If you’re a regular Defender Network reader, you already know I’m the movie guy. If you’re new to the Defender Network, hey, my name is Aswad Walker, a Taurus, originally from Cincinnati who also teaches in the University of Houston’s African American Studies Department and serves as associate pastor at the Shrine. And, oh yeah, I’m the Defender movie guy.
Here’s a list of 10 flicks to check out this summer.
The Perfect Find
June 14, 2023
Comedy, Romance
Directed by Numa Perrier
With Gabrielle Union, Gina Torres, Janet Hubert, La La Anthony, Numa Perrier, Aisha Hinds, Keith Powers.
Will a 40-year-old woman with everything on the line – her high-stakes career, ticking biological clock, bank account – risk it all for an intensely lusty secret romance with the one person who could destroy her comeback, for good?
Surrounded
June 16, 2023
Drama, Western
With Letitia Wright, Michael Kenneth Williams
After her stagecoach is ambushed, a woman is tasked with holding a dangerous outlaw captive and must survive the day when the bandit’s gang tries to free him
The Blackening
June 16, 2023
Comedy, Horror
Directed by Tim Story
With Antoinette Robertson, Grace Byers, Jermaine Fowler, Melvin Gregg, Sinqua Walls, Yvonne Orji, Dewayne Perkins
A group of Black friends reunite for a Juneteenth weekend getaway only to find themselves trapped in a remote cabin with a twisted killer.
They Cloned Tyrone
July 14, 2023
Comedy, Mystery, Science Fiction
Directed by Juel Taylor, With J. Alphonse Nicholson, Jamie Foxx, Jason Louder, John Boyega, Tamberla Perry, Teyonah Parris
An unlikely trio investigates a series of eerie events, alerting them to a nefarious conspiracy lurking directly beneath their hood.
Talk to Me
July 28, 2023
Horror, Thriller
With Sophie Wilde
When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces.
Bonus: 5 More Black Movies
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
June 2, 2023
Action, Animation, Comedy, Fantasy, Science Fiction
Directed by Kemp Powers.
With Brian Tyree Henry, Daniel Kaluuya, Issa Rae, Lauren Vélez, Shameik Moore
Miles Morales returns for the next chapter of the Spider-Verse saga, an epic adventure that will transport Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man across the Multiverse to join forces with Gwen Stacy and a new team of Spider-People to face off with a villain more powerful than anything they have ever encountered.
The Little Mermaid
May 26, 2023
Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Romance
With Daveed Diggs, Halle Bailey, Noma Dumezweni
The youngest of King Triton’s daughters, and the most defiant, Ariel longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea, and while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric. With mermaids forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land, but ultimately places her life – and her father’s crown – in jeopardy.
The Marvels
July 28, 2023
Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
Directed by Nia DaCosta.
With Samuel L. Jackson, Shamier Anderson, Teyonah Parris, Lashana Lynch, Zawe Ashton
Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau, and Kamala Khan trade places with each other every time they use their powers and must team up to fix their problem.
God is a Bullet
June 23, 2023
Action
Directed by F. Gary Gray.
With Jamie Foxx, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Maika Monroe
When vice detective Bob Hightower finds his ex-wife murdered and daughter kidnapped by a satanic cult, Bob is frustrated by bumbling botched official investigations. Bog quits the police force and infiltrates the cult to hunt down the cult leader, Cyrus, with the help of the cult’s only female victim escapee, Case Hardin. Bob is led down a rabbit hole as he seeks to find and save his daughter.
Back on the Strip
August 18, 2023
Comedy
Directed by Chris Spencer.
With Bill Bellamy, Faizon Love, J.B. Smoove, Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Wesley Snipes, Spence Moore II
After losing the woman of his dreams, Merlin moves to Las Vegas to pursue work as a magician, only to get hired as the frontman in a revival of the notorious Black male stripper crew, The Chocolate Chips. Led by Luther – now broke and broken – the old, domesticated, out-of-shape Chips put aside former conflicts and reunite to save the hotel they used to perform in while helping Merlin win back his girl.
