Black on Black Cinema | Black Movie Reviews

Black on Black Cinema breaks down Raven-Symone's resurfaced comments questioning whether her own iconic character, Raven Baxter from That's So Raven, was actually Black. On her podcast Tea Time, Raven told Kalen Allen, "Take away the color, make them green, and hear the words. What color are they?," challenging the idea that the show's Blackness was inherent rather than just visual. The internet had immediate and strong reactions. Fans pointed to the show's entire episode about racial profiling, Tonya's locs, Victor's soul food references, Cory's Black history paper storyline, and Della Reese's jazz singer character as clear, undeniable markers of Black identity woven directly into the writing, not just the casting. We break down both sides of this: is Raven making a nuanced point about Blackness not being monolithic, or is she minimizing a show that meant something real to a generation of Black kids who rarely saw themselves centered on Disney Channel? The next film to be reviewed is Tyler Perry's upcoming third movie in the "Why Did I Get Married trilogy." We will be breaking our promise about no more Tyler Perry films to review "Why Did I Get Married Again?" which reunites most of the original cast for one last wild time. Black on Black Cinema is a long-running podcast featuring in-depth Black movie reviews and frank conversations that matter to the Black community. We review Black films across every genre — from Black horror and Black sci-fi to indie dramas, comedies, and blockbuster action. Covering filmmakers like Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, and more. Hosted by Jay, Micah, Terrence, and T'ara. Featured on RogerEbert.com. A TNP Studios production. New episodes weekly on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major platforms. For more TNP Studios content, check out The Nerdpocalypse (movie & TV news), Look Forward (progressive politics), and Dense Pixels (video game news).

Black on Black Cinema tackles Chameleon Street (1989), Wendell B. Harris Jr.'s astonishing writer-director-star debut based on the true story of Detroit con artist William Douglas Street Jr., who successfully impersonated reporters, lawyers, an Ivy League exchange student, and even a surgeon, performing over 30 real hysterectomies without any medical training. The film won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 1990, beating out Reservoir Dogs, and then inexplicably went without distribution for over a year, effectively burying Harris's career before it started. The concept is genuinely brilliant, a razor-sharp satire about race, class, and identity performance in America, anchored by a magnetic, one-of-a-kind lead performance from Harris himself. But the execution is a different story. The film is tonally unpredictable, structurally chaotic, and at times narratively difficult to follow, swinging wildly between avant-garde experimentation and straightforward biopic beats without clear rhythm. We break down what makes Chameleon Street a genuine one-of-a-kind vision worth seeking out, where the filmmaking gets in its own way, and why this would be ripe for a modern remake with better structure and focus. Black on Black Cinema is a long-running podcast featuring in-depth Black movie reviews and frank conversations that matter to the Black community. We review Black films across every genre — from Black horror and Black sci-fi to indie dramas, comedies, and blockbuster action. Covering filmmakers like Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, and more. Hosted by Jay, Micah, Terrence, and T'ara. Featured on RogerEbert.com. A TNP Studios production. New episodes weekly on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major platforms. For more TNP Studios content, check out The Nerdpocalypse (movie & TV news), Look Forward (progressive politics), and Dense Pixels (video game news).

Black on Black Cinema breaks down the National Association of Black Journalists giving Stephen A. Smith its "Thumbs Down" award, reserved for commentary the organization considers especially insensitive, stereotypical, or at odds with NABJ's mission around fair representation of the Black community. NABJ's statement specifically cited Smith's recurring pattern of disparaging commentary toward prominent Black women across politics, sports, and media, saying it reinforces harmful narratives and undermines fair, respectful representation. We agree with NABJ here, and we break down exactly why. Smith has spent years building a media empire on saying whatever gets a reaction, and his commentary toward Black women specifically has followed a consistent, well documented pattern that deserves scrutiny; not just from critics online, but from an organization built to hold Black media figures accountable to Black communities. Smith's response was predictably combative, essentially promising retaliation on his platform. He even ran to Fox News' Sean Hannity to make his thoughts known. A curious platform if he is trying to reach Black people...hmmm. We discuss why that reaction proves NABJ's point more than it disproves it, what accountability from within the profession actually looks like, and why Smith's expanding political platform makes this moment even more significant. We also announce the next film to be reviewed which is the 1989 film "Chameleon Street" which follows a social chameleon who impersonates reporters, doctors and lawyers in order to make money. (Film is available to watch on Tubi for free). Black on Black Cinema is a long-running podcast featuring in-depth Black movie reviews and frank conversations that matter to the Black community. We review Black films across every genre — from Black horror and Black sci-fi to indie dramas, comedies, and blockbuster action. Covering filmmakers like Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, and more. Hosted by Jay, Micah, Terrence, and T'ara. Featured on RogerEbert.com. A TNP Studios production. New episodes weekly on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major platforms. For more TNP Studios content, check out The Nerdpocalypse (movie & TV news), Look Forward (progressive politics), and Dense Pixels (video game news).

