NEGROMANCER 2.0: 2024

Showing posts with label 2024. Show all posts

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Review: "MEA CULPA" May Be Tyler Perry's Craziest Movie... Yet

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 19 of 2024 (No. 1963) by Leroy Douresseaux

Mea Culpa (2024)

Running time: 120 minutes (2 hours)

MPA – R for strong sexual content, graphic nudity, language, some violence and drug use

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Tyler Perry

PRODUCERS: Will Areu, Tyler Perry, Angi Bones, and Kelly Rowland

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Cody Burmester (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Larry Sexton

COMPOSERS: Amanda Delores and Patricia Jones

DRAMA/THRILLER

Starring: Kelly Rowland, Trevante Rhodes, Nick Sagar, Sean Sagar, RonReaco Lee, Shannon Thornton, Kerry O'Malley, Arianna Barron, Connor Weil, Maria Gabriela Gonzalez, Paul Ryden, Ava Hill, and Angela Robinson

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

--Tyler Perry's Mea Culpa could be titled Tyler Perry's I Want to Screw My Client

--The first half of the film is a slow-burn (slightly dull) romantic thriller; the second half is an explosion of WTF moments

--Despite poorly developed and under-utilized characters and middling dialogue, Mea Culpa is a typical shameless Tyler Perry guilty pleasure – that I found somewhat pleasurable.

Mea Culpa is a 2024 drama and legal thriller from writer-director Tyler Perry. The film is a “Netflix Original,” Perry's fourth for the streamer (as of this writing), and it began streaming on Netflix February 23, 2024. Mea Culpa follows an ambitious criminal defense attorney who takes on the case of an artist accused of murder, which only further complicates her own dysfunctional marriage.

Mea Culpa introduces Chicago-based defense attorney, Mea Harper (Kelly Rowland). She and her husband, Kal Harper (Sean Sagar), are having marital difficulties, made worse by Kal's overbearing and interfering white mother, Azalia (Kerry O'Malley). Forced to financially support the two of them because of Kal's professional and personal problems, Mea decides to take on the defense of an accused murderer. Acclaimed portrait painter, Zyair Malloy (Trevante Rhodes), has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend, Hydie (Maria Gabriela Gonzalez). Her body is missing, but there is enough blood evidence in Zyair's loft, where he lives and paints, to get him charged with murder.

The problem is that Mea's brother-in-law and Kal's older brother, Raymond “Ray” Harper (Nick Sagar), is the assistant district attorney who is prosecuting Zyair's murder case. Also complicating matters is that Zyair does not respect boundaries and wants to f**k Mea. Eventually, Mea will have to admit “mea culpa,” but that might not save her from the myriad conspiracies that surround Zyair Malloy and this case.

Mea culpa is a Latin phrase that means “my fault” or “my mistake,” and it is also an acknowledgment of having done wrong, a wrong that could have been avoided. It's my fault that I love Tyler Perry's work so much because otherwise, I would not have watched Mea Culpa. Make no mistake, however; loving Tyler Perry films, no matter how crazy they are, is not a wrong. Mea Culpa may be Perry's craziest non-Madea film to date, being even wackier than Temptations: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (2013).

Mea Culpa is quite enjoyable, especially the second hour of the film. Critics tend to fault Perry's screenwriting, but the plot for Mea Culpa isn't any more nonsensical than a host of legal and erotic thrillers from the past five decades. I'm thinking of Body Heat (1981), Presumed Innocent (1990), and Primal Fear (1996), to name a few. If Mea Culpa had been released around a quarter-century ago, it would have been considered a clone of the classic erotic thriller, Basic Instinct (1992).

Where Perry's writing shows weakness is the dialogue and character development. If the actors in this film seem average or mediocre to you, dear readers, I would bet it is because they are trying to build convincing characters while mouthing stiff, unimaginative dialogue. The film's actual plot and action is not anywhere near as bland as the dialogue. In fact, when this film finally explodes in the second half, even bad dialogue can't keep Mea Culpa's cheesy, shameless melodrama and violence from being its trashiest and most glorious self. The shame of it is that there are some very interesting characters who are not fully realized and who would have made much the action in this film seem plausible, at the very least. Perhaps, Mea Culpa should have been a miniseries instead of a film.

I must say that Mea Culpa may be Tyler Perry's most beautifully photographed film; kudos to director of photography, Cody Burmester. The cinematography captures Kelly Rowland's unappreciated beauty, and when she gets nude, the camera celebrates her fineness. Yes, Trevante Rhodes as Zyair Malloy is also fine, and the camera suggests that his big muscular body also comes with... an impressive endowment. Yeah, the sex scene between Mea and Zyair is kinda funny, but they look so good pumping and bumping and grinding.

