Posts in Essays and Reviews
Ocean’s 8: The quirky little street kid to the Ocean’s big brothers

Some film introduce you to characters that stay with you hours afterwards or are so profound you only find more genius in it with every viewing. Ocean’s 8 does neither but it knows what it is and that’s pure unadulterated, a fun, breezy comedic break from the heavy cloud of a chaotic political climate, and viewed at the movie theater, escape from the blistering sun. Ocean’s 8 is the playful younger, street kid to it’s heavier three big brothers. In the theater someone joked that it was called Ocean’s 8 because they couldn’t find 14 actresses as this not a pre-quel ,but takes place after Ocean’s 13.

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“For the Artists, by the Artists: a Visit to the Nachalat Binyamin Market”

I’ve been wearing the same necklace for five years — a dove, wings stretched, perched inside a silver triangle; its wings, beak, and the points of the triangle outlining a Magen David, a Jewish star. Five years ago, I bought this necklace from an artist on Nachalat Binyamin, a bustling artisan market at the heart of Tel Aviv, Israel. Adjacent to the famed and always-hectic fish market, Shuk haCarmel; a ten minute walk from one of Israel’s hippest beaches; and polka-dotted with restaurants selling a wide range of authentic cuisines, Nachalat Binyamin is an Eden for artists, as well as for the admirers who patron their work.

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Review of Ishmael Reed's - "Conjugating Hindi"

All little stories when they grow up want to be Ishmael Reed novels. They know that the nonpareil knowledge, freedom, and fun will be exhilarating. It’s the only place where in one paragraph you can bump into James Baldwin, John Waters, Chester Himes, Frank Zappa, Murphy Brown, Mary Richards, Beyoncé, Stephen King, Amiri Baraka, Edward Albee, Andy Warhol, and Snoop Dogg (11-12). You are privy to grappling with European and Indian mythology. You also get to visit art galleries and museums because plentiful graphic images are often part of the package. As Loop, a character in Reed’s 1969 Yellow Back Radio Broke-Down, expresses it, “No one says a novel has to be one thing. It can be anything it wants to be (36).” In Conjuring Hindi, Reed’s eleventh offering, the author reinforces this statement and buckles everyone in for a wild ride.

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Small Screen Grandeur: Ava DuVernay’s Queen Sugar

It's been said before and will probably be said for many more years to come - we are in the golden age of television. All of which began like a trickle with a few A-list dwelling actors taking on roles in shows where the storylines had a cinematic prowess and solid direction. At the time television was starved for depth amidst the extremely popular reality show boom of the 2000s - but scales were tipped by the presence of dramas like Mad Men (a career defining moment for actor Jon Hamm), Weeds (starring Mary Louise Parker), Damages (starring Glenn Close but including many guest stars by actors like Ted Danson and John Goodman), and House of Cards (starring Robin Wright and Kevin Spacey). Television no longer belonged to sitcoms and sketch comedy and by 2018 the aforementioned ‘trickle’ caused a dam to break and networks clamoring to present equally worthy TV to their viewers. A necessary move to ensure their place in the market especially in the face of mega producer - the streaming service Netflix, that produces shows around the clock, thus keeping viewers constantly engaged, interested and subscribed to the service and killing network competition.

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Q&A WITH BRENT JONES: AUTHOR OF GO HOME, AFTON AND THE NEW AFTON MORRISON SERIAL THRILLER SERIES

A Disturbed Vigilante Children’s Librarian in Pursuit of a Violent Sexual Predator. A small town librarian with a dark side, Afton, twenty-six, has suppressed violent impulses her entire adult life. Impulses that demand she commit murder. Go Home, Afton is the first of four parts in a new serial thriller by author Brent Jones. Packed with grit and action, The Afton Morrison Series delves into a world of moral ambiguity, delivering audiences an unlikely heroine in the form of a disturbed vigilante murderess.

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Native American…or Indian…or whatever you call us - "There There" book review

The first time I revealed in a public place that I was Native (American) I was in 4th grade. It was part of the usual Elementary multicultural day celebration and I was asked to stand in front of the class and present my culture. I spoke simply and stated I am an American Indian” and presented corn bread as my potluck contribution (as if corn bread is some national identifying Native food.) Before I could sit back down in my seat I was heckled at from a child across the room “INDIANS ARE EXTINCT -- LIKE THE DINOSAURS! You’re a liar!” It was the first time I questioned my identity, am I a liar? Am I not Native? What does it mean to be an American Indian?

