Ali

For the finale of my Black History Month film reviews, I think it would be appropriate to end off with a knockout by looking at director Michael Mann's 2001 epic, "Ali," another one of my all time favorite films. In the starring role of Cassius Clay aka Muhammad Ali, we have one of the greatest actors and former rapper, Will Smith. When I was growing up, I idolized Will Smith because this guy was funny, and his raps were clean. He actually said that his mother, Caroline Smith, had threatened him that if he swore in his raps, she would not listen to them. Also, he is a family man, so I guess that also makes sense as well. Now, onto Will Smith preparing for this role:

James Lipton had asked Will how much he normally weighs, and his response was, "I probably walk around at about 198, 199." For "Ali," he buffed up to about 223 lbs. He did this by being taught how to box from Darrell Foster, who got Will into the conditions. Essentially, they were doing this schedule, approximately a year before the film started shooting: at 6AM the day started with a three-mile run, eat, rest for an hour, and then go into the boxing gym around 10:30 or 11AM. They would watch footage of Ali's fights, and from that, they would work the moves, hit the bag, just training as a fighter. So, you could say that this is a full training camp. Everyone on the film, meaning all of the other fighters, are actual professional boxers, none of them are actors. From 11AM to 1PM was the boxing training session, then a lunch break, and after that, Will would do dialectic training from 2-3:30PM, then Islamic Studies from 3:30-5PM, and at that time, they would go into the weight room. By the time of the shooting, Will was on auto-pilot and "was" Muhammad Ali. There were moments of being tired, drained, beaten, feeling defeated. Michael Mann shot this film in seven cities on two continents, but Will knew that he wasn't going to stop until it was perfect, even though this was a tiring film to work on. He actually felt comfortable being with Michael Mann, who he calls a "machine, the truth, and the closest to a pure genius that I've ever had the pleasure being in contact with." Both Michael Mann and Will Smith put up their salaries to cover any cost overrun on this film to make sure that it got done right. This shows that both of them were very committed to this film being successful, and they put their salaries up because they believed in what they were doing. Will actually said all of this to James Lipton.

In the role of Ali's corner man, Drew "Bundini" Brown; we have one of the funniest actors, comedian, writer, producer, director, composer, pianist, singer, and recording artist, Jamie Foxx. He got this role through Will Smith, who Jamie has described, "here is a brother who is already at the top, and most times when people get to the top, they close the door and don't let anybody in." Will Smith talked to Michael Mann and said that Jamie was the guy. Michael Mann looked at Jamie and said, "What? He looks nothing like Bundini Brown," and Will replied, "I'm telling you, yo, this is the guy." Jamie can never forget going in to do his screening with Michael Mann, who is another big time director, and when Jamie was reading, he went, "And, action." After that, he stood over Jamie's shoulder like a hawk, and would go, "Cut, cut, cut, cut. And, action again," while still standing like a hawk over Jamie's shoulder. Jamie had no idea what was going on, thinking, "Is he going to kiss me in my ear?" When he got the role, he put a little weight off, shaved his head, and after he was given a tape, he came in. When Michael asked Jamie what he got, Jamie said, "Muhammad Ali is a Prophet! How you going to beat God's son?" and Jamie said that some of that magic happened. Some of the film was shot in Africa; Jamie was blown away by the African music, and began to like it.

The film starts off with Ali finally stepping into the ring for a heavyweight title match with Sonny Liston, played by Michael Bentt. The movie is shot in real time, and feels like an actual boxing match you're watching on TV. For those who have seen Ali's fights on TV or online knows his fighting style and knows that his bout with Liston is one of the legendary matches in boxing history. Ali's boxing style is very much identical to the speaking style of his friend Malcolm X, who is played here by Mario Van Peebles. Now, there is nothing wrong with this performance, since he does an outstanding job as Malcolm X, but Denzel was more believable, in my opinion. Jon Voight really gets Howard's Cosell's voice down, but gives him a softer, more of a private side to him. Throughout the film, it is really enjoyable to watch and does stand to be one of the best, if not the best, films to ever be about Muhammad Ali.