With Mea Culpa, Tyler Perry does unleash “strong sexual content, graphic nudity, language, some violence and drug use” as the “R” rating declares. However, Perry's first almost NC-17 makes me love his work even more, and it makes me hope for future movies like Mea Culpa or even better. I'll say “mea culpa” if I'm wrong and be happy about it.

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

Thursday, April 18, 2024

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Friday, March 29, 2024

Review: "GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE" is Entertaining, Imaginative and Extraneous

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 18 of 2024 (No. 1962) by Leroy Douresseaux

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

Running time: 115 minutes (1 hour, 55 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for creature violence and action

DIRECTOR: Adam Wingard

WRITERS: Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, and Jeremy Slater; from a story by Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, and Adam Wingard (based on characters owned by Toho Co., Ltd.)

PRODUCERS: Alex Garcia, Eric McLeod, Mary Parent, Brian Rogers, and Thomas Tull

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ben Seresin (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Josh Schaeffer

COMPOSERS: Tom Holkenborg and Antonio Di Iorio

SCI-FI/FANTASY/ADVENTURE

Starring: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, Fala Chen, Rachel House, Ron Smyck, Chantelle Jamieson, Greg Hatton, and Kevin Copeland

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

-- Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is as visually stunning as the two previous MonsterVerse series films, and the monster-fight action is awesome.

-- However, the story is not compelling, and the characters feel like props. Thus, Godzilla x Kong is really for fans of the series.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is a 2024 monster movie and science fiction-fantasy adventure film directed by Adam Wingard. Produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, this film is the fourth entry in the “MonsterVerse” film series, which began with Godzilla (2014). Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire brings the two ancient titans together in order to fight an ancient, prophesied threat to the surface world.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire opens some time after the defeat of Mechagodzilla (as seen in Godzilla vs. Kong). In the “Hollow Earth,” Kong is in the process of establishing his territory, which means defeating vicious predators. Monarch has planted a base in Hollow Earth, Monarch Outpost One, in order to monitor Kong. That outpost itself is monitored on the surface by a Monarch base in Barbados, which is where Kong expert and Monarch scientist, Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), lives with her adopted daughter, Jia (Kaylee Hottle), the last living member of Skull Island's indigenous tribe, the Iwi.

Jia is deaf and communicates with Kong via sign language. She has begun experiencing dreams, flashbacks, and hallucinations that seem to be related to a signal emanating from somewhere in the Hollow Earth. Godzilla, who has been romping across Europe is also sensing that signal, and the King of the Monsters is absorbing energy in preparation for some unknown, coming battle.

Kong explores a sinkhole near his home and discovers an uncharted region hidden within the Hollow Earth. Exploring it, he finally encounters other giant apes like himself, including an adolescent giant ape. However, these giant apes are aggressive and apparently serve a mysterious alpha giant ape leader, and this leader controls something that not only endangers the Hollow Earth, but also the surface world. Only Kong and Godzilla can end this threat, but will the Earth's two greatest Titans join forces or just try to kill each other, again?

The “MonsterVerse” is an American multimedia franchise that includes movies; a streaming live-action television series (Apple TV+) and a streaming animated series (Netflix); books and comic books; and video games. It is a shared fictional universe that includes the character, “Godzilla” and other characters owned and created by the Japanese entertainment company, Toho Co., Ltd. The MonsterVerse is a reboot of Toho's Godzilla franchise. It is also a reboot of the King Kong franchise, which is based on the character, “King Kong,” that was created by actor and filmmaker, Merian C. Cooper (1893-1973).

In preparation for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, I watched and reviewed the previous four films in MonsterVerse series. They are Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island (2017), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021).

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire has a hard act to follow in the previous film, Godzilla vs. Kong, and while the new film is entertaining, it never really establishes the stakes of the conflicts it depicts. To me, the threat didn't really seem like it would lead to the end of the world. Godzilla x Kong is loud and proud, a true monster movie built on sensations, muscular CGI, and visually stunning visual special effects. Godzilla x Kong is big, bigger, BIG, and it probably should be seen on IMAX, but its story is no bigger than a mini-max.

Godzilla x Kong exists because Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Entertainment want it to exist as a product designed to make a lot of money now and to continue contributing to the MonsterVerse revenue stream for some time to come. It's not that I did not enjoy Godzilla vs. Kong. I laughed several times, and it did hold my attention. It is probably the least dark film in the series, but it is also the least important. Honestly, I think Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire director Adam Wingard made a much more compelling film with his 2011 feature, You're Next, which was made for .007 percent of Godzilla x Kong's budget. [You're Next's screenplay was written by Wingard's frequent collaborator, writer Simon Barrett, who is also a co-writer on Godzilla x Kong.]

