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LadyLestat23
Reviews
Widows (2018)
Not Blown Away!!
This cast included some of Hollywood's heaviest hitters. Viola Davis, whom I adored after seeing how talented she was in "The Help," and in "How to Get Away With Murder." Liam Nesson, who is legendary, and I fell in love with him all over again with the Taken franchise. Michelle Rodriguez, whom I developed a woman crush on while watching The Fast & The Furious franchise, and one of the only 3 women on this planet to ever make me question my sexuality. Colin Farrell, who is also aging, but still fine as ever. Robert Duvall, another iconic actor. Cynthia Erivo, who is a very talented vocalist. Daniel Kaluuya from "Get Out." I mean, come on. This movie had the perfect ensemble cast to blow your socks off, but ultimately, this only turned out to be just like every other "HEIST" movie.
A lot of characters actually served no purpose, and it was way longer than it needed to be, in my opinion. Honestly, the "twist" wasn't even that great. I can't even rehash a lot of the plot because most of it is still a blur. I can't even recall most of what happened, it's just that underwhelming, and quite frankly, forgettable. There's not much I can really say, but I'm disappointed. I don't know what they were trying to do here. Were they channeling "The Italian Job" meets "Bella Mafia" meets "Set It Off?" I detected so many other similar movies with similar premises. I just felt like this movie was something I've already seen a million times before. That's not good.
Charmed (2018)
Give it a chance!
Unlike most of the people writing reviews, I wanted to give this show a fair chance. I knew the show had big shoes to fill following the legacy of the old "Charmed" and these ladies would have to try to win over the angry fans who never wanted the show rebooted in the first place. I knew it would also be an uphill battle to win over the people who didn't mind the reboot, but they wanted it rebooted their way.
I was one of those people, at first. I LOVED the original Charmed, and I wanted to see a show with the children of the original Charmed trio, but something told me to me to give this a show a chance, and if after a few episodes I still hated it, then I wouldn't watch it anymore. Honestly, I did the same thing with the 90210 and Melrose Place reboots. It just seems crazy to me to write a review slamming a show after only one or two episodes.
The show is about Macy, Melanie, and Margarita. They're the new "Charmed Ones" and the most powerful witches on the planet. Their magic is strongly rooted in their bond as sisters. However, they are individuals with their own lives apart from being sisters and witches. They want to serve the "greater good" and save the world but, is that even possible? The bigger question is, can they find a way to make it work? Or, will magic constantly interfere in their lives and destroy everything it touches, including their happiness? This was the dilemma with the old "Charmed Ones," as well as the new set. What can I say? You can't run from your destiny.
Now, is this show perfect? Absolutely NOT! Again, this is only the first season, so it takes some time to work out the kinks. For me, it started to get significantly better around episode 4.
Does this show give me Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Secret Circle, and Witches of East End vibes? YES! Does practically every show on the CW have the same look and atmosphere? YES! I also watched The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, so I've been a fan of CW shows for a while now.
That said, the special affects are outstanding. I must give kudos for that. I understand that people might hate the updated imagery, but I like the modern-day spin on it. After all, it is almost 2019, and the original show ended over a decade ago.
Are the "Charmed Ones" a lot younger this time around? YES! For some reason, that doesn't bother me as much as it does others. Does this mean I'm young, too? Absolutely NOT! I'm almost 40. Age doesn't have anything to do with it, I know what I like, and what I don't.
Was it necessary to incorporate science with the magic? As a scientist who holds multiple degrees myself, I certainly appreciate it. I like the fact that these women are super educated, and with the exception of the youngest sister, they're on their way to receiving doctorates. Actually, the middle sister Mel has just recently changed her mind and decided that academia isn't for her. Again, I understand that, perhaps better than most.
Another issue people seem to have are the political issues that have been interjected into the show, and to be honest, that doesn't really bother me, either. Are political jabs a pain? They can be! The way I see it, there aren't many newer shows who HAVEN'T touched on the political issues surrounding us these days. Of course, depending on your side of the aisle, it's only natural that you would hate certain things. However, that is not the entire show.
Having said that, are there some thing I can live without? YES! Do we need the constant push of "feminism" in our faces? NO! They're strong women, we get it. Lets not forget that this is not a new concept because Phoebe kicked major demonic butt. We didn't have to be told anything. They exuded sexiness without trying to be sexy. Alyssa Milano has always been a beautiful woman, so it was only natural that Phoebe was also a sexy witch, but again, she kicked booty.
