Concrete Cowboy is a nice movie about fathers and sons and humanity and the legacy of why there are people riding horses in places you wouldn’t expect to see any horses. In 1992, original ‘Real World’ cast member Kevin Powell sparked vital conversations about race. Both are played by real-life members of the Fletcher Street Stables community, adding notes of realism to their fictional roles. Harp devotes more time and money to feeding his horses than himself, so Cole will have to eat out a lot. If you know your history, the concept of a Black cowboy will not seem foreign. “Them,” about a Black family fighting racism and supernatural forces in the 1950s, includes warnings about its graphic depictions of racist violence. The right sandwich for 22 different hikes in L.A. A hike is a good excuse to eat a sandwich. Philly does offer one respite: the belated reunion between Cole and his older cousin, Smush (Jerome). The Pitch: Idris Elba has the gravity and laconic cool to make a great cowboy, and clearly Netflix knows this. Classic movies at local theaters and drive-ins: ‘Singin’ in the Rain,’ ‘Pulp Fiction’ and more. 3.5. CONCRETE COWBOY (Netflix) In Northern Philadelphia, the sight of Black men and women on horseback, actual urban cowboys, is a common sight. Smush’s fate is fixed from the moment he appears onscreen; his capacity is flattened into serving as the moral wake-up call for Cole and the lived reminder not to follow in the footsteps of Harp, who once upon a time lived a life similar to Smush’s. Directed by Ricky Staub. Elba plays Harp, one of the leaders of the Fletcher Street Stables community. Yet they also surprise us by crafting an often tender portrait of a man who once stood at the same crossroads our protagonist will stand. The first feature film from Philadelphia director Ricky Staub, “Concrete Cowboy” charts familiar territory in its story of a young Black boy figured within the stale trope of having to choose between “a life of crime” and what we may refer to as more societally acceptable interests. Cole has a history in Philly, even if very little of it includes his father. There’s a gorgeous sunrise, a powerful scene of horse-taming, and the spectacle of seeing Idris Elba on a horse. Film Reviews, Netflix. Sent to live with his estranged father for the summer, a rebellious teen finds kinship in a tight-knit Philadelphia community of Black cowboys. These are the very reasons why one is given to wonder what it is exactly that the filmmaker himself lends to this film other than a completely ordinary commercial veneer. How that plays into the streaming wars. It’s never jarring to see someone riding a horse in an urban setting, because as one character points out, horses have always been in the city. 3.5. Harp is sitting around a more suitable campfire for a city—a flaming trash can—swapping stories with his band of brothers and sisters. Concrete Cowboy is not without its sadder moments, though, including a line Elba delivers about being "born with a boot on my neck." Film Review – Concrete Cowboy. Summary. By Robert Levin robert.levin@newsday.com April 8, … From “The Queen” to “The Crown,” here are the actors who portrayed the Duke of Edinburgh. You can feel the sense of pride and joy in this moment, and know with some certainty that this is why the filmmakers chose to tell this story. And now just recently, Concrete Cowboy has moseyed on down to our amazing city of Houston. Review: ‘Concrete Cowboy’ lacks the charisma of the real Black Philadelphia horsemen Caleb McLaughlin, left, and Jharrel Jerome in the movie “Concrete Cowboy.” (Aaron Ricketts / Netflix) “Concrete Cowboy” merges its two storylines together with minimal difficulty by using the city of Philadelphia as the constant between the two. Caleb McLaughlin, left, and Jharrel Jerome in the movie “Concrete Cowboy.”, Cliff “Method Man” Smith, left, and Idris Elba in the movie “Concrete Cowboy.”, From KKK to skinheads, a century of fighting hate in Orange County. Running time: 111 minutes. Straub and his co-writer, Dan Walser, use Jerome’s character to differentiate between the paths a young man like Cole might take, leaning on an all too familiar drug plotline and outcome. He also explains that when a dude’s Ma sends him to spend the summer with his Pops, it’s an irreversible scenario. Cole protests with all his might, but this is such a done deal that his Mom drives off in mid-protest, leaving him on the street in front of Harp’s place. Jonathon Wilson 0. By Julius Tabel. He runs the blogs Big Media Vandalism and Tales of Odienary Madness. Full Review. Concrete Cowboy is loaded with cliche, but it shines a spotlight on a little-understood sub-culture and boasts excellent performances, particularly from Caleb McLaughlin in the lead role. For many, it hit home. In these scenes we meet Paris (Jamil Prattis), who serves as his tough supervisor and Esha (Ivannah Mercedes), an impressive rider/trainer who has a flirty rapport with Cole. Adapted from author G. Neri’s YA novel “Ghetto Cowboys,” the boy in question here is Cole (“Stranger Things”’ Caleb McLaughlin), who, upon being expelled from his Detroit school for fighting with his peers, is sent to live with his father, Harp (Idris Elba), for the summer. If you’re not deterred by the bombardment of profanity, this movie could provide a quieter, more introspective viewing epxerience. 