We may know her name but not many people know her full story and that is the premise of the new biopic “The United State vs. Billie Holiday.” It is movie reviewer Greg Russell’s top pick for the weekend.
The film stars Andra Day, who plays Billie Holiday and the movie follows Holiday’s career which included an investigation by the FBI. Two of the FBI agents are played by Garrett Hedlund and Evan Ross. They both spoke to Russell about their roles, which was especially meaningful for Ross whose mother, the legendary Diana Ross, played Billie Holiday in “Lady Sing the Blues”. She was especially glad to see Holiday’s story told so that younger generations can discover her.
Greg Russell gave the movie four our of five reels.
Something else to check out this weekend is the Netflix series “Amend.” The series stars and is executive produced by Will Smith. Larry Wilmore is also a producer on the series. With the help of an all-star roster of actors, academics, and journalists, this series explores the 14th amendment; how it was created and the historical people who fought and gave their lives for it. Wilmore says the goal was to tell a very human story and dive into the question: What is America and who is it for?
Russell says the series is very entertaining and teaches you things that you would never have known otherwise.
If you are looking for a more family friendly option, then Russell recommends the new “Tom and Jerry: The Movie.”
The cat and the mouse game gets reimagined for the big screen. It is also premiering on HBO Max. Russell plans on watching this movie with his grandchildren and then showing them the famous scene of Jerry dancing with Gene Kelly.