Can I live without one of the sisters being a lesbian? Absolutely! I get that this is the way of the world now, but they need to learn that a gay character is simply not needed on every single show. Not to leave anybody out, but sometimes all-inclusive just does not work. This show is still called "Charmed," and sometimes I wonder if they had chosen to name it something/anything else would it have been better received. I can't answer that! All I know is, Mel has what was Piper's role, and we all know she marries their White-Lighter and has children. Therefore, making Mel a lesbian didn't make any sense there. Needless to say, she won't be getting with their White-Lighter. In fact, I don't see any chemistry between him and any of them. If I had to pick one for him to explore a relationship with, it would be Macy since she's the oldest, and appears to be the most mature. Anyway, we'll see what happens. I just think that if they were going to make the women younger, they could have made their White-Lighter younger, too. This one appears to be more paternal than a romantic interest for either or the ladies, which is why people are getting so many Giles from Buffy vibes from him.
All in all, I think people need to get out of their feelings and grow up. The original "Charmed" is gone. These women are not the Halliwell sisters and they never will be, but the viewers complaining already knew that when they decided to watch it. Therefore, constantly using the old show as a stick by which to measure these new women with, is completely unfair. Truthfully, I just don't think most of these people wanted to like this show. They went into it EXPECTING to hate it.
Either way, love it or hate it, it is what it is. I'm enjoying it so far. I anticipate it will only get better with time.
Acrimony (2018)
Mediocre!
This movie wasn't anything we haven't seen already before. I'm happy that Taraji P. Henson finally got her "Glenn Close" moment here, and she's not a half-bad psychopath, if I do say so myself. The rest of the movie was just underwhelming. Don't get me wrong, Taraji, definitely outdid herself, so she was not my problem at all. So, what is my problem?
Well... It appears that black women just can't seem to catch a break in Hollywood, nor can we seem to distance ourselves from these stereotypes, and Tyler Perry should know better. Come on now... A man can get with a woman, use her for everything she's worth, leech off her for 18 years while he accomplishes nothing, and somehow he walks away smelling like roses and looking like the victim of another crazy and "bitter" black woman. I'm sorry, was he misunderstood the whole time? I THINK NOT! Let me explain further....
This movie is about Melinda and Robert Gayle (Taraji P. Henson and Lyriq Bent). The story starts out as an unconventional love story, where the two meet in college, and right from the start you can see that this is a match made in HELL. The relationship is toxic from the very beginning. Robert swoops in after Melinda's mother dies, and right when she needs a shoulder to cry on the most. Of course, we learn that Melinda's mother willed her a beautiful home and a rather substantial amount of money. And Robert is her "Prince Charming?" Yeah, right! Some "Mr. Wonderful" he was. Robert was a bum who uses Melinda to buy him a car, which she does, and then he stops calling her completely after that. Later on, she finds out that he's hooked up with another girl, and needless to say, she doesn't handle it well at all. This is the first time you realize that Melinda is clearly not wrapped too tight in the head, especially since her own inability to properly channel her rage would be the reason she ends up irreparably damaging her own body. Now, why this man would even press his luck by messing with someone as unhinged as she started out, is beyond me. By the same token, why she would forgive a lying, cheating, user of a man and move forward with him, is also beyond me. At any rate, the two continue the relationship against her sisters' advice.
Naturally, after learning that Melinda has some money, Robert falls on hard times. Never mind the fact that he claimed he was paying for school through student loans and scholarships. What's coming next? You guessed it! Robert, proceeds to use Melinda to pay for the remainder of his schooling, which includes his rather expensive tuition, books, and all other fees for the next year. Mind you, they aren't even married yet! At this point, Melinda was still completely oblivious to the fact that she was this man's cash cow. Against her better judgment, she decides to marry him. I say "against her better judgment" because we could actually hear her thoughts as she was walking down the aisle, but she still chose to go through with a marriage that was doomed before it began. Why get married?
After they get married, for the next 18 years, he proceeds to sit around and leech off his supportive wife, while she slaves and works two jobs to pay all of their bills. Meanwhile, he plays around with his toys and some sort of light/energy machine that he's invented. Actually, let me back up a little bit... Finally, his graduation is upon us, so you think things are about to get better for these two, right? WRONG! Keep in mind that we also learn at this point WHY he hasn't been able to get/keep a job. He's actually a felon, who was a youthful offender, and he served jail-time for his crime, which he assumed his record would be expunged or sealed due to his status. Now, how much of that story is true, we never got to see. And of course, he chose to withhold this information until AFTER they got married.
