A leading awards-season contender that just nabbed two Oscars headlines the new releases for the week of May 4.
“Judas and the Black Messiah”: Daniel Kaluuya recently won the Academy Award for best supporting actor for his portrayal of Illinois Black Panther Chairman Fred Hampton, killed in his sleep by Chicago law enforcement in 1969, with LaKeith Stanfield nominated in the same category for playing the “Judas” in question, a man who infiltrates the Black Panthers at the behest of the FBI.
Writing for Tribune News Service, critic Katie Walsh lauded director Shaka King for his focus on Hampton’s words and revolutionary beliefs, saying the movie is “an inspiring portrait of the young activist, paired with an examination of the FBI’s insidious cultivation of informant William O’Neal [Stanfield], who was integral to their surveillance and murder of Hampton. King’s dual focus and stylish cinematic approach makes for a biopic that is at once rousing, maddening and desperately tragic.”
Walsh also praised the performance of the film’s future Oscar winner, saying “Kaluuya, one of the best working actors today, is transformed, and riveting, as Hampton; it’s hard to imagine a better performance by an actor this year.”
In addition to Kaluuya’s Oscar win, the film also claimed best original song, for “Fight For You” by H.E.R., Dernst Emile II and Tiara Thomas.
“The story of Fred Hampton has always been one of frustration, sorrow and anger at [FBI Director Jay Edgar] Hoover’s sick obsession with destroying civil rights leaders who dared to imagine racial justice and equality,” Walsh concludes in her review. “While ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ allows space for that rage, it also reminds us of the power of Hampton’s words, offering a powerful tribute to the activist whose legacy looms large.”
Also new on DVD
“The Little Things”: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto star in this pulpy thriller from director John Lee Hancock. Washington is Joe Deacon, a sheriff’s deputy who becomes embroiled in the search for a serial killer, led by Malek’s young detective character. The investigation comes to focus on a creepy loner (Jared Leto), but is he really the killer?
“The Virtuoso”: Anson Mount plays an assassin sent to a small town on a job by his mentor, Anthony Hopkins, who recently won his second best actor Oscar for “The Father.” The assassin must decipher a clue to identify his target, with a complication presented by an alluring woman (Abbie Cornish).
On demand
“Dark State”: A small-town reporter’s investigation of a mysterious car crash leads her to uncover far more than she expected. She must decide — expose the truth or accept that a cabal known as the Dark State may actually be ruling the world.