Now, the third act is Ali's most memorable match against George Foreman, played by Charles Shufford, in Zaire, Africa. What can I say but, there is no other way that this film could end than with the most epic and memorable matches that Ali ever had in his career. This film is one of the best for Will Smith and Jamie Foxx, and is quite literally, a knockout. People might even say that it is an African version of the epic boxing film, "Rocky," which may or may not be true. I guess if you saw both films, you can probably say that, but that probably isn't the case, since "Ali" is biographical as opposed to "Rocky."

“Ali” was budgeted around $100 million, a major investment for 2001 that was safe by the casting of Will Smith and the commitment of Mann and Smith to cover cost overruns. Mann made most of his budget to the take the production on location to major sequences in Ghana, South Africa and Mozambique (Sean Axmaker said, “Standing in for the former Zaire, now the war-torn Congo”). Smith said that shooting on location was important to his performance in the final scene as it gave the opportunity to connect with the country, the culture and the people of Mozambique, just as Ali did in Zaire while training for his Foreman match in 1974.

This is what Sean Axmaker noted in his review, “The film was released to mixed reviews but drew almost universal praise for the performances. Roger Ebert wrote that Smith was "sharp, fast, funny, like the Ali of trash-talking fame" but found the film "long, flat, curiously muted film." Variety critic Todd McCarthy called the film an "ambitious and cold study...a picture that feels bottled up rather than exuberant" but that Smith "carries the picture with consummate skill." The film failed to make back its cost, according to Box Office Mojo, but both Smith and Voight received well-deserved nominations for their performances and the film remains a respected portrait of the athlete and the man still revered as one of the great heroes of the 20th century: sports legend, cultural icon and outspoken citizen of the world.”

Even though this film was met with mixed reviews, I simply liked this film. I wouldn’t be surprised if Michael Mann had gone to Ali himself and spoke to him about his career and his entire life so that they could depict it just right in this film. Ignore all the reviews that everyone has said that have been negative, go out and see this film for yourself to see if you agree with all the negativity or not. That’s what I did, and I didn’t know that this film had mixed reception until I had sat down to do this review. Still, it’s one of those boxing movies that you have to see.

Well, thank you so much for tuning into my Black History Month film reviews. Stay tuned for more of my reviews coming right at you.

The American President

Happy President's Day everybody! As a special treat, I would like to look at "The American President," released in 1995. If someone were to ask if I consider this one of my favorites, I would probably say yes. This is my dad's favorite movie. Not only is it a political film, but it's also a really nice, well put together romance. The President of the United States, Andrew Shepherd, played by the great Michael Douglas, lost his wife several years ago to cancer. One day, he meets environmental lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade, played by Annette Benning. Sydney arrived in Washington not so long ago, and with President Shepherd, it is love at first sight for him. He's so nervous to meet her, which is a reasonable reaction since he lost his wife several years ago. He goes up to one of his aides and asks how Sydney would react if he asked her to be his date for the upcoming State Dinner.

The aide asks if he should have a pollster “put together some numbers.” However, that is exactly the pressure the President is fighting against: the need to balance every action by how it will all come together. Shepherd gets Wade’s number from the FBI, picks up the phone and calls her – who cannot believe that it is really the President, because she has just moved in with her sister and has no phone of her own.

She hangs up. He calls back. Convinced she is talking to a person who is pulling a practical joke, she compliments him on his “great - .” Roger Ebert even admitted, “Because both Douglas and Bening are believable in their roles, and because the power and bureaucracy of the White House already have been credibly established in the opening scenes, this moment works not as sit-com but as explosive comedy.” We all know that comedy relieves tension and by making the protagonists both realistic and sympathetic, and then straightening the huge wall of the modern presidency between them, the movie makes real chances: We care, and find ourselves caring throughout the film, whether they will be happy together.

As hilarious as this film is, most of the comedy is from President Shepherd having difficulties with simple matters in ordinary procedures. He doesn't want to ask his staff to do it for him, like getting Sydney flowers and finding the best set of bouquets. Sydney is a very serious lobbyist, who is told by her boss, played by John Mahoney, "The time it will take you to go from presidential girlfriend to cocktail party joke can be measured on an egg timer."