119 reviews of Concrete Cowboy "First Dallas, then Austin. Concrete Cowboy: The BRWC Review. This is why it’s all the more curious that “Concrete Cowboy” takes the form of rote drama rather than documentary. viewing experience. The solid acting chops of Idris Elba and … “Concrete Cowboy” introduces an unexpected new movie genre: the … Review: ‘Held’ lacks the cleverness and panache to land stinging social satire. Like “Nomadland,” this film features real-life members of the community playing themselves alongside big name actors like Idris Elba, Jharrel Jerome, and the always welcome Lorraine Toussaint. Concrete Cowboy is a modern redemption tale with an equal number of aces and poison snakes in its boot. Attempting to skewer sexism, “Held” is a predictable thriller about a couple held captive by an unseen Voice in a vacation rental. Melissa McCarthy teams up with Octavia Spencer for “Thunder Force,” and the limp Netflix comedy wastes their Oscar worthy talents. Though the role requires Elba to present a more human form than usual, complete with pot belly, he’s still got enough star power to cast a striking figure while in the saddle. In many ways, the film too easily leans into the disposability of a character like Smush and doesn’t seem to question why that may be. He’s so good at generating empathy that when brutality befalls him, the film can barely stand to show it to us. She gets the devastated Cole’s attention and sends him around the corner to find his Dad. Their violent rhetoric targets foes both real and imagined. Well-acted and solidly directed, Concrete Cowboy lassos old-fashioned uplift with its story of a father and son in a little-seen corner of American culture. Jerome, as usual, delivers an excellent, nuanced and complex performance. Directed by Ricky Staub Written by Ricky Staub, Dan Walser Starring Idris Elba, Caleb McLaughlin, Jharrel Jerome, Byron Bowers, Lorraine Toussaint and Clifford “Method Man” Smith. Luke Parker Film Inquiry. The relentlessly posed, Oscar-nominated “The Man Who Sold His Skin” explores the thorny convergence of art world privilege and real-world woes. Netflix’s “Concrete Cowboy” explores a more recent iteration of this culture, the Black “urban cowboys” who have populated North Philadelphia for the past 100 years. He works the stables, helps out wayward youth in the community, and tends to the horses, one of which he keeps in his house. There, he reunites with an old friend and has to get on with working … Review: An elite skier is sexually abused by her coach in the French drama ‘Slalom’. Before the star-studded Western The Harder They Fall arrives later this year, though, Elba is saddling up for a less traditional take on the genre.. Rated: R, for language throughout, drug use and some violenceRunning time: 1 hour, 51 minutesPlaying: Available on Netflix, Prince Philip had a rich Hollywood history. It is a form of identification that will leave a bad taste in the mouths of viewers looking for a nuanced and contemporary depiction of inner-city Black boyhood and which likewise underscores the reliably commonplace vision of the film as a whole. For sustenance, he’s given two excellent dramatic scenes with McLaughlin, including a stunning monologue about how Cole got his name. Without telling her son, she decides to drop him off in Philadelphia to spend the summer with Harp. The film’s boilerplate redemption narrative is given the backseat treatment as we instead are given over to the past and present community history of the Fletcher Street Stables, a real-life Black horsemanship community active for more than 100 years. But Harp’s neighbors remember him, starting with Nessie (Toussaint), a stern but loving community member. “Slalom,” a French sexual abuse drama starring Noée Abita and Jérémie Renier, is set in the world of elite skiing. All of this is beyond bizarre for Cole; in addition to the chip on his shoulder about being forced to spend time with a man he hardly knows, the living arrangements leave much to be desired. Concrete Cowboy's urban Philadelphia setting is fantastically captured. At one point, a cop played by Method Man shows up, not to break up the party but to caution them about the condition of the stables. Harp has a son, Cole (Caleb McLaughlin), who lives in Detroit. It contains audio recordings of racist comments men made to Takenaka in bars. Review: The road to enlightenment passes through Google, “The Cup” director Khyentse Norbu places a Tibetan entrepreneur on a mystical journey in “Looking for a Lady With Fangs and a Moustache.”, He was half of ‘the most famous argument’ in reality-TV history. Kyoko Takenaka recorded racist things men said in bars. Netflix ́ newest film features Caleb McLaughlin portraying a teenage boy whose mother pushes him off to his mostly unknown father. The troubled-teen nuts and bolts of the tale feel well-worn. While I admit I would have preferred a documentary about the people who have passed this tradition down from generation to generation, director Ricky Staub’s fictional feature serves as a worthwhile introduction. Sony becomes a top supplier for Netflix. It has a similar mindedness for the friendship between Cole and his cousin Smush (“Moonlight”s Jharrel Jerome), who, despite having been close childhood friends with Cole, is realized here largely in moral relief more than he is expanded as a character in his own right. Transylvanian aristocrats exchange philosophical ideas in “Malmkrog,” a tedious 19th-century-set drama from Romanian New Wave filmmaker Cristi Puiu. Here’s how he was depicted in film and TV. 'Concrete Cowboy' review: Extraordinarily beautiful drama (L-R) Idris Elba as Harp and Caleb McLaughlin as Cole in "Concrete Cowboy." Sony Pictures movies will go to Netflix for their pay-TV window, and the streamer will get a first look at the studio’s straight-to-digital titles. Prattis is as memorable as the actors who surround him. A sandwich improves every hike, and in L.A., you can almost always find one not far from the other. 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