This week on Black on Black Cinema, the entire crew returns to discuss the 2026 film that was written and directed by Chris Stokes, "Stepfather." The film stars Taye Diggs as a desperate man who hunts for the perfect family, but when his new wife and daughters fear he may be deranged, escaping him will have deadly consequences. Black on Black Cinema is a long-running podcast featuring in-depth Black movie reviews and frank conversations that matter to the Black community. We review Black films across every genre — from Black horror and Black sci-fi to indie dramas, comedies, and blockbuster action. Covering filmmakers like Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, and more. Hosted by Jay, Micah, Terrence, and T'ara. Featured on RogerEbert.com. A TNP Studios production. New episodes weekly on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major platforms. For more TNP Studios content, check out The Nerdpocalypse (movie & TV news), Look Forward (progressive politics), and Dense Pixels (video game news).

This week on Black on Black Cinema we break down the collapse of Graham Platner's Maine Senate campaign and why none of us were surprised. For months, white leftists rallied behind Platner despite a tattoo associated with WW2 fascism, resurfaced posts disparaging veterans and sexual assault survivors on Reddit, and troubling accounts from past relationships. None of it mattered until an ex-girlfriend came forward with a serious sexual assault allegation, and only then did the Democratic Party's left wing scramble to distance themselves and Platner suspended his campaign. We ask the real question: why did it take THIS allegation to move people who already had every reason to walk away months ago? We break down how "winning at all costs" politics let a deeply flawed candidate skate through a primary while the warning signs sat in plain sight, and what this says about who gets the benefit of the doubt and for how long. Then we announce our next film: Stepfather (2026), Chris Stokes' Tubi thriller starring Taye Diggs as a man obsessed with building the "perfect family." We preview what to expect from Diggs' performance and Stokes' latest entry into his growing catalog of Tubi originals. Black on Black Cinema is a long-running podcast featuring in-depth Black movie reviews and frank conversations that matter to the Black community. We review Black films across every genre — from Black horror and Black sci-fi to indie dramas, comedies, and blockbuster action. Covering filmmakers like Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, and more. Hosted by Jay, Micah, Terrence, and T'ara. Featured on RogerEbert.com. A TNP Studios production. New episodes weekly on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major platforms. For more TNP Studios content, check out The Nerdpocalypse (movie & TV news), Look Forward (progressive politics), and Dense Pixels (video game news).

This week on Black on Black Cinema we take a deep dive into Above the Rim (1994), the final entry in Barry Michael Cooper's Harlem Trilogy following New Jack City and Sugar Hill. Directed by Jeff Pollack in his feature debut, the film stars Duane Martin as Kyle Watson, a high school basketball star torn between two men; Shep (Leon), a security guard with a complicated past seeking redemption, and Birdie (Tupac Shakur), a dangerous local drug dealer who wants to use Kyle's talent for his own ends. Marlon Wayans, Bernie Mac, Wood Harris, and Tonya Pinkins round out the cast. We break down what works, what doesn't, the Harlem Trilogy peaks and valleys, Tupac's performance legacy, and why Above the Rim remains a film of moments rather than a complete film. Black on Black Cinema is a long-running podcast featuring in-depth Black movie reviews and frank conversations that matter to the Black community. We review Black films across every genre — from Black horror and Black sci-fi to indie dramas, comedies, and blockbuster action. Covering filmmakers like Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, and more. Hosted by Jay, Micah, Terrence, and T'ara. Featured on RogerEbert.com. A TNP Studios production. New episodes weekly on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major platforms. For more TNP Studios content, check out The Nerdpocalypse (movie & TV news), Look Forward (progressive politics), and Dense Pixels (video game news).

