#david rabinowitz

[movie--posters]

[popcornworthy]

|BlacKkKlansman (2018)| ★★★★✩

|MOVIE ENTRY#| 37/100; first watch

|SUMMARY| Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer from Colorado Springs, CO, successfully manages to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan branch with the help of a Jewish surrogate who eventually becomes its leader. Based on actual events.

|GENRE|  Biography, Crime, Drama

|CREATORS|  Spike Lee,  Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz

|STARRED BY|  John David Washington, Adam Driver, Laura Harrier

[moviesframes]

BlacKkKlansman (2018)

Directed by Spike Lee

Cinematography by Chayse Irvin

[blackinperiodfilms]

Congratulations to Spike Lee, Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott for their Best Adapted Screenplay WIN at the 2019 Oscars for BlacKkKlansman!!

*This is Spike Lee’s FIRST Oscar!!

[adamwatchesmovies]

BlacKkKlansman (2018)

There’s certain to be a bunch of party poopers who’ll point out a bunch of historical inaccuracies in BlacKkKlansman. What differentiates this film’s artistic liberties from the ones found in say… Bohemian Rhapsody? Style and a central thesis. Thrilling and outrageous, it’ll have you pumping your fist but also serves as up the sobering equivalent of a slap in the face. It’s impossible not to leave it unaffected.

In the early 70s, Ron Stalworth (John David Washington) is the Colorado Springs Police Department's first black officer. After being assigned to spy on a black civil rights rally, Stalworth is inspired to tackle the Ku Klux Klan. Obviously unable to physically infiltrate the organization himself, he partners with Jewish officer Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver).

Released to coincide with the white supremacist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, you could talk about the picture's timely themes. It’s impossible not to, particularly as Stalworth and his co-workers discuss how unthinkable it would be for someone like Grand Wizard David Duke (Topher Grace) to distance himself enough from the KKK’s terrorist acts to become a respectable politician capable of forwarding his racist agenda on a grand scale. I’d like to highlight just how enjoyable and exciting a thriller it is. Imagine going undercover to dupe a half-dozen people into revealing to you their criminal secrets. Now imagine doing this to a group filled with violent, gun-crazy, paranoid racists. There are a number of moments where Ron or Flip realize the metaphorical door behind them is closing and just JUST manage to prevent it from slamming shut. You breathe a huge sigh of relief. Now, do you expel your nervous energy with a laugh or steel your courage and stop yourself from shaking?

Special attention should also be centered on Spike Lee's direction. The way two wholly different scenes tell their own stories and then tell a third when placed next to each other is brilliant. Look at the still moments where we’re simply listening to someone talk. You wonder what you’re supposed to make of this. Then, suddenly, it hits you, the face at the expression on Stalworth’s face means something completely different than it did a second ago… but none of his features moved at all. It makes some unusual choices and a scene right before the end credits is jarring but makes for a powerful final image. There’s no subtlety but some jobs call for a jackhammer.

BlacKkKlansman is masterfully crafted. It sticks with you long after the credits are done, delivers both surface-level thrills and has depth too. Adam Drive and John David Washington have a lot going on and I laughed hard at Paul Walter Hauser (whom you’ll recognize from I, Tonya) who plays such an oaf you’d feel sorry for him if he weren’t such a turd. There's much to enjoy and admire in BlacKkKlansman. (February 19, 2019)

[tardisman14]

Adapted Screenplay

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Joel Coen , Ethan Coen

“BlacKkKlansman,” Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee

“Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty

“If Beale Street Could Talk,” Barry Jenkins

“A Star Is Born,” Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters

[cinemafanatic]

“All power to all the people.”

BlacKkKlansman (2018)

[genevieveetguy]

- For you it’s a crusade, for me it’s a job. - You’re Jewish. They hate you. Doesn’t that piss you off? Why are you acting like you don’t got skin in the game?

BlacKkKlansman, Spike Lee (2018)