We love it when two movies from different eras speak to each other…
On this episode of Adjust Your Tracking, Joe and I compare and contrast the new indie “Blindspotting,” an Oakland-set gentrification melodrama in the vein of 90s era socially conscious crime dramas like “Boyz n the Hood” and “Menace II Society” but also Spike Lee pictures, not least of which his 1989 masterpiece “Do The Right Thing.” All those films, and even a few more that overlap with “Blindspotting,” come up in our talk about the film’s box office grosses so far (and hopeful VOD prospects), how it subverts the aforementioned urban dramas from the past, and how the film (mostly) avoids didactic speechifying by leaning into cinematic stylings and an often funny, shit-talking vibe that makes for a blazing entertainment more than anything else.
LISTEN: Unpacking the singular, bizarre, often hilarious satire “Sorry To Bother You“
In the episode’s back half, we dig into The Hughes Brothers‘ 1993 feature debut “Menace II Society” as our latest edition of HOLD UP, the segment in which we look back at a film from our past, typically ones we admire, and see if they, in fact, hold up. Lots of similarities and reflections to discuss between both films, this episode couldn’t have been paired up better.
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