Black on Black Cinema announces our next full review: Above the Rim (1994), the final entry in Barry Michael Cooper's Harlem Trilogy. Directed by Jeff Pollack and starring Duane Martin, Tupac Shakur, Leon, Marlon Wayans, Bernie Mac, and Wood Harris. Above the Rim follows high school basketball star Kyle Watson torn between Shep, a fallen athlete trying to redeem himself, and Birdie, a dangerous drug dealer who happens to be Shep's brother. Tupac Shakur's final theatrical film before his 1996 death is reason enough to revisit it. Then we get into the real conversation: Donald Trump has become everything racists feared a Black president would be. Barack Obama had to be practically perfect to even be considered; Harvard Law, Constitutional law professor, decorated Senator, devoted husband and father, scandal-free, measured, dignified. Every box checked. Meanwhile Trump arrived with business failures, fraud convictions, hush money payments, multiple affairs, and a career built on corruption. Ta-Nehisi Coates called Trump "the first white president;" not merely because he's white, but because his entire political existence hinges on the fact of a Black president. His campaign started with birtherism. Coates wrote: "It is as if the white tribe united to say — if a Black man can be president, then any white man, no matter how fallen, can be president." We unpack what that means in 2026. Black on Black Cinema is a long-running podcast featuring in-depth Black movie reviews and frank conversations that matter to the Black community. We review Black films across every genre — from Black horror and Black sci-fi to indie dramas, comedies, and blockbuster action. Covering filmmakers like Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, and more. Hosted by Jay, Micah, Terrence, and T'ara. Featured on RogerEbert.com. A TNP Studios production. New episodes weekly on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major platforms. For more TNP Studios content, check out The Nerdpocalypse (movie & TV news), Look Forward (progressive politics), and Dense Pixels (video game news).

This week Black on Black Cinema finally gives Sugar Hill (1994) the deep analysis it deserves. Directed by Leon Ichaso and written by Barry Michael Cooper — the architect behind New Jack City and Above the Rim — Sugar Hill is the second and most emotionally dramatic entry in Cooper's Harlem Trilogy. Wesley Snipes as Roemello Skuggs, a high-level Harlem drug dealer who wants out. He's got money, power, a woman he loves in Melissa (Theresa Randle), and a future waiting for him if his volatile brother Raynathan (Michael Wright) and the game itself will let him leave. We break down what makes Sugar Hill flawed but still underrated. Cooper's layered screenplay that tries to give Roemello genuine intellectual depth (Georgetown scholarship-eligible, chess player, art collector), Michael Wright's explosive performance as the brother who can't escape the past, and Leon Ichaso's atmospheric direction that turns Harlem into a character of its own. Terence Blanchard's jazz-inflected gives the film a serious connection to Spike Lee's own work. Clarence Williams III steals scenes effortlessly, and Ernie Hudson has a good time as a villain this time around. We discuss why it got overshadowed by New Jack City, how it works to keep the idea of Wesley Snipes being one of the coolest dudes in this era. Sugar Hill has its flaws from scenes that in hindsight are oddly placed (potentially post edit bay issues), some characters who aren't as explored as actual human beings, but there is still something here worth talking about and the effort of making a gentlemen gangster film with the same actor who was notorious for playing one of the most brutal gangsters in the 90s era is something to admire here. Black on Black Cinema is a long-running podcast featuring in-depth Black movie reviews and frank conversations that matter to the Black community. We review Black films across every genre — from Black horror and Black sci-fi to indie dramas, comedies, and blockbuster action. Covering filmmakers like Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, and more. Hosted by Jay, Micah, Terrence, and T'ara. Featured on RogerEbert.com. A TNP Studios production. New episodes weekly on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major platforms. For more TNP Studios content, check out The Nerdpocalypse (movie & TV news), Look Forward (progressive politics), and Dense Pixels (video game news).

