letstakeaction-blog1

[letstakeaction-blog1]

Will Packer’s: “What Men Want”

As much as I had hope for Will Packer’s “What Men Want” film, if I am being completely honest, it was a snooze fest. There was a point in the film where my eyeballs met my eyelids for a quick second, I’m lying a few minutes. Still, I was able to grab the entire concept of the movie and I do like the overall theme.

The start of the film there was a real-life relatable situation, where you have a black female breadwinner Ali played by Taraji P. Henson, who gets over-shined by mediocre white males who run the office. With nothing left to lose, she sees “Sister,” a psychic played by Erykah Badu. Her character was probably the most hilarious in the film.  After drinking a potion from Sister, Ali can now read men's thoughts.

This takes the movie in so many different directions. When it comes to screen writing, I was less than thrilled. I felt that the plot had strong potential, but was a bit lackluster because of that. Many scenes were choppy to me as well.

If there were themes in this film, I would say be careful what you wish for. Also, be comfortable in your own skin and never play dirty- be honest. Among many other themes, these were the ones that were easiest to follow.

[letstakeaction-blog1]

Spike Lee’s: “Love and Basketball” Rewind

If you ask many 90’s babies what their favorite love movie is many like myself at one point would say Love and Basketball. From the silk voice of Maxwell’s ‘This Woman’s Work’ to the infamous “I’ll play you for your heart scene,” has made me realize that I may not want that type of love after all. I may be more of a Brown Sugar, Nina from Love Jones type of girl after all.

The start of the movie still makes me melt, I am a sucker for chemistry, which this film still oozes to the point where sometimes I tell my single self not to watch with envy. The setup of the movie was really what I loved anyway, up until Quincy went to college- when he started acting brand new.

In today’s society, women are expected to bend over backward for men's fragile feelings, when in fact, if it was the other way around, it would not go down like that. For instance, the scene where Quincy finds out about his dad's mistress. Monica who wants to be a starter in her own right had to make curfew, and Q was selfishly mad about it. I am sure that if it was the other way around things would be very different.  I’m sure that phones still worked if it was that deep. After that, I just seemed like a chase for Monica to get ahold of Quincy literally to the very end. When in the entire film did Q have to fight for Monica? From bringing him food while the mistress looks on to meeting him on the court in the final love scene?

After taking a few moments to recollect my thoughts about the film. I would like to ask my followers why is this film considered the epitome of love? Many men will tell you the same thing, but I am still old school in the fact that men are born hunters and should treat their woman as such.  Though a woman, Gina Prince, did write the film. I would like to pluck her brain and see what could be different about the narrative of the film in today’s age.

[letstakeaction-blog1]

Tyler Perry’s: Madea’s Family Funeral

Tyler Perry’s “Madea’s Family Funeral,” was less than moving and exciting if we are being honest. The 40 and up club of supporters literally fall for the same redundant storyline every time, but it is no secret that this is one strong cult. It would be nice to get a surprise of something new, like a major plot twist, but it’s typically the same format. Typical cheating, submissive women, and super stretched out satire with a predictable ending.

The storyline started out as very slow. There is a car scene that lasts about five minutes is probably the worst part of the film. The shots and angles overall were pretty good considering that Tyler plays four characters in the film himself. He introduced a new character named Heathrow that plays a typical perverted uncle or grandfather. Personally, I could have gone without. I began having flashbacks of old men catcalling me on the street, so to see it eluded through the film as dry humor was less than appealing to me.

The funeral theme was also very long and dragged out. I guess Perry does not Aretha Franklin length funerals, but who can blame him. For this to be his last film, I absolutely adored the cameos from Instagram acts such a Joanne The Scammer and Ms. Shirleen. Many people in the film tend to see others as competition, rather than allies, so this was quite refreshing and woke me up a bit.

For this to be the last Madea film, I think everyone would agree that its reign is still one of importance to help people heal.  People tend to be more light-hearted when it comes to Perry due to his longevity in films and plays. I cannot criticize an effort to appeal to different stereotypes within the black community, I would just go about things a bit differently. Needless to say another $70 million box office hit for the infamous Madea reign.

[letstakeaction-blog1]

The Fyre Festival Film Review

The “Fyre Festival” will hands down go as one of the greatest “richest” scams in history. The film was directed by Chris Smith who also had writing and production ties. I believe that it is incredible to see the amount of footage they had to film this documentary. It’s crazy how money and clout can lead to such a horrific man. That man happens to be Billy Mcfarland. The only thing that I wish I had more understanding would be his family life and how he was able to be equipped enough to purchase an island in the Bahamas.

Though Billy claimed to be an entrepreneur, he ultimately was a “fraudster” which shows under his occupation when you search him on Google now. He began mapping out his own land and failed to even have a number of maximum capacity, or enough toilets and ”luxury tents.” He led a near dictatorship with his employees- even honoring his gay employee by asking him to offer fellatio in order to pay for water on the island. Once the festival flopped, things still began to get worse. Billy is a master manipulator with his employees, even causing trauma to the workers that lived there. Even after his conviction, he was still scamming a total of 100,000 out of customers.  

This lesson just further proves how social media can be your rise as well as your downfall. From models like Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner at the front of