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Review: Beyonce, Jay Z Push Empowerment with Art in Apes**t Video, The Carters Album

Most musicians film videos on private jets, boats and dance clubs. Hip-Hop Icons Beyonce and Jay-Z used famed Paris-based Louvre Museum as the backdrop for the hit single “Apeshit” video. Beyonce and Jay-Z just released the best music video of both careers spanning two decades of Hip-hop and R&B. There hasn’t been a video with this kind of interesting detail captivating audiences since TLC’s “Waterfalls” released in 1995.

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Review of Eve Packer, Foss Park: Poems

Eve Packer continues her photojournalistic exploration of New York (and her own emotional interior landscape) in these spare, eloquent poems. Many of the poems have dates, and some are even time-stamped, giving the impression of journal entries. In this way Packer marks events in the news, the seasons, the deaths of friends, and the closing of mom-and-pop businesses with a nod to the passing of time—a reassuring constant when so much else seems to be in flux.

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Review of "Gospel According to André"

In the Gospel According to André, the documentary (directed by Kim Novak) takes account of the life of one of the fashion industry's most recognizable figures. André Leon Talley - born and raised in North Carolina, experienced his career birth in 1970s New York - as a one of a kind fashion editor flourishing amidst many of the most heralded artists, creators, movers and shakers of the age.

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“Being Bare: A Review of Carmen Winant’s My Birth”

A pregnant woman, naked, leans back in a chair. Her arm is lifted behind her head, her face buried in her elbow, as she concentrates on her breathing. Her husband crouches beside her, his fingers cradling her ballooned lower belly, dipping just above her exposed vagina. She heaves, he heaves, a seemingly simultaneous labour, as the next chapter of their life crowns its head from the space between her legs.

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Home on Earth - Review of Tracy K. Smith's "Wade in The Water"

Wade in the Waters is Tracy K. Smith’s fourth collection of poetry, and it follows her 2011 Pulitzer Prize winning Life on Mars. In Life on Mars, Smith travels away from earth and its troubles to mourn, meditate and maybe to reconcile the loss of anchor. In this collection, she floats back only to find that the troubles and trespass she has left behind remain waiting for her reckoning.

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Zora Neale Hurston’s ‘Barracoon’ Gives Graphic Details About Slavery’s Last Victims

Zora Neale Hurston’s “Barracoon: The Story of the Last Black Cargo” provides eye opening detail about the last years of Africans captured into slavery. Many books have been written about slave ships, plantations, and sale of human lives in exchange for money and goods, but Hurston manages to give more description to an already disturbing story of the dehumanization of African people.

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Review of Hank Willis Thomas’s “What We Ask Is Simple”

An anxiety has steadily grown alongside the maturing of visual culture in late-capitalist societies over how an image can not only stand out from the countless others competing for attention across advertising, entertainment, and art but how it can also break loose of the cultural baggage that comes with its content. This second concern centers around what the French call signifiance, which describes the extratextual meaning that can attach itself to language that allows a repurposing to take place. What was once an early sign of winter (“snowflake”) can become a descriptor for an entire generation and these linguistic mutations can now take root faster than ever thanks to the multimedia onslaught provided by social media and smartphones.

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The Static Cling of Poverty: Review of Rachel Kushners "The Mars Room"

In 1974, President Nixon performed at the Grand Ole Opry. First, he praised the audience’s values which, he boasted, were America’s values. According to the much-investigated Richard M., country was a musical representation of America’s soul. Next, he banged-out a clumsy piano rendition of “God Bless America.” Immediately following Nixon’s performative version of the United States, the Grand Ole stage came to life with act after act, a long line of country and redneck musicians, one after another singing of revenge, drugs, affairs, divorce, booze, despair, poverty, rootlessness, ruthless bosses, and prison.

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Joy Out of Fire Exhibit Celebrates Maya Angelou, Women of Color and Empowerment

Maya Angelou, Josephine Baker and Lorraine Hansberry are just a few of the women of color featured in Firelei Baez’s “Joy Out of Fire” exhibit saluting Afro-Caribbean / Afro-Latina women at the Schomburg Center in Harlem. The exhibit was created by Baez and a partnership with the Studio Museum Harlem organized by Hallie Ringle, Assistant Curator.

