MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #206: THE FILMS OF SPIKE LEE

#1

Rating: 0

7/17/05 at 10:18am

Brook K
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Joined: February 2000
Location: St. Louis, MO
Post Count: 9,093

Rate 'em, Rank 'em, Review 'em, whatever

Volume #206 - Spike Lee

"Miracle's Boys" (2005) (mini) TV Series (episodes 1 and 6)
"Sucker Free City" (2005) TV Series
Sucker Free City (2004) (TV)
She Hate Me (2004)
25th Hour (2002)
Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002) (segment "We Wuz Robbed")
Jim Brown All American (2002)
Come Rain or Come Shine (2001)
The Concert for New York City (2001) (TV) (segment "Come Rain or Come Shine")
A Huey P. Newton Story (2001) (TV)
Bamboozled (2000)
The Original Kings of Comedy (2000)
Summer of Sam (1999)
Pavarotti & Friends 99 for Guatemala and Kosovo (1999) (TV)
Pavarotti & Friends for the Children of Liberia (1998) (TV)
Freak (1998) (TV)
He Got Game (1998)
4 Little Girls (1997)
Get on the Bus (1996)
Girl 6 (1996)
Lumière and Company (1996)
Clockers (1995)
Crooklyn (1994)
Malcolm X (1992)
Jungle Fever (1991)
Mo' Better Blues (1990)
Do the Right Thing (1989)
School Daze (1988)
She's Gotta Have It (1986)
Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983)
Sarah (1981)
The Answer (1980)
Last Hustle in Brooklyn (1977)

2002 Sight & Sound Challenge: 320 Last Watched: Make Way For Tomorrow

Last 8 Films Watched: The Big Red One: The Restoration - B+ / Porco Rosso - A / Vanishing Point - B+ / Public Enemies - C+ / Zombieland - B / Sorcerer - B+ / The Silences of the Palace - B+ / Bright Star - C

#2

Rating: 0

7/17/05 at 10:48am

Brook K
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Location: St. Louis, MO
Post Count: 9,093

Consistently underrated as an artist. I hope that history and distance will raise his stature to the level it should be at, equal to that of his more famous contemporaries.

*1. Do The Right Thing - A (top 30 all-time)
*2. 25th Hour - A (best film of 2002)
3. When The Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts - A-
4. She's Gotta Have It - A-
5. She Hate Me - A-
6. Get on the Bus - A-
7. Sucker Free City - A-
8. Inside Man - B+
9. Malcolm X - B+ (The film feels like it is missing something, but Denzel Washington's performance is electric.)
10. Clockers - B+
11. School Daze - B+ (This send up of black college life is all over the map, but a terrific musical sequence and a mesmerizing finale elevate it.)
12. 4 Little Girls - B+
13. Jungle Fever - B
14. Miracle at St. Anna - B
15. Kobe: Doin' Work - B
16. Mo' Better Blues - B
17. He Got Game - B (As a film about basketball and fatherhood - excellent, but hurt by the inclusion of a completely unnecessary subplot)
*18. Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002) (segment "We Wuz Robbed") - B
19. Bamboozled - B- (About 2/3'ds of this film is the greatest statement that Spike has made on race in America other than DTRT, but the final 20m is an epic train wreck. Off hand I can't think of a film I liked this much that ends this badly)
20. Summer Of Sam - B- (A film with some extraordinary moments, but never comes together into what Lee was trying to achieve.)

Own: 3

2002 Sight & Sound Challenge: 320 Last Watched: Make Way For Tomorrow

Last 8 Films Watched: The Big Red One: The Restoration - B+ / Porco Rosso - A / Vanishing Point - B+ / Public Enemies - C+ / Zombieland - B / Sorcerer - B+ / The Silences of the Palace - B+ / Bright Star - C

#3

Rating: 0

7/17/05 at 11:19am

Jim_K
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Joined: April 2000
Post Count: 9,385

Out of

Seen 7

Miracle at St. Anna (2008)

