The Return Of #BrownSugar with @Brown_Sugar415 …5 Reasons You Should See #RedHookSummer
27 August 2012 Brown Sugar Fresh Radio
5 reasons you should see Spike Lee’s Red Hook Summer -Growing up in Brooklyn in the 80s and 90s a lot of neighborhoods had bad reputations. Red Hook was one of them. Besides a bad reputation I literally remember running and ducking in the projects from stray bullets on a few occasions. Basically, it wasn’t somewhere I wanted to visit casually. I kept this feeling for most of my adolescence. Basically the Red Hook I grew up knowing about, was no joke. Fast forward 15 years or so and Red Hook like many other neighborhoods in New York City is undergoing gentrification. Red Hook now has cruise ships departing from its docks and an IKEA, an IKEA in…RED HOOK. Enter Brooklyn’s own Spike Lee who decides this is the time to explore an overlooked part of Brooklyn. Overlooked on film that is. A few nights ago I was able to go to a screening of the film, Red Hook Summer with a few other people here in Virginia Beach. Red Hook Summer is one of Spike’s movies set in Brooklyn. I discovered the film via twitter hashtags and read very little about it before attending the screening. Red Hook Summer is a story set in the public housing projects of modern day Brooklyn. A artistic and inquisitive young man spends the summer with his grandfather who he has just met. The story follows their journey through the streets and pews of Red Hook. The majority of the people I went with did NOT like the film. I was not in the majority, soooooooo here are my 5 reasons why you should see Spike’s new joint- Red Hook Summer
• Molestation by people in “power” or with influence is REAL and it needs to be discussed in mainstream media and film.
• Brooklyn is a complex entity with a richness and culture all to its own, that never tires of exploration. (yeah yeah yeah im biased I love my boro lol)
• Spike combines the conversation of gentrification, economic woes, and their effect on the working poor in a nuanced way.
• Numerous nods to Spike Lee’s cinematic stylings as well as cameos from previous Spike joint characters. (Look for Nola Darling in a super unexpected but brief role. Ha!)
• The lack of balance in many religious fanatics is explored and I think it’s good for people of faith to see how they may come across to their communities and to their loved ones.
I want to go more in depth on those reasons but the spoilers would be unbearable lol . I’m a movie chick! I watch tons of movies and so at this point in my movie life I’m rarely sitting in front of a film that I don’t like. I know my tastes (pretty much everything except for horror flicks) I like raunchy comedy (Anchorman, The Hangover), 80s/90s comedies (Eddie Murphy up to Boomerang) Dramas (The Debt, anything Meryl Streep) , Romantic Comedies etc. So going into Red Hook Summer I knew that Spike was going for the look of an Indie film, this wasn’t going to have the polish of Inside Man or even the look of the other Spike Joints set in Brooklyn. I saw a preacher in the movie poster so I knew there’d be some religious aspects. My point? Go see what you like, I mean yes stretch yourself and try new things but know your tastes enough to support things you like. Don’t go see it because it’s a Spike Lee film and you FEEL like you should go see it. If the 5 reasons I’ve mentioned seem boring or like things you aren’t interesting in exploring then nah don’t check for Red Hook Summer just because you loved Do The Right Thing and Malcolm X. lol But if you are interested and you want to give avant guard-esque film making a chance then find it at a theater near you. The film has 2 soundtracks on itunes- If you like the smooth sounds of Amelie Leroux meets Lisa McClendon meets Emelie Sande then check for the one with Judith Hill. The 2nd soundtrack features composer Bruce Hornsby and the sounds of Morehouse College’s choral groups- it is defiantly reminiscent of old school Sundays and feels like all things black and strong. Each disc mos def has some golden tracks on it. – http://www.redhooksummer.com for more info