Anyways, fast-forward 18 years into their marriage, and you'll see he's running through all of his wife's money, and he is definitely more trouble than he's worth. Not only that, he's emotionally detached, physically cold, and not very loving or affectionate toward Melinda at all the whole time she's working like a dog. Can you imagine why ANY woman would want to put up with a man like this for 18 whole years?
For me, this part of the story becomes problematic because it was presented to the audience one way, but I guess the "coup de gras" was supposed to be that this man was simply misunderstood the WHOLE time, or perhaps this was all apart of Melinda's descension into madness?
As the story progresses, there's complete reversal of fortune in Robert's favor. Done intentionally? Maybe, maybe not. At this point, Melinda is not the same trusting fool she was when she married him, and is tired of him, quite frankly. And really, who can blame her at this point? Either way, she jumps to conclusions, completely emasculates her husband in front of her siblings and their husbands, in only a way that only a true "angry black woman" can, and she DUMPS HIM!
This part of the story is also problematic for me because after all she's been through, we're supposed to sympathize with him as someone who's being done wrong and mistreated unfairly... I THINK NOT! They completely flipped the script on us and had this man redeem himself. Now, I'm all for redemption, but let's not present it this way, not at the risk of making him look like a swell guy who tried to do the right thing for the right reasons, he just had a run of bad luck. Because from where I sat, he looked like a bum who was too lazy to work and was free-loading off his wife. Only to turn it all around, and present him to us like he was a decent man who was actually trying to do the right thing, and was STILL dogged out and dismissed by his uncaring wife, who refused to stand by her husband when he needed her the most.
Again, what exactly is Mr. Perry trying to sell us here? Was this stuff all in her mind or what? Well, the fact that he tried to atone for all he did does suggest to me that she wasn't crazy the entire time. And if that's true, he's no victim any more than she is a saint. I mean, he caked it on real thick with the undying declarations of love and everything, which was the complete antithesis of who we saw. My point? Robert's whole character was just as mess, and quite frankly, I don't know what happened. I think Tyler Perry himself forgot what the hell he was doing and couldn't figure out in which direction he wanted to take this man.
However, he did do exactly what we (the black female audience) expected him to do, which was make the black woman appear to be completely irrational, vindictive and deranged, and him the innocent victim who tried to make amends and move on with his life with a new woman after his ungrateful and insecure wife left him. Did I mention the fact that the new "wifey" is the same girl he cheated on her with BEFORE they got married? Knowing that, what woman wouldn't have thought the same thing Melinda did?
All in all, I've said way more than I intended to say, but I won't be watching this movie a second time, which is unfortunate because I adore Taraji P. Henson. I just find myself liking Tyler Perry's movies less and less these days. He needs to learn to write for black women instead of pushing this same old "mad black woman" narrative. Don't do it! We get enough of that in society with having people trying to paint us as lunatics. Don't discard your core audience the way a lot of people tend to do when people feel they have arrived and they no longer need us. We were with you when you were on the "chittlin' circuit." And before people claim that this isn't the case, review his body of work and then revisit this review and talk to me.
Let's see... "Tyler Perry's Temptation", black cheating wife, who cheats on and dogs out a good man for a bad boy and regrets it. "Tyler Perry's Diary of a Mad Black Woman," the name says it all, a black woman gets mad and wants revenge from her husband cheating and leaving her for a non-black woman, and proceeds to allow her "bitterness" to turn her into a raging lunatic. "Daddy's Little Girls," another angry black "baby mama" who is literally using her new boyfriend to make her daughters' father's life a living hell. "Why Did I Get Married Too?" Completely ruined the whole female cast from the first film and made them all into the same stereotype. I mean, he DESTROYED Patricia's character completely, and made Angela's loud-mouth worse, which we didn't think was possible. "I Can Do Bad All By Myself," a selfish black woman, who only cares about herself, has extremely low standards in men, very little self-worth, with a horrible attitude and outlook on life. "Madea Goes to Jail," a manipulative, deceitful, successful black woman who couldn't handle competition, and a black woman as a prostitute AND junkie. He doubled-down there! "The Family That Preys," another black cheating wife who's "swirling" on her husband, who's shallow and obsessed with money, and also emasculates her man every chance she gets, and makes stupid choices the ENTIRE movie. I could keep going on and on! His movies are FULL of these stereotypical black women. We got the same formula here with "Acrimony," only with a lot less humor, and he dialed up the CRAZY black woman a few notches.