M.O.N.Y. (2008) (TV)
Lovers & Haters (2007)
Inside Man (2006)
Sucker Free City (2004) (TV)
She Hate Me (2004)
25th Hour (2002)
Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002) (segment "We Wuz Robbed")
Jim Brown All American (2002)
Come Rain or Come Shine (2001)
The Concert for New York City (2001) (TV) (segment "Come Rain or Come Shine")
A Huey P. Newton Story (2001) (TV)
Bamboozled (2000)
The Original Kings of Comedy (2000)
Summer of Sam (1999)
Pavarotti & Friends 99 for Guatemala and Kosovo (1999) (TV)
Pavarotti & Friends for the Children of Liberia (1998) (TV)
Freak (1998) (TV)
He Got Game (1998)
4 Little Girls (1997)
Get on the Bus (1996)
Girl 6 (1996)
Lumière and Company (1996)
Clockers (1995)
Crooklyn (1994)
Malcolm X (1992)
Jungle Fever (1991)
Mo' Better Blues (1990)
Do the Right Thing (1989)
School Daze (1988)
She's Gotta Have It (1986)
Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983)
Sarah (1981)
The Answer (1980)
Last Hustle in Brooklyn (1977)

Edited by Jim_K - 7/11/2009 at 11:56 am GMT

The Movie Library

#4

Rating: 0

7/17/05 at 11:34am

george kaplan
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Joined: March 2001
Post Count: 13,064

SPIKE LEE

Seen: 7
Like: 0
Own: 0

Rank order:

She's Gotta Have It (1986)
The Original Kings of Comedy (2000)
Malcolm X (1992)
Girl 6 (1996)
Crooklyn (1994)
School Daze (1988)
Do the Right Thing (1989)

Spike Lee has the technical proficiency to direct a strong film that gets his message across. Unfortunately, most of the time he uses his powers for evil rather than good. She's Gotta Have It was a Woody Allenish film that, while not quite working for me, gave me high hopes for this director when I saw it in 1986. Unfortunately, in 1989, he put out one of the most racist pieces of trash ever committed to celluloid. It's very sad that a man who can get his message across in a film decides that the message needs to be that everyone in the world is a racist. Nothing he has made since has been a good enough film to warrant a purchase, and nothing he's done in film or real life has ever washed out the bad taste of having seen Do the Right Thing.

"Movies should be like amusement parks. People should go to them to have fun." - Billy Wilder

"Subtitles good. Hollywood bad." - Tarzan, Sight & Sound 2012 voter.

"My films are not slices of life, they are pieces of cake." - Alfred Hitchcock"My great humility is just one of the many reasons that I...

#5

Rating: 0

7/17/05 at 12:10pm

Steve Christou
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Joined: April 2000
Location: Deepest Darkest London, England
Post Count: 12,297

I have to agree with Jim and George here, difference is the only Spike Lee I saw in it's entirety was Do the Right Thing, which left a bad taste in my mouth too. And apart from seeing bits of Malcolm X and Summer of Sam on cable I've pretty much avoided his work.

Do the Right Thing (1989)

The flesh is weak, Johnny. Only the soul is immortal. And yours belongs to ME.

#6

Rating: 0

7/17/05 at 12:28pm

Walter Kittel
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Joined: December 1998
Post Count: 3,022

Coming out of the woodwork once again...

I have to strongly disagree with the prevailing sentiment ( so far ) in this thread. Spike Lee is a terrific filmmaker who always seems to get strong performances from his actors. I haven't seen as much of his work as I would like, but I have consistently enjoyed those works I have viewed.

25th Hour

- For me, the best film of that year, with great performances from Edward Norton and Brian Cox in particular.
Do The Right Thing

Malcolm X

- Pretty much in agreement with Brook on this title, Denzel was amazingly good in this role.
Jungle Fever

- The supporting characters for me were the highlight with fine work from Ossie Davis, and Ruby Dee and a riveting performance by Samuel L. Jackson.
The Original Kings of Comedy

Get On The Bus

- Walter.

Fidelity to the source should always be the goal for Blu-ray releases.

#7

Rating: 0

7/17/05 at 1:19pm

Kirk Tsai
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Joined: November 2000
Post Count: 1,418

Not very familiar with his earlier filmography, but I'm with Walter and Brook on him. It seems that even Lee's fans dislike Bamboozled (such as Roger Ebert), but to me it's easily one of the best films of 2000. I don't love She Hate Me or Summer of Sam, but I've never regretted watching any of Lee's movies. I hope he can get the Joe Louis movie done one day.

