#justin cunningham

[damn-it-sungyeol]

Grand Crew S02E03 | Wine & Neighbors

-You know how when you go to the bakery, you typically order your pastries at the front counter? But if the baker really likes you then sometimes, they’ll invite you to the kitchen. To taste some special pastries in the back.

-Oh. So you was eating in the back of the bakery.

[postguiltypleasures]

My Peak Television Journey *Grand Crew*

I am very disappointed that Grand Crew was canceled. I wasn’t as excited about the second season as I was the first, but that may have more to do with how I watched it than the quality. (I watched the first season out of order, starting in the middle and then binging earlier episodes. I watched the second season in order as it aired. So I had less of the sense of excitement of finding something you almost missed, but would still say all the episodes are good.)

I like getting to see Echo Kellum as a leading man, the hopeless romantic Noah. It felt like he was underused for much of the second season. I loved his “Let’s do it for Sax Daddy” line delivery in the premiere. and where he was at the end of the season was a decent way to wrap the series.  

I like getting to see Nicole Byer as I am also someone unlikely to watch Nailed It! She played Noah’s sister Nicky and she and Kellum have great sibling chemistry. One of the scenes that occasionally pops into my head is just them hanging out. and I enjoyed her wild dating life and commitment phobia, as well as seeing her as a real estate agent. 

While I wish they had more A plot stories for Kellum’s Noah, I do have to give my respect to Aaron Jennings as Anthony often the series’s second leading man. He and Faith (played by Grasie Mercedes) had a lovely, if short lived romance. I also like how into accounting he was and his party persona of King TUT. 

In general Faith could have used more air time. she was written out in the third to last episode of the series (her character moved cross country to open a second location of the wine bar in which the characters hang out) but she also missed other episodes. It left me with the impression that she couldn’t really bring the laughs, even though when she was there she regularly brought the laughs. 

Carl Tart played Sherm and was frequently the funniest character on the show. With his endless start up businesses  and most sensitive palate he was always getting me to laugh out loud. I wanted him and Nicky to hook up at some point. A road cut short.

But maybe my favorite character on the show was Wyatt, played by Justin Cunningham. As the only married member of the group, he is something of an eccentric sounding board. (If the series had continued I would hope that his wife, Kristen played by Maya Lynne Robinson, would become a regular part of the ensemble.  I always enjoyed when she showed up.) Proof that marriage only change’s someone so much. An artist/house husband enthusiastic “plant dad” he always had a different perspective that somehow made everything feel more complete. I’m sad to see this ensemble go.

[b99reblogstuff]

“Wine & Hip Hop” BTS (x)

[prettyfamous]

Justin Cunningham | A Book Of | Irvin Rivera | January 2022

[scenesandscreens]

When They See Us (2019)

Director - Ava DuVernay, Cinematography - Bradford Young

All I can say is this needs to be seen.

[akageesus]

Based on a true story that gripped the country, When They See Us will chronicle the notorious case of five teenagers of color, labeled the Central Park Five, who were convicted of a rape they did not commit. The four part limited series will focus on the five teenagers from Harlem -- Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise. Beginning in the spring of 1989, when the teenagers were first questioned about the incident, the series will span 25 years, highlighting their exoneration in 2002 and the settlement reached with the city of New York in 2014. WHEN THEY SEE US - dir. Ava DuVernay

[fuckyeahwomenfilmdirectors]

Ava DuVernay with the cast of When They See Us  Chris Chalk, Jharrel Jerome, Freddy Miyares, Jovan Adepo and Justin Cunningham photographed by Awol Erizku for GQ.

[psychoticful]

“I don’t admit to the crime. ‘Cause I like to stick to the truth. You are a convicted class three sexual predator. See, that’s the law, not the truth. When the State of New York put us on trial, did we accept the plea they offered us? No. And why is that? ‘Cause we didn’t do the crime and we don’t want to lie. So, when we never lied before, why would we start lying now, for you?” When They See Us (2019)