I mean, black women just can't catch a break with Tyler Perry. Don't be that guy, Tyler. It's not a good look! This movie was in no way a psychological "thriller." I get that the audience themselves were supposed to walk away feeling emotionally drained, and pretty much the same way Melinda felt, which is what you were aiming for. I'm sorry, this just didn't work for me!
Cobra Kai (2018)
LOVED IT!
My review may not be as refined as some of my counterparts, but I know what I like, and I loved this series. I binge-watched all 10 episodes in the same day. I simply could not get enough of this show. They did an awesome job of bringing the past into the present and still making it relevant to the old Karate Kid fans. I was born in 81' so this is what I grew up watching. William Zabka was definitely my 80's crush (Karate Kid, Just One of the Guys, Back to School), as was James Spader, so I was wondering why he never became a bigger movie star. Perhaps type-casting had a lot to do with that!
Anyway, this show was way more than I was expecting it to be when I saw the previews on YouTube. Honestly, I thought they would ruin the legacy, just as they successfully ruin everything else these days. I couldn't have been more wrong. If you wanted to create a series 34 years after the original film, this was the way to do it.
The show picks up right where the original film ends, so I knew right then whomever they had writing for this series did their homework. In this show, Johnny Lawrence is now a washed-up bum who is seeking redemption for his past mistakes. On the other hand, Daniel Larusso has now become a successful businessman, with the beautiful wife and daughter. The lessons on morality and "Karma" were all over the first few episodes. I think that we all would agree that Johnny was the ultimate bully in his day, so needless to say you think he's getting exactly what he deserves. However, it's not always that simple. As you watch the show through Johnny's eyes as he tells his side of the story, you get to see a different side of the story that makes you sympathize with him as well. The question is, is he the misunderstood victim of a cruel and uncaring tyrant (John Kreese)? Or was he just the bully who enjoyed wailing on a weaker kid? Was Daniel also as innocent as he SEEMED back in the day? Did he actually play a bigger role in this whole mess than we originally perceived? This show makes you rethink your position on Johnny Lawrence. Granted, he did try to understate his role in what started the rivalry and kept it going all these years. But, oh yes, there is a but... Will he find a way to change? The issue with that is, Johnny, is still just as mean and attitudinal as ever. The question is, if attitude reflects LEADERSHIP, is that necessarily a BAD THING? I guess it depends on who you ask! Sometimes aggression and intensity can be a good thing if channeled correctly. I think this is an important lesson that Johnny still has left to learn, and this show showed just that. Now, the even bigger question is, what will the NEW 21st century class of Cobra Kai look like while under Johnny's direction? Will he do to his students the same things that were done to him?
You know a show is good when you actually start rooting for the "bad guy." For some reason, this show makes you want Johnny to win, despite what a jerk he was, and STILL IS. Surprisingly, I also found Daniel's character a lot more pretentious and cheesy, and a lot less likable here. I did enjoy the dedication to Noriyuki "Pat" Morita, that was long overdue.
I can go on and on about this show. It just brought back so many memories with the old school cast combined with a newer cast of young and beautiful kids. Really... could Tanner Buchanan and Xolo Mariduena be any hotter for their age?
Anyway, after the season finale, there better be a season two coming soon! I love it when the writers and producers DON'T completely ignore the films within a franchise like the true fans don't remember what they've already seen. I'm just waiting on Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan) to show up next.
Juice (1992)
Still a Hood Classic!
This movie will forever be a hood classic. Tupac has many movies, but this was his first. Think about Poetic Justice, Gang Related, Gridlock'd, Above the Rim, and Bullet. Don't be fooled, the man was just getting started.
However, this will always be one of my favorites. Bishop was scary and so was Tupac in this role. Kudos to one of the best rappers of all time. Who says so? The Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame, that's who. RIP TUPAC! Your legacy continues...
Juice is a 90's movie that tells the story of 4 Harlem youth that are friends until one snaps, becomes trigger-happy, and gets hooked on the thrill the gun.
After seeing this many times over the years, I must say that the characters in this movie makes it worth watching. When you really dissect the roles, a lot went on between these friends.
Raheem was the mediator and peacemaker, Q was the talented and ambitious one, Bishop was the hot-headed one, and Steel was the big baby of the crew. I think most people have been a part of cliques that sound just like this. I know I have, even as a female. I think the whole thing played out how it was supposed to. When you look at it from the beginning there was a contempt and jealousy from Bishop toward Q from the start. It's obvious that Q wanted to become a DJ and make something of himself. Unfortunately, Bishop didn't see that bright of a future for himself. You can really tell his hatred for Q after he won his first set at the contest, and he walks through the crowd and approaches them before they robbed Old Man Quiles. If looks could kill!!
