88

I don't give 10s and rarely give 9s, so this is an A grade.

This movie kept me on the edge of my seat. A political thriller that does not follow conventional story-telling patterns. The filmmaker kept me guessing throughout.

A Tribeca gem, this piece holds a mirror to the flawed political system without removing the filmmaker's neutrality, this allowing the audience to ponder the implications of the plot twists without bias.

There are genuine tense moments that build suspense and anticipation. In the vein of whodunits but without campy humor or over the top tropes.

The ending does not leave me any room for character empathy or a feeling of finality to the journey. It only left me saying, "where do we go from here?"

The film looks and feels like it could have been good. But, alas, it is not. It trots out all these conspiracies and endeavors to link them together. Some scenes are downright amateur. The politician being interviewed by the journalist, ugh. And, that whole narrative and journalist interview segment should have been cut. Now, for the most part, the acting is good. I thought Orlando Jones was great. We need to see more of him. And, Orlando demonstrates he can be effective in various genres. The writer/director should have had some supervision. Or, perhaps wear less hats on his/her next project. Brandon Victor Dixon as the main protagonist does a fine job.

Political drama "88" aims to be more eye-opening than the likes of "Irresistible" or "The Ghost Writer" - lofty & noble ambition, that it totally fails to meet as its plodding on-the-nose 2hr+ screenplay is poorly delivered by a virtually unknown cast (William Fichtner a minor exception). Super-PAC finance chief Brandon Victor Dixon discovers that 75% of funding for black presidential candidate Orlando Jones comes anonymously from white supremacist sources. Cue questions on 'Who' & 'How' (tho infuriatingly no-one asks 'Why' (to save the 'punchline' til the end - sigh)). Writer / director Eromose may have an important message to relay... but this ain't how to relay it.

88 is a political thriller with a pointed message for *right now*. I went to the theatre for a few hours of mindful entertainment and was thrilled to find a thought-provoking, riveting and well-told story.

Lovers of political thrillers will be deeply satisfied. Movie buffs will notice the nods to Hitchcock, Scorsese and All the President's Men. 70s babies like me will reminisce about School House Rock during a brief and brilliant segment/explainer on SuperPacs and Citizens United. Must see.

I was fortunate enough to catch this film when it was available and it did not disappoint. I find lately with my entertainment, i crave less and less the pretentious and seek the profound. Films with tales that actually have something to say. Eromose is a fantastic story teller and in this fresh take of a political thriller are revamped, reimagined and even new elements of this genre that already has a plethora of other film entries of its kind. This is the kind of filmmaker that truly is a master of his craft and takes his work seriously , which shows in his product. My hope is to see a wide release of this film but even more so, i look forward to seeing more work from the director in the future.