Black on Black Cinema announces our next film review: Sugar Hill (1994), directed by Leon Ichaso and written by Barry Michael Cooper; the second film in his legendary Harlem Trilogy alongside New Jack City and Above the Rim. Wesley Snipes stars as Roemello Skuggs, a high-level Harlem drug dealer who decides to walk away from the life to start fresh with his girlfriend Melissa (Theresa Randle), only to discover that leaving isn't something the game allows. Co-starring Michael Wright, Clarence Williams III, Ernie Hudson, and Abe Vigoda. Then we get into it: Reparations for Black Americans. We agree it should happen, the historical, economic, and moral case is ironclad. But what does repayment actually look like in practice? Direct cash payments? Targeted investment? Tax free benefits? Educational and business funds? And who qualifies for it? Is it just direct descendants of enslaved people only, or a broader class of Black Americans impacted by systemic racism? We break down the competing frameworks, the political obstacles, and what an honest reparations conversation looks like beyond the talking point. Black on Black Cinema is a long-running podcast featuring in-depth Black movie reviews and frank conversations that matter to the Black community. We review Black films across every genre — from Black horror and Black sci-fi to indie dramas, comedies, and blockbuster action. Covering filmmakers like Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, and more. Hosted by Jay, Micah, Terrence, and T'ara. Featured on RogerEbert.com. A TNP Studios production. New episodes weekly on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major platforms. For more TNP Studios content, check out The Nerdpocalypse (movie & TV news), Look Forward (progressive politics), and Dense Pixels (video game news).

Black on Black Cinema dives deep into Is God Is (2026), Aleshea Harris' feature directorial debut adapted from her Obie Award-winning stage play. Starring Kara Young as "The Rough One" and Mallori Johnson as "The Quiet One," the film follows twin sisters bearing the disfiguring burn scars of a childhood tragedy, ordered by their bedridden mother to kill the abusive father who destroyed their family. With Janelle Monáe, Sterling K. Brown, Vivica A. Fox, Erika Alexander, and Mykelti Williamson rounding out the cast, and Tessa Thompson and Janicza Bravo producing. We analyze Harris' genre-blending, part western grind house, part noir, part dark comedy; and how she translates her stage play to cinema. We break down how the film confronts generational trauma, absent and intimate partner violence, and the totality of Black womanhood with brutal honesty. Sterling K. Brown cast against type as a villain is inspired. Black women's rage played straight, not for laughs or shame, is the film's greatest achievement. Black on Black Cinema is a long-running podcast featuring in-depth Black movie reviews and frank conversations that matter to the Black community. We review Black films across every genre — from Black horror and Black sci-fi to indie dramas, comedies, and blockbuster action. Covering filmmakers like Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, and more. Hosted by Jay, Micah, Terrence, and T'ara. Featured on RogerEbert.com. A TNP Studios production. New episodes weekly on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major platforms. For more TNP Studios content, check out The Nerdpocalypse (movie & TV news), Look Forward (progressive politics), and Dense Pixels (video game news).

This week on Black on Black Cinema, the crew returns to announce the next film, "Is God Is." The film follows two sisters who embark on an epic quest for revenge; confronting a charged family history that will push them to extraordinary lengths. The movie is written and directed by Aleshea Harris who is also the playwright for the original play the film is based on. This week's random topic tackles the viral leaked text messages exposing alleged coaching between white women on how to "lock down" Black athletes. The screenshots show detailed "rules" including positioning the athlete as "the prize," completely integrating into his life, dealing with competition from Black women, and even strategies to provoke Black women to reinforce stereotypes. We break down the racialized manipulation at play, and the history of predatory targeting of Black athletes. Black on Black Cinema is a long-running podcast featuring in-depth Black movie reviews and frank conversations that matter to the Black community. We review Black films across every genre — from Black horror and Black sci-fi to indie dramas, comedies, and blockbuster action. Covering filmmakers like Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, and more. Hosted by Jay, Micah, Terrence, and T'ara. Featured on RogerEbert.com. A TNP Studios production. New episodes weekly on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major platforms. For more TNP Studios content, check out The Nerdpocalypse (movie & TV news), Look Forward (progressive politics), and Dense Pixels (video game news).

