Quintessential Directors: Barry Jenkins
A brief look at two Barry Jenkins films that have established him as one of the greatest filmmakers of our time.

Straight-to-video filmmaker David Payne writes and directs the docudrama Just Can't Get Enough: The True Story of the Chippendales' Murders. The movie opens with Nick DeNoia (Peter Nevargic) getting shot in his office. The bulk of the story takes place in the early '80s during the glory days of the Chippendales night club, owned by sleazy businessman Steve Banerjee (Shelley Malil). Innocent college graduate Chad Patterson (Johnathan Aube) gets a job at the club to make some extra money, but he manages to get corrupted by the money and lifestyle. Then choreographer DeNoia gets involved in a blackmail scandal and Steve gets illegal ideas of his own.
A brief look at two Barry Jenkins films that have established him as one of the greatest filmmakers of our time.
Shadow & Bone excels in natural story representation with powerful centering of culture. Jessie Mei Li stars as Alina Starkov, the feisty cartographer with kindness, innocence, and integrity, who comes to be revealed as the legendary summoner of light.
The assassins in Bullet Train are quirky, deadly, and diverse. Yet, they all seem to be some type of caricature. While the movie is fun and action-packed, it’s also packed with stereotypes that don’t make for the best representation.
A chilling return to the Final Destination franchise with a terrifying twist on fate. Bloodlines explores whether Death can hold a grudge across generations—and what happens when the past won't stay buried.
Laggies is a fantastic movie, filled with down-to-earth characters, transcendent themes, and witty comedy
I suppose you could argue that the story wasn’t what Director James Cameron was aiming for, it was the visuals. The spectacle of it all was the point, and it certainly shows.