Three elements make you stay on the edge of your seat throughout the movie. The first is the personal relationship between Shepherd and Wade. Second is the lobbyist job for the environmental group that needs the votes that will pass the fuel bill. Finally, the White House tension, where President Shepherd, who is a liberal, is up against a very crucial election-year opponent from the conservative, played by another great actor, Richard Dreyfuss, and is trying to get a very serious crime bill passed.

The supporting cast with Douglas and Bening is just phenomenal: one of the best actors for his time, Martin Sheen, is the President's right-hand man, the beloved Michael J. Fox is his ideological conscience, Anna Deavere Smith is his press secretary, and David Paymar is a pollster (His name, Kodak, must hint at the snapshots of the national mood, similar to how Shepherd is suggestive name for a President). Shawna Waldron plays the President's pre-teen daughter, and this role is just as amazing as everyone else's role that was written. Among the number the emotions that "The American President" looks at, one of the best is the simple affection for the Presidency.

Watching "The American President," you can feel the respect for all of the work that went into making this, which is how it re-created the physical world of the White House, the smart dialogue, and the manipulation of the romance to pull your heartstrings. It is also a film to look at the liberal political point of view, and that is a lot to put into it. This is one of the most entertaining films, and hands-down, one of the best films of 1995.

Ebert noted in his review, “Douglas has specialized recently in more overtly sexual roles, as in "Disclosure," where he seemed like the hapless instrument of the plot. Here he seems so much more three-dimensional, more vulnerable, smarter, more likable. And Bening is simply luminous; I had hoped to conduct my career as a film critic without ever once writing that a smile "illuminates the screen," but something very like that happens here. Looking around, I noticed the audience smiling back.”

A little note to mention, which I don't think anyone will mind, "The American President" actually led to Martin Sheen staring in the popular sitcom, "The West Wing." Since Sheen had worked with Aaron Sorkin, who Sheen says is one of the best writers he has ever worked with, and has come to appreciate him as frankly the best, Sorkin called Sheen and asked, "Would you be interested in playing this two scene part in this new pilot?" Sheen said he was, and so he was given the script. Once he read it, he called Sorkin back and said, "Absolutely." Sorkin then informed Sheen, "You can't just do the pilot, you have to make a commitment to do the series." When Sheen asked what was in that commitment, Sorkin told him, "Well, we just want you to appear at least once a month, so every fourth episode." Sheen was fine with that, but the deal was that he couldn't play another President in anything else, to which he replied, "How often is that going to happen?" Now that is a whole different topic to talk about, but all I can say is, this is a film to watch during President's Day.

Among the number of emotions that “The American President” shows, one of the best is simple love for the Presidency.

Ebert mentioned this in his review: “When I was growing up, "thepresidentoftheUnitedStates" was one word, said reverently, and embodied great power and virtue. Now the title is like the butt of a joke; both parties have lessened the office by their potshots at its occupants. Reiner suggests the moral weight of the presidency while at the same time incorporating much of the inside information we now have about the way the White House functions.”

It is hard to make a good love story, harder to make a good comedy and harder still to make a smart film about politics. Rob Reiner happily did all three, and it’s great entertainment – one of those films, like “Forrest Gump” or “Apollo 13,” that briefly brings the audience together in a reprise of the American dream.

My dad is in love with this movie, and I cannot blame him. He especially likes the final speech at the end, when Michael Douglas concludes by saying, “I am Andrew Shepherd, and I am the President.” That line is one of the best lines I have ever heard Michael Douglas say, and I believe this is the first movie I saw of his. Definitely check it out.

Stay tuned for this Friday for the last entry in the Black History Month film reviews.

Remember the Titans

Welcome back to the Black History Month reviews. Today, we are actually going to look at another biographical film, but not about any Civil Rights Movement activist or leader. Instead, this will be a sports film. What sports film do you ask? None other than the 2000 football film, "Remember the Titans," one of my favorite sports films. This film is about Herman Boone who coaches a football team during the early 70s, when segregation was coming to an end, of a mixture of Blacks and Whites.

