Contributions from Thomas Hobbs | Little White Lies

Contributor Thomas Hobbs

Illustration of three young Black people sitting in a car, with a suburban neighbourhood in the background.

Beats, Rhymes and Cinema: Menace II Society

by Thomas Hobbs

Screen­writer Tyger Williams reflects on the lega­cy of the Hugh­es Broth­ers’ con­tro­ver­sial crime saga, which turns 25 this year.
Three young men in winter attire, one wearing sunglasses, sitting at a table with a bottle and glass.

Beats, Rhymes and Cinema: CB4

by Thomas Hobbs

How a low-bud­get Chris Rock com­e­dy exposed the absur­di­ty of gangs­ta rap.
Image of figures in black and white graphic style. Central man in foreground holding a phone, surrounded by three other figures in the background.

Beats, Rhymes and Cinema: Juice

by Thomas Hobbs

With its thrilling per­for­mances and damn­ing anti-gun mes­sage, Ernest Dickerson’s por­trait of Amer­i­ca con­tin­ues to touch a nerve.
Monochrome portrait of person in cap, with text "Crack kills" and depictions of urban violence in background.

Beats, Rhymes and Cinema: New Jack City

by Thomas Hobbs

The box office suc­cess of this 1991 dra­ma forced Amer­i­ca to view the crack epi­dem­ic from a dif­fer­ent perspective.
Black-and-white illustration depicting three figures on a public transport vehicle. Dominant colours are black and white, with geometric shapes and architectural elements in the background.

Beats, Rhymes and Cinema: King of New York

by Thomas Hobbs

How Abel Ferrara’s bru­tal 1990 gang­ster flick cap­tured the imag­i­na­tion of the hip hop community.
Three people - a young man, a middle-aged man, and a middle-aged woman - stand together in front of a house with trees in the background.
In Praise Of

Why Lake Mungo is the best ghost film you’ve never seen

by Thomas Hobbs

This Aussie indie hor­ror from 2008 is the per­fect super­nat­ur­al chiller to watch this Halloween.
Man in dark clothing holding a lantern, standing in a rugged, rocky landscape.
In Praise Of

How Death Line used cannibal horror to expose social inequality

by Thomas Hobbs

This 1972 British B‑movie is essen­tial view­ing in the wake of the recent Gren­fell tragedy.
A young Black man wearing a blue jacket with the Alpha logo, standing with two other young men wearing casual attire and hats.
Review

All Eyez on Me

by Thomas Hobbs

This lam­en­ta­ble trib­ute to Tupac Shakur is an exer­cise in how not to make a music biopic.

4
Anticipation
1
Enjoyment
1
In Retrospect
Two young women in uniform sitting at a desk, looking thoughtful.

Why Alien’s gender politics run a lot deeper than Ellen Ripley

by Thomas Hobbs

The rev­e­la­tion that Lam­bert is a trans woman trans­forms what we know about Rid­ley Scott’s sci-fi horror.
A young woman's face with piercing eyes and a solemn expression, overlaid with a spectrum of colourful light beams emerging from her face.

How I was seduced by the ‘Dark Side of the Rainbow’ phenomenon

by Thomas Hobbs

I was skep­ti­cal about pair­ing The Wiz­ard of Oz and Pink Floyd, until I decid­ed to put the fan the­o­ry to the test…