"Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates

If "How to Be an Antiracist" by Ibram X. Kendi was a gently introspective, fairly analytical approach to a seemingly unsolvable social problem, then "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates is the exact opposite.  It's not gentle, it's not about data, it's an angry, almost poetic rant on the tragedies of living a Black life in America.  This is pain, raw pain, drawn from the death of Black men in this country.  What Mr. Coates refers to, frequently, as the daily attack on the Black body.  The book is composed of three parts, separated into short chapters.  It is framed as a letter from Coates to his son, a young man who is growing up now, not in the sixties and seventies when racism was rampant but not broadcast out to social media.  The author recognizes that his son is both privileged by seeing a world beyond color and yet is easily damaged when the realities of the killings of Black people are broadcast night after night on television.  The book is raw, the style lyric.  Hemingway would be proud of the lengthy paragraphs, which take an issue and address them at infinitum until the reader is wrung out.  In some ways, reading this book was, for me, not unlike watching "12 Years a Slave."  It's brutal, it's ugly, it's sad ... and it is powerful.  I liked Kendi's book, which made me think.  A LOT.  This book is more about making the reader feel.  You just may not like the feelings which arise.

"Magic Mike's Last Dance"

Okay.  It's a weird film to watch on an airplane, with people sitting squished in all around you.  And it certainly doesn't bring much that is new to the "Magic Mike" franchise (I enjoyed the first one but gave up after the second).  Frankly, there isn't a ton of dialog (duh).  Here is what it does have:  1)  Stunning and truly impressive choreography.  I would watch the dance sequences in this film over and over and over.  They are brilliant, and excuted with true skill.  2)  Salma Hayek.  Playing ... a very complicated woman.  This is no cookie-cutter hot mama, but a fully realized woman with some real faults.  One who literally struggles with her mental health.  It's great to see a woman on screen presented as faceted, flawed and strong.  She's terrific.  So, here we are.  If you find yourself on a nine hour plane ride and could use something which is nicely engaging, give it a go.  It ain't Shakespeare but two hours will pass very smoothly.

"Chevalier"

Lost in the shuffle between the summer blockbusters and the SAG strike, this worthy film takes the story of a real person and depicts a struggle which many today would identify with.  Born to an enslaved woman in the Caribbean, Chevalier's British father brings him to England and, recognizing his talent with a violin, enrolls him in school, embuing him with title but not with family.  Chevalier becomes a brilliant musician and can be found in the best of high society at the time.  But there is always that thing -- being good, better perhaps, than some of his contemporaries, but never good enough -- for a Black man in 18th century London.  He believes in himself, that he can rise to any heights, but when he hits the wall of what he can be -- as a BLACK man -- his buried rage emerges.  This could have been a tale of the French Revolution.  It could have been a heavy-handed film.  It is not.  The film stays small, focused on Chevalier, and Chevalier only.  His layers and complexities are revealed by the talented Kelvin Harrison, who has a longer resume than you might think.  Mr. Harrison has played many small roles in many big films but this is his first turn as a lead and he carries it well -- with gravitas and talent.  It is a short film which will worm it's way into you, leaving you to ask ... what a waste of a gifted man.

"Elemental"

This beautifully illustrated Pixar/Disney film got the short shrift due to various factors of the moment, but it shouldn't have.  An "issues" film about immigration and bias, it creates a story with a fair amount of sensitivity and depth.  It has, as is typical for Pixar/Disney, fun songs to hum along with and a nice humorous character ... except that in this case the humorous character is one of the leads.  The messages are there ... acceptance, taking time to see the full picture before reacting, understanding that there is more than one way to look at what we think we know, the power of love, etc., but none of them beats you over the head.  The whole tale is tender and sweet.  I enjoyed it and could see this as being a film I would return to and rewatch.

"The Spencer Sisters"

NBC, whose entire schedule of new shows are Canadian imports, apparently passed on this production, which reads not unlike a Hallmark murder mystery series.  Each week there is a nice, fairly bloodless crime and lots of spats between the mother (the mystery writer past her prime) and the daughter (a moody ex-cop who hates her mother but is saddled with her).  Everything is nicely tied up in a bow at the end of each episode and we return to the quaint cafe in the nameless little upscale town where many of the episodes begin.  It would be as forgettable as any Hallmark Holiday film if not for the energy, verve and charm of Lea Thompson, who brings it in every scene.  The actress Stacey Farber, who plays the daughter, also seems to have chops, although the writers are not helping her much -- turning her into a naggy *itch who just needs to take a chill pill.  They could also give her more in terms of romance, as the engaged ex has potential but not a lot of charisma.  Just saying, if you are going to echo Hallmark, you should go all the way.  That being said, this is a terrific show to watch if you need something light before bed.  It won't make you think too much.  

"Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret"

Again, the SAG strike knocked this one down.  A shame, because it is perfect.  This was the book that changed my whole world.  This film version, decades in the making, hits just the right notes.  It's not "Hollywood" -- no skinny unrealistically pretty people.  The known stars in the film commit entirely and you see the characters, not the actors.  The lead, Abby Fortsun, is not a 20 year-old playing a 12 year-old.  It's a clean and direct film, marking that magic and too short moment in time when girls stop being girls and start being women.  Abby is kind of a hot mess, but the kind you love to love.  Her mother is neither absent nor out-of-touch, something we see all too much in films of the current day.  And the girl's life isn't bad, isn't good, it just ... is.  Not only did the book touch me deeply as a pre-teen, but the film shows why.  It's real.  It is the life I lived, the life so many kids my age lived.  These kids, all of us, are just searching for belonging and a sense of who they are.  Very rarely since has any book or movie gotten this right ... it is a simple story we can totally relate to.