Black on Black Cinema reviews Michael (2026), Antoine Fuqua's Michael Jackson biopic starring Jaafar Jackson as the King of Pop. While Jaafar delivers a great impression of his uncle Michael, the film itself is a shallow, sanitized music biopic that refuses to engage with Jackson's complexity and controversies. Director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer) crafts a visually stunning but emotionally hollow portrait that hits every musical biopic cliché—rise to fame, family dysfunction, creative genius, tragic decline, and rise again without taking risks or offering fresh insight into one of music's most complicated icons. We break down why the film fails despite strong performances, analyzing how it sidesteps difficult questions about Jackson's life, allegations, and legacy in favor of a safe, reverential approach. The Thriller recreation is impressive, the musical sequences are well-executed, and Jaafar's physical transformation is remarkable—but beneath the spectacle lies a film afraid to be honest about its subject. We discuss what a truly great Michael Jackson film would require, compare it to other music biopics, examine the Jackson estate's involvement and creative control, and explore why Hollywood keeps making shallow biopics instead of complex character studies. Essential viewing for understanding how NOT to make a music biopic. Black on Black Cinema is a long-running podcast featuring in-depth Black movie reviews and frank conversations that matter to the Black community. We review Black films across every genre — from Black horror and Black sci-fi to indie dramas, comedies, and blockbuster action. Covering filmmakers like Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, and more. Hosted by Jay, Micah, Terrence, and T'ara. Featured on RogerEbert.com. A TNP Studios production. New episodes weekly on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major platforms. For more TNP Studios content, check out The Nerdpocalypse (movie & TV news), Look Forward (progressive politics), and Dense Pixels (video game news).

This week on Black on Black Cinema, the crew returns to announce the next full film review on the 2026 music biopic "Michael." The film follows the life of famed musician Michael Jackson from early childhood to the middle of his career as one of the biggest names in music history. The random topic this week is all about the Supreme Court further damaging the Voting Rights Act, and how online Black spaces have had just about enough of celebrities and political influencers who helped put us in the current situation and now are asking for Black people to come together to fight back. Black on Black Cinema is a long-running podcast featuring in-depth Black movie reviews and frank conversations that matter to the Black community. We review Black films across every genre — from Black horror and Black sci-fi to indie dramas, comedies, and blockbuster action. Covering filmmakers like Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, and more. Hosted by Jay, Micah, Terrence, and T'ara. Featured on RogerEbert.com. A TNP Studios production. New episodes weekly on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major platforms. For more TNP Studios content, check out The Nerdpocalypse (movie & TV news), Look Forward (progressive politics), and Dense Pixels (video game news).

Black on Black Cinema breaks down Love, Brooklyn (2025), Rachael Abigail Holder's directorial debut that premiered at Sundance Film Festival. Starring André Holland, Nicole Beharie, DeWanda Wise, and Roy Wood Jr., this indie romantic drama follows writer Roger as he navigates complicated relationships with his ex Casey (an art gallery owner) and current lover Nicole (a newly-single mother) against Brooklyn's rapidly changing landscape. Executive produced by Steven Soderbergh, Love, Brooklyn delivers intelligent Black characters working through love, loss, career, and friendship without falling into stereotypes—no one raps, dies, or gets incarcerated. Director Holder created a story with "no villains," just good people navigating modern relationships. Black on Black Cinema is a long-running podcast featuring in-depth Black movie reviews and frank conversations that matter to the Black community. We review Black films across every genre — from Black horror and Black sci-fi to indie dramas, comedies, and blockbuster action. Covering filmmakers like Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, and more. Hosted by Jay, Micah, Terrence, and T'ara. Featured on RogerEbert.com. A TNP Studios production. New episodes weekly on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major platforms. For more TNP Studios content, check out The Nerdpocalypse (movie & TV news), Look Forward (progressive politics), and Dense Pixels (video game news).