I think that's what makes this movies so easy to relate to because we've all had those snake-ish friends hanging around us knowing they were silently praying for our downfall. The same thing with Bishop hugging Raheem's mother and sister at the funeral. The same man he murdered! How twisted do you have to be to kiss the man's mother on the cheek and be there to help the family grieve? The thing is, people do it all the time. This movie just keeps it too real! It happens!!
If you really think about it, Raheem was just the buffer between those two, so inevitably Bishop would remove the buffer between him and Q resulting in a final showdown. Bishop and Q was the endgame. Raheem was in the way, and Steel was just a casualty of war, just as everyone else was. Also, if you pay attention to Bishop's father in the beginning, you can tell that mental illness clearly ran in his family because his father was "crazy," which is also why it wasn't that far off base that he would eventually snap as well.
All in all, this movie was very well played whether it ever gets the recognition it deserves or not.
All Eyez on Me (2017)
I Liked It!
Let me just say that I don't claim to know everything, but I do know what I like, and I liked this movie. While many others have nothing to do besides complain about the movie, I certainly appreciate what was put together. With all these experts, I would love to see somebody (anybody) do a better job at telling this story. They told the story behind everything, the good, the bad, and the ugly. The struggle, the reckless behavior, the rape conviction, the hard time in prison, the bad record deals, financial hardships, and the issues with Deathrow.
Furthermore, I could not be more thrilled that the prison rape idea was excluded from this movie. Quite frankly, I do not believe that trash, and it is the last thing I want to remember Pac going through. A strong Black man getting his manhood taken away, a good idea? I THINK THE HELL NOT!!
On another note, I find it ironic that no matter who tells a story involving Suge Knight, or who plays him, the story is pretty much the same. Whether it was Straight Outta Compton, Michel'le's movie, or this one, they all depict just what kind of man he is. The violent, bullying, and intimidation tactics he used on people while everybody was witness. It's obvious that part of the movie is consistent, the man was someone nobody messed with.
By no means am I saying this movie is without its flaws, but Demetrius Shipp Jr. definitely deserves a pat on the back for capturing Pac's swagger, attitude, voice, and mannerisms. Don't get me wrong, Tupac is Tupac, and there can be only one, so the best anyone could hope for is a suitable actor to do him justice, and I think Shipp did his job. If you don't think so, again, I would love to know who could've done it better. Another solid performance was by Danai Gurira as Afeni Shakur, say what you want, but in my opinion she did a fantastic job. I kept getting Viola Davis vibes from her.
I am not a band-wagon follower who is just now catching on. I have always appreciated all that Tupac was, and like most fans, I grew up listening to his music. I have been waiting for his full-length feature film ever since I watched Notorious.
I also loved that they also included how intelligent and intellectual Tupac was. For some reason, rappers get stereotyped as common street thugs who are incapable of stringing together two sentences, but they showed that Tupac was much more than that. In addition to being a thug, he was outspoken, a writer, a poet, an actor, an activist, a humanitarian, a deep- thinker, and a militant. He was an artist FOR the people and the streets, and BY the people and the streets. Tupac made no apologies for who he was. I liked that they showed that side of him rather than watering him down. When it came to Tupac, anybody could get the business.
Ultimately, where I think the film loses points is Kat Graham as Jada Pinkett-Smith. I am a lover of The Vampire Diaries, so I am very familiar with Kat Graham's work, but I just don't think she was right for this role. Then again, it may not have been her, it's just that they spent way more time than I would have liked showing the friendship between Tupac and Jada. They were good friends, WE GET IT! I guess I lost respect for her when she married Will and had the nerve to speak out against gangster rap because their lyrics include cussing. Girl, bye! That's all I'll say about her. I could care less what her opinions are on the movie.
I also noticed that they spoke nothing of his ex-wife, Keisha, but instead focused more on his relationship with Kidada Jones.
I also caught the Hail Mary mishap, which was not released until AFTER Tupac died, so it had no business being in the movie. However, I was too busy rapping along in the theater to care. In fact, I wish more of his music would have been included. I was waiting to hear Me Against the World, F*** The World, Outlaw, Death Around the Corner, Cradle 2 The Grave, Tradin War Stories, and Against All Odds (since they included Hail Mary). I know they only wanted to include all of the universally known songs, but hearing the others would've been nice as the lyrics speak to his mentality, and how he pretty much predicted his own death, and prematurely made songs about it.
The only thing that could have made this better is for them to add a montage at the end and play Until The End of Time. I really expected that. I probably would have been bawling like a baby if they showed that.
