Reviews

For suspenseful spy/assassin drama fans, The Day of the Jackal is a must-view. From the first mind-twisting episode, I was intrigued to follow the entire series. How did this man develop these impressive skills, and who is helping him exactly? The weapons were awe-inspiring yet very scary. The suspense surrounding their development was also captivating. Eddie Redmayne played a suave and capable-for-hire assassin, aka the villain assigned to perform close-to-impossible feats. His vulnerability shone through in dealing with his burgeoning family situation, as his wife, played by Ursula Corbero, did an excellent job connecting the dots of his ulterior personality and how it put their family in danger. It was heartbreaking to see how his aloof character treated his wife coldly and despicably, walking out at his child's birthday party and cheating on her, putting his so-called job first. Although he seemed to care for her, honestly, he had an ugly way of showing it, which further made his character trifling.

I hope she is smart enough to elude him in a second season, as he doesn't deserve her or to be a father. While they shared why he became an assassin, they did not dive into what made him a cold-hearted villain. The way he killed innocent people who got in the way, with little to no remorse, was very off-putting. Of course, I understand that innocent people can be collateral in these situations. The number of unnecessary dead bodies was jarring. It was more satisfying to watch him debate whether to spare a young man who just drove him to freedom versus torturing a scared elderly couple - even if she poked him with a knife - he could have shown some compassion. Or what he did to his military unit. What type of person does this to his friends and peers? The older man made a good point: if his parents were good people, what made him not one? That background is missing in this series.

While several episodes were extraordinarily captivating and impressive, the ending was a significant letdown as the build-up between Jackal and the agent chasing him, Bianca, went out with a thud. Lashana Lynch played a complicated and misunderstood agent torn between her family life and work. One could feel her brain working, trying to uncover the clues about her target and track him down, as she did an excellent job connecting the dots and pushing against upper management. I wanted to see her have some success versus the blatant corruption flowing through the authorities above her. Alas, it was a huge disappointment when we finally got to a showdown between the two. I was cursing at the screen while I was sure some viewers didn't like her, which is an injustice. As they did not officially 'check her for dead' or show 'a funeral,' I hope they do her character a solid and have her fake her death to come back for her revenge against him and the corrupt powers that be. It would reveal more about her upbringing and why she was determined to solve this case. She was an instrumental character worth investing in and deserves a comeback. And how did he escape that final car crash? There are so many unanswered questions! The man has more lives than a cat! It is a captivating series marred by plenty of plot holes and disappointments that hopefully will be addressed in a second installment.

Gorgeous and glowing testament to the humble beginning of one of America's most premiere sports games. I'm not a football fan yet was moved by the passionate portrayal of the little known team that actually won the first NFL game ever! Who would have thunk??? I personally would have liked to see more of the fun reenactments of the 1920s Era team but it worked well how the director intercut the replays with current players and modern playing. How most of the league creators wanted recreational activities for their workers or after church service activities. Makes sense! It was interesting how the team, which obviously was majority white males in the early 20th century that the coach recognized a black coach to help assist the team. While the film didn't dive into societal ills or nuances one hopes the team and staff treated this man with respect. There still wasn't any blacks on the team so it was only a small adjustment. It was a small stepping stone that obviously blossomed and it would have been nice to see more of the story! Kudos to the director to making this bold move. Overall a very positive and well moving piece that football and NFL mega stans should eat up. And historic buffs such as I will enjoy! Dayton, Ohio home of many firsts! Who would have thought???

