Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! Today we honor the man gone too soon and his Dream still being fulfilled. Since much of the country is under yet another bitter cold blast, staying in to mix a cocktail and watch movies is a perfectly legitimate way to spend the holiday!
Selma
The movie is a brilliant telling of the march. But more than that, the movie showed us how much work still has to be done. It may not have been the best film of the year or had the best performances of the year, but it was one of the best films and had some of the best performances. The fact that it was basically shut out of the Oscars reminds us being seen and heard and acknowledged is a never ending journey.
Mississippi Burning
The fight for civil rights in the fifties and sixties was dangerous and deadly. More often than not, justice was never served. Gene Hackman was in his prime in the eighties and turns in arguably the best performance of his career. This film will make you cry, make you angry, and hopefully make you resolve to remind people that true equality is not a longstanding American value and must be defended each day against each intolerable comment spewing at us from seemingly every angle some days.
To Kill A Mockingbird
Told through the eyes of a child, Scout learns about racism in the deep south deep in the depression. When an innocent black man is accused of rape by a white woman, the end game is obvious to all. But Atticus Finch tries to fight against pro forma racial justice.
Enjoy your day. Stay warm. Overcome.
Critic's Cocktail 