Another strange thing about this film is that the characters all feel unnecessary. Kaylee Hottle's Jia is very important to Godzilla x Kong's narrative, but Jia often feels like a prop. Dan Stevens' Trapper is a generic character, played by Stevens with generic verve. I liked Brian Tyree Henry's Bernie Hayes in Godzilla vs. Kong, but here, he feels too frantic and forced. I get that Hayes is comic relief, but has become too much comic relief. Hayes is utterly wasted here – half chatterbox, half-on-the-edge-of-being-substantial.

I pushed Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire from my mind as soon as I got up from my seat in the theater. Still, fans of the MonsterVerse films will likely really enjoy it.

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

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Friday, March 22, 2024

Review: "GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE" is Lukewarm

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 16 of 2024 (No. 1960) by Leroy Douresseaux

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)

Running time: 115 minutes (1 hour, 55 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for supernatural action/violence, language and suggestive references

DIRECTOR: Gil Kenan

WRITERS: Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman (based on the film, Ghost Busters, written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis and directed by Ivan Reitman)

PRODUCERS: Jason Reitman, Jason Blumenfeld, and Ivan Reitman

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Eric Steelberg

EDITORS: Nathan Orloff and Shane Reid

COMPOSER: Dario Marianelli

FANTASY/COMEDY/ACTION/MYSTERY

Starring: Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd, Logan Kim, Celeste O'Connor, Ernie Hudson, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Emily Alyn Lind, James Acaster, Dan Ackroyd, Annie Potts, William Atherton, and Bill Murray

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is a 2024 supernatural comedy, action and mystery film from director Gil Kenan. It is the fifth entry in the Ghostbusters film franchise, and it is the third sequel to the original film, 1984's Ghost Busters (now known as “Ghostbusters”). In Frozen Empire, the old and new Ghostbusters must take on an evil force unleashed from an ancient artifact.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire opens in New York City in 1904 where a group of fireman enters a hotel suite and finds an entire party frozen solid in the middle of an extremely hot summer. In the present day, Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon) and her two children, son, Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), and daughter, Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), have moved from Summerville, Oklahoma to New York City, with Phoebe's former summer school teacher, Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd), in tow. The four live in the old Ghostbusters' NYC firehouse that had been maintained by original Ghostbuster, Dr. Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson).

Now, Phoebe, Trevor, Callie, and Gary are the active Ghostbusters, but a particular Ghostbusting case leads to significant damage in the city. That brings them to the attention of the mayor and leads to Phoebe being forced out of the Ghostbusters because she is underage at 15-years-old. But the world of the supernatural does not stop because of the human world's concerns.

Original Ghostbuster, Dr. Raymond “Ray” Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), has come into possession of a peculiar artifact, which he turns over to Winston Zeddemore's top-secret research lab. Meanwhile, Phoebe, sidelined as a Ghostbuster, is trying to find her place in the world of the Ghostbusters. Then, Garraka, an ancient god, is freed. He wants to gather all the ghosts ever captured by the Ghostbusters and turn them into his personal army as he brings about a new ice age. Despite her troubles, Phoebe will have to figure out how to stop the ancient evil that is Garraka before it's too late.

I was a huge fan of the original Ghostbusters films, Ghostbusters (1984) and its sequel, Ghostbusters II (1989). I enjoyed Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), and I thought that film's teen characters, siblings Phoebe and Trevor, and their friends, Podcast (Logan Kim) and Lucky Domingo (Celeste O'Connor), made a great foundation for the new Ghostbusters.

Thus, I was surprised to see Phoebe and Trevor playing Ghostbusters with the adults, their mother, Callie, and their quasi-stepfather, Gary. Honestly, I find Carrie Coon's Callie and Paul Rudd's Gary to be extraneous here. I have no interest in their characters beyond what they did in Ghostbusters: Afterlife. In fact, this film has too many characters. Bill Murray's Dr. Peter Venkman, Annie Potts' Janine Melnitz, and William Atherton's Mayor Walter Peck are also mostly irrelevant. Pretty much everything these characters do could have been passed off to other characters or deleted because it wasn't important enough to clutter up the narrative.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire spends much of its first half meandering around assorted relationship dysfunction, including one involving a ghost. Then, the film rushes to a forced satisfactory conclusion that wastes a truly scary monster in Garraka. I am glad that Ernie Hudson's Winston Zeddemore has a substantial part in this film, especially because Hudson spent the first two films fighting off Columbia Pictures' executives and Ghostbusters cast mates who were determined to sideline his character.

As a franchise, Ghostbusters needs to move on from its past or just die. The young characters: Phoebe and Trevor Spengler, Podcast, and Lucky Domingo are the franchise's present and true future. When this Ghostbusters film focuses on them, it feels alive and is fun. When it doesn't, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is frozen and freezer-burned.