“Remember the Titans” is a story about racial agreement, cooked to the story of a sports movie. Racism and opposite teams winning change so fast that sometimes we’re not sure if we’re rooting for tolerance or touchdowns. Real life is never as simple, but that’s what the movies are for – to improve life, and give it the daydream of form and purpose.

To start off, the main attraction to this film is, once again, Denzel Washington as Coach Boone. Any role that Denzel plays is so believable because he captures every single essence of the character that makes him as amazing as an actor to have in any film. When Boone takes the coaching position at the desegregated school of T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia, the former head coach, Bill Yoast, played by Will Patton, denies Boone's offer to be his assistant. That is until his fans make a riot that they will boycott the team, which he then decides to take it. This is believable, because like I had mentioned before, segregation was still going on at the time. So the cast that play the parents are believable because we as an audience get to see how the people were like during segregation. Younger audiences who did not live during that time will get the feeling of what segregation was like and how unfair it was to Blacks. Will Patton is another great actor who really plays the assistant coach well, and helps Boone make the team one of the best that has ever been made.

Coach Boone at first ridicule's the White players because they refuse to play nice alongside the Black players, but then they both work together after a very heated fight between captain Gerry Bertier, played by Ryan Hurst, and Julius Campbell, played by Wood Harris. They both start a fist fight, and then after their argument, Gerry starts yelling at the White players to make them play football with the Black players, especially when offensive lineman Louie Lastik, played by Ethan Suplee, enters the team unexpectedly. The Black players learn to accept him in as well, since he was the first White football player to join. The parents, at first, start a riot when the boys get back and they desegregate the high school, which sounds about right since segregation was starting to get resolved around this time. Since the players learned to get along with each other when they went off to camp, the parents eventually learn as well when the kids come back from camp and start going to school, as along with the other students. Another reason that could have started the team to work together was when Boone wakes them up at 3AM to show them the graveyard of the Battle of Gettysburg, where he gives them a lesson about hatred. This is really strong and has a legitimate argument that all this racial hatred should stop.

When we get to the training camp, it has the usual kids that we have seen so many times in kid sports movies that at first fight, then bond. We’ve seen it before, but the director, Boaz Yakin, brings old circumstances to new life and brings us along in the wave of a master popular entertainment. Even Ebert admitted, “I like the way he shows Boone forcing the blacks and whites to get to know one another.”

They are certain funny moments in this film that I think I will mention. One is when Boone asks Louie about the football player he is roomed with, who happens to be another Offensive Lineman, Darryl "Blue" Stanton, played by Earl C. Poitier, and they break out into singing an oldie song, which is hysterical. Another scene is after Ronnie "Sunshine" Bass, played by Kip Pardue, joins the team as Quarterback, and that locker room segment is just hysterical. The "Yo Mama" jokes, Sunshine kissing Gerry and Gerry flipping out, especially the singing of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" with Blue, Louie, and at the end with Defensive Back Alan Bosley, played by Ryan Gosling, all put together makes it a memorable scene, and one of the best.

Ebert admitted, “I admired the way the screenplay, by Gregory Allen Howard, doesn't make Boone noble and Yoast a racist, but shows them both as ambitious and skilled professionals.” There are moments when Boone treats his players more like war soldiers than high school kids, and Yoast points that out. Also there are moments when Yoast tries to calm the black players who Boone has been hard on, and Boone blames him for overprotecting blacks as he would never overprotect his fellow whites.

The scenes are difficult, and Washington and Patton find just the right way to settle them. Washington has the ability to deliver big speeches without sounded arrogant or looking to hurt. There’s an early morning training jog that leads the boys to the Gettysburg battlefield, and his speech there places their experiences in a big picture.