Anyways, I did like this movie despite all the negative reviews, so my opinion is that his fans at least give it a chance, don't go into this expecting a masterpiece because this is not a movie for the Oscars, this was for HIS fans, so form your own opinions. It wasn't half as bad to me as some people are making it out to be.
Get Out (2017)
Not Impressed!
First of all, "Get Out" is not the worst movie I've ever seen, but it wasn't the best either. I heard all these great things about it, and surprisingly it was really slow. Nothing major really happened until almost the end, although most of that was pretty predictable. I do appreciate the eerie feeling you get regarding the characters, which is so creepy that it keeps you wondering about what is really going on with these people.
Secondly, as a Black woman in an interracial relationship, I get exactly where Jordan Peele was going, and seeing as how he's also a Black man who's married to a White woman, I think a lot of people need to lighten up. The film was a satire, so it's not that serious. It's supposed to be full of stereotypes since he was poking fun at his own relationship, and the old Hollywood cliché about the fact that Black men never make it out alive, much less to the end of horror movies.
I don't need to rehash a lot of the plot, but I just couldn't get pass the whole "Stepford Wives with Black people instead of robotic clones" feeling I got while watching this movie. That's exactly what it reminded me of.
At any rate, I think it was a decent effort for a directorial debut, but definitely not all it's hyped up to be.
Burning Sands (2017)
Hated It!
I heard this movie was awful, and I should've listened. First of all, it's amazing what people will sensationalize in order to get money and attention. It's even more amazing how many people actually believe everything they see in these movies.
As a woman who comes from a Masonic lineage, as well as a lineage within the Divine 9, I was appalled at how they could depict this type of abuse and brutality in an effort to make BGLO's look bad. I'm glad this is a false fraternity made for t.v. I have a cousin who is an Alpha Phi Alpha, a cousin who is Delta Sigma Theta, I know several AKA's, and another cousin is Sigma Gamma Rho. That's not even including everybody I left out. I became an Eastern Star, which is not Divine 9, but I can safely say that I know the untrue and unnecessary crap jealous people put out about organizations and societies they don't understand, and are not a part of, simply to try to warp people's minds or turn them off the idea of joining. Not one of us endured this type of abuse, nor were we that desperate to be a part of something that we were willing to allow it.
Pushing people into hot showers, spitting in people's faces, beating the crap out of people, and verbally abusing people. Ghetto fabulous groupie women with no pride banging all the brothers, and "Big Brothers" pushing pledges around and treating men like punks all for the privilege of going to parties and wearing letters... I THINK NOT! Humiliation and degradation. What is this? The Crips and Bloods? This is not a frat! The psychological torture and emotional breakdown behind this alone would make people quit, not join.
This movie truly has it all in terms of stereotypes, and I can totally see why several of my friends within several different fraternities/sororities took offense to this mess.
That's not to say hazing hasn't been done, or ISN'T still done to some extent, but you can't put that out there like this is how all initiates are treated, or this is what all brotherhoods stand for. That's not the case!
Hidden Figures (2016)
Loved It!
First of all, I must say that it was a delight to see Kevin Costner after a long hiatus. He was amazing as always. However, Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson are women after my own heart. As a Black woman who attended two predominantly White institutions in the South. Alabama, to be exact, where people are still just as prejudice as they always were, and there has been very little progress in race relations. I still managed to graduate with a Bachelors of Science in Biology, a minor in Chemistry, and currently working on my Masters in Rural Community Health, and going for my PhD in Epidemiology. It was always my dream as a little girl to work for The CDC, The Pentagon, or NASA.
This movie was phenomenal! It shows that despite having the cards stacked against you, it can be done. As an African-American woman with a love for science who is trying to make it in an industry predominantly run by White males, I was deeply moved by such an inspirational film. Black women are rarely shown in a positive light in film or in any other form of the "entertainment" industry for that matter, so it was really refreshing to see this.
It does bother me that people always take whatever opportunity they can to compare feminism to racism when there is no comparison. I appreciate this movie for taking an honest approach to the situation, especially since being a woman only comes second to being a Black woman. Black is all people see first and foremost, so being a Black woman only makes it that much harder to get ahead. Above all else, at least White women have always had the color of their skin working in their favor, which is why I will never understand why this comparison is even a comparison at all. On top of that, people can call it racist propaganda all they like if it makes them feel better to bury their heads in the sand and pretend like these things never existed when in fact they did. We'll just pretend that the Black people made up the Jim Crow laws of the South to avoid offending people. I THINK NOT! Coming from someone who was born and raised in the heart of where the Civil Rights Movement took place, who's grandmother, Eva Lou Billingsley Russell, was a foot soldier in the movement. I can safely say there is no "propaganda" here!
