TheLoop21.com

By: Kam Williams (Add to your loop)
Sat, 01/09/2010 - 01:00

'Precious' is rated No. 1 on the ten best Black feature films.

The very best African-American film fare from 2009 was released early, starting with Notorious, Medicine for Melancholy and Not Easily Broken, all of which arrived in theaters last January. That same month, Precious made its big splash at the Sundance Festival, walking away with a trio of awards: best picture, director (Lee Daniels) and actress (Mo’Nique).

While a bounty of other excellent African-American oriented offerings subsequently arrived over the course of the year, none ever matched Lee Daniels’ tour de force in terms of either emotional depth or raw intensity. Plus, Precious featured Oscar-quality work by Gabby Sidibe in the title role and by Mo’Nique as her relentlessly-abusive mother. And Daniels also coaxed career screen performances out of his motley cast, from Paula Patton to Mariah Carey to Lenny Kravitz to Sherri Shepherd.

So, without further fanfare, check out this critic’s humble assessment of the best and the worst in Black Cinema for 2009.

Ten Best Black Feature Films

1. Precious
2. Notorious
3. Not Easily Broken
4. Michael Jackson: This Is It
5. The Soloist
6. Next Day Air
7. Madea Goes to Jail
8. Obsessed
9. Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story
10. I Can Do Bad All by Myself

Best Independent Black Films

1. Medicine for Melancholy
2. American Violet
3. Life’s Passing Me By
4. Rebirth of a Nation
5. Black Dynamite
6. Ballast
7. The Jazz Baroness
8. Bama Girl
9. A Passion for Giving
10. Heart of Stone

Best Black Documentaries

1. Still Bill
2. Tyson
3. Brick City
4. Good Hair
5. This Is the Life
6. Harlem in Montmartre
7. Pressure Cooker
8. The Providence Effect
9. If I Die Tonight
10. Prom Night in Mississippi

Best African Films

1. Endgame
2. Skin
3. Motherland
4. Invictus
5. Soundtrack for a Revolution

Best Short Films

1. Men II Boys
2. Crossing the Line: Multiracial Comedians
3. The Good Fight: James Farmer Remembers the Civil Rights Movement
4. Happily Ever After
5. This Life Ain’t Pretty

Best Actor (Lead Role)

1. Wyatt Cenac (Medicine for Melancholy)
2. Idris Elba (Obsessed)
3. Jamie Foxx (The Soloist)
4. Chiwetel Ejiofor (Endgame)
5. Jamal Woolard (Notorious)
6. Morris Chestnut (Not Easily Broken)
7. Jason Palmer (Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench)
8.