A note to mention is that this film had some differences to the real-life event. The film shows that Gerry got into an accident near the end of the season, when his accident happened after the championship was over. Yoast says that he lost his chance to make it in the Virginia Hall of Fame, when that didn't exist in 1971. Sheryl Yoast, played by Hayden Panettiere, is shown as Coach Yoast's only daughter, when he had four, and Sheryl passed away in 1996. No evidence is shown that the Titans had a warm-up dance, and it could have been made up just for entertainment in the film. Finally, the film shows that the Titans were underdogs, but by the end of the season, they were 13-0 and ranked second in the nation. In reality, they dominated almost every single one of the games they played, shutting them out in nine of their thirteen games, outscoring by a margin of 338-38. Unlike the film, the championship game was a blowout as well.

Ebert ended his review by saying, “The movie is heartfelt, yes, and I was moved by it, but it plays safe.” On the soundtrack, we hear songs like “I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain”and“Ain’t a mountain high enough,” but not other songs that must have also been sung in Alexandria, Virginia in 1971, like “We shall overcome.”

If you would like to watch a good film in Black History Month, or want to watch a football film in general, "Remember the Titans" is a must. It's one of the best football films ever made, even though there are slight differences from the actual event, but I still would recommend that everyone watches this. Alright, the 18th is President's Day, so I think I will review a certain President film that I think fits for that day. Next week will be the final entry in the Black History Month film reviews. What will it be? Stay tuned next week to find out.

Titanic

Ok, today is Valentine's Day, which is a holiday that I completely hate with a passion. I don't understand why people go crazy about showing their loved one how much they love them. You have 365 days of the year to show your loved one how much you love them, why go crazy and show it on Valentine's Day? I'm sorry, but no matter what anyone says, I will never get into Valentine's Day! And to show how much I hate Valentine's Day, I will talk about a film that I hate, yet everyone else seems to love. Come on, we all have those films that we hate but everyone seems to love, and when they ask why, you explain to them. Well...what film am I going to talk about today? How about director James Cameron's highest-grossing film for 12 years before it became the second highest-grossing film of all time: Titanic.

Before everyone starts sending their hate mails about me negatively reviewing Titanic, just calm down and hear me out. Now, I don't hate James Cameron, I think that he is a great director, maybe even one of the greatest. For crying out loud, everyone loves the first two Terminator movies, so that's a good enough reason to like James Cameron. However, Titanic I just couldn't get into, and I'll tell you why. I was nine when I saw this film, and boy was I in for a surprise. The sinking of the Titanic is told by the Old Rose, played by Gloria Stuart. Now, onto my points for hating Titanic. For starters, I just couldn't get into the romance, and I hated it completely. Maybe it's because the romance is similar to my most hated play by William Shakespeare, Romeo & Juliet, which people like to call "The Eternal Love story," but that's a whole another topic, we're talking about Titanic. It's like if James Cameron decided to completely detract from the history of this tragic sinking of the "unsinkable ship," and instead focus on a love story that was irrelevant to the history. Second, Leonardo DiCaprio starring as Jack Dawson. Granted, this is a role that he did when he was younger, and back then, I despised him. He was just a pain to look at every single time he was on screen, and looked like an actor just for the girls to go crazy over. What do you know...girls went crazy for him when this film came out. I had refused to see him in any of his other films for years.  That is until I saw Inception, which he was amazing in. He's probably improved over time, so I guess I'll start liking him, but who knows. Now with Kate Winslet staring alongside DiCaprio as Rose DeWitt Bukater, I have to say was a huge help for me, because she is undeniably one of the hottest British actresses out there. Admit it men, you enjoyed it when she was taking her portrait wearing only the Heart of the Ocean necklace. I will admit, that's probably the only part that I will watch over and over again of the entire film.

Now the length of this film just got really tiring, and it really dragged out, making it a bore. The one scene that really sticks out in my head and I really can't understand is when after the Titanic sinks, Jack and Rose are in the ocean, Rose is on the door, and Jack is still in the ocean. After having a long talk that Rose will die as an old lady warm in her bed, a shipman starts looking around with his flashlight and yells, "IS THERE ANYONE ALIVE OUT THERE!? CAN ANYONE HEAR ME!?" When Rose notices, she starts calling, "COME BACK!" while trying to get Jack to notice, but he dies. Then she tells him, "I'll never let go," and what does she do? She lets him go and he sinks! Talk about a hypocrite. With the remaining passengers that survived, one of them is Rose's stuck-up and snobby, jerk fiancé, Cal, played by Billy Zane. She remains hidden from him after the Titanic sinks, and later finds out that Cal killed himself after he lost all of his money in the Wall Street Crash in 1929. Did somebody say dark twist? Apparently this film was so popular, that the main theme song, "My Heart Will Go On," (which in my opinion has been overused over the years and has died) was sung by none other than the famous Canadian Artist, Celine Dion.

