Maybe it was his irregularity, maybe it was simply his skin colour and his racial themes. We don’t know why we too often forget to include Spike Lee among the great American filmmakers of recent decades. To name him without shame alongside Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Steven Spielberg, Paul Thomas Anderson or David Fincher.
Spike Lee exploited and exported African-American cinema to the world, a work that had begun with the same art but less popularity Charles Burnett. Lee did not take refuge only in real stories or in the time of slavery, he told us about himself, the neighborhood, the ghettos, the gangs, the crime. He also, of course, of dignity, but of the difficulty of achieving justice only with peace and away from violence. The mythical Rest in Powerno Rest in Peace. We only have to remember the end of his legendary ‘Do what you must’, exemplary from the same title. Or, of course, the fact that when he decided to make a biopic he did not turn to Martin Luther King but to the more complex, interesting and controversial Malcolm X.
But Spike Lee is not only a political director, he is also one of those film buffs who, without abandoning his authorial personality, likes to play with genres, to create authentic entertainment and frenetic bombs. Always with Denzel Washington as an inseparable companion, perhaps the best example of Spike Lee’s pure talent behind the camera is ‘Inside Man’.
Released in 2006, the film scripted by Russell Gewirtz is a model crime thriller centered around a bank robbery, but with a story that goes far beyond that, and involves interesting twists of financial intrigue. Denzel Washington plays the police officer in charge of leading the operation against the gang of robbers led by a character played by Clive Owen. The last straw in this thriller, however, is Jodie Foster, a mysterious broker sent by the bank’s owner, played by Christopher Plummer. A stellar cast, as you can see, of which we still have to name Willem Dafoe and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
With very positive reviews, although without much impact at the Oscars like the rest of Spike Lee’s career, anyone would say that this heist thriller has fallen into oblivion. Therefore, now that we have seen that ‘Hidden Plan’ is leaving Netflix on July 1, it seemed like an unbeatable opportunity to recommend it to anyone looking to watch a quality thriller on the platform until June 30 (including ). And by the way, doing a little historical justice to a filmmaker who we cannot forget among the greats.
Rafael is an expert in film, series and video games. He is into classic and auteur cinema, although he doesn’t miss Marvel or the current Netflix hit due to professional deformation. He also has a geeky side, as proven by his specialization in anime, k-pop and everything related to Asian culture.
By generation, sometimes he has to write about current musical hits, from Bizarrap to Blackpink. It even has its erotic side, but limited, unfortunately, to selecting the best erotic series and movies. But he doesn’t limit himself there, since he also likes to write about gastronomy, travel, humor and memes.
After 5 years writing for Fotogramas and Esquire, the truth is that he has already done a bit of everything, from interviews with international stars to mobile phone presentations or tastings of oil, insects and, yes, with luck, wine.
He trained in Audiovisual Communication at the University of Murcia. She later continued at the Carlos III University of Madrid with a Master’s Degree in Research in Media. In addition to beginning a doctorate on sexual representation in arthouse cinema (which she never finished), she also studied a Master’s degree in film criticism, both at ECAM and at the Writers’ School. Before, he cut his teeth writing on the Cinealacarbonara blog, continued in media such as Amanecemetropolis, Culturamas or Magnolia Magazine, and dedicated all his efforts to Mutaciones Magazine since its foundation.
He arrived at Hearst in 2018 and managed to carve out a niche for himself in the editorial offices of Fotogramas and Esquire, with which he continues to write about everything he likes and what they send him (often coincides). His good or bad taste (depending on how you look at it) also led him to get into the world of gastronomy and video games. Come on, he likes to entertain himself.