[This film has one mid-credits scene.]

5 out of 10

C+

★★½ out of 4 stars

Friday, March 22, 2024

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Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Review: DreamWorks' "ORION AND THE DARK" Takes on Childhood Fears

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 12 of 2024 (No. 1956) by Leroy Douresseaux

Orion and the Dark (2024)

Running time: 93 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes)

MPA – not rated

DIRECTOR: Sean Charmatz

WRITERS: Charlie Kaufman (based on the book by Emma Yarlett)

PRODUCER: Peter McCown

EDITOR: Kevin Sukho Lee

COMPOSERS: Kevin Lax and Robert Lydecker

ANIMATION/FANTASY/ADVENTURE and COMEDY/DRAMA

Starring: (voices): Jacob Tremblay, Paul Walter Hauser, Colin Hanks, Mia Akemi Brown, Ike Barinholtz, Nat Faxon, Golda Rosheuvel, Natasia Demetriou, Aparna Nancherla, Carla Gugino, Matt Dellapina, Nick Kishiyama, Shino Nakamichi, Werner Herzog, and Angela Bassett

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

Orion and the Dark is a unique animated film that is about a child learning to accept fear as a part of life without letting it control him.

Orion and the Dark has an eclectic cast full of surprising characters, but Orion and Dark are this film's winning pair.

Orion and the Dark is a good family film, especially for parents and for children who are of middle grade age and younger. I find it to be too deep in its feelies, but it will tug on the heartstrings of its intended audience.

Orion and the Dark is a 2024 animated fantasy-adventure and comedy-drama film directed by Sean Charmatz and produced by DreamWorks Animation. The film is animated by French production company, Mikros Animation, and is also a “Netflix Original” that began streaming on Netflix February 2, 2024.

Orion and the Dark is based on the 2015 children's book, Orion and the Dark, from author Emma Yarlett. Orion and the Dark the movie focuses on a boy whose active imagination causes him to be scared of everything and on the entity that takes him on an incredible journey.

Orion and the Dark introduces 11-year-old Orion Mendelson (Jacob Tremblay). He is a severely anxious child with a long list of irrational fears. He is a schoolboy with a fear of speaking in front of class, being bullied, ending up in a toilet, and a fear of speaking to Sally (Shino Nakamichi), the girl of his dreams, of course. Outside of school, he also has a bunch of fears, including the fear of getting eaten by a shark, but at home its is worse.

Orion is afraid of the night, especially of the dark and of all the dark places in his bedroom. Orion's father (Matt Dellapina) and mother (Carla Gugino) have a difficult time getting him to bed. One night a giant, smiling creature slithers into his room. He introduces himself as “Dark,” the embodiment of Orion's worst fear, the dark. Tired of hearing Orion's constant complaints about him (the dark), Dark takes the 11-year-old on an adventure to help him overcome his fears and to appreciate the benefits of nighttime and of the dark. But there are plenty of dangers along the way, including Dark's rival, “Light” (Ike Barinholtz), and Orion's own deep-seated fears.

Orion and the Dark is a beautifully animated film with simple, but evocative character and concept design. It took me awhile to remember that Orion and the Dark reminds me of the 2014 DreamWorks Animation film, Mr. Peabody & Sherman. Both films share a visual aesthetic, possibly because artist and designer, Timothy Lamb, served as the production designer on the two films. Both films also convey their fantastical settings and surreal environments via eye-appealing art and design that have a children's picture book quality.

I do have one gripe about Orion and the Dark. The film does have a heart – a center – which is that both Orion and Dark have to learn something about themselves and to overcome self-doubt. The film, however, also has sentiment, and it is, at times, exceedingly sentimental, which can be both heartwarming and saccharine. Orion and the Dark is sometimes too much in its emotions and feelies, so much so that by the end, I thought the film was trying to give me an insulin attack. Orion and the Dark pounds on its parent-child themes and dynamics with schmaltzy consistency.