Provocative piece that rightfully puts the spotlight on the development of women MCs from the mere beginnings of rap music in the late 70s early 80s. It was the revelations of how much of an afterthought that having a woman share the limelight within the male driven music industry was a mere novelty or afterthought. Sparky D shining on the Funky Four Plus one where she was simply the plus one. How even 15 years later it still persisted in groups such as the Fugees and Busta Rhymes Flipmode Squad where they featured one woman out of a legion of men. The creators rightfully gave the spotlight to pioneers such as MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Roxanne Shante, Monie Love, Missy Elliot, and a host of others their important contributions leading to current superstars. I was perplexed the film generally ignoring the significance of the groundbreaking Salt N Pepa two female MCs that deserved an entire episode versus a mere mention. Not only did they burst on the scene as the first breakthrough by gender they did it by dissing a male MC! This was unheard of at the time. Then to become the first multi platinum selling female rap group who hit a long range of social issues while remaining humble, and classy paving the way for many of the MCs popular afterwards. The deletion of their contributions seemed deliberate unfortunately. And I understand being supportive of the current crop of women hit makers but giving a pass to the general downgraded hit content seemed like a push from the 4080 record executives that want to keep fans dumb downed and ignorant. I'm sorry but for every Lil Kim we had in the 90s we had a Queen Latifah or Lauryn Hill. There was a balance which today seems pushed by the elite to push ratchet music and messages. Positive rappers such as Rhapsody (who was thankfully included) arent pushed to the masses. Where was Sa Roc or African artist Sampa the Great? It's not empowerment to be able to hug a strip pole and twerk. It's exploitation. It's sad that this behavior is applauded and endorsed and this documentary missed the boat on this. Probably why they skipped Salt N Pepa. Time to Push Back.

What started out as a promising flick quickly dived into a cluster bag of crap. Not much of it made any sense as it fancied itself as a stylish thriller but came out muddled.

The devious bf angle is not even applicable. He is more of a bumbling fall guy. His story arch was completly unbelievable.

The creators wants its audience to believable a successful woman who allegedly missed her prescription would resort to such drastic measures. The relationships were not valid and the novice actors could not bring their characters to life. Even some of the dialouge was wooden and useless. For example the BF wanted to ramble about his so called unhappiness when he could have been seeking help.

Hopefully he could have gotten the real police as the so called police investigation didn't even follow any known procedures. Didnt follow any rules and didnt have a station to report too. Even though the cop had the best line about transference of power the reat of her investigation was bungled.

The creators needed to do more homework before bankrolling this travesty. Have someone critique your work.

Test screen. Did anyone understand what the heck story you are telling? Avoid this horrible loser at all costs!

Even though I personally had a positive experience with Boy Scouts sans a few racist leaders these revelations are extremely upsetting. Is there a lawsuit for victims of racism?? The documentary did a good job finding victims to share their horrible experiences and a few good investigating teams it would have been great to feature more opposing viewpoints. Also to feature positive aspects of scouting. Many troops were completely different from each other! I do hope all of the victims are receiving extensive therapy and support! And whatever criminal men are locked up for life! Nasty! Compensation should be hefty!

My big question is - so what was the byline with the random black cat??? It popped up at the most odd moments! Though much respect u to the writers of Bodied that was able to mix in certified dope freestyle battle rap along such heavy topics as racism, misappropriations, misogynistic, cancel culture, leftists' an fascists'. All compact into a 90-minut opus which took you on a serious ride through the underbelly of underground rap. If you are as unfamiliar with this niche genre as the couple was at the beginning then rewind and watch this film over until you do! This is what all rap should embody and not what's pushed down our throats by mainstream media! Bravo!

The blatant comparisons to the 90s neo soul classic film Love Jones notwithstanding, the typecasting was underwhelming with Michael Ealy and Kofi himself was a continuation of his Ralph Angel character. More substance and originality would have benefitted this promising piece greatly. Their heart was in the right place. Support black art!

Ryan Gosling packed the punches and snarky charisma to race non-stop through this marathon action film outdoing tough guys like Jason Statham or Will Smith. The visuals are stunning as he falls from planes, rides on top of a train, pummels a fellow agent behind igniting fireworks or in a beautiful palace jet setting all over the world. Unfortunately the thinly veiled script leaves any significant substance lacking. While Chris Evans as Lloyd Hanson shined as an anti-Captain America ego manically sarcastic villain, who was extra juiced with a bunch of clever ad-libs made it more enjoyable. Other standouts included CIA agent Ana de Armas as Dani Miranda and assassin Dhanush as Avik San who was a pleasant surprise with his classy skills. Influences me to check out more work from Dhanush. While Billy Bob Thornton as Fitzroy and Alfre Woodard as Margaret Cahill were underutilized but provided great cameos. Development was sorely lacking and so many plot holes were skipped it made it hard to invest in the central characters which makes truly memorable action flicks. This was not one of those plus the illogical ending sealed that fate.