This week on Black on Black Cinema, the crew returns to announce the next film to be reviewed, "Love, Brooklyn." The film follows three longtime Brooklynites navigate careers, love, loss, and friendship against the rapidly changing landscape of their beloved city. The movie stars Andre Holland, Nicole Beharie, DeWanda Wise, and Roy Wood Jr. The random topic this week is an overarching conversation of rape and violence culture in regards to the CNN investigative report on a secret network on men drugging their wives and sexually abusing them and the former Lt. Governor of Virginia who murdered his wife and committed suicide. Black on Black Cinema is a long-running podcast featuring in-depth Black movie reviews and frank conversations that matter to the Black community. We review Black films across every genre — from Black horror and Black sci-fi to indie dramas, comedies, and blockbuster action. Covering filmmakers like Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, and more. Hosted by Jay, Micah, Terrence, and T'ara. Featured on RogerEbert.com. A TNP Studios production. New episodes weekly on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major platforms. For more TNP Studios content, check out The Nerdpocalypse (movie & TV news), Look Forward (progressive politics), and Dense Pixels (video game news).

Black on Black Cinema examines Black Belt Jones (1974), the groundbreaking Blaxploitation martial arts film that solidified Jim Kelly as an action star following his breakout role in Enter the Dragon. Directed by Oscar Williams and produced by Warner Bros during the height of the Blaxploitation era, the film stars Kelly as a martial arts instructor who battles the mob to protect his community's karate school from a crooked land deal. Co-starring Gloria Hendry as Sydney, Scatman Crothers as Pop Byrd, and featuring incredible fight choreography that showcased Kelly's karate championship skills, Black Belt Jones became a cult classic that merged kung fu cinema with Black urban action. We break down the film's cultural significance as one of the first major films to center a Black martial arts hero, analyze its approach to representing Black power and community resistance, discuss the chemistry between Kelly and Hendry, examine the fight sequences, and explore how the film fits into both Blaxploitation and martial arts cinema history. Plus: the film's influence on Black action cinema, Jim Kelly's career trajectory, and why Black Belt Jones remains essential viewing for understanding 1970s Black representation in Hollywood genre filmmaking. Black on Black Cinema is a long-running podcast featuring in-depth Black movie reviews and frank conversations that matter to the Black community. We review Black films across every genre — from Black horror and Black sci-fi to indie dramas, comedies, and blockbuster action. Covering filmmakers like Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, and more. Hosted by Jay, Micah, Terrence, and T'ara. Featured on RogerEbert.com. A TNP Studios production. New episodes weekly on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major platforms. For more TNP Studios content, check out The Nerdpocalypse (movie & TV news), Look Forward (progressive politics), and Dense Pixels (video game news).

This week on Black on Black Cinema, the crew returns to announce the next film, "Black Belt Jones." The 1974 blaxploitation classic starring Jim Kelly, which follows the Mafia buy out of Papa Byrd's karate school downtown that ends in his death. Byrd's daughter, Sydney, refuses to sell, and wants revenge. Byrd's students call the Black Belt Jones for help. Jones reluctantly teams with Sydney in many battles. The random topic this week is about the discovery that the wife of the Mayor of New York City, Rama Duwaji, said the N-word in a tweet back when she was 15. We have a conversation on the severity of this discovery and the weirdness of certain rules and lines on the use of the word by people outside of the community. Black on Black Cinema is a long-running podcast featuring in-depth Black movie reviews and frank conversations that matter to the Black community. We review Black films across every genre — from Black horror and Black sci-fi to indie dramas, comedies, and blockbuster action. Covering filmmakers like Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, and more. Hosted by Jay, Micah, Terrence, and T'ara. Featured on RogerEbert.com. A TNP Studios production. New episodes weekly on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major platforms. For more TNP Studios content, check out The Nerdpocalypse (movie & TV news), Look Forward (progressive politics), and Dense Pixels (video game news).

