The mission of The Department of Afro-American Research Arts and Culture to identify the global significance of the creative contributions pioneered by an international diaspora of Blackness
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Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts

Thursday, August 17, 2023

Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993)





































"Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit" (1993) is a comedy movie starring Whoopi Goldberg, who reprises her role as a Las Vegas entertainer, Deloris. Directed by Bill Duke, the writers loosely based the story on Crenshaw High School choir instructor Iris Stevenson. In this film, Delores accepts a position as a teacher at St. Francis Academy in San Francisco, where she is responsible for teaching music to a group of unruly teenagers. The movie was highly successful at the box office earning $125 million on a $38 budget. It also introduced Lauren Hill to a broader audience as she was the headline singer in the movie. While she was a member of the Fugees before starring in the film, the group still hadn't reached commercial success. This film was an excellent vehicle for Lauren Hill's career.

This movie follows the formula of the typical inner-city multicultural school-themed films from the 90s. It has a cheesy charm, but it is a Disney film, so expect a lot of fun and feel-good moments. The music is fantastic, with a soundtrack that went gold. It reached #74 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart and #40 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

Director: Bill Duke
Writers: James Orr, Jim Cruickshank, Judi Ann Mason, Paul Rudnick

Starring Whoopi Goldberg, Kathy Najimy, Barnard Hughes, Mary Wickes, James Coburn, Michael Jeter, Wendy Makkena, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Robert Pastorelli, Thomas Gottschalk, Maggie Smith, Lauryn Hill, Brad Sullivan, Alanna Ubach, Ryan Toby, Ron Johnson, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Devin Kamin, Christian Fitzharris, Tanya Blount, Mehran Marcos Sedghi

In this sequel, Las Vegas performer Deloris Van Cartier (Whoopi Goldberg) is surprised by a visit from her nun friends, Sister Mary Patrick (Kathy Najimy) and Sister Mary Lazarus (Mary Wickes). It appears Deloris is needed in her nun guise as Sister Mary Clarence to help teach music to teens at a troubled school in hopes of keeping the facility from closing at the hands of Mr. Crisp (James Coburn), a callous administrator. 

Saturday, July 22, 2023

Graffiti Bridge (1990)

































"Graffiti Bridge" (1990) is a music-drama film written and directed by Prince. Some consider the movie a sequel to his 1984 "Purple Rain." However, only a few of the same characters were in "Graffiti Bridge, " including Prince, Morris Day, and Jerome Benton. Despite this movie being a sequel, not much of the original story rolled over from "Purple Rain." Instead, Prince took an artistic, spiritual, sexual, and abstract approach to this movie. Additional cast members are Ingrid Chavez and Robin Power. There are also performances by George Clinton, Mavis Staples, and Tevin Campbell. Unfortunately, the film did not do well at the box office, grossing over $4 million on a $7 million budget. Yet, the soundtrack had better reception reaching number six US Billboard 200 and US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

Director: Prince
Writer: Prince

Starring Prince, Morris Day, Jerome Benton, Ingrid Chavez, Robin Power, Jill Jones, George Clinton, Mavis Staples, Tevin Campbell, The Time, T.C. Ellis

"The Kid" (Prince) struggles to maintain control of the Glam Slam nightclub where he plays. Morris Day is the godfather of the nightclub scene and tries to force the Kid out. The Kid is about to succumb when Aura, a sensual guardian angel-type character (Chavez), comes to Prince's aid.