Tag Archives: Amandla Stenberg

Powerful “Dear Evan Hansen” Revolutionary Broadway Musical Spectacle

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Directed by Stephen Chbosky, Dear Evan Hansen follows Evan, played by Ben Platt, who reprises his Tony-winning performance as an anxious, isolated high schooler aching for understanding and belonging amid the chaos and cruelty of the social-media age.  

The show’s Tony winner Steven Levenson wrote for the screen the film with music and lyrics by the show’s Oscar, Grammy and Tony-winning songwriting team of Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, who gave us(La La Land and The Greatest Showman. 

If you saw the Tony-winning Broadway hit, you know these Grammy-winning songs. Included is the iconic anthem “You Will Be Found,” “Waving Through a Window,” “For Forever,” and “Words Fail.” The rest of the cast is astounding, including Amy Adams, Julianne Moore, Kaitlyn Dever, Amandla Stenberg, Colton Ryan, Nik Dodani, DeMarius Copes and Danny Pino. 

Fortunately, Marc Platt of La La Land, Into the Woods and Mary Poppins Returns is the producer. 

Important and Amazing “The Hate U Give”

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Directed by George Tillman, Jr. from the New York Times bestseller by Angie Thomas comes a poignant and contemporary story about the social scales tipping over as police officers unjustly kill a childhood friend.

The poster is so much better than the first. The star on the poster tells us it is a young girl’s story.

The Hate U Give follows Starr Carter, played by Amandla Stenberg, who constantly switches between two cultures. Two very diverse cultures from the poor, mostly black, neighborhood where she lives and the rich, mostly white, prep school she attends.

The strained balance between these cultures is toppled over when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil, played by Algee Smith,  at the hands of a police officer.

Now, facing the community’s social pressures, Starr learns she must find her voice and stand up for what’s right.

Tillman helmed several movies and produced quite a few TV series and films. He is best known for Soul Food, his first movie as a director, which he made for $7 million. The movie grossed $43 million.

Audrey Wells adapted the screenplay. She has scripted and directed Under the Tuscan Sun and Guinevere while writing screenplays for diverse films such as George of the Jungle and Shall We Dance.

The Hate U Give also stars Regina Hall, Russell Hornsby, Issa Rae, KJ Apa, Sabrina Carpenter, Common and Anthony Mackie.

You can watch the movie on Blu-ray, DVD, or stream it.

The movie clip explains the theme of the movie: It is a trap; the only way out is to help each other and allow people to be who they are – humanity.

The movie trailer looks like something out of the headlines. The movie’s message is strong if the trailer’s pace is any indication.

“The Darkest Minds” Trailer, Movie Clip, Posters, Blu-ray/DVD

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The Darkest Minds is produced by the people who brought us Stranger Things. Though, if you watch the trailer, I am a bit skeptical that it will be as good if not better than Netflix’s hit series.

Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson and based on the YA novel by Alexandra Bracken, the movie follows sixteen-year-old Ruby, played by Amandla Stenberg. She is one of the ablest and powerful teenagers ever encountered.

There are teens, like Ruby, who mysteriously develop powerful abilities. The government declares them a threat and detains them.  Ruby escapes her camp and joins a group of runaway teens seeking safe haven.

Soon her friends become her newfound family, in a world in which the adults in power have betrayed them, running is not enough and they must wage a resistance, using their collective power to take back control of their future.

The movie is streaming and the Blu-ray/DVD is released, so you can watch the movie in the comfort of your own home or on your device. The movie clip “Camp Dance” hit the Internet concurrently with the releases.  The clip shows a cool way to charm a mind reader during a camp dance.

The movie also stars Mandy Moore, Harris Dickenson, and Gwendoline Christie.