Movies BlacKkKlansman is the best movie of the year

[sblfilms]

Holy cow. This is top shelf Spike Lee.i just woke up and I still can’t stop thinking about what I saw and how I felt. There is not a wasted frame in the flick and the last act of the movie is equal parts thrilling, chilling, and angering. 

 

This is is a story that hurts particularly in light of what’s happening in our country right now. 

[GeneticBlueprint]

This will definitely be my next movie I see.

[GoldenTongue]

Was so looking forward to seeing it this weekend, but the wife is sick, and was less than enthusiastic about the notion of me going to see it alone...not that I put it out there.

[Greatoneshere]

I'm a big Spike Lee fan and this has always looked really good. An @sblfilms recommendation seals the deal. Jeremy Jahns really loved it, and he doesn't usually like heavy dramas (even with some comedy, as this movie seems to have some, thankfully). 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

I would've gone to see it this past weekend, but I was busy throwing empty water bottles at real Klansmen

[GeneticBlueprint]

Just got out. So good. I loved the duality in all of the lead characters and how that was played with quite a bit. The contrasting shots/scenes and everything. Just brilliant.

 

7 hours ago, SFLUFAN said:

I would've gone to see it this past weekend, but I was busy throwing empty water bottles at real Klansmen

 

It's like you don't care at all about Mother Earth!

[Dre801]

Probably one of the best if not the best of the Spike Lee joints.

[sblfilms]

28 minutes ago, Dre801 said:

Probably one of the best if not the best of the Spike Lee joints.

 

I still think Do The Right Thing is his best ever, and easily one of the 100 greatest American films of all time.

 

But I can’t get this new flick out of my head!

[sblfilms]

https://variety.com/2018/film/news/spike-lee-10-best-movies-ranking-blackkklansman-1202902281/

 

Regardless of the specific slotting, here is a solid list of Lee’s films for somebody who isn’t familiar with his work.

[GoldenTongue]

1 hour ago, sblfilms said:

https://variety.com/2018/film/news/spike-lee-10-best-movies-ranking-blackkklansman-1202902281/

 

Regardless of the specific slotting, here is a solid list of Lee’s films for somebody who isn’t familiar with his work.

Awesome article...there are several in there that are still on my bucket list, and I feel like I need to revisit INSIDE MAN (wasn't a huge fan when I saw it in theaters).

 

I'd actually forgotten that 25th HOUR was one of Lee's - absolutely love that movie.

[sblfilms]

I’m glad 25th Hour has seen its reputation grow in stature over the years. The flick really hit me from the first time I saw it, so I’ve enjoyed seeing the film reconsidered by many critics who initially were kinda down on it.

 

My wife really loved BlacKKKlansmen, so we ended up watching Inside Man when we got home. I hadn’t seen it in 5 or 6 years but I felt like my appreciation for what Lee was going for has swelled. I’m also really into the “howdunit” genre of mystery/suspense, and I think the movie does that trick really well.

[CastlevaniaNut18]

I've never seen a Spike Lee film. You guys have me curious about this one, though. Maybe I'll watch it when it comes to home release. 

[Mr.Vic20]

4 minutes ago, CastlevaniaNut18 said:

I've never seen a Spike Lee film. You guys have me curious about this one, though. Maybe I'll watch it when it comes to home release. 

They are worth your time, the man has a true talent for engaging his audience, regardless of the topic. 

[CastlevaniaNut18]

1 minute ago, Mr.Vic20 said:

They are worth your time, the man has a true talent for engaging his audience, regardless of the topic. 

Cool. I'm just not a big movie buff, so I've overlooked him over the years. I look forward to this, though!

[Greatoneshere]

1 hour ago, sblfilms said:

I’m glad 25th Hour has seen its reputation grow in stature over the years. The flick really hit me from the first time I saw it, so I’ve enjoyed seeing the film reconsidered by many critics who initially were kinda down on it.

 

My wife really loved BlacKKKlansmen, so we ended up watching Inside Man when we got home. I hadn’t seen it in 5 or 6 years but I felt like my appreciation for what Lee was going for has swelled. I’m also really into the “howdunit” genre of mystery/suspense, and I think the movie does that trick really well.

