a long wait, but for those of you who have followed along with Lee’s career for years, he’s finally delivered his Vietnam War flick. Fortunately, Da 5 Bloods being met with a lot of positive reception from critics and the general public alike, as well as arrives at a time when the United States finds itself embroiled in protests condemning systemic racism.

Among the other praised elements of Da 5 Bloods, are the performances, particularly from Delroy Lindo. The Good Fight actor plays Paul, one of the title characters, who suffers from PTSD and must confront his inner demons as he and his brother-in-arms, as well as his son David, embark on their dangerous journey. In the days since Da 5 Bloods was released to the public, there’s been a lot of social media campaigning for Lindo to get an Oscar nomination for this role.

Be sure to read CinemaBlend’s review of Da 5 Bloods and keep checking back with us for all the biggest items in movie news. Feel free to also look through our 2020 release schedule to learn what movies are supposed to be shown in theaters later this year.

During a recent interview with CinemaBlend to promote Da 5 Bloods, legendary director Spike Lee opened up about ways to widen the platform for other directors of color. Lee felt that the easiest way for marginalized communities to get their stories told in movies or on television was to get more people of color in the gatekeeping roles at the studios. He talked about how executives in Hollywood are the ones making the creative decisions, and until we see more representation at the top, the status quo will prevail.

The Academy, to its credit, started walking that walk, instead of simply talking the talk. Selma and A Wrinkle In Time director Ava DuVernay recently was elected to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Board of Governors. DuVernay will represent the directors branch. All board members serve a three year term.

According to the Academy’s official Website, Oscars.org, BoG members are responsible for the following tasks:

In short, by guiding the direction of the Academy on whole, they can be the voice of change that Spike Lee as talking with CinemaBlend about. The Hollywood Reporter notes that in addition to DuVernay, the Academy established new records in the number of female (26) and persons of color (12) currently sitting on the Board of Governors. That’s up from the previous records of 25 and 11, respectively.

It may sound small. But these are exactly the types of changes that need to occur in an organization to trigger sustainable change. To its credit, the Academy has been making the necessary steps to better reflect diversity in its ranks. And as Spike Lee pointed out in our interview, it was after their initial improvements that we started to see movies like Call Me By Your Name, Get Out, Hidden Figures and BlackKklansman earn nominations, while Parasite and Moonlight earned significant wins.

And those changes will continue to expand. Days after Ava DuVernay’s appointment, the Academy implemented even more criteria that it wants Oscar-eligible films to meet regarding diversity and inclusion standards. In a release, Academy CEO Dawn Hudson said:

Here’s Spike Lee talking about that need for voices at the top, a conversation that occurred right as the Academy was taking long-overdue measurements to make that a reality.

I suspect that we will see and hear changes like this implemented at most organizations, but for the time being, applaud the Academy for leading the way toward significant and necessary changes to its long-standing traditions. It’s only by representing all that the movies can appeal to the largest audiences. When we look up at that big screen, we should all recognize ourselves in the stories being told. Today, it feels like we’re a step or two closer to that dream.