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Red Hook Summer Reviews
Spike Lee independently continues his Brooklyn chronicles in expressing different aspects of the community, decidedly gone bold on approaching religious discourses with conversational ideas signifying his best thoroughly to the timely controversial point that discouraged the third act, but Clarke Peters shines regardless. (B)
Not sure I love the ending, but the script is fantastic, and the acting is nearly as good.
Spike Lee's film definitely takes an engrossing turn for the dramatic, but by that point, Red Hook Summer is sort of a drag, as if you're there with the characters in the humid Brooklyn heat. Bishop Enoch Rouse (Clarke Peters) is the charismatic and virally devout preacher at a small congregation in the titular neighborhood. Peters delivers a fiery performance and had the film focused on him more, it likely would've been a better experience. Thomas Jefferson Byrd as Deacon Zee also has some memorable scenes, most notably, his (sometimes audience-less) speeches concerning the stock market. Unfortunately, the film struggled from some unnatural and clunky dialogue, which makes sense since I've read the two child characters weren't even actors… not a smart move. It meanders too much in the middle and doesn't grab your attention back until Blessing Rowe (Colman Domingo) shows up. Here, we get Lee's signature "double dolly shot" with the single best scene in the entire movie as Rowe confronts Rouse, and recites the Book of Solomon. Nevertheless, and even though we get a Mookie (Lee) cameo (who's somehow still working at Sal's), the ending is unsatisfying and sort of weird. The only people who need to see Red Hook Summer are those who want to say they've seen all of Lee's films.
Was good to see Spike playing Mookie again. Beautifully filmed on sight in Brooklyn, great acting by the entire cast. It does take a crazy unexpected turn but thats what made the movie even more realistic.a be must see
Avec Red Hook Summer, Spike Lee asseoit tranquillement son statut de réalisateur majeur dans la mesure où son film est un foutoir complet, sans aucune suite logique dans les idées, mais où il reste absolument passionnant. Red Hook Summer est une comédie pendant 100 minutes avant de bifurquer sur une histoire de pédophilie par un personnage principal, sans jamais avoir de véritables réponses quant aux enjeux dramatiques. Ce qui aurait dû être un mauvais film est magnifié par la caméra de Lee, qui n'explicite jamais où il erre, rendant Red Hook Summer très étrange, à défaut d'être réellement réussi. Trahi par ses deux enfants acteurs, Spike Lee ne peut atteindre les sommets de ses débuts mais continue à prouver qu'il reste un type atypique dans le paysage cinématographique mondial.
God wants us to love. A young boy from Atlanta is dropped off in New York with his minister grandfather. His grandfather is also from Atlanta but some years ago he came to a church in Brooklyn that has quickly run down and is desperate for money. The grandfather hopes to one day land a benefactor that will help him with his bills. Meanwhile, the young boy becomes best friend with the daughter of a member of the church. The member of the church has feelings for the grandfather, causing fascinating interactions between the four characters. "You're right, I don't like you...I love you." Spike Lee, director of X, School Daze, Do the Right Thing, Inside Man, She Hate Me, Girl 6, Clockers, Jungle Fever, and She's Gotta Have It, delivers Red Hook Summer. The storyline for this picture is fascinating and starts with a wonderful coming of age story with interesting character development. The movie takes an interesting twist at the end and then ends abruptly. The acting is very good and the cast includes Jules Brown, Turron Kofi Alleyne, De'Adre Aziza, Jonathan Batiste, Sumayya Ali, and Limary Agosto. "You molested me!" I've actually always wanted to see this film but never got around to watching it. I found it on Netflix and finally viewed this picture and it was better and deeper than I anticipated. Lee continues to deliver an amazing New York feel throughout the movie while delivering a clever plot twist. I would have given this a ten if it had a better ending. This is definitely worth a viewing. "Hell to the naw." Grade: A
As much as I enjoyed Clarke Peters's performance, this was a movie that felt like a pale imitation of Lee's groundbreaking early work. It could easily have been half an hour shorter, and it would have been more powerful for it--too much needless exposition in the early going. The child acting was barely competent and the pacing was off; the plot twist didn't feel earned. Still showed decent flashes of the old Lee's thematic territory--disillusionment with the American dream, particularly in the wake of the 2008 economic crisis--and had some stellar stylistic flourishes near the end, but these pluses just weren't enough to save the film.