I want to avoid spoilers. Still, I will say that Orion and the Dark does have a time-travel subplot courtesy of screenwriter, Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind), who is known for creating elaborate, twisty, meta screenplays. Orion and the Dark has several interesting supporting characters, especially Dark's fellow “Night Entities,” so many so that I could see it becoming an animated television series. Orion and the Dark is unique and quite well made, and many may find its heartwarming insistence just what we need in these dark times.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

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Friday, February 16, 2024

Review: Hysteria Aside, "MADAME WEB" is Quite Enjoyable

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 10 of 2024 (No. 1954) by Leroy Douresseaux

Madame Web (2024)

Running time: 117 minutes (1 hour, 57 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for violence/action and language

DIRECTOR: S.J. Clarkson

WRITERS: Matt Sazama & Burk Sharpless and Claire Parker & S.J. Clarkson; from a story by Matt Sazama & Burk Sharpless and Kerem Sanga (based on the Marvel Comics)

PRODUCER: Lorenzo di Bonaventura

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Mauro Fiore (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Leigh Folsom Boyd

COMPOSER: Johan Soderqvist

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/HORROR/ACTION

Starring: Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, Celeste O'Connor, Tahar Rahim, Adam Scott, Emma Roberts, Kerry Bishé, Zosia Mamet, José María Yazpik, and Mike Epps

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SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

Madame Webb is not the worst film ever, and even with its corny and eye-rolling moments, it is a fast-moving action movie.

Madame Webb and the three young women she protects carry this film past its weirdness with their energy.

Madame Webb is for comic book movie fans looking for entertainment rather than culture war conflict.

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Madame Web is a 2024 superhero fantasy, horror, and action film directed by S.J. Clarkson. The movie is based on the Marvel Comics character, Madame Webb/Cassandra Webb, that was created by writer Denny O'Neil and artist John Romita Jr. and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #210 (cover dated: November 1980). This is also the fourth film in “Sony's Spider-Man Universe” (SSU) series. Madame Web the movie focuses on a NYC paramedic who starts having visions of a shadowy figure hunting three young women.

Madame Web opens in 1973 in the jungles of Peru. There, scientist Constance Webb (Kerry Bishe) searches for a rare spider deep in the Amazon. At her side is her assistant, Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim), who has plans of his own. They are also surrounded by legends and rumors of “Las Arañas,” a secret Peruvian tribe in which its members have spider powers. In the end, discovery leads to betrayal, death, and birth.

Thirty years later, New York City, 2003, Constance's daughter, Cassandra “Cassie” Webb (Dakota Johnson) is a paramedic. An accident causes Cassie to start having strange visions, which she comes to believe are clairvoyant. These visions of the future feature three young women: Julia Cornwall (Sydney Sweeney), Anya Corazon (Isabela Merced), and Mattie Franklin (Celeste O'Connor) being hunted by a mysterious figure. This man wears a costume; he has enhanced strength and speed; and he can crawl on walls and ceilings like a spider. Forced to confront her past and her psychic abilities, Cassie must safeguard these three young women before this deadly adversary murders them.

Madame Web is fourth film in Sony's Spider-Man Universe following Venom (2018), Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), and Morbius (2022). In my estimation, dear readers, Madame Webb is the second best of the quartet behind only the original Venom.

In fact, Madame Webb isn't the “worst film ever,” “absolutely horrible,” or any of the over-the-top things haters and trolls are saying on social media. It isn't a great film, but Madame Web is quite entertaining. However, I have ideas about why this new film is getting so much hate. One reason is that there is a corner of social media that is dedicated to dissing films that are largely led by women characters. We saw this in the vitriol and invective directed at the 2016 Ghostbusters film and Marvel Studios' recent target, The Marvels. There are also some structural and narrative reasons that might irritate some viewers, and in order to talk about them, I will have to give you, dear readers, a...

SPOILERS WARNING: Madame Web is a hybrid of superheroes, dark fantasy, horror, action, and mysticism. On the superhero end, only the adversary trying to kill the three young women wears a costume. Sometime in the future of Madame Web's timeline, Julia Cornwall, Anya Corazon, and Mattie Franklin will each be a version of the hero, Spider-Woman, but now they are not. We only see them in their respective costumes in Cassie's visions of the future. Still, in the main body of the story, each actress plays her respective character as if she takes her role seriously. The trio is fun and rebellious, and their energy makes this film hop when it starts to drag.

On the action end, Madame Web has car chases and crashes and eye-crossing fights. The film's mystical angle comes across as a bit hokey, especially when Cassie talks about her powers. However, when Cassie's visions kick-in, they are trippy, confusing, and disorienting; they come and go in so many alternate versions with horror movie intensity.

Madame Web certainly could have been a better film had the main male characters had more development. Screen time isn't the issue. Adam Scott's Ben Parker, to whom you should pay attention, is more errand boy than friend, and the bad guy often comes across as a stock villain.

That said Madame Web is an entertaining film, and Dakota Johnson is good as Cassie Webb, considering neither her character nor this film in general has the benefit of a strong screenplay. Madame Webb is a slightly above-average comic book movie, and it should entertain most fans of superhero movies... except those with culture war agendas.

