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Doctor Dolittle (1998) dir. Betty Thomas

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scarlett johannsen: i Should be allowed to play Any PERSON or any TREE or any ANIMAL or any Bad METAPHOR im currently equating to poc BECAUSE im an ACTOR and thats my JOB

scarlett johannsens acting range: 😐…………………….😏

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i think about this a lot

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Just a friendly warning; YouTube is doing screamer ads again. It’s for the new Annabelle movie and it starts with “staring contest in 3,2,1” followed by a jumpscare and a loud scream. I saw it today (June 20th) so keep an eye out for it.

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Indya Moore photographed by Zoey Grossman

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#CancelLindaFairstein: Social Media At Its Best

Linda Fairstein the prosecutor of the Central Park Five case is feeling the heat for her racist prosecution of five black and brown boys after the release of Ava DuVernays jaw-dropping Netflix series, “When They See Us.” Fairstein, who was head of the Manhattan Sex Crimes Unit in 1989, destroyed the lives of five teenagers by sending them to jail for a heinous crime the New York Police Department fabricated against them. 

Following the release of DuVernay’s series, social media lit up protesting the prejudice and injustice these children faced at the time. Almost immediately Fairstein’s social media outlets were flooded with the hashtag #CancelLindaFairstein. Since then she has removed all of her accounts and people are still not letting up questioning why she herself has not been prosecuted for her actions.

In the years following the falsified case, Fairstein, portrayed by Felicity Huffman in the series, published multiple books while innocent children suffered in lock-up. Book publisher Simon & Schuster also received request to drop the controversy entrenched Fairstein under the hashtag #BoycottSimonSchuster.

Ironically to this day, Linda Fairstein amid all facts believes she was correct in the case and shows no remorse.  Not only that, she attempted to control how she was portrayed on screen. In an interview with the Daily Beast, Ava DuVernay explained, “Linda Fairstein actually tried to negotiate. I don’t know if I’ve told anyone this, but she tried to negotiate conditions for her to speak with me, including approvals over the script.” Luckily the Oscar-nominated Ava DuVernay declined Fairstein’s request for white privilege.

Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise all deserved better and received the absolute worse at the hands of lairs sworn to protect the very people they incriminated! Listen Linda… (in my best hispanic child voice)…take a seat!

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FKA twigs - Cellophane

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Lil Nas X x Teen Vogue!

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Marvel: do NOT take pictures or videos OF ANYONE OR ANYTHING ON SET or else you WILL DIE

Every single cast member: *giggling while taking pictures and videos of each other on set*

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Ma (2019) - Y’all weren’t taught Stranger Danger?!

Note: No spoilers here, but there is commentary on certain elements of the movie that those terrified of anything resembling a spoiler may not like.

So, last Saturday, I went to see Ma, which stars the Academy Awards and Golden Globes winner, Octavia Spencer (she’s got plenty more, these are just the most recent). You’ll probably recognize Ms. Spencer from movies like Hidden Figures, The Help, and Fruitvale Station. 

Ma is a psychological thriller about a group of young, white teenagers (and their token black friend!) who are befriended by Sue Ann Ellington, a middle age black woman who decides to illegally buy the teenagers alcohol one day. She then starts to invite them to party in her basement and then things get very, very fucked up. It is directed by Tate Taylor, who also directed The Help (I don’t recognize any of his other movies and y’all probably won’t either so I ain’t even gonna post them, lol). The writer is Scott Landes. In addition to Octavia Spencer as Ma, you have Diana Silvers as Maggie, Juliette Lewis as Erica, McKaley Miller as Hayley, Corey Fogelmanis as Andy, Gianni Paolo as Chaz, Dante Brown as Darrell and Tanyell Waivers as Genie. 

So, let’s get to the pros and the cons! And let me give you the bad news first and then make you feel better with some good news. . . 

Cons:

Most of the plot is actually revealed in the trailer and certain promotional posters. This takes away a lot of the surprise element that this movie could have, and should have had. However, there are a couple big surprises that weren’t revealed and that I didn’t expect. Still, a big con.

The movie has some inconsistencies regarding the characters’ actions and motivations (character plot holes) - this critique is more aimed at the group of teenagers instead of Ma/Sue Ann. Some of the teens made decisions that was not in line with what the movie presented about them in the beginning and they didn’t really give me reason to believe they would change or an explanation for why. They also didn’t have realistic reactions to some of (shit, all of) Ma’s actions - they were way too calm and playful. 

The movie is from the perspective of the teenagers but it would’ve been much better from Ma’s perspective. While most psychological thrillers and horror movies are from the victim’s perspective, however, this wasn’t the best choice for this movie. 

In a sense, this movie does leave it to you to answer the things they didn’t answer (did Jordan Peele help write this by any chance?) and while having a few unanswered questions is okay or even good in some instances, I felt like the audience has to guess and make up answers way too much here.

Pros:

Octavia Spencer is fucking amazing in this film. There’s a reason she won those awards and I hope that if nothing else, this film encourages other people to cast her in different roles outside of the typical Mama/Mammy roles she’s been typecast in. Her performance carries the movie and you can see the full range of her acting skills. She deserves more versatile roles - PERIODT. 

This movie does a great job at adding humor to a psychological thriller. Jordan Peele attempted this in Us, but in my opinion he failed and ended up coming off as corny. His humor seemed out of place and took away from the creepiness of the movie. Ma is able to accomplish adding humor in a way that flows and blends effortlessly with the scarier/creepier elements in the movie. It provides the right amount of comic relief. Most of those moments are when Ma is on screen and Octavia Spencer is able to be both funny and scary without it taking away from the movie.

This movie makes a lot of commentary on race and bullying, but more so race than anything. I found that pleasantly surprising. And it wasn’t shoved down your throat. Ma seems to have an obsession and/or intense desire for whiteness or to at least a strong desire be where the white folks are at and to be accepted by them. The race commentary is more subtle but it’s there.

I was legitimately creeped out - I jumped several times in the theater, and felt a sense of danger and fear throughout the film...I was actually silently warning the dumb teenagers, lol. It wasn’t like the first time I saw Nightmare on Elm St., but it is the first time I’ve felt anything remotely close to that in awhile - so shoutout to them for being able to make me feel that way. I’ll also be honest and say I looked away during a few scenes, lol. Don’t judge me!

The cast overall does a fine, even good job. They’re not as great as Octavia, obviously, but they carry their weight - even the kids! 

The film is an attempt at something different. Something we haven’t seen before and it stars a black woman as the villain, so to speak. And it wasn’t a poor execution at all. While it does definitely leave room for improvement, just the fact that it’s different and stars a black woman who is usually seen in Mammy/Mother-like roles deserves a couple points just for that.

Overall, I genuinely enjoyed this film. It’s different and we are able to see Octavia Spencer showcase her many talents as an actress. The movie keeps your attention from beginning to end and even will have you feeling at least somewhat afraid for the teens. It adds humor in a way that works and the cast itself does a good job. It lacks with the writing and promotion, however, not enough that I will tell you not to see this in theaters. Actually, GO SEE IT IN THEATERS. And make sure it has a decent crowd when you go too because it will add to the enjoyment of the movie. 

Rating: 4 Butter Popcorn Pieces

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Rihanna for Savage X Fenty

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She was having a good time