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CurtisJohn
Reviews
Silent Bomb (1994)
A police officer discovers that she is HIV+
I saw Silent Bomb back in the mid-1990's at a Black Filmmakers Foundation screening at Lincoln Center. It was a really good representation of a woman dealing with having the deadly virus and was especially timely as Black women weren't (and still aren't) seen on movies and television as regular victims of HIV despite the stats that have emerged well after Silent Bomb was made. For a neophyte director, actress Kim Fields did a good job at directing her lead LaRita Shelby through the pain of her discovery of having the virus. It's not in the IMDb credits, but Fields' Living Single co-star John Henton was a producer on the film. I would've loved to have seen Fields direct more of her own material, but at least she went on to do television directing. And if more people saw Shelby on this, I feel she would've gotten more movie work.
Homicide: Life on the Street: The Subway (1997)
CLASSIC episode
Among the many noteworthy episodes on a show that's arguably the best cop drama of all time, is the Season 6 episode "The Subway". Vincent D'onofrio guest stars as a ordinary man who gets pushed down as he's exiting the subway car...and the train pulls off with him stuck in between. The worst part is - he's still alive and fully conscious, his body twisted below the platform.
The detectives have to determine how best to deal with the situation, as well as finding the main culprit.
This is D'onofrio at his pre-L&O:CI best.
Not to get too personal, but the writing on "Homicide" and this particular episode is a big part in what motivated me to work in film and television.