My main reason as to why I can't watch Titanic is because it's too sad. For those of you who don't know, this is based off of a real-life event. The RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912. Even though James Cameron made the ship and the crew that controlled the ship real, the passengers weren't real though. We don't know that maybe there was a Jack and a Rose on the ship at that time that may or may not have known one another, but the surviving passengers might remember it, if anyone of them are still alive today. Since this is based off of a real-life event, obviously I would feel sad while watching it. No, I didn't cry, and don't say that I'm denying it because I'm saying it, I honestly did not cry. Still, give me a break, I was only nine at the time, so it would be sad to see all of those people that went on the boat for a vacation and head to another destination, and an iceberg came in and practically killed almost all of them. You want to hear a shocking fact: I was able to sit through this the whole way through....twice. So that says a lot.

There, those are my reasons why Titanic is a movie that I hate, but everyone else seems to love. That doesn't mean that it's a bad movie and I'm saying don't watch it. I'm not one of those people that when I hear if someone were to like or hate a film that I like or hate, I won't go, "You're terrible!" no, I'm not like that. Instead, I would like to hear why they like or hate the film and then give my reasons as to why I either like or hate the film we're talking about. Anyways, I'm going to say Happy Single's Awareness Day everybody, since I hate Valentine's Day, so I'll say an alternative. Stay tuned tomorrow for my third Black History Month film review.

Malcolm X

Here it is everyone, the second entry to the Black History Month Film Reviews. Today is a very special occasion because I get the chance to review my all time favorite movie, and in my view, director Spike Lee's Magnum Opus of 1992, "Malcolm X." Spike had started off making this film with the autobiography titled The Autobiography of Malcolm X, published by Ballantine Books. What makes this film so great was that you get to see Malcolm change and evolve throughout the film. In the beginning of the film, he is one person but not the same at the end.

Warner Bros. did not want Spike to make this film 3 hours long. Everyone knew the budget for "Malcolm X" was not adequate, meaning Spike's team, Warner Bros., and the Bond Company. Spike had run out of money, which left the film in the hands of the Bond Company. As a result, all of the Post-Production staff, including the Editors, had received a letter saying that they were fired. So, Spike had done a lot of research and eventually became a student of Malcolm X's. For those of you who have listened to the speeches of Malcolm X, he always spoke about self-reliance. He said that black people don't have enough resources, so Spike made a list of all the African American people he knew that he could go to for help and say, "I need some money." His first call went out to a true American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist, Bill Cosby. Then he called talk show host, Oprah Winfrey, then to former Basketball players, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan (here's a funny note: Spike told Michael Jordan how much Magic Johnson gave Spike). Next call went to singer-songwriter, Tracy Chapman, and singer Janet Jackson and all of them wrote a check for Spike. Every one of them knew they weren't going to get the money back, that it couldn't be a tax write-off, and knew this film was important. So they wrote the check and said, "Go ahead Spike, make the film you want to make." So, the editors and everyone were able to keep working, and Warner Bros. had no clue where Spike got the money from. On Malcolm X's birthday, they made a press conference at the New York Schaumburg Library, and there Spike mentioned where he got all the money from, which Warner Bros. said that they would start funding him again. Spike got very emotional talking about this during his interview with James Lipton on "Inside the Actors Studio."

