Mike Goes To Movies

Hamilton (2020) It's no news that, for the past number of years, Lin Manuel-Miranda's Hamilton has been the hottest show on the Broadway circuit. Taking a very 'white' story of the Founding Fathers of America -  particularly Alexander Hamilton - and giving it a contemporary edge through a racially-diverse cast and a fusion of hip hop, R&B, rap and other music genres, was an absolute winning formula for greatness. And now, thanks to the House of Mouse, many of us no longer need to spend our life savings to see the show live! What a treat it was - Hamilton was pretty much everything it was hyped up to be: fantastic music, great performances, a moving story, and a lively theatrical production! LMM's magnum opus tells the life of Alexander Hamilton (whom he plays in the show) right from Hamilton's early days in America, his important role in the Revolutionary War, his personal and family life with , and then his time with Aaron Burr, and the other Foundin...

Hoop Dreams (1994) I finally had the pleasure of being able to watch the acclaimed  Hoop Dreams  and I can tell you that it is one of the finest documentaries I have ever seen.  Hoop Dreams  is an engrossing story that follows two young boys, living with their families in an impoverished and predominantly black neighbourhood of Chicago, Illinois, who aspire to take their proficient basketball skills to the next level. The documentary was originally only intended to be a 30-minute short film made by PBS, however, based on the mutually (and coincidentally) extraordinarily interesting developments that ensued in both of the boys' lives, the documentary crew ended up following both of them for close to eight years, compiling more than 250 hours of raw footage. The end result is a three hour, fascinating look into the worlds of teenage aspiration, youth basketball, the American private and public school system, and, foremost, the hard lives of African Americans in So...