Devil in a Blue Dress (1995): Denzel Washington's most underrated performance. Directed by Carl Franklin, based on Walter Mosley's novel. Easy Rawlins, a Black WWII veteran in 1948 Los Angeles, takes a job finding a missing white woman. Simple task becomes a labyrinth of violence, corruption, and impossible choices. This week on Black on Black Cinema, we look back on one of Denzel's lesser known classics. This should have launched a franchise. Walter Mosley wrote 14 Easy Rawlins books. Denzel was perfect in the role. Don Cheadle's Mouse was a scene stealer. Carl Franklin's direction was a excellent visual take on the times and brought the book to life. Why it matters: Denzel plays Easy as morally complex—not hero, not villain, just a Black man trying to survive. Don Cheadle's breakout as Mouse (chaotic, violent, loyal). Carl Franklin directs through the Black gaze. 1948 LA shown as a minefield for Black veterans. Themes: survival in immoral systems, respectability politics, racial passing. This is a forgotten masterpiece. We break down why Devil in a Blue Dress deserves reconsideration. New episodes every other week. Subscribe: Spreaker, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube #DevilInABlueDress #DenzelWashington Black on Black Cinema is a long-running podcast featuring in-depth Black movie reviews and frank conversations that matter to the Black community. We review Black films across every genre — from Black horror and Black sci-fi to indie dramas, comedies, and blockbuster action. Covering filmmakers like Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, and more. Hosted by Jay, Micah, Terrence, and T'ara. Featured on RogerEbert.com. A TNP Studios production. New episodes weekly on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major platforms. For more TNP Studios content, check out The Nerdpocalypse (movie & TV news), Look Forward (progressive politics), and Dense Pixels (video game news).

Next week on Black on Black Cinema, we're reviewing Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), starring Denzel Washington in one of his most underrated performances. This Carl Franklin neo-noir follows Easy Rawlins navigating 1940s Los Angeles—a Black veteran trying to survive in a world designed to destroy him. But first, we need to talk about something: watching the Iran war unfold from inside the United States feels surreal. We're living through what might be the moral collapse of American foreign policy in real time, and the cognitive dissonance is overwhelming. How do you review films about justice and survival when your country is manufacturing catastrophe overseas? 🎬 DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS (1995) Director: Carl Franklin Starring: Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, Jennifer Beals, Tom Sizemore Genre: Neo-noir, Crime Thriller Setting: 1948 Los Angeles (post-WWII Black LA) Based on Walter Mosley's novel, this is one of the most overlooked films in Denzel's career—a meditation on Black survival, American racism, and the violence lurking beneath respectability politics. © 2026 TNP Studios / Black on Black Cinema Black on Black Cinema is a long-running podcast featuring in-depth Black movie reviews and frank conversations that matter to the Black community. We review Black films across every genre — from Black horror and Black sci-fi to indie dramas, comedies, and blockbuster action. Covering filmmakers like Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, and more. Hosted by Jay, Micah, Terrence, and T'ara. Featured on RogerEbert.com. A TNP Studios production. New episodes weekly on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major platforms. For more TNP Studios content, check out The Nerdpocalypse (movie & TV news), Look Forward (progressive politics), and Dense Pixels (video game news).

This week on Black on Black Cinema, the crew returns to review Soul Men (2008) which was released just two months after Bernie Mac's death, making it a bittersweet farewell to one of comedy's greatest talents. Directed by Malcolm D. Lee and starring Samuel L. Jackson alongside Mac, this road trip musical comedy follows two estranged backup singers reuniting for a tribute concert after their lead singer dies. Black on Black Cinema is a long-running podcast featuring in-depth Black movie reviews and frank conversations that matter to the Black community. We review Black films across every genre — from Black horror and Black sci-fi to indie dramas, comedies, and blockbuster action. Covering filmmakers like Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, and more. Hosted by Jay, Micah, Terrence, and T'ara. Featured on RogerEbert.com. A TNP Studios production. New episodes weekly on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major platforms. For more TNP Studios content, check out The Nerdpocalypse (movie & TV news), Look Forward (progressive politics), and Dense Pixels (video game news).