Artists and Models (1955)

A haunting look at grief, survival, and a mother’s quiet collapse in a world that never gave her room to fall.

The history of Hollywood is as ugly as it is beautiful. Most notably absent from Hollywood history are Black-produced films. “They’ve Gotta Have Us” explores the rise of Black cinema.

As a frequent “the book was better” extoller, this movie was well worth the watch. 

The “gay best friend”, an age-old trope, has been done in countless films and television series. Ranging from one-note (Sex and the City's Stanford and Mario) to nuanced (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt's Tituss), the gay best friend exists to support and advise the main protagonist, with their conflicts swept to the side.

I didn’t love Expecting Amy, the mini-series following Amy Schumer’s pregnancy, but it brought up a lot of great unspoken side-effects of working and growing a human in America.

I highly recommend Dark Waters. It’s a highly engrossing picture, which lends itself to cautionary storytelling. The dark information continually grows, inspiring change and accountability altogether. Overall, Haynes’ picture will not be known for its inclusiveness--but it will be known for being a fantastic, engrossing film.