The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur news and links for Friday, June 12

Hello, everyone!

Shall we cap off the week with some movie recommendations?

Ramble of the Day

Any amount of time reading the Hoddle means you know I could go on about films, and I would not be the first to tell you about the power of them. To me, a great film is a pointed commentary on just one part of the human experience. They make their points very succinctly and in resounding fashion, making a number of films terrific watches if you’re looking to expand your knowledge on the experiences of Black people in the U.S. and around the world.

A number of people have made lists over the last several weeks, with a number of films I have already seen and loved. The ones I haven’t seen make up my list of films I’d like to watch, but in the meantime I will share with you the films getting name dropped that I highly recommend.

• 12 Years a Slave, dir. Steve McQueen: The 2014 best picture winner, it’s a moving story of a man kidnapped and forced into slavery and features excellent work from McQueen and supporting actress Lupita Nyong’o. | Rent it wherever you can rent movies
• BlacKkKlansman, dir. Spike Lee: One of America’s most unique filmmakers showed some of his best work with his take on a true story about a Black police officer who inflitrates the KKK. | Hulu, HBO Max
• Get Out, dir. Jordan Peele: A 2018 best picture nominee, Peele delivered a unique but precise horror film about a Black man who learns a secret about his White girlfriend’s family. | Rent it wherever you can rent movies
• If Beale Street Could Talk, dir. Barry Jenkins: Tackles the issue of policing through the love story of a woman and her jailed boyfriend, and features the stylish filmmaking of Jenkins and a performance worth seeing from the gifted Regina King. | Hulu
• Moonlight, dir. Barry Jenkins: Wonderfully acted and again masterfully directed by Jenkins, this coming of age tale that follows the boy exploring his sexuality was one of the most impactful films I’ve ever seen and went on to win the 2017 best picture Oscar. | Netflix
• Mudbound, dir. Dee Rees: This film follows the story of a Black veteran and White veteran of World War II as deal with racism and PTSD, and remains one of the most heartbreaking films I’ve seen. | Netflix
• Selma, dir. Ava DuVernay: A best picture nominee in 2015, it’s an insightful telling of Martin Luther King Jr.’s march in Selma, Alabama and cemented DuVernay’s status as an important filmmaker telling the stories of Black Americans. | Streaming for free for the month of June

Finally, on my schedule for this weekend: Spike Lee’s latest directorial effort, Da 5 Bloods, out on Netflix today. I’ll probably let you know how it is, but in the meantime feel free to share some of your own recommendations.

Links of the Day

An Amnesty International investigation found that the organizers of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar owe around 100 workers seven months of pay.

A cardboard cutout of Shaquille O’Neal will appear in the stands at Northampton Town as they play in the promotion playoffs to League One.

A longer read: Lindsay Gibbs on Washington Spirit rookie Kaiya McCullough, her activism during the Black Lives Matter movement, and the Spirit’s changed stance on peaceful protest for Power Plays