http://newcritics.disqus.com/the best in web criticismenMon, 19 Mar 2007 22:18:16 -0000http://newcritics.com/blog1/2007/03/18/happy-birthday-spike/#comment-1374236My favorite Spike Lee film is one of his least watched, Crooklyn. It might be because his sister co-wrote the screenplay, and the story is very auto-biographical. It's a tender, thoughtful, subtle film - all qualities that many of his other films lack. I also liked 25th Hour. But there are many recent films I've heard good things about - but have not yet seen. <br><br>Sorry to say I am not a fan of his early films, including Do the Right Thing. I was very dissapointed with Malcolm X because it left out so many aspects of his life, so many interesting events -his debates with James Baldwin, his many visits to Africa, and it treated the Nation of Islam way too kindly methinks. And Malcom is presented as a cold, calculating leader - his warm human, frail human side is almost never shown.Ralph DeMarcoMon, 19 Mar 2007 22:18:16 -0000http://newcritics.com/blog1/2007/03/18/happy-birthday-spike/#comment-1374235happy birthday indeed - spike is one of my all-time favourite directors.<br><br>when i was living in a recently post 9/11 new york i watched 25th hour pretty much every couple of days; i was going through a lot of personal issues at the time, in parallel to business pressures and the vibrancy of living/working in manhattan - the film became very significant to me, and still is, to this day ...<br><br>... although my wife is thankful that i don't feel obliged to watch it quite so frequently, nowadays, lol.egobossMon, 19 Mar 2007 06:43:36 -0000