Category: Entertainment & Media

Great Movies on Netflix and Great Shows

Netflix is known for top hits like Stranger Things, Orange is The New Black, and the all-time ever-bingeable, ridiculously funny docuseries that is Tiger King. But Netflix also gets quite a few views (and by a few, we mean at least a million) from black dramas, sitcoms, thrillers, and more, so sit back, chill, and enjoy our list of top 10 movies on Netflix and great TV shows:

1. Movies on Netflix: Blood and Water

International shows have been pulling more and more views on this platform since Squid Game reeled us in with its thrilling plot and uncanny characters. Like other International shows, this South African teen drama doesn’t disappoint. When a girl, Pueleng (played by Ama Qamata), becomes increasingly obsessed with a classmate, who she believes to be her sister, secrets are unraveled and Pueleng and her family are changed forever. 

The show’s second season is still in development, so until then, you can enjoy Season 1 on Netflix.

2. Movies on Netflix: How to Get Away With Murder

I’m sorry, but if you haven’t yet heard of this show, you must be living under a rock. Oscar Award-winning actress Viola Davis plays the iconic role of Annalise Keating/Harkness, a badass, brutal law professor stuck in a web of lies (and, of course, stuck in the middle of a murder) for six amazing seasons of How to Get Away With Murder. She stands testament to Shonda Rhimes’ talent as a writer and television producer, since no other writer has given us such a diverse range of characters that we cried with, cheered for, and longed to be. 

3. Movies on Netflix: Black Earth Rising

Michaela Coel is sadly not yet a household name, but, but, I guarantee you that she will be, especially after witnessing her portrayal of a woman, Kate Ashby, who survived the Rwandan genocide in Black Earth Rising. The miniseries, despite largely being about who Kate has grown to be after the genocide, draws on her past when her adoptive mother, a British prosecutor, begins working on a case involving an African militia leader. The show explores issues of race and moral code on an international scale, so it makes for a quick; yet, intense watch.

4. Movies on Netflix: All American

Unlike most American sports dramas, All American is based on reality, specifically the life of Spencer Paysinger, who went on to have a professional football career in the NFL. So when you see his character, Spencer James (played by Daniel Ezra), fail or triumph against the odds, you know that there were actual stakes in place, which makes the show that much more rewarding to watch. There are also cute guys and beautiful women involved, so that doesn’t motivate you to watch, I don’t know what will.

5. Movies on Netflix: Sister, Sister

Okay, does this need to even be explained? Sister, Sister, though coming later in the game than most black sitcoms, was always a show to be watched with the family, at sleepovers, and even by yourself on a chill Saturday morning. Tia and Tamera Mowry play twins separated at birth, but upon seeing each other during a chance encounter at the mall, their adoptive parents decide to move in with each other, which causes hilarity to ensue.

This 90’s iconic sitcom brought us much of today’s hipster fashion, as well as the legend that is Jackée Harry, who plays Tia’s mom, Lisa.  

6. Movies on Netflix: Dear White People

Based on the acclaimed film of the same name, this Netflix-original series shows the ups and downs of a group of students of color at Winchester University, a predominantly white Ivy League college. Though the film was better, this show has many of the qualities that the film was missing, namely more depth. It had time to flesh out the characters and the many issues that they faced. 

7. Movies on Netflix: The Get Down

With such actors like Justice Smith, Jaden Smith, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II involved in this Baz Luhrmann class act of a show, The Get Down was on everyone’s radar in 2016. Taking place in the late 70s when NYC was on the brink of bankruptcy, the rise of hip-hop is told through the lives and music of a group of teenagers in the South Bronx. Despite the short run of this show, The Get Down showed us what true love and true friendship meant in a time when happiness was hard to come by.

8. Movies on Netflix: Pose 

Did anyone say Vogue? Netflix struck gold with this ambitious show, which explores the lives of eight queer BIPOCs in New York City’s ballroom scene. Not only does Pose highlight LGBTQIA+ narratives, but it also highlights who these characters are beyond their gender and sexuality, and we love a well-rounded character.

9. Movies on Netflix: Luke Cage

Luke Cage is sadly one of Marvel’s most underrated gems. However, on its own, this show has more than a few fans to make up for it.  Luke Cage, aka Carl Lucas (played by Mike Colter), previously made brief, but interesting appearances in Jessica Jones, but we thankfully get to see more of his character’s inspiring depth once he takes the lead in this show. 

Despite the show’s superhero genre, Luke Cage challenges ideas of masculinity and provides us with a hard-hitting supporting cast that includes Alfre Woodard and Mahershala Ali.