What is a music film about a singer where the principal character NEVER SINGS? Very sporadic, choppy, misdirected piece that never fully invests in the characters, no development of any kind, no idea of the trials and tribulations that made her what built up. A bunch of ra ra hype with absolutely no hype. What was the point? Where did this all come from? The saddest thing is the comparisons with Whitney Houstons story, the tight Christian Family, a hidden addiction problem, a secret lesbian affair, an eventual bad boy intervention. Waste of Giancarlo, Nicey, Sharon, the young talent smh. When there are so many great scripts and talent not cultivated in the movie industry yet waste of films like this can be greenlighted? There's a mad problem!

Not a bad modern western drama to kill some time with. It's not fast paced so it builds up the drama slowly. While it's a twist on a predictable story the question is what is that twist?

What hurt it was the glowing mistakes! So somehow the Sheriff escaped the hole in the desert? I'm still baffled how he magically rose out of there! Then why wasn't there any reception anywhere for the mobiles? I get possibly a few times but every time? How convenient.

The best part was the father daughter relationship which really made this drug caper stand out.

Not a bad modern western but the the low budget editing threw it off.

Long before Yo MTV Raps and Rap city Ralph McDaniels Video Music Box loomed large. Not being from the east coast, all of us in 'Middle America' would just get snippets of the cultural revolution happening in NYC. We did our best to keep up, starting our own public radio show and later video show. Very informational and long overdue documentary on what helped blow up Hip-Hop and the black east coast cultural experience. They're right, the powers that be kept attempting to block this movement from the rest of the world but the groundbreaking art would not be stifled. I wish they would dive deeper into the commercialism powers that be that control the media but then, that would anger those powers. Video, as evidenced on Tik Tok and IG now is such a powerful force of communications every current media maker needs to study what enabled this medium to prosper as is does. Music and video will never die. Bravo Ralph and Thank YOU. Thanks to NAS to seeing the importance of sharing this story!

I honestly had no idea I was watching Shia LeBeouf as Creeper. This film started itself on Netflix after watching another and I went to the restroom. It looked like a decent Hood flick and the only notable people I recognized was George Lopez in a serious role and the Blood ganger leader was recognized from Training Day. What kept me glued was the frantic pace of the action and the evil threat on the horizon. The story was okay and the lead carried it as best he could with the lack of substance. He's a family man doing gangster work, what did he expect? For action definitely a plus, story is a minus.

For me definitely it's deep and thought provoking. Very relevant dealing with racism, trauma, mental health, systematic equalities, so much more all wrapped into a tv series. At times its over the top but overall highly recommended! Some say it's regurgitated racist stereotypes that we need to move on from but personally I feel they aren't talked about enough. Real slavery and Jim Crow was worse. This series after Jordan Peele's rise and Spike Lee's legacy are just the tipping point in bringing these stories to the forefront.

Meh it was okay. Almost like a long form music video. Definitely missed the authenticity of the original. No chemistry between characters. New ones or old veterans. Many moments were forced or contrived. Pluck a dude off the street and he's the son of a wealthy king? No paternity? Uh right. And why did they keep opening the door for a military adversary??? This so called rich nation should've had a rich military! And weren't the barbers old in the first? How are they still here??? CGI sucked. Couple of okay gags and brief heartfelt moments but yea they could've done better!

Hella good war flick to add to Spikes legacy. Good premise, great actors, socially conscious. Was very relevant to the trauma caused by war to its victims, the soldiers PTSD, lingering landmines, and the aftermath drama that carries on to the families. Biggest drawbacks was Spike should have used younger men for rhe throwbacks. It was very confusing watching old men play their younger counterparts. It distracted also from the emotional connection of seeing before and after. It would have given a higher reaction to the ending revelations. Crazy how it turned out but fitting. The lost flame should have been older even if she was a young prostitute she would be graying at least. Her daughter looked appropriate in her 40s.

