Judas and the Black Messiah

THE GIST: Facing jailtime, Bill O'Neal accepts to become an FBI informant in the Bureau's quest to snuff out the growing influence in the Black Panther Party of Fred Hampton.

Judas and the Black Messiah was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Original Screenplay, and Cinematography. It won the Oscar for Best Song (for H.E.R.) and for Best Supporting Actor for Daniel Kaluuya.

LaKeith Stanfield was also up for the Supporting Actor award, but Kaluuya's performance essentially sucked the air out of the field, allowing him to win award after award, to the point of becoming unstoppable.

No matter what, both actors regaled us with some of their best work to date. Both have appeared in some of the best films I've watched in the past couple of years, so I was not surprised. I'm sure Stanfield's time will come.

Of note are also Jesse Plemons and Dominique Fishback, along with the creepiest version of J. Edgar Hoover to ever hit the screen, courtesy of Martin Sheen.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Great performances and a story utterly incredible and yet based on factual events. Definitely recommended.

Grade: 8