How come I don’t really know Anthony Mackie’s work. I looked on IMDB on the films he is known for and to be honest, most of them I have not seen, as much as I watch. He is on the Marvel franchise movies, and Lord knows I avoid those. I guess I am catching up because by chance, I have seen two movies recently with him in it.

He plays Bernard Garrett in ‘The Banker,’ and it’s a great performance. The film, directed by George Nolfi, tells of two black men in the 1950s who used a front man to acquire real estate properties (some white areas did not allow African Americans to own properties in their areas) and this is a very interesting story. This was supposed to have come out during Oscars season but was delayed because one of the producers get #metoo accusations. I think this is an uneven film, but give it a marginal thumbs up, because the story is very interesting. It does not hurt that this also stars Nicholas Hoult, one of my favorite young actors. The film is well-acted, and the first half is tons of fun. The second half kind of sinks under legalese, but at that point you are already invested in the story.

I also liked ‘Seberg,’ starring Kristin Stewart as Jane Seberg. I thought this was a biopic but it isn’t. the film narrates a specific time of her life, in the late 60s when she started to support the Black Panthers, and got targeted by the FBI for it. Stewart is fantastic here, and I will now say she is the most impressive young actress working nowadays. People who judge her just for her work in ‘Twilight’ should wake up and see everything else she is doing. She gives characters so much flash and bone and her Jean Seberg is no different. When the character started to unravel, Stewart handles the characterization so well and you feel everything. Mackie here plays Hakim Jamal, the man who introduces the Black Panthers to her, and consequently Seberg has an affair with him.

Both stories are very well thought, and I appreciate both.