Ranking:

1. Do the Right Thing
2. Malcolm X
3. Bamboozled
4. The 25th Hour
5. When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
6. Inside Man
7. He Got Game
8. She's Gotta Have It
9. 4 Little Girls
10. Summer of Sam
11. Miracle at St. Anna's
12. She Hate Me

#8

Rating: 0

7/17/05 at 2:15pm

Bill McA
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Joined: October 2000
Location: Hamilton, ON Canada
Post Count: 5,436

Ratings from

to

Kobe Doin' Work (2009)
Passing Strange (2009)
Miracle at St. Anna (2008)

M.O.N.Y. (2008) (TV)
Lovers & Haters (2007)
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006)

Inside Man (2006)

All the Invisible Children (2005) (segment "Jesus Children of America")
Sucker Free City (2004)

She Hate Me (2004)

(Own the DVD)
25th Hour (2002)

(Own the DVD)
Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002) (segment "We Wuz Robbed")

(Own the DVD)
Jim Brown All American (2002)
A Huey P. Newton Story (2001) (TV)
Bamboozled (2000)

(Own the DVD)
The Original Kings of Comedy (2000)

Summer of Sam (1999)

(Own the DVD)
Freak (1998) (TV)
He Got Game (1998)

4 Little Girls (1997)

Get on the Bus (1996)

Girl 6 (1996)

(Used to own the LD)
Lumière and Company (1996)

(Own the DVD)
Clockers (1995)

Crooklyn (1994)

(Used to own the LD)
Malcolm X (1992)

(Own the VHS)
Jungle Fever (1991)

(Own the DVD)
Mo' Better Blues (1990)

Do the Right Thing (1989)

(Own the DVD)
School Daze (1988)

(Own the DVD)
She's Gotta Have It (1986)

Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983)
Sarah (1981)
The Answer (1980)
Last Hustle in Brooklyn (1977)

Seen 22
Own 10

Spike Lee is the 11th director in this series that I've seen/met in person.

#9

Rating: 0

7/17/05 at 7:08pm

SteveGon
Steve Gonzales
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Joined: December 2000
Post Count: 12,240

"Miracle's Boys" (2005) (mini) TV Series (episodes 1 and 6)
"Sucker Free City" (2005) TV Series
Sucker Free City (2004) (TV)
She Hate Me (2004)
25th Hour (2002)
Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002) (segment "We Wuz Robbed")
Jim Brown All American (2002)
Come Rain or Come Shine (2001)
The Concert for New York City (2001) (TV) (segment "Come Rain or Come Shine")
A Huey P. Newton Story (2001) (TV)
Bamboozled (2000)
The Original Kings of Comedy (2000)
Summer of Sam (1999)
Pavarotti & Friends 99 for Guatemala and Kosovo (1999) (TV)
Pavarotti & Friends for the Children of Liberia (1998) (TV)
Freak (1998) (TV)
He Got Game (1998)
4 Little Girls (1997)
Get on the Bus (1996)
Girl 6 (1996)
Lumière and Company (1996)
Clockers (1995)
Crooklyn (1994)
Malcolm X (1992)
Jungle Fever (1991)
Mo' Better Blues (1990)
Do the Right Thing (1989)
School Daze (1988)
She's Gotta Have It (1986)
Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983)
Sarah (1981)
The Answer (1980)
Last Hustle in Brooklyn (1977)

Bolded films I've seen.

Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

#10

Rating: 0

7/18/05 at 5:54am

JonZ
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Joined: December 1998
Post Count: 7,333

Out of 4

s

25th Hour (2002)

Bamboozled (2000)

Summer of Sam (1999)

He Got Game (1998)

Get on the Bus (1996)

Girl 6 (1996)

Clockers (1995)

Malcolm X (1992):

Jungle Fever (1991)

1/2
Mo' Better Blues (1990)

Do the Right Thing (1989)

1/2

#11

Rating: 0

7/18/05 at 3:59pm

Justin_S
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Joined: March 2001
Post Count: 3,571

Ratings on a scale of * to *****:

1: Summer of Sam (1999) ****½
2: 25th Hour (2002) ****
3: Malcolm X (1992) ***½
4: Do the Right Thing (1989) ***
5: Bamboozled (2000) **

Own 1

DVD Collection

#12

Rating: 0

7/20/05 at 3:29pm

Ric Bagoly
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Joined: August 2002
Post Count: 3,994

1. Girl 6-unfunny ***CRAP***

2. She's Gotta Have It-cheap, incompetant ***CRAP***

3. Do The Right Thing-Racist ***CRAP***

Surely a director to avoid...

\"You can\'t be the first, and you\'ll never be the last, but baby, you can ALL be next! Woooooooo!!!\"

#13

Rating: 0

7/20/05 at 4:32pm

Elizabeth S
Elizabeth S
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Joined: May 2001
Location: Hawaii
Post Count: 3,919

25th Hour (2002)
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Summer of Sam (1999)
Clockers (1995)
Jungle Fever (1991)
He Got Game (1998)

Seen the above, roughly in order of preference.