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

Friday, February 16, 2024

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Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Review: Prime Video's "THE UNDERDOGGS" is Vulgar, Funny and Holds The Titty

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 5 of 2024 (No. 1949) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Underdoggs (2024)

Running time: 96 minutes (1 hour, 36 minutes)

MPA – R for pervasive language, sexual references, drug use, and some underage drinking

DIRECTOR: Charles Stone III

WRITERS: Danny Segal and Isaac Schamis

PRODUCERS: Kenya Barris, Mychelle Deschamps, Jonathan Glickman, Constance Schwartz-Morini, and Calvin Broadus (Snoop Dogg)

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Mitchell Amundsen (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Paul Millspaugh

COMPOSER: Joseph Shirley

COMEDY/SPORT

Starring: Snoop Dogg, Tika Sumpter, Mike Epps, Elias Ferguson, Jonigan Booth, Caleb Cm Dixon, Adan James Carrillo, Alexander Michael Gordon, Kylah Davila, Andrew Schulz, Thom Scott II, Kal Penn, Kandi Burruss, Tony Gonzalez, Terry Bradshaw, and George Lopez

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SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

--Snopp Dogg is excellent is this truly funny sports comedy.

--This film has a lot of profanity and bad behavior, and their reference to sex acts and sex organs is plentiful. It's family comedy that is not appropriate for viewing, unless the family is a bit daring.

--The Underdogg's scatological tale of a washed up, arrogant coach and a group of kids who know mostly disappointment does not come across as corny or phony. The Underdoggs keeps it real, perhaps, too real sometimes.

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The Underdoggs is a 2024 sports comedy film from director Charles Stone III. The film is an Amazon “Prime Original” that began streaming on “Prime Video” January 26, 2024. The Underdoggs follows a washed-up former professional football player who decides to coach a peewee football team as way to regain his fame only to learn some important live lessons.

The Underdoggs opens at the “California High School State Championship 1997.” Jaycen "Two J's" Jennings (Elias Ferguson) is the star wide receiver at Long Beach Polytechnic High School, and by catching the “Hail Mary” pass thrown his way, he wins the state championship for his school. Jaycen goes on to be a star professional football player, but his ego eventually gets him tossed from the professional ranks.

Now, Jaycen Jennings (Snopp Dogg) is a washed-up ex-professional football star – an arrogant washed up former football star, and the days of being “Two J's” are behind him. Still, he is desperately trying to hang onto fame, hopefully by landing a plum gig hosting his own Fox Sports TV show. However, Jaycen hits rock bottom when he is sentenced to community service after an accident.

Eventually, he finds his way to the Los Angeles County Community Outreach Program, where he decides to coach a peewee football squad, a group of poor kids known as “the Green Team.” Jaycen, however, sees this as a chance to get what he wants, but will he be forced to really give these kids what they need – a coach that cares?

I am shocked by how much I really like The Underdoggs. Of course, the screenplay by Danny Segal and Isaac Schamis (from a pitch by Snoop Dogg and fellow producer, Constance Schwartz-Morini) revisits familiar territory. The tale of a fallen coach, mentor, or role model and his team of poor kids, outcasts, and assorted misfits has played out in such films as The Bad News Bears (1976) and Role Models (2008). The Mighty Ducks (1992), which is referenced in The Underdoggs, is apparently a similar film, but I have never seen it (nor have I ever wanted to).

I have been a long-time fan of Snopp Dogg, and perhaps because of serendipity, he is perfect as an actor is this story of underdogs. I like that the film allows Jaycen to stay true to himself while also evolving, but the children also keep it real while learning to take pride in themselves and in their efforts. In this way, The Underdoggs is a perfect, lesson-heavy, family film, but...

The Underdoggs is rated “R” by the MPA for “pervasive language, sexual references, drug use, and some underage drinking,” and alla' that shit is actually in the film, sometimes in large quantities. There is even a funny “disclaimer” at the beginning of The Underdoggs that basically says that today's children use the same profane words spoken in the film. Perhaps, the filmmakers' argument is this is indeed a thoroughly modern family-friendly film. I think the “F-bomb” is said in The Underdoggs seemingly more than one hundred times. So its appropriateness will vary from family to family, respective of decorum and personal tastes. I have to admit that I was uncomfortable with the amount of profanity and bad behavior in this film, but...

I still laughed a lot. The Underdoggs is uproariously funny. I think Mike Epps as Kareem, Jaycen's friend who becomes his assistant coach, and Tika Sumpter as Cherise Porter, who was Jaycen's high school girlfriend, make the best of characters that are not that well written. Epps is always a scene-stealer in everything from comedy to action to horror, and he grabs all he can here. Sumpter makes Cherise an effective moral check on Jaycen's selfishness.

In the end, I feel totally comfortable recommending The Underdoggs to adult and older teen viewers. It is one of the funniest films of the new year, so far. I think some young viewers will be crazy about The Underdoggs, whether their parents approve or not.

