After getting on the wrong side of a corrupt alderman, Chicago reporter John Belushi needs to lay low for awhile and is given an assignment in the Rockies to interview reclusive bald eagle researcher Blair Brown. Though initially butting heads, the two grow to respect and love each other. It’s rare to see Belushi playing a soft romantic role and he’s rather adorable during those parts of the movie. The weakness in the film is its uneven tone. It throws in comedy to maintain some levity, but it comes at off putting times. 

In a gritty New York City, Sylvester Stallone and Billy Dee Williams are a pair of police detectives who have been recruited to an anti-terrorism squad to hunt down ruthless international terrorist Rutger Hauer. While on the squad, Stallone is challenged on how ruthless he needs to be in order to defeat the bad guys. None of the main cast are treated as superstars so the story is able to concentrate on the action and drama without becoming overwhelmed to making the stars shine. The makeup department went overtime here making Hauer unrecognizable so he could allude capture halfway through the film and also making Stallone convincingly pass off as female.    

I had been wanting to watch this version of the musical when I was working through Paul Robeson’s filmography. I was further spurned on after reading a biography on Hattie McDaniel and from having an impending trip on the Mississippi River planned. Irene Dunne is the protagonist of the story, a teenager on her parents’ show boat who is promoted to actress after the star of the show was forced to leave because of her mixed race heritage. The film follows Dunne’s career as she, and later her daughter, becomes a famous stage actress. There’s some very weird acting on her part. I’m still not sure if some of her dancing was supposed to be sincere or farcical. I had come in to see Robeson and McDaniel and their unfortunately small supporting roles are worth it. While they’re sadly steeped in racial stereotypes, their singing and chemistry together is quite enthralling. 

Based on James Baldwin’s semi-autobiographical novel, this recounts the experiences and history of a Black family who moves from the South to Harlem, particularly of a teenaged boy and his relationship with his domineering, self-righteous, and heavily religious stepfather. Being made of television, it is a bit low budget and stagey at times, but it does boast an incredible cast with Paul Winfield, Rosalind Cash, and Giancarlo Esposito all in major roles. I’m sure I missed some context since I’m very unfamiliar with the Black Pentecostal church, but it does offer some interesting explorations on religion and threads that connect and reverberate through family history.