#14

Rating: 0

7/22/05 at 5:31am

Mario Gauci
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Joined: January 2005
Post Count: 1,937

In order of merit:

1.MALCOLM X (1992) ***1/2
2.DO THE RIGHT THING (1989) ***

I'm not exactly a fan of Spike Lee's work, judging by the sheer amount of films which I've missed through the years...but, at least, I did get to see him at last year's Venice Film Festival

!

IMDB Reviews

#15

Rating: 0

7/30/05 at 2:15pm

Bill McA
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Joined: October 2000
Location: Hamilton, ON Canada
Post Count: 5,436

UPDATED:

Sucker Free City (2004)

#16

Rating: 0

7/30/05 at 2:16pm

Brook K
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Joined: February 2000
Location: St. Louis, MO
Post Count: 9,093

How did you see that Bill? I think it played on Showtime here, which I don't have.

2002 Sight & Sound Challenge: 320 Last Watched: Make Way For Tomorrow

Last 8 Films Watched: The Big Red One: The Restoration - B+ / Porco Rosso - A / Vanishing Point - B+ / Public Enemies - C+ / Zombieland - B / Sorcerer - B+ / The Silences of the Palace - B+ / Bright Star - C

#17

Rating: 0

7/30/05 at 8:17pm

Bill McA
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Joined: October 2000
Location: Hamilton, ON Canada
Post Count: 5,436

I watched it on TMN - The Movie Network, a Canadian pay-tv channel.
In addition to showing theatrical films, they also show select HBO and Showtime films and series.

#18

Rating: 0

7/31/05 at 8:55am

Jonathan_W
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Joined: July 2005
Post Count: 20

She Hate Me

1/2

25th Hour

Bamboozled

1/2

The Original Kings of Comedy

Summer of Sam

1/2

He Got Game

1/2

4 Little Girls

Get on the Bus

1/2

Girl 6

1/2

Clockers

1/2

Crooklyn

Malcolm X

Jungle Fever

1/2

Mo' Better Blues

Do the Right Thing

School Daze

She's Gotta Have It

Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads

#19

Rating: 0

8/20/05 at 7:32am

Arman
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Joined: January 2003
Post Count: 1,625

.

#20

Rating: 0

3/24/06 at 10:38pm

Bill McA
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Joined: October 2000
Location: Hamilton, ON Canada
Post Count: 5,436

UPDATED:

Inside Man (2006)

Seen 21
Own 10

#21

Rating: 0

4/2/06 at 11:34pm

Brook K
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Joined: February 2000
Location: St. Louis, MO
Post Count: 9,093

Updated:

Inside Man - B+

2002 Sight & Sound Challenge: 320 Last Watched: Make Way For Tomorrow

Last 8 Films Watched: The Big Red One: The Restoration - B+ / Porco Rosso - A / Vanishing Point - B+ / Public Enemies - C+ / Zombieland - B / Sorcerer - B+ / The Silences of the Palace - B+ / Bright Star - C

#22

Rating: 0

4/8/06 at 5:52pm

Michael Elliott
online

Joined: July 2003
Post Count: 5,485

Untitled Michael Jordan Documentary (2010)
Inside Man 2 (2010)
Kobe Doin' Work (2009)

Passing Strange (2009) (TV)
Miracle at St. Anna (2008)
M.O.N.Y. (2008) (TV)
Lovers & Haters (2007)
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts" (206)
Inside Man (2006)

She Hate Me (2004)
25th Hour (2002)
Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002)
Jim Brown All American (2002)
Come Rain or Come Shine (2001)
The Concert for New York City (2001)
A Huey P. Newton Story (2001) (TV)
Bamboozled (2000)
The Original Kings of Comedy (2000)
Summer of Sam (1999)
Pavarotti & Friends 99 for Guatemala and Kosovo (1999) (TV)
Pavarotti & Friends for the Children of Liberia (1998) (TV)
Freak (1998) (TV)
He Got Game (1998)

4 Little Girls (1997)

Get on the Bus (1996)

Girl 6 (1996)

Lumière and Company (1996)
Clockers (1995)

Crooklyn (1994)

Malcolm X (1992)

Jungle Fever (1991)

Mo' Better Blues (1990)
Do the Right Thing (1989)

School Daze (1988)
She's Gotta Have It (1986)
Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983)
Sarah (1981)
The Answer (1980)
Last Hustle in Brooklyn (1977)

IMDB Reviews

#23

Rating: 0

5/8/06 at 1:45pm

Steve Christou
online

Joined: April 2000
Location: Deepest Darkest London, England
Post Count: 12,297

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #206: THE FILMS OF SPIKE LEE

Inside Man (2006)

Ratings out of 5

The flesh is weak, Johnny. Only the soul is immortal. And yours belongs to ME.