A-

7 of 10

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

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Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Review: Prime Video's "ROLE PLAY" Offers an Odd Couple

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 4 of 2024 (No. 1948) by Leroy Douresseaux

Role Play (2024)

Running time: 101 minutes (1 hour, 41 minutes)

MPA – R for violence and language

DIRECTOR: Thomas Vincent

WRITER: Seth Owen

PRODUCERS: Kaley Cuoco, Alex Heinenman, and Andrew Rona

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Maxime Alexandre (ASC)

EDITOR: Gareth C. Scales

COMPOSER: Rael Jones

ACTION/THRILLER/COMEDY

Starring: Kaley Cuoco, David Oyelowo, Connie Nielsen, Rudi Dharmalingam, Lucia Aliu, Regan Bryan-Gudgeon, Jade-Eleena Dregorius, Stephanie Levi-John, and Bill Nighy

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SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

--Role Play is somewhat similar to the Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie film, Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), which was a big-budget action-comedy. Role Play is a smaller scale action-thriller with darker, edgier humor.

--Kaley Cuoco and David Oyelowo are an odd pairing, and for at least half of this film, they seem miscast in their roles.

--Role Play is an average, entertaining film that is better suited for Prime Video than it is for the big screens of a local movie theater. Still, the last half hour of the film really intensifies.

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Role Play is a 2024 action-thriller and black comedy film from director Thomas Vincent. The film is an Amazon “Prime Original” that began streaming on “Prime Video” January 12, 2024. Role Play focuses on an assassin whose secret life intrudes on her life as a suburban wife and mother.

Role Play introduces Emma Brackett (Kaley Cuoco). She is married to Dave Brackett (David Oyelowo) and is now the mother to his son from his first marriage, Wyatt (Regan Bryan-Gudgeon), and is mother to the daughter, Caroline (Lucia Aliu), she had with Dave. Emma and Dave have been married seven years and are living in New Jersey. But Emma has forgotten their anniversary because she was busy overseas killing someone and not in Nebraska, as she told her husband.

To make up for forgetting their anniversary, Emma suggests that they spice things up by engaging in some romantic role play at “the Royal Grand” hotel in New York City. The fun, however, is interrupted by Robert “Bob” Kitterman (Bill Nighy), who is actually a rival assassin out to claim a bounty placed on Emma by her former agency, Sovereign. Emma is forced to reveal her real self – Anna Peller, professional killer. Now, her past has returned to reclaim her.

Dear readers, as soon as you read Role Play's synopsis, you will likely think of the hit 2005 film, Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Directed by Doug Liman, the action-comedy film stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. They play a bored upper middle class couple, but both are actually assassins working for competing agencies. One day, they are assigned to kill each other.

Role Play is described as an action-comedy, but it is truthfully an action-thriller and dark comedy. The film does have a comic undertone; there are some genuinely funny moments; and the film's musical score by Rael Jones is action-comedy pitch perfect. Role Play, however, features several violent fight scenes and brutal killings, in addition to its offbeat sensibility.

One reason is the casting. Kaley Cuoco is best known for playing the role of “Penny” on CBS's long-running, former sitcom, “The Big Bang Theory” (2007-19). I found it a little difficult to picture her as an assassin or professional killer. David Oyelowo is known for his serious dramatic roles in such films as Red Tails (2012) and Selma (2014), as well as for his role in the recent Paramount+ Western television miniseries, Lawmen: Bass Reeves (2023). For about the first hour of the film, I did not find him convincing as the clueless suburban husband.

However, once Anna Peller's cover as Emma is blown, Cuoco is forced to give it her all trying to convince the audience that she is a killer, and suddenly sitcom Penny seems quite dark, indeed. Also, it is then that Oyelowo can drop the hubby routine and become the spousal partner-in-crime. In the last half hour to 40 minutes of the film, Emma and Dave actually become funnier characters. Then, Role Play takes on its action-thriller aspects with gusto.

Director Thomas Vincent makes the most of the film's more intense moments, giving Seth Owen's screenplay, which probably had more juice on the printed page, a jolt. Role Play is the kind of easy-going film that could not make it as a theatrical release, but it makes for an entertaining streaming film, especially once the leads really start to... play their roles.