In many ways, that's the way it still is today, so these are not things of the past. I actually did a research project on the stereotypical representations of African-American women in contemporary television, although it was also from a reality television perspective, so I am fully aware of the hegemonic labels the media seems determined to keep circulating about Black women. They want us all depicted as mistresses to White men or portraying one of the many stereotypical labels placed on Black women. For example, the roles they want us to play always consist of being "The Angry Black Woman," "The Whore/Groupie," "The Hood Girl," "The Video Vixen," "The Gold Digger," "The Baby Mama," and "The Bourgeois Woman." We are hardly ever shown as someone who is intelligent, ambitious, and classy. I can say this because these are only a fraction of the stereotypes, assumptions, and preconceived notions I face as an educated Black woman involved in an interracial relationship in the South.
I appreciate a movie being made about how smart, talented, and educated Black women are. We are much more than the images that people put out about us. We are Mathematicians! We are Chemists! We are Engineers! We are Physicists! We are Doctors! We are Scientists!
Now, I'll prepare to be down voted...
Incarnate (2016)
I liked It!
I'm not going to try to dazzle everybody with my huge vocabulary or my expansive expertise on films, but I do know what I like, and I liked this movie. It takes an unorthodox approach to exorcism, not by treating it with priests, crucifixes, and holy water, but by treating the demon as a parasite that attaches itself to its host. Once the demon (parasite) attaches itself to the host, it invades their mind and creates an elaborate illusion (or dream state) based on what the host desires most. In turn, that keeps the host compliant while the demon consumes the soul.
Dr. Seth Ember (Aaron Eckhart) is a scientist with the gift of going into the possessed person's mind and performing what he calls "evictions" instead of exorcisms. In this movie, it is not a matter of faith or lack thereof. There is no God or specific religion tied to this, it involves pure science. He invades their minds bringing the truth with him in an effort dismantle the illusion. If he successfully tears down the walls and exposes the lie before his own body gives out within 8 minutes, he releases the power the demon has over the host. In essence, he goes in and kicks the demon out, or "evicts" them if you will. The demon must evacuate immediately by either entering another host through physical contact (touch), or the demon dies.
In his last case, a familiar she-demon has inhabited the body of an 11- year-old boy and Seth and his research team are called in by the Vatican to help the child because exorcisms have already failed and he doesn't have much time left. Of course, Seth already knows this demon very well. I'll just leave it at that...
I would be lying if I said that this concept has not already been explored. I know plenty people would like to give credit to Inception, but the truth is, this idea was explored way before Inception. For me, thrillers like The Cell (2000) with Jennifer Lopez and Vincent D'onofrio, as well as Fallen (1998) with Denzel Washington, and The First Power (1990) with Lou Diamond Phillips all came to mind. There are also certain themes and elements of this movie that is reminiscent of Insidious (2010) and The Exorcist (1973). While these movies are not entirely the same, the overall premise is still very similar. However, I think what sets this apart from those films is the "eviction" concept. This is a new angle for exorcising demons that hasn't been explored, and for that, I thank Brad Peyton. I'm always looking for some kind of originality which is extremely hard to find in movies these days, so I like to give credit where it's due.
Don't get me wrong, the film is not perfect by any means, but I do appreciate what the Director was trying to do. I would recommend giving this a chance. The year is coming to a close, so it's definitely not the worst movie this year has had to offer that's for sure. Trust me, there have been worse, and I've probably seen most of them.
Either way, I've prepared myself to be down voted by the "experts."
Loving (2016)
Loved It!
Ari Mengel, you are one disturbed individual. You sound miserable and paranoid, and quite frankly, I'm still trying to figure out why you would even bother watching or reviewing a movie about an interracial couple seeing as how you are totally AGAINST the idea. If you don't believe in race mixing, guess what? NOBODY SAID YOU HAD TO DO IT! The rest of your review was filled with incoherent drivel. You sound very uneducated, immature, and childish. White people are the dominant group, and minorities are called minorities for a reason. You need to take your stupidity, hatred, and ignorance elsewhere.
