jeffr-4 Reviews

Diarra from Detroit (2024– )

Black Murder Mystery

[10/10 · 24 April 2024]

After hearing Ms. Kilpatrick's interview on NPR's Fresh Air, I just had to check this series out. After watching the first free episode on Prime, I was hooked!! Finally a murder mystery told from the black POV about "urban" people! And I hadn't even realized the need for it until I watched this show. (And hey, if you didn't get it, no problem- it wasn't meant for you. Go back to watching Perry Mason and Matlock).

The characters were real, the dialogue was fresh, the plot was very black-ish, and the writing was just superb. I binged all seven episodes in one evening. I just couldn't enough. I grant you there were a few plot holes and unanswered questions by the end of episode seven. And it did feel as if an eighth episode was sorely needed (or is that just my addiction talking). Nevertheless, "Diarra from Detroit" was just a delicious and delightful "chocolate city cake" from beginning to end. Also, I loved the way it interwove renowned actors like Morris Chestnut, Harry Lennix and Phylicia Rashad into the story.

I truly hope there's another season (or two) for Diarra and her crew. Or else I might just have to actually move to Detroit😉. Well done Ms. Kilpatrick and may I have some more please?

In Too Deep (1999)

A satisfying action drama

[8/10 · 9 February 2002]

I found this movie very satisfying and suspenseful. Omar Epps is surprising and masterful as the lead playing an undercover cop. Nia Long's presences, although window-dressing, is just as effective on screen. Also, LL Cool J does a very convincing job as a drug lord. And Stanly Tucci brings the 'gravitas' and skill that's makes the core story work.

Memento (2000)

How can you remember to forget?

[10/10 · 17 April 2001]

Guy Pierce plays a character (Leonard) who's obsessed by a memory; unfortunately, that memory happens to be the last thing he remembers before suffering from a rare memory-loss condition. In fact, this movie centers around the haunting, eerie way in which Pierce's character has woven that memory into the very fabric of his existence.

The masterpiece of Memento is the way in which the director literally "sucks" the viewer into Leonard's "mind". This movie truly succeeds at engulfing the viewer into that swirling, whirling, twisting, dizzying world that constitutes Leonard's confused existence. Moreover, the mental acrobatics demanded of us to follow this movie is what makes the ending (which is actually the beginning of the story) absolutely the most poignant climax I've experienced since "Angel Heart" (in which the detective played by Mickey Rourke discovers that he's been searching for himself -- or rather, the person he used to be -- all along).

Claire Dolan (1998)

Epitomizes the suppressed urges of life

[8/10 · 1 April 2001]

One's first impression might be that the characters and scenes in this movie are simply too cold and emotionless. However, a careful study reveals the "seething" emotions going on in each player; from the pimp Cain who "seethes" with a misogynistic disdain of the women working for him to Elton (played with excellence by Vincent D'Onofrio) who seethes with longing to fulfill something greater in life than just being a cab driver (the attempted mugging scene whereafter he breaks down is just superb!). I think that the final two scenes of the movie--one between a "converted", pregnant Claire being approached by a former john, the other between the Cain and Elton with his wife -- excellently display the tormented, soulful emotions of the characters involved in this story.