10. Movies on Netflix: Bridgerton

Bridgerton brought us back to the times of Brandy’s color-blind cast of Cinderella and took us on a wild ride of ravishing romance and sweet, historical aesthetics. And what’s more is that this show gave us all of these treats when we needed it most, during the panorama that once was/sadly still is. So if you want to get your mind off the latest Covid scare, tune into Bridgerton and maybe you’ll find yourself quoting its many meme-able one-liners: “it’s always ‘wyd’ and it’s never ‘tmabwiotbtmybfitmbowiseaiwhtbmw.’”

Top 10 Black Horror Movies of All Time

Black people take the spotlight within many areas in the film industry, such as action-packed thrillers, with the likes of Dwayne the Rock Johnson saving civilians in San Francisco, China, or the Amazon, from either giant monkeys or the razor-sharp bite of a hungry alligator; hit dramas with romantic encounters between dynamic duos like Issa Rae and Lakeith Stanfield or Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps, and of course comedies.

We can tell a joke at the worst of times or even the best of times and know it’ll get some laughs, so when it comes to poking fun at how ridiculous the ghetto can be on Friday (1995) or how insane things can get on a ride-along in Ride Along (2014), there’ll be some chuckles, tears, and people bringing up old jokes from our movies for years to come.

However, one area in which black people do not get enough credit is horror. We are teased for getting killed off first in every other slasher flick, and there are several parodies showing the many reasons why black people aren’t in more horror films (i.e. we’re too real, and we aren’t doing any investigating in some creepy basement). Nonetheless, even though many of the situations in mainstream horror movies would never happen to black people and even though we keep it real, we do make real good slasher flicks, cult classics, psychological thrillers, and more, so today we’ll be showcasing the best horror movies in the black film noir:

10. Little Monsters (2019)

While there’s no denying the spark that is Lupita Nyong’o as she plays a sweet; yet, fierce teacher in this zombie flick, Little Monsters. This movie takes 10th place, since it’s more goofy than gory. Expect more absurdity than a 2010’s parody and a host of cringe-worthy moments with the likes of Josh Gad’s character taking a bite out of a zombie and Lupita Nyong’o’ and Alexander England’s characters arguing over appropriate behavior while a zombie gnaws on an unassuming civilian nearby.

9. Night of The Living Dead (1968)

Night of The Living Dead is both a cult classic and a pivotal display of how far-reaching racism is, even amidst calamity. Siblings Barbra and Johnny drive to a cemetery in rural Pennsylvania to visit their father’s grave, and while there, they encounter an increasing number of unusual ghouls. They are only saved by a man named Ben; however, as the trio confront more of the monsters and see the devastation the world has come to, Ben remains as the lone survivor, until he is shot dead by a crowd of white survivors, mistaking him for a monster, himself. 

8. The People Under The Stairs (1991)

Expect the unexpected, when you first watch Wes Craven’s The People Under The Stairs. While the film sometimes comes to a stuttering halt with its off-beat comedy, it does take audiences on a whirlwind of a ride, with its nuanced social commentary on class exploitation that comes to a revolutionary and inspiring end with wealth distribution.  

7. Candyman (1992)

Candyman twists the horrors of racism and police brutality into a mysterious tale full of bees and beatings when an urban legend of a hook-handed, disfigured man (Tony Todd) becomes all too real for Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen), a graduate student researching myths. The film, while a beautifully horrific tale with a critical message, sometimes gets lost in its overrated, gory jump-scares.

6. Candyman (2021)

Within the sequel to the beloved 1992 psychological thriller, the Candyman finally returns four decades later to terrorize more who dare say his name five times in a mirror. However, the neighborhood that was once Chicago’s slums, Cabrini-Green, has been gentrified and inhabited by up-and-coming millennials.

Unlike most sequels, Candyman artfully captures and amplifies the political ideas of racial trauma from the original, while also charting its path through a narrative of self-reflection and fear of oneself, by projecting the monster inward. 

5. Attack The Block (2011)

Coming at number five on this list is Attack The Block. This movie brings a refreshing and comedic take on both coming-of-age films and alien invasion stories when a group of South London teenagers defends their neighborhood against unknown, glowing creatures. Despite its paltry budget of 8 million GBP (equaling 10.9 million USD), the spunky young actors, led by an 18-year-old John Boyega, make this fast-paced film worthy of an overpriced movie ticket.

4. Beloved (1998)

In Toni Morrison’s magisterial novel-turned-film, Oprah arrests audiences with her gratifying acting chops, as she plays Sethe, a mother of three haunted by the actions she took to overcome her bondage while enslaved. As a result, her house becomes haunted, and she’s left with only her daughter (Kimberly Elise) for the next 10 years until a strange and terrifying woman named Beloved enters their lives. 

