Kam Williams

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KAM’S KAPSULES: Octavia Spencer shows her dark side in ‘Ma’

WIDE RELEASES Ma (R for violent and disturbing material, language throughout, sexual content, and for teen drug and alcohol use) Harrowing horror film revolving around a lonely woman with a secret agenda (Octavia Spenser) who lets an unsuspecting group of teens party at her house....

KAM’S KAPSULES: Live version of ‘Alladin’ highlights Memorial Day weekend

WIDE RELEASES Aladdin (PG for some action/peril) Mena Massoud stars as the title character in this classic fairytale about a street urchin vying with a power-hungry Grand Vizier for a magic lamp. Cast includes Naomi Scott, Will Smith and Billy Magnussen. Booksmart (R for strong sexual...

FILM REVIEW: Inspirational memoir “Breakthrough” recounts teen’s true tale of survival

Despite being saddled with a couple of generic American names, John Smith's (Marcel Ruiz) life story has been anything but boring. It's just too bad that the shy, 14 year-old has been too embarrassed to share it. You see, he was born in Guatemala, but...

OSCAR RECAP: The Oscar finally goes to Spike Lee; Regina King is crowned

"Green Book" upset "Roma" to take home the Academy Award for Best Picture on an historic night featuring a record number of wins for black-themed films. Green Book also won in the Supporting Actor (Mahershala Ali) and Original Screenplay categories. Meanwhile, Spike Lee landed the...

The Envelope Please: Your Guide to the Oscars

For black cast films, including “BlacKkKlansman,” “Black Panther,” “Green Book” and “If Beale Street Could Talk,” 2018 was a banner year.  Might Spike Lee (“BlacKkKlansman”) finally win the Best Director and Best Picture Oscars that have eluded him over the course of his 40-year career?...

BOOK REVIEW: ‘Deep Roots’ explores how slavery still shapes Southern politics

“Despite dramatic social transformations in the United States during the last 150 years, the South has remained staunchly conservative. Southerners are more likely to support Republican candidates, gun rights, and the death penalty, and southern whites harbor higher levels of racial resentment than whites...

FILM REVIEW: In “Cold Pursuit,” a grieving dad goes vigilante

Film Review by Kam Williams Grieving Dad Goes Vigilante in Remake of Gruesome, Norwegian Crime Thriller Nels Coxman (Liam Neeson) is Kehoe, Colorado's most reliable snowplow driver. He was recently named the popular ski resort area's “Citizen of the Year” for keeping its treacherous mountain roads...

BOOK REVIEW: Sen. Kamala Harris makes her case for leadership in “The Truths We Hold”

Book Review by Kam Williams The Truths We Hold An American Journey by Kamala Harris Penguin Press Hardcover, $30. 336 pages ISBN: 978-0-525-56071-5 “We've seen... administration align itself with white supremacists at home and cozy up to dictators abroad; rip babies from their mothers' arms in grotesque violation of their human...

KAM WILLIAMS: Blacktrospective 2018 – A Year in Cinema

Kam Williams breaks down the Best of Black Cinema for 2018! Let's get it going . . . Best Big Budget Black Films   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGCvdlaWUF0 1. If Beale Street Could Talk 2. Black Panther 3. Green Book 4. The Hate U Give 5. The Equalizer 2 6. Uncle Drew 7. BlacKkKlansman 8. Superfly 9. Nobody's Fool 10....

FILM REVIEW: “If Beale Street could Talk” – Barry Jenkins Directs Faithful Adaptation of Beloved James Baldwin Classic

In 1974, James Baldwin published “If Beale Street Could Talk,” a love story, set in Harlem, about a beleaguered black couple's pursuit of the elusive American Dream. Many critics consider the heartrending novel Baldwin's best work, perhaps because of the way in which it...