Reel Commentary

Man in glasses and New York Yankees cap resting his head on his hand.

The First Frame: How Spike Lee Turned Opening Sequences into Cultural Manifestos

FilmGordon

Before a single line of dialogue, Spike Lee has already said everything. From the righteous fury of Do the Right Thing to the haunting stillness of 25th Hour, his opening sequences aren’t just introductions, they’re cultural manifestos.

Posters of the movies Shaft and Boomerang side by side.

Shaft and Boomerang | Two Milestones, One Legacy

FilmGordon

Two films, two decades apart, Shaft and Boomerang, changed the face of Black cinema forever. From Roundtree’s iconic streetwise cool to Murphy’s polished, professional swagger, these classics remind us that Black style has always moved the culture forward, on screen and beyond.

Black-and-white photo of a man in sunglasses among a crowd.

Through Baldwin’s Eyes: Why I Am Not Your Negro Still Stings

FilmGordon

In I Am Not Your Negro, Raoul Peck revives James Baldwin’s unfinished words as a scathing, timeless reckoning with America’s racial truth — and a mirror for generations still carrying the baton. This is a film that refuses to let us look away.

Smiling man with a mustache against a red background.

Sammy Davis Jr.’s 1967 Guest Column: Facing Racism and Overcoming ‘Second-Class Citizenship

FilmGordon

by Tim Gray | Variety Magazine The public often assumes that if celebrities are rich and famous, their lives must be trouble-free. Actually, lots of [read more]