Fences (2016)

Troy Maxson (Denzel Washington) is a garbage man.  He's been married to Rose (Viola Davis) for close to two decades. He has an adult son, Lyons (Russell Hornsby), from a previous relationship.  Another son, Cory (Jovan Adepo) is a teenager who lives at home.  Troy's brother, Gabe (Mykelti Williamson), is mentally ill, due to an injury he suffered during World War II. Troy's best buddy, Bono (Stephen McKinley Henderson), is a co-worker.

Troy once played in the Negro Baseball League, but he was not allowed to move up in the professional sports career due to the race politics of the time.  He sneers at guys like Jackie Robinson (the film is set during the mid-1950s) who were allowed to play on predominately white teams.  When Cory is given a chance at a college football scholarship, Troy dismisses the notion, telling his son that white people aren't going to let him do much with that.  Rose tries to diffuse the tension between father and son, but without much success.  In addition to deferred dreams, Troy deals with guilt over Gabe's fate in life, and an affair that he's been hiding from Rose.

The performances are good in this film, which is based on a play written by the late August Wilson.  As I watched the film, however, I couldn't get past the "stagy" feel of it.  Most of the action takes place in one spot, and it doesn't open itself to other locations.  There are long stretches of dialogue that probably played very well on stage, but unfortunately, can appear slow on film.

The Great Debaters (2007)

Professor Tolson (Denzel Washington) arrives at Wiley College, an all-Black institution of learning, and immediately puts out a call for students to audition for the debate team. Henry (Nate Parker), Samantha (Jurnee Smollet), James Jr., (Denzel Whitaker) and Hamilton (Jermaine Williams) pass the professor's tough process and make it in.  Under Tolson's guidance, the team challenges other college debators, and begin to rack up wins.

But all is not well.  It is 1935, and as the students work towards an education, they are constantly put down by a culture who does not respect them as human beings.  When they are invited to an Oklahoma college to debate, the team has to do so at a location away from the campus.  While traveling to and from the various debates, they have to watch the roads for lynch mobs.  Tolson leads a double life as a union organizer, which puts more heat on the team. Despite the hardships, the debate team carries on until they get an invite to a debate at prestigious Harvard University.

This is a well-built story about an unknown piece of American history.  The extras on the DVD go further behind the story, as the real-life people the characters were based on tell their stories about their struggles and triumphs. 

Ms. Smollett come from a family of kids who act.  She and her siblings had a TV show called, "On Our Own" (1994-1995).  She was also in the film Eve's Bayou (1997).  Nate Parker was Alicia Keys' love interest in The Secret Life of Bees (2008).  Forest Whitaker, who appears as the father of one of the team members, is an Oscar winner for his performance in The Last King of Scotland (2006).

American Gangster (2007)

Here's a story of a very, very bad man: Frank Lucas, a real-life crime lord who had a huge heroin business in the late 60's to the mid-1970's. Lucas was a driver of legendary Harlem gangster Bumpy Robinson, and his protege. When Robinson (Clarence Williams III) sucumbs to a heart attack, Lucas (Denzel Washington) takes over his territory. With the help of a cousin (Roger Guevner Smith) who is in the military, Lucas transports heroin to the USA in the coffins of dead Vietnam soldiers. Unlike the Mafia, he sells the stuff uncut and for a lower price than they do.

Ritchie Roberts (Russell Crowe) is a cop whom, along with his partner, have been made persona non grata, because they found some drug money that was taken by other cops. They were honest and turned it in. Roberts other problems include his going through a divorce and fighting his wife (Carla Gugino) for custody of their son. He's also going to school at night for his law degree. Roberts is given a job as the head of a drug unit after his fallout over the drug money, and is able to pick his own guys to help out. Their dogged research to bring the big men down eventually lead to Lucas.

New York and New Jersey are shown in grimy glory, a perfect backdrop to the darkness and violence that permeates this story. Lucas is a smart guy for a long time, and keeping a low profile as he becomes richer. But he's dangerous when he shows his might, such as killing a rival in broad daylight then calmly returning to a restaurant to finish his meal. "Where did I leave off?" he tells his stunned relatives who work for him, as he sits down. Roberts has his flaws, too, but he holds on to his honesty and integrity while surrounded by a sea of cops who are on the take.

It's not The Godfather (1972), but the performances are good, including that of Josh Brolin, playing a particularly odious policeman. Clarence Williams III, who appears as Bumpy in early scenes, was one of the youthful cops on the TV series "The Mod Squad". Rappers T.I. and Common appear as a couple of Lucas' relatives. Acting diva Ruby Dee (A Raisin In The Sun)plays Lucas's mom. Cuba Gooding Jr. (Jerry Maguire) portrays Nicky Barnes, a rival of Lucas. Former MTV VJ Fab 5 Freddie ("Yo! MTV Raps") has a small role.