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Gabrielle Union Lands Breakout Action Role in Thriller Breaking In

Throwing weapons and breaking glass are just a few of the things Shaun Russell does to rescue her children in the action thriller Breaking In. Gabrielle Union who plays Shaun takes on money seeking intruders using her wit and household weapons. Union, known for romantic comedy movies and the hit BET show, Being Mary Jane, takes on a new role requiring her to transition her drama techniques into physical warfare to defeat the burglars taking over her house.

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Coping with Loss

Responsibility: The quality, state, or fact of being responsible. One that a person
is responsible for.

Responsibility in the context of which my role was defined as a sister and a friend
while my brother neared the end of his life was profoundly meaningful to me.
Although the challenge of this role was incredibly daunting as well as critical at
times, I was honored to share in the responsibility that ultimately led him toward
eternal peace.

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Avengers: Infinity War Brings Black Panther Back to the Big Screen with Confusing Ending

Comic book and Sci-Fi lovers get to see Marvel Comics characters unite to save the universe in the epic action movie, Avengers: Infinity War. The nail biting thriller will keep movie goers on the edge of their seats while watching amazing fight scenes and battleground action on the big screen. 

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Essays and Reviews, Film & TheatreMonica LinkMonica Link, Avengers, Comic book and Sci-Fi lovers get to see Marvel Comics characters unite to save the universe in the epic action movie, Avengers: Infinity War. The nail biting thriller will keep movie goers on the edge of their seats while watching amazing fight scenes and battleground action on the big screen. Black Panther fans get to return to Wakanda since a lot of fighting takes place there under the leadership of King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman). The beautiful landscape of the technology driven African empire plays an important role in Avengers. The supporting cast from Black Panther will also make appearances in the film. Avengers doesn’t have the glamour and smooth storyline of Black Panther, but the movie stays in its lane of being a collaborative superhero effort. Avengers actors keep a complicated storyline interesting for most of the movie. The producers chose to add a lot of characters to Avengers which is great in the end but in the early scenes of the movie it's tough to figure out the backstory of a lot of its characters. Devout Marvel comic fans will have no problem with this, but if you’re new to the comics or have only seen a few, avoid going for that popcorn refill so you don’t miss any of the story. In addition to T’Challa - who shows up slightly later in the film, Tony Stark Aka Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) have huge roles in organizing and executing the mission of the Avengers. Peter Parker aka Spiderman (Tom Holland) adds comedy and a fresh young take on the classic Marvel character. Award winning actor Don Cheadle also takes on the role of War Machine pilot James Rhodes, formerly Iron Man’s sidekick. Thanos (Josh Brolin) quickly becomes the most hated villain of all time with his tactics to dominate and acquire the infinity stones throughout the film. Avengers, with a more than two hour running time has its high and low moments. There are scenes that go too long and a few long breaks with no big action scenes. There was a lot of details and graphics packed in Avengers with its estimated $316 million budget. Costume designs stay true to its flagship characters. Judianna Makovsky, known for leading costume design for the Harry Potter and Hunger Games movies, created well crafted costumes, keeping the superheroes true to character with a modern look. The film’s music was creative with original action sequence instrumental music by Alan Silvestri. There is a lot of outrage and speculation about how the movie ends, but I won’t spoil too much. There are a lot of characters that die or disappear or die and disappear. It’s difficult to say because Marvel made Avengers very confusing at the end. The theater was quiet when the movie ended. There’s not much to say when you can’t figure out if your favorite characters have been killed. There is no doubt that Marvel will need to fix the end of Avengers: Infinity War by making a sequel to explain what happened and how the comic book franchise will move on from it. There is much debate online and tons of conspiracy theories, but the fact remains is that Avengers is worth seeing at the very least to chime in on the conversation and figure out the next chapter for the many superheroes in the film. Text REMOVE TAGS Monica LinkAvengers CATEGORIES Essays and ReviewsFilm & Theatre Comments Off No comments allowed, Steve Cannon, A Gathering of the Tribes, Film Reviews
The Poet Physician

             I’m sitting at the nurse’s station cleaning my glasses with an alcohol prep pad. Looking though the newly cleaned lenses, I’m dismayed to find that not only are my scrubs wrinkled but there’s a brown smudge on my pant leg. What is that—betadine? Peanut butter from when my kids hugged me goodbye this morning? 

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