Popular reviews

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  Review by Jay ★★★½ 32

  a one, a two, dont step on his shoe

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  Review by k(arst)en ★★★½ 32

  Chadwick's performance is seriously electrifying. Sure this has so much else to offer, but it wouldn't come close to being as enthralling as it is without him. All love to Riz, I know I just locked my prediction/pick this same week, but Chadwick has that award in the bag and it's absolutely deserved.

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  Review by demi adejuyigbe 13

  I don't think I like August Wilson very much. Maybe that's because his plays feel to me like any parody of a "black play," which is admittedly probably the snake eating its own tail and me only seeing his work after I've seen the parodies, but it's just not for me! Feels like every monologue in this movie suddenly reminded me that this was definitely a play and I couldn't help but picture characters dramatically walking to a spotlight on the edge of the proscenium. That said, I still liked this! Much more than I liked Fences!

  Viola and Chadwick are just stellar, and are both gonna deserve the nominations they get– I fully believe Chadwick would've gotten his nomination…

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  Review by James (Schaffrillas) ★★★★ 8

  I hope they cleaned that piano in the rehearsal room

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  Review by Scott Tobias ★★★½

  Perfectly fine adaptation of the play-- handsome, well-performed, beautifully written, etc. But this is Chadwick Boseman's show. The performance of a lifetime was his last.

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  Review by Ella Kemp ★★★½

  The film is one thing, Chadwick is another. The film feels a little trapped, a little incomplete – everything that's there and happens is compelling, but I wish it moved more freely and we had more time with the story of these characters. Not just them as people but the journeys they go on, the things they see. Chadwick is incandescent, ebullient one second and red-raw another. Everything is better, bigger, more alive and hopeful when he's around. We'll never stop missing him.

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  Review by Lucy ★★★ 3

  theater to film adaptations have never really been for me but what i know for sure is that viola and chadwick are absolutely sensational here, truly two of the best performances of the year that i’d be so excited to see honored at the oscars

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  Review by fran hoepfner ★★

  my brother texted me, “they should have called this Cutler’s Bad Day.” Chadwick is so special and the movie is fine.

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  Review by George Clark ★★★★ 7

  It's a sad fact that Chadwick Boseman gives arguably the best performance of his career in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Based on Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson's play, directed by George C. Wolfe and starring Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Colman Domingo, Glynn Turman, Michael Potts and Jeremy Shamos, the story follows a recording session in 1927 Chicago were tensions begin to rise between Ma Rainey, an ambitious young horn player and their management determined to control the uncontrollable "Mother of the Blues".

  The film takes place largely in two rooms, the recording studio and a dark basement where the band rehearses. For a film based off a play, it doesn’t feel stage bound at all as Wolfe finds the right…

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  Review by Quintin 📽 Philipson ★★★½ 5

  This film has inspired me to start the Ma Rainey Challenge.

  If my fiance tells me to do the dishes or my boss tells me to finish my paperwork, I just stand there and say I ain't doing it until I get a damn coke.

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  Review by john ★★★ 6

  Maybe in 2021, we can stop play-to-screen adaptations.

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  Review by allain ★★★★½ 10

  I have been staring at my Notes app for almost fifteen minutes now, trying to formulate a review, but I just can’t because I’m honestly speechless. Viola Davis performed spectacularly well, but what caught my attention is Chadwick Boseman’s absolutely phenomenal act. His monologue is hauntingly good that it gave me goosebumps and I’m really sad to know that this is his last performance. The film introduced us to three legendary Black artists, their struggles, and their legacy with riveting performances that will leave an impression, making you want to watch it again.

  Note: I’m sorry I’m really exhausted today (finals season and all) but I promise I’ll rewatch it again and make a better review but please give it a watch because it’s really great.

  See also:
  2020 Releases Ranked — CLICK HERE
  December 2020 Watches — CLICK HERE
  Quarantine Watches — CLICK HERE
  Recommend Me a Film — CLICK HERE