The allegations of pedophilia levied against Enoch derailed the focus of the entire film. From that point onward it meanders towards a resolution that feels perfunctory.
In "Red Hook Summer," Colleen(De'Adre Aziza) drops her thirteen year old son Flik(Jules Brown) off in Brooklyn to spend the summer with her father, Enoch(Clarke Peters), a Baptist preacher and boiler repairman. None of which is to Flik's liking, starting with the accommodations. And then there is the lack of air conditioning, the non-vegan food and most importantly the lack of television. All of which he records faithfully with his Ipad 2. At least, there are the sunday school snacks which he consumes with his new friend Chazz(Toni Lysaith). Even with a shocking third act plot twist that is more Old Testament than New Testament, "Red Hook Summer" is more often than not an evocative look at a boy's expanding his boundaries, both physically and mentally. And a very good performance from Clarke Peters certainly helps matters. But like with other of his recent movies, Spike Lee has a lot easier time with what he wants to say, than in how he says it which is usually just as important, even with the occasional directorial flourish.(It should come as no surprise how little difference there is between a rant and a sermon.) An example of this is on the subject of gentrification as the neighborhood of Red Hook does not come alive on screen like it should have.
A middle-class boy from Atlanta is forced to spend the summer with his deeply religious grandfather in a poor housing project in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Spike Lee wrote and directed this boring tale.This rambling tale got very tiresome. Did Spike Lee turn anti-religion? The story turn even uglier with a twists that comes out of nowhere.I'm uncertain about what is happening to Spike Lee. After good big successes of the 90s and the 2000s, is he on the road to big time experimentation? What is going on? I don't get it.This movie was a mess. Maybe it's some kind of personal project. But even then, I'd expect more skills than he showed here.
'Red Hook Summer' is actually a solid drama, and filled with great performances, despite what critics say. Mid-way gets a little far fetched, but that's always been apart of Spike Lee's craft. A good entry in his 'Chronicles Of Brooklyn' series. See it or skip it.
Spike Lee's latest film begins with an interesting premise: what happens when a young kind from Atlanta visits his Christian grandfather in Brooklyn (Red Hook Neighborhood)? The dialogue of faith in this community certain is intriguing even if other plot points (like why the kid would go all the way to Brooklyn) aren't really even developed. With about 40 minutes left in the movie, Lee brings the shock factor and so much of a shock factor that the movie never really recovers. The powder keg topic that is brought to bear never gives the audience a guide for how to think about it. I realize sometimes art deals with the complexities of life and that there are not easy solutions, but this topic and its affect on the characters is not developed well at all. This really could have been a great film if a stronger script had been involved.
Red Hook Summer is a meandering film that's heavy handed climax comes out of nowhere, uncomfortably changing the tone of the film. The dialogue for the children seemed very outdated and unnatural; making me wonder if Spike Lee has became too disconnected to the youth of urban culture.
Disappointing pseudo-guerrilla-fare. For an authentic treatment of this theme try : The Way Home (Jibeuro - 2002) from South Korea.
I actually spent the majority of this one fighting the urge to give up on it. The acting and writing were both at times atrocious. But the surprise twist that the critics here seem to hate pulled me back into it. Especially strange considering Spike is notorious for his bad endings.
Red Hook Summer starts out impossible to tell whether its largest flaw is in the corny dialogue, the abysmal acting, or the heavy, pretentious directing. As the movie goes on, you realize that is truly is a group effort.