I was very skeptical of the usual silly acting Crews in this low budget drama. Surprisingly he played a decent serious role dealing with realistic violence in our inner cities. Contrary to some of these negative reviews the story was very straightforward and easy to follow. The acting while not Oscars worthy was good. The throwback video of John's past was very cleverly done. Recommended watching!

Decent premise, nice setup, current issues - relevant, good list of actors - then thud. The movie fell with a hard clunk. John Cusak should have been used way more and giving another dimension to his I.A. character. Taye Diggs path for redemption should have been more clear and thought out. He was a Judge for goodness sakes - his resources and partnership with Cusak could have been way stronger. Seems an unlikely path. Wife was wooden and her lines were horrible. The corrupt cops were cornball. The guilty cops suffering wife had some of the best lines and acting and she wasn't in that many scenes! Was not well written. I could have done 100% better and I do write screenplays lol. I kept constantly thinking, I would have done it 'this way'. And the climax, really? So, nothing solved. Waste of time. Then, what was up with the lighting and weird edits? Had to mess with the tracking trying to light up the flick. Frustrating film altogether.

Too curious why Ms. Bullock just didn't make this another Miss Congeniality sequel or just use the Gracie Hart character? I mean this latest incarnation as 'Ashburn' was generally the same exact loner, uptight, sheltered, out of touch, no relationship having person Gracie was. She played another FBI type agent disrespected by her male peers again! I mean really? So Gracie had a lil fame from the pageant, so what? It's years later, she's a had been celebrity. They could have played into that. If you wanted to bury the Gracie Hart character why introduce her twin? I'm just saying. Was cute but predictable film, just like the Congeniality series.

Ran into this on Netflix and not a bad lil flick to be a BET original Lorenz Tate put his foot into this and carried the film nicely keeping you on the edge of suspense with his con-man turned good guy character.

Not that he was without serious flaws which made him more compelling.

Was odd they started off with an unnecessary narration at the beginning which became an afterthought further in the film. Complete waste of time.

The main villain the suspense worked up too nicely and then was a total letdown once revealed. Wanted to see a real bad ass represented and give Tate's character a challenge. None of the villains seemed worthy, like part time office jobs or something.

His cop co-workers had more dynamics than the villains but their stories seemed incomplete.

Also, okay, I realize it was made for TV but really was a full length film - so what the what was going on with the 'to be continued'?? I noticed they had left a sideline story out and when they finally brought it back up it revealed a confounding 'TBC' Really?? This film came out in 2011 - its 3 years later and nothing has been completed! Yo, that's foul!

I caught this B flick on cable and the marketing does a good job of hyping up the film as an intriguing suspenseful murder mystery story. Unfortunately that was far from the case. Besides the poor acting out of a usually reliable group, the plot/storyline was essentially non- existent. David Banner as 'Daniel', one of the latest rappers turned 'attempting to act' was an interesting choice for the antagonist, he relished in playing a generally good guy turned bad (his boiling point scene was quite convincing!) but his efforts seemed wasted in this disappointing film. Possibly he may get another chance worthy of his efforts, this was not it. The premise was the most confounding, not enough effort was put into establishing the two main characters with this so-called 'bond' they was supposed to cherish. Boris Kodjoe's surprisingly weak performance as 'Nigel' never established his character as more than an acquaintance with David's. His blowing off of the crimes he committed lacked any sustenance, oh poor guy he has an addiction, he didn't give a what what, you never felt anything from him. A so-called 'best friend' like him would not be worth cherishing whatsoever! He was supposed to be some uber-talented athlete/businessman, um, really? You didn't see him do crap! He looked confused most of the time! Only time he was sincere was when he was losing to the convincing Bai Ling's character 'Black' who got all in his grill. She should have had more screen time, that's a creepy lady not to double cross! It was wack how they took her out, unconvincing! This film made obvious Boris' best acting is when he vibes off of decent peers. Sorry Boris, seems you was just in the flick to be eye-candy for the females, you was the weakest link! Billy Zane, talented, wasted, barely in the movie, Richard Roundtree, talented, wasted, barely in the movie. If they had built an arc around these characters, building up the conflict more adequately this would have been a more intriguing feature. Oh, and the actor who played the young version of Nigel? Unconvincing, didn't even favor his looks! Sex factor, sorry Kenya Moore, the hottie Brazilian actress Camila Alves stole the tantalizing scenes away! Like to see more of her! And Ms. Moore, as producer, please put your money on better scripts, directors, actors and maybe you'd shine better in the unforgiving movie industry. You're only as good as your last flick! Come see me if you need suggestions! :)