Despite its 3 hour runtime, this film hits the ground running and never stops, with its uncompromising lens on slavery and portrayal of an individual’s unrelenting shame. 

3. Us (2019)

Jordan Peele’s second horror film does not disappoint with its inversion of the home-invasion trope. While on vacation Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong’o), along with her husband, son, and daughter, returns to the beachfront home she grew up in, only to be later found by four attackers that are revealed to be her family’s doppelgängers. 

Peele weaves various metaphors and motifs alluding to the mole people, asymmetrical wealth distribution, and food sovereignty within his sophomore hit; however, his voice often gets lost under his countless ideas.

2. Blade (1998)

Unlike today’s sparkling vampires, Blade hits hard with its unrelenting action and macabre martial arts. Wesley Snipes plays Blade, a half-mortal half-immortal vampire set out on vengeance for the vampires that murdered his mother. However, the same vampires he’s going after are also the ones in search of his blood type to summon a god that would wipe out the human race. 

The blade comes close to taking the number one spot with its grotesque special effects and cynical humor; however, it can’t quite be the best horror movie, since its scares are more action-packed than wholly terrifying.  

1. Get Out (2017)

This win comes as a surprise to no one, but it’s a win, nonetheless. Get Out, while being a 21st-century film, is seminal in its role of changing the genre of horror into a display that reflects horror in what we have become desensitized to: the mundane and the corrupt, prejudicial acts of everyday life.

Just as much a consumers line up for the new Jordan’s, people continue to line up to purchase the new iPhone. While some critics say, Apple hasn’t been the same since the passing of Steve Jobs, others still marvel at the innovation or maybe just the master marketing behind introducing the new iPhone. Apple has now unveiled the iPhone 13 in a mini, standard, Pro, and Pro Max version. This phone is the new iteration in a long line of pocket computers we have all become obsessed with.

With that obsession, it is those new features that draw most consumers in. We are here to answer that age-old question, what is better about this phone than your current phone? Apple always tries to make upgrades that speak to the tech geek in all of us so let’s see what they go in store for the iPhone fans this time around.

10: What’s Your Favorite Hue?

The first thing to note about the iPhone 13 series of phones is the new colors. Apple decided to spice it up a bit this time around with a new shade of blue, red, starlight, a black color entitled midnight, and lastly, Apple welcomes pink into the family. Camron is probably somewhere smiling right now if he is an Apple lover given his affinity for the color pink.

9. Are You Camera Ready?

At first glance, one might notice the different shapes of the camera but It is more than about the shape. For years many said that Samsung has a better camera than the iPhone and for the most part, that holds true. Apple must have heard the criticism because they put more emphasis on the camera features. The super-wide-angle lens, which has a much wider aperture allows more light to pass through creating better night mode shots which have been a weakness of the iPhone for quite some time. The camera stabilization also allows for a better overall photo experience. There is also a feature called “Styles,” which is like a filter effect on steroids.

8. Let’s Make a Movie

There are already stories about people making films using iPhone cameras only. Creators who have an eye for film will love the new Cinematic Mode feature on the phone. This feature creates automatic depth effects and focus transitions that you can find in real movies. This depth effect can also be manually adjusted after the video is recorded.

7. Keep Going and Going

You ever witnessed the panic of someone whose phone is about to die? With the iPhone 13 that may be few and far between going forward because the battery life is about 2.5 hours longer than the iPhone 12.

6. Trust the Process

Maybe the title of this features is deceiving but the iPhone 13 features the A15 Bionic Chip as opposed to the A14 Bionic Chip what was part of the iPhone 12. This allows for 20% faster processing.

5. More in Store

If you are a person who likes to take a ton of pictures or store large music files, this. is the phone for you. The base package storage on the iPhone 13 is 128GB which is double the storage size of it’s predecessor.

4. Bands Will Make Her Dance

For all you 5G fanatics, you will be happy to know that Apple added more bands of 5G. All that means is that your phone will be faster in more places and certain areas where 5G wasn’t available before. If that doesn’t make you want to dance and rejoice, I don’t what will.

3. Cracks Are Wack

If you have ever broken or cracked the screen on your iPhone, you already know the agony of that feeling. Apparently, Apple worked on the durability of the phone by implementing a more accident resistant, ceramic shield. The shield is also highly water resistant.

2. Keep it Pro-Fessional

Now if you are into a bigger display because you are a professional gamer, editor, or even a film critic, the 13 Pro features a Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion. This makes for easier viewing and swiping.

1. Still Going

Last but not least, if you really need the big display screen and want to experience the longest battery life ever for an iPhone, then you want to check out the iPhone 13 Max Pro. It literally goes all day on a single charge.