B-

5 of 10

★★½ out of 4 stars

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

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Friday, January 26, 2024

Review: "THE BOOK OF CLARENCE" - Black is Beautiful and So is Enlightenment

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 3 of 2024 (No. 1947) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Book of Clarence (2024)

Running time: 129 minutes (2 hours, 9 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for strong violence, drug use, strong language, some suggestive material, and smoking

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Jeymes Samuel

PRODUCERS: Shawn Carter (Jay-Z), James Lassiter, Tendo Nagenda, and Jeymes Samuel

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Rob Hardy (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Tom Eagles

COMPOSER: Jeymes Samuel

COMEDY/DRAMA/RELIGION

Starring: LaKeith Stanfield, Omar Sy, Anna Diop, RJ Cyler, David Oyelowo, Michael Ward, Alfre Woodard, Teyana Taylor, Caleb McLaughlin, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Eric Kofi Abrefa, Chase Dillon, Babs Olusanmokun, Benedict Cumberbatch, James McAvoy, and Nicholas Pinnock

The Book of Clarence is a 2024 comedy-drama and religious film written and directed by Jeymes Samuel. The film focuses on a wayward man who decides to capitalize on the rise of Jesus by also declaring himself to be “the Messiah.”

The Book of Clarence opens in Lower Jerusalem, the home of the “Gypsies,” in the year 33 A.D, and it introduces a young man named Clarence (LaKeith Stanfield). He is down-on-his-luck and is drifting in life. He spends time selling weed with his close friend and sidekick, Elijah (RJ Cyler). Their latest scheme is a chariot race against Mary Magdalene (Teyana Taylor), which goes disastrously bad. In turn, that puts Clarence and Elijah deep in debt to a local crime boss, Jedediah the Terrible (Eric Kofi Abrefa), who threatens their lives if he isn't paid in 30 days.

Meanwhile, Clarence's twin brother, Thomas (LaKeith Stanfield), is one of the 12 Apostles that follow Jesus of Nazareth (Nicholas Pinnock). After failing to make inroads with his brother's associates, Clarence decides to capitalize on Jesus and the rise of messianic figures by declaring himself “the Messiah.” Clarence does not believe in the existence of God, but he finds success by preaching “knowledge over belief.” Soon, Clarence has a large number of followers, and they are making him wealthy. But then, something happens...

The Book of Clarence is not as partisan as Mel Gibson's 2004 masterpiece, The Passion of the Christ, nor is it Black-centric and anti-racist in the way director Jean-Claude La Marre's The Color of the Cross (2006) is. In The Book of Clarence, Jesus is a Black man, but the narrative isn't really about Jesus being black. The people of Jerusalem are black, but that just seems to be the way it is supposed to be – nothing special or deliberate. Also, I don't think the film ever refers to them as Jews or Hebrews (as far as I can remember).

The Book of Clarence's plot and themes, which are soft and muddled in the film's middle act, seem to converge on the notion of enlightenment, not the movement “Enlightenment, but as a state of knowledge and understanding. Clarence, who pushes knowledge over belief, gets the lesson that knowledge without understand is empty, the equivalent of “faith without good works is dead.” The Book of Clarence unveils these messages and ideas, not with seriousness, but with sly wit and also with subtle digs at oppression, racism, and imperialism – for good measure.

That aside, the thing that most impresses me about The Book of Clarence is that writer-director Jeymes Samuel presents a film in which Black people are so very beautiful and alluring in all their varying dark and brown shades, all the textures and styles of their hair, and all the shapes, contours, and statures of their bodies. Yet in spite of its allusions to white oppression, as all the Roman characters are white, The Book of Clarence treats having an all-Black cast play the characters in a story set in the time of Jesus as an utterly normal thing. It's about time; British, Irish, and American actors have been frontin' in Biblical films as if that is an entirely normal thing. [Even if Jesus was Caucasian, he wasn't white...]

Jeymes Samuel fills his film with outstanding performances, especially LaKeith Stanfield's powerful, eccentric, turn as Clarence. It is too late in his career to discover Stanfield as a revelation; we been knew he was good. He makes Clarence's awkward, bumbling, stumbling journey to enlightenment seem like a real, tangible thing. I feel Clarence's evolution in my head and in my imagination.

Also, David Oyelowo knocks the film on its ass as the back-handing John the Baptist, much the way Alfre Woodard upends notions of Jesus Christ's mother, Mary, as “Mother Mary” later in the film. Teyana Taylor throws her beauty at us as Mary Magdalene, and Anna Diop digs out the awkward layers of Varinia, Clarence's love-interest. And RJ Cyler gives a best supporting actor type performance as Clarence's best friend and partner, Elijah.

The Book of Clarence isn't perfect. Its plot staggers and lurches at times as it moves towards its explosive final act, which is filled with breath-taking miracles and shocking plot twists. The film apparently was originally scheduled for a theatrical release in September 2023, but ultimately made its only 2023 appearance via its world premiere at the 67th London Film Festival. So as fate... or God would have it, The Book of Clarence is the best film of 2024 – thus far.

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Friday, January 26, 2024

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