For those of you who would like to one day work for Spike Lee, here's something that will be good for all of you: he rehearses with his actors a lot for at least two weeks. No one better could have pulled off the role of Malcolm X then Denzel Washington, who was believable in the role. He started preparing for this role a year in advance, and told Spike on the side, "I'm not going to try and imitate or do an impersonation of Malcolm X, but if I really open myself up, then his spirit could pass through me." Spike noticed that when Denzel would be reading the text and would go off for another five minutes. He would say to Denzel, "Yo D, whazzup?" and Denzel would reply, "Spike, the spirit got me, you know? That wasn't me talking." Spike deals some of his time to the actors, but he tries to do much directing as he can during the rehearsal. He prefers films were you don't cut after every minute because he believes that music videos have done the biggest in narrating the films. If you cut every single minute, then you lose the audience. They move around a lot in their seats and are not staying in with the shot because of the music videos. At the end, Spike approaches with Malcolm when he's going to the Audubon Ballroom in a brief montage to Sam Cooke's "A Change is Going to Come," which happens to be one of Spike's favorite uses of music. When Spike was doing his research, he came to believe that Malcolm knew the day he was going to give a speech at the Audubon Ballroom that he was going to be murdered. In that montage, you see Malcolm driving, being followed by the FBI, the assassins from the mosque in Newark driving up there, Malcolm's wife, Betty Shabazz, and their children drive up there, so they cut within those shots a lot. In a double dolly shot, where you put the actor and the camera on the dolly and move them simultaneously, you see Malcolm floating as he approaches a very friendly, elderly lady, which sets up the scene perfectly. In the final montage, Denzel's Malcolm gives way to Malcolm X himself, and he has the film's last words, which are, "By any means necessary."

The film is split up into three parts: the first is where you see the hard upbringing of Malcolm Little, at 5-years-old, played by Matthew Harris, and a Young Malcolm played by Zakee Howze. His father, preacher Earl Little, played by Tommy Hollis, is killed by the Black Legion, and his mother, Louise Little, played by Lonette McKee, is sent to an asylum. When Malcolm, now played by Denzel, becomes a Pullman porter, he names himself Detroit Red. As a result, he works for West Indian Archie, played by Delroy Lindo. Spike is also in this film playing Malcolm's best friend, Shorty. The second section is when Shorty and Malcolm get arrested. When Malcolm is in prison, he is approached by Baines, played by Albert Hall, a discipline of Elijah Muhammad, played by Al Freeman Jr., to join the Nation of Islam. This part is believable. Everything you're seeing, you feel like you're not watching a film about Malcolm X, you feel like you're watching the real event transpire on your screen. However, Malcolm did not know that the Nation of Islam is not what he expected, and did not tell him the right Muslim beliefs. However, he was an inspirational Civil Rights Leader. Angela Bassett as Betty Shabazz is also playing the role like she is the real Betty. Every actor in this movie is so believable in their roles that they will be remembered always as the roles they played in this film. The third part is when Malcolm goes to Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage and learns what Islam really is, and comes back, only to be assassinated in front of his whole family.

Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr gives a eulogy in an archival footage, Ossie Davis quotes from Malcolm X's funeral, all of the children worldwide say, "I am Malcolm X!" and the last scene is Nelson Mandela’s classroom where he quotes one of Malcolm X's speeches. At the end of the credits, a message says to thank Allah for all of the people listed that gave Spike the money, but he also adds Prince and Peggy Cooper-Cafritz. He also gives a message saying, "Thank Jesus for Aretha Franklin and Arrested Development."

I agree with Roger Ebert when he said in his review of this film, “Spike Lee's "Malcolm X" is one of the great screen biographies, celebrating the whole sweep of an American life that began in sorrow and bottomed out on the streets and in prison before its hero reinvented himself. Watching the film, I understood more clearly how we do have the power to change our own lives, how fate doesn't deal all of the cards. The film is inspirational and educational - and it is also entertaining, as movies must be before they can be anything else.”

Spike Lee is not only one of the best filmmakers ever, but one of the most remarkably important, because his films focus on the main subject of race. He doesn't use sentimentality or political clichés, but educates the viewers on how his characters live, and why.

Overall, I highly recommend you watch this movie during Black History Month, you will love it. It is definitely one of those films you can watch over and over again, and will never get tired of it.