This movie spoke to my soul. This IS literally my life story minus being thrown in jail, convicted of a crime, and exiled from the state. I am an African-American woman involved in an interracial relationship with a Caucasian man in Birmingham, Alabama where interracial marriage was banned until 2000. Therefore, it hasn't even been legal a good 20 years yet. So, for the people thinking that we have come so far in 2016 that interracial relationships and marriages are now somehow accepted, you need to wake up. This movie only substantiates what I already know, and I have had plenty people try to argue me down about the fact that everybody's mixed with something. Be that as it may, that still doesn't mean that people are any more accepting of this now than they were back then. The frustrating thing is that it's not illegal, however, to marry your first cousin (a blood relative) here, and that law remains on the books and has yet to be challenged to this day. This is how backward and inbred the South can be. If that comment steps on some toes, so be it. It's MY truth!
Bottom line... I know the guts it takes to be in an interracial relationship. That means being willing to lose everything and everybody you care about, including friends and family. It means telling everybody in your world that you're gonna love whoever you wanna love because the only person you're living for is yourself. Knowing this battle personally, I salute Richard and Mildred Loving for doing what they did in the time that they did it.
My fiancé' actually saw the previews before I did and suggested we go see this movie together. I'm glad we did! It didn't surprise me that it was not picked up by any theaters here and we had to travel all the way to Atlanta just to watch it. It was well worth it, I was so happy to see a genuine love story about an interracial relationship, not a stereotypical depiction of a black woman playing mistress to a white man, or a black woman being fetishized by a white man, but a real relationship that involves actual love and marriage.
This is about as real as it gets. When you've been through enough crap in your life all you want is someone to love you and treat you right, and if that happens to be someone of a different race, so be it. Some people choose not to let the hatred and bigotry of others stand in their way. It was really refreshing to see a movie of this subject matter not be filled with tons of hate speech, racial violence, and excessive use of the "N" word. Some people will never agree with race mixing, we get it. My point? I was glad they skipped all that and got down to the love story. Love is love, there is no such thing as "black love," or "white love," or any other kind of love. Real love is the only kind of love worth holding on to.
As for this movie, the pace was kind of slow at times, but it was heartbreaking and heartwarming all at the same time. My feelings were so conflicted and I was so emotional, I wanted to cry. Actually, I didn't know whether to be sad or angry. When a movie can invoke those kinds of emotions you know it's a winner.
ATL (2006)
T.I...enough said!!
First of all, let me just say that I am in L.O.V.E with T.I so this review is coming from a biased point of view. I have loved T.I since I heard his first album "I'm Serious", and being from the Dirty South, I could relate to a lot of what was going on in this movie. Now, I can agree that it does have a lot of "Roll Bounce" elements. However, like I said, I would've probably still loved it if it were a musical just because T.I has the lead. Frankly, with this being his first movie, I think he did pretty good. Of course, he'll have to grow and mature as an actor because we've already seen what T.I the rapper can do, but he certainly has potential that's for sure, or like we say in the South... "FA SHO!". I do think that all the females in this movie were terrible actresses though, and that includes everyone from Lauren London, on down to the 2 twin girls. To be honest, I won't pretend like it's the best movie ever, but when you like T.I as much as I do you won't care. True enough, it's another "hood" classic, but being from the "hood" or the "ghetto" I can appreciate the realness. I get sooo sick of seeing "Hollywood" film-makers dumbing down the "hood" movies for entertainment value when they know absolutely nothing about it. This movie was acted-out, Produced, and Directed by ATL's own, and by the people who lived it. Producers include; Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Dallas Austin, and it's also Directed by Chris Robinson. I thought it was cool that they had a lot of cameo appearances by different artists in the movie. Like, Monica played the waitress at the cafe', and Jazze Pha played the DJ at the rink. In fact, I think that Mykelti Williamson is the biggest actor in this movie. At any rate, it's from the "hood", and about the "hood", and it's real. It's not all overly dramatized like they tend to depict it in the movies all the time. Like, if you come to the "hood" immediately you get robbed or killed, and that's why I liked it because it actually shows that you can hang out at the local skating rink, have fun with your homies, and all the thick "cornbread and cabbage" eating chicks. Don't get me wrong, it still shows life in the "hood" by showing us how a money hungry youth can get caught up in the wrong lifestyle of selling drugs to get rich quick, and what the consequences of choosing this lifestyle for yourself can potentially be. Anybody from the "hood" knows that sh!! is real. It shows that you have wanna-be's coming across the tracks faking the funk when they're really from the suburbs, but they want desperately to be down. Anybody from the "hood" knows that sh!! is real too. Obviously, it's not for everyone, so some will love it, and some will hate it, but I loved it because we went about 15 deep, and we all sat there and cracked up off some of the stuff they were saying, and so did everybody else.