I'm generally pretty hard on rappers turned actors because for one, they are placed in movies because of their notoriety and star power; i.e. they can sell a movie. BUT do they bring any artistic value as a true thespian? Most cases no. Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson is in this odd area of filmdom right now - he's obviously is interested in the craft, writing and producing features - putting his 50 cents in, this movie 'Things Fall Apart' was actually based off of a friend he knew. Kudos to bringing a heartfelt and meaningful story to the screen. Jackson was so committed he lost weight and abused his body to look like an actual cancer patient! Have to give him kudos for that also! Well done! BUT - did he bring it like a well trained actor could have done in the same role? UM... no, sorry. Jackson would have been more interesting playing the brother Sean, then the main character Deon who goes through this horrific life change. Jackson doesn't look that old, but really, a young 20 something football star? NOT - he looked cheesy, grinning constantly with those fake dreads and being a jerk with women, even stealing his brothers love interest. Didn't make you feel sorry for him when he ended up with cancer.

Coupled with a weak script and okay acting, this film could have done way better with this important subject. My man Melvin Van Peebles is one of my favorite directors, so I was expecting a little more flair with this, but he kept it straight forward and pretty safe. And what is it with modern films to rush through them so fast? Is it budget constraints? There was many flaws in the production and on set, with Jackson's obvious wealth from his investments he could have dropped some more 50's on this. I would have appreciated more build up, more concentration on the emotions that people go through with this horrific disease and subsequent fall out from grace. The silent confusion as he tried to find his place was done well, until he opened his mouth! Lynn Whitfield did her thing well, was one of the standouts as Deon's distraught and confused mother. Cedric Sanders who played his brother Sean did a decent job, but I would have appreciated more background with them as brothers. Sean has a chip on his shoulder and obviously is not in tune with Deon's flamboyant football lifestyle, but besides the failed football game in the beginning, it was hard to figure out why exactly he was so uptight. Deon actually would look out for him more then not. It was a guessing game which emotion he was feeling towards big brother. If Deon had stole his love interest earlier on, that would have made more sense. As said, I appreciate this attempt at mello-drama but overall it's a disappointment. The oddball ending and Chariots of Fire leap for victory death dance didn't add any grace, just led to more confusion. As Jackson continues his quest in mainly sub-par wanna be gangsta flicks, I sincerely hope he hires a GOOD acting coach and spends some time away from films for a minute, getting his craft on. Get your chops on in community theater or something. Maybe he can rise like fellow rappers Mos Def or Will Smith and be an actual actor to contend with. For now, mediocre is his motto.

This flick straight aggravated me - from about 10 minutes into the film I started questioning what I was seeing, how things didn't match up, how incoherent the story goes. Sequences don't match up and they never get summed up later in the film.

The acting was downright horrible, as if the people (note, didn't say actors) come in to work, read their lines, go home. There's no actual acting in the movie sans Bruce Willis! And if you come to see Brucie as a crazy Mob Boss, you're in for a disappointment because not only is he not a significant character, he's barely in the flick! Granted, the few times he does grace the screen its about the best lines - like when his boys are torturing a Russian Mob agent, he says 'This defeats the whole point of f--- interrogating somebody, how are you going to get anything out of him when he's dead? You brought me all the way down for this? Now you have to go get another Russian!" Classic!