#24

Rating: 0

8/12/06 at 6:50am

Jim_K
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Joined: April 2000
Post Count: 9,385

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #206: THE FILMS OF SPIKE LEE

Updated Master list...............................

The Movie Library

#25

Rating: 0

8/20/06 at 10:01pm

Brook K
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Joined: February 2000
Location: St. Louis, MO
Post Count: 9,093

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #206: THE FILMS OF SPIKE LEE

Updated:

Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002) (segment "We Wuz Robbed") - B (Respect the passion, but too complex a subject to be handled adequately in 12 minutes.)

2002 Sight & Sound Challenge: 320 Last Watched: Make Way For Tomorrow

Last 8 Films Watched: The Big Red One: The Restoration - B+ / Porco Rosso - A / Vanishing Point - B+ / Public Enemies - C+ / Zombieland - B / Sorcerer - B+ / The Silences of the Palace - B+ / Bright Star - C

#26

Rating: 0

8/22/06 at 9:56pm

Brook K
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Joined: February 2000
Location: St. Louis, MO
Post Count: 9,093

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #206: THE FILMS OF SPIKE LEE

Updated:

When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts - A-

2002 Sight & Sound Challenge: 320 Last Watched: Make Way For Tomorrow

Last 8 Films Watched: The Big Red One: The Restoration - B+ / Porco Rosso - A / Vanishing Point - B+ / Public Enemies - C+ / Zombieland - B / Sorcerer - B+ / The Silences of the Palace - B+ / Bright Star - C

#27

Rating: 0

8/23/06 at 1:26pm

Kristen
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Joined: June 2001
Location: Miami, FL
Post Count: 941

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #206: THE FILMS OF SPIKE LEE

Only one so far...

25th Hour

Film Lists: 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | Pre-2006 | 2009
Collections: Music

#28

Rating: 0

8/23/06 at 6:09pm

Bill McA
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Joined: October 2000
Location: Hamilton, ON Canada
Post Count: 5,436

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #206: THE FILMS OF SPIKE LEE

UPDATED:

When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006)

Seen 22
Own 10

#29

Rating: 0

10/1/06 at 11:36am

M
Mate
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Joined: March 2006
Location: Croatia - Europe
Post Count: 119

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #206: THE FILMS OF SPIKE LEE

SPIKE LEE!
One of my favourite directors, although I don't love all his films and a lot of them I yet have to see.

1988 - School Daze

1989 - Do the Right Thing

1990 - Mo' Better Blues

1991 - Jungle Fever

1995 - Clockers

1/2

1998 - He Got Game

1999 - Summer of Sam

2002 - 25th Hour

Quote:

Originally Posted by george kaplan

most of the time he uses his powers for evil rather than good ... in 1989, he put out one of the most racist pieces of trash ever committed to celluloid

First stupid comment that I saw on hometheaterforum so far.

#30

Rating: 0

10/6/06 at 9:17am

Martin Teller
Martin Teller
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Joined: August 2006
Location: Portland, OR
Post Count: 2,028

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #206: THE FILMS OF SPIKE LEE

When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006) - 8/10
Inside Man (2006) - 8/10
25th Hour (2002) - 6/10
The Original Kings of Comedy (2000) - 6/10
Clockers (1995) - 7/10
Crooklyn (1994) - 8/10
Jungle Fever (1991) - 4/10
Mo' Better Blues (1990) - 6/10
Do the Right Thing (1989) - 9/10
School Daze (1988) - 6/10
She's Gotta Have It (1986) - 6/10

Quote:

Unfortunately, in 1989, he put out one of the most racist pieces of trash ever committed to celluloid. It's very sad that a man who can get his message across in a film decides that the message needs to be that everyone in the world is a racist. Nothing he has made since has been a good enough film to warrant a purchase, and nothing he's done in film or real life has ever washed out the bad taste of having seen Do the Right Thing.

LOL.

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