 

25th Hour and Inside Man are both fantastic films and great Spike Lee joints. I wasn't even aware 25th Hour and Inside Man weren't loved. Even when they came out I remember most critics liking them?

 

I like em either way. 

[MarSolo]

I just saw this last night and it was great. The ending was watched in my theater with hushed silence. And it nearly destroyed me because I wanted to just punch Nazis and Klansmen afterward.

[sblfilms]

58 minutes ago, MarSolo said:

I just saw this last night and it was great. The ending was watched in my theater with hushed silence. And it nearly destroyed me because I wanted to just punch Nazis and Klansmen afterward.

 

Yup, silence. Really powerful experience.

[TwinIon]

I walked out of Black Klansman and felt a little conflicted. It's absolutely an enjoyable and well made film, but I couldn't help but feel like the messaging, for all it's didacticism, was muddled.

 

Some of that might be my own interpretation and could be based on an incorrect viewing, so feel free to correct my recollection of the ending of the film.

Spoiler

 

At the end we see the cross burning, which was clearly setup for Ron to see. We see the various klansmen and the camera pushes to on in particular that has stripes on his robe, likely making him the leader. As the camera tilts up we see the recognizable facial hair of Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver). Given that the police inquiry had been closed, that they'd been specifically celebrated for a lack of cross burnings during their investigation, that Flip had already been put up as the potential leader, and that the only klansman to know where Ron lived blew himself up, I feel like that scene is not saying that Flip was continuing the good fight, but that he had joined the klan for real.

 

If I'm reading that wrong, please let me know why, but given my reading of that last scene, it completely undermines the entire film. I think it was important to end the film indicating that they hadn't "sovled" the klan or racism. Spike needed to remind us that at most this was a hollow victory, but putting Ron back in robes in that context feels like it undermines and goes against so much of what we witnessed.

 

I'd also like to point people towards this critique from Boots Riley:

 

I generally have very little patience for arguments along the lines of "this movie isn't historically accurate," but I think Boots gets a bit of an exception here because his argument is larger than that. BlackkKlansman is a nakedly political film, even without the coda. While some of the revisions simply make for better storytelling (making Flip Jewish), the larger problem of reframing the cops in general and Ron as the good guy do seem more problematic, especially given the political context of this movie.

 

I don't think Boots' arguments really lessen my enjoyment of the film, but it's a perspective that I wouldn't have considered if I'd not come across it.

 

 

[sblfilms]

2 hours ago, TwinIon said:

I walked out of Black Klansman and felt a little conflicted. It's absolutely an enjoyable and well made film, but I couldn't help but feel like the messaging, for all it's didacticism, was muddled.

 

Some of that might be my own interpretation and could be based on an incorrect viewing, so feel free to correct my recollection of the ending of the film.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

At the end we see the cross burning, which was clearly setup for Ron to see. We see the various klansmen and the camera pushes to on in particular that has stripes on his robe, likely making him the leader. As the camera tilts up we see the recognizable facial hair of Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver). Given that the police inquiry had been closed, that they'd been specifically celebrated for a lack of cross burnings during their investigation, that Flip had already been put up as the potential leader, and that the only klansman to know where Ron lived blew himself up, I feel like that scene is not saying that Flip was continuing the good fight, but that he had joined the klan for real.

 

If I'm reading that wrong, please let me know why, but given my reading of that last scene, it completely undermines the entire film. I think it was important to end the film indicating that they hadn't "sovled" the klan or racism. Spike needed to remind us that at most this was a hollow victory, but putting Ron back in robes in that context feels like it undermines and goes against so much of what we witnessed.

 

I'd also like to point people towards this critique from Boots Riley:

 

I generally have very little patience for arguments along the lines of "this movie isn't historically accurate," but I think Boots gets a bit of an exception here because his argument is larger than that. BlackkKlansman is a nakedly political film, even without the coda. While some of the revisions simply make for better storytelling (making Flip Jewish), the larger problem of reframing the cops in general and Ron as the good guy do seem more problematic, especially given the political context of this movie.

 

I don't think Boots' arguments really lessen my enjoyment of the film, but it's a perspective that I wouldn't have considered if I'd not come across it.

 

 

 

Thanks for the Boots tweet link. I’ve seen some other people raise similar objections to the historical innacuracy issue, but he lays it out in a pretty compelling manner.

 

On your own point, I think the movie is clearly suggesting the identity of the person at the end is who you say. Can you expand a bit on how you view that as undermining the rest of the film?

[TwinIon]

25 minutes ago, sblfilms said:

On your own point, I think the movie is clearly suggesting the identity of the person at the end is who you say. Can you expand a bit on how you view that as undermining the rest of the film?

Spoiler

 

Without that reveal being done in that way, I think the movie firmly agreed with Ron's own assessment of his potential role over that of Patrice's. He argues that he can change the system from inside, that he can be a cop and also be for the liberation of his people. We see concrete results, even if they're mixed. Sure, they get ordered to destroy the evidence of their operation, but they also get the racist cop with the help of the precinct. They get the KKK to blow themselves up and they get to humiliate David Duke. Even more than any of that, Patrice's continued relationship with Ron articulates very clearly that she has changed her mind, that Ron is right, that the system can be saved.

 

By making Flip an actual member of the KKK, none of that can ring true. His investigation hardly stymied the klan and actually put them in the hands of someone who is by all indications, much more capable. More than that, it indicates that Flip is so invested in the hatred of black people that he can look past the klan's own interest in killing his people and him personally. None of that reads in the rest of the film. Sure, Flip is annoyed that Ron got to start an investigation as a rookie, and he seems uncomfortable pushing the investigation too far, but I can't recall any hint that the racism that he spouts while undercover is at all internalized. Much to the contrary, he seems uneasy all the way through.

 

So by putting him in the klan, it undermines the goals of the protagonist, the themes I felt the film was pushing forward, and everything we'd seen from Flip as a character.

 

Now, if I'm wrong in my interpretation and the film is trying to indicate that he's still undercover, that's very different. That doesn't undermine the character of Flip or Ron or Patrice. It's a statement that, even with progress, there is still hate. I think that's a fine way to end it, but all that would still be the case without Ron there, or with him being undercover.

 

 

[Nokra]

Watched this last night, really enjoyed it. I believe it was my first Spike Lee movie, and now I'm curious to check out others. 

 

Sometimes it felt pretty heavy-handed, but overall it was excellent, and as others said, during the closing scene you could feel the tension in the audience.

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

On 8/20/2018 at 11:10 AM, TwinIon said:

I walked out of Black Klansman and felt a little conflicted. It's absolutely an enjoyable and well made film, but I couldn't help but feel like the messaging, for all it's didacticism, was muddled.

 

Some of that might be my own interpretation and could be based on an incorrect viewing, so feel free to correct my recollection of the ending of the film.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

At the end we see the cross burning, which was clearly setup for Ron to see. We see the various klansmen and the camera pushes to on in particular that has stripes on his robe, likely making him the leader. As the camera tilts up we see the recognizable facial hair of Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver). Given that the police inquiry had been closed, that they'd been specifically celebrated for a lack of cross burnings during their investigation, that Flip had already been put up as the potential leader, and that the only klansman to know where Ron lived blew himself up, I feel like that scene is not saying that Flip was continuing the good fight, but that he had joined the klan for real.

 

If I'm reading that wrong, please let me know why, but given my reading of that last scene, it completely undermines the entire film. I think it was important to end the film indicating that they hadn't "sovled" the klan or racism. Spike needed to remind us that at most this was a hollow victory, but putting Ron back in robes in that context feels like it undermines and goes against so much of what we witnessed.

 

I'd also like to point people towards this critique from Boots Riley:

 

I generally have very little patience for arguments along the lines of "this movie isn't historically accurate," but I think Boots gets a bit of an exception here because his argument is larger than that. BlackkKlansman is a nakedly political film, even without the coda. While some of the revisions simply make for better storytelling (making Flip Jewish), the larger problem of reframing the cops in general and Ron as the good guy do seem more problematic, especially given the political context of this movie.

 

I don't think Boots' arguments really lessen my enjoyment of the film, but it's a perspective that I wouldn't have considered if I'd not come across it.

 

 

I was just going to come here to say that I really enjoyed the film. I did not think so many cops at that time would be ready to fight racism toward blacks, so I felt that portrayal was a bit of creative licensing. But I did not expect the rest of that pointed out in that tweet. I think it triggered some white guilt in me. Yikes!

 

...I still really enjoyed the movie.