Ryan Phillips presented another dull performance similar to others he's done recently, Curtis 50 Cent Jackson merely played another version of himself he does in all his movies. Have no idea why they always have him do unnecessary narration in every film he's involved with? He mumbles mainly, might as well had him rap the narration, would have been more fitting. He's trying to act, but obviously needs lessons.

Newer gangsta oriented flicks seem to be stuck in the doldrums, same ol' plot, same twist, same backstabber's. You knew who was snitching, you knew who was chasing from the moment you saw them. And no police, anywhere? All this blatant crime going on, chases and gunshots raining down on the streets of Detroit - and no police anywhere? Come on, like a vampire movie with no fangs.

And not to mention the story line moved along like peanut butter swimming in milk, lumpy and chunky. They skip certain things that would have gave the characters more dimension, hurried up dramatic scenes to push in some more action, and put in unnecessary stuff to draw away from the horrible script (Such as the butcher character - really?)

The friendship between Sonny and Vinnie wasn't even close to being believable, I would have never picked them out as buddies, as dull as both of their performances were. Funny, Sonny's relationship with Dave was stronger and Dave well... does not last long lol. Note to new filmmakers, if you want to do classic gangsta flicks study Godfather, The Untouchables, Goodfellas, Scarface, even Boyz in the Hood - and don't copy the formula - make something new, innovative, build the characters, give us something or somebody to root for! This piece, for all the hoopla, fails miserably!

Clever is the first thing to come to mind after watching this amusing piece of consumer satire. Being in the marketing business I believe this story is all the more compelling with its intriguing premise! Makes me curious if there is really 'units' or 'cells' like these fully functioning in the same or similar vein across the country! How trustworthy are our neighbors really? How well do we know them? What are they trying to sell us?? The social impact of going to great lengths to 'extreme' lie to us seems so unethical but then so realist... The film hit home with the social and mental angst the main characters are going through selling this lie - for a small unit, living side by side, in traditional roles, for so long, their is bound to be some conflict and challenges no matter how 'luxurious' they showcase to their unsuspecting neighbors. David Duchovny in the 'father' role is brilliant, keeping the 'unit' reality and emotionally balanced and his 'real' affection for 'boss' Demi Moore who brings about one of her best performances in years, conflicted with her strive for perfection and her natural wants and feelings. You can just see in her eyes she wants David but her brain keeps her focused on the prize @hand. Gary Cole pushes the edge, envious of his neighbors and the ironic plunge with the cherished lawn tractor -even though grim - cracked me up! If you're in the PR business or similar definite recommend P

I have never seen so many enthusiastic responses that were obviously staged when the film first came out in 2006 - LOL had a good laugh with them. The film had its merits, a decent attempt at a crime/drug thriller but what bothered me was the source - are there really people like this - have decent jobs, great girlfriends, lives seem together and accidentally find some drugs and then track down the big time dealers to offer their services? That's a serious WTF moment right there! I know some folks idolize the bad guys but usually they are impoverished and see it as a way out. Well to do folks that dabble in crime are in it for the thrill but go about it smarter. If they had come from a different angle it might have been more plausible. Chad Lindberg from Fast and the Furious tried hard in his role but I kept seeing the vulnerable character he played in that film. Chazz Palminteri did great as usual in a small role, but would have been better as the bad guy. Michael Rappaport was excellent as usual and Charlotte Ayanna while gorgeous, needs some acting lessons as much as the rest of the unknown cast does. Decent attempt at Drama but filled with so many script, acting, editing, and production flaws I would have sent them back to the lab!

Interesting - in post 9/11 I found the most unrealistic point of this movie (KB1 and 2) is that "The Bride" can move so effortlessly from the USA to Japan and back to the USA and then to Mexico and back not only slaying dozens of people in her wake - with no police on her trail - but more amazingly she's relaxing on the plane rides with a huge Hanoi Sword!!!! They arrest you @ the airport now with a letter opener!!! What - did she slay the Marshalls and stewardess and hijack the plane to get to her destination?? Why wasn't the Air Force and Marines waiting for her when she landed?? Homeland Security failed us on this one! But then we would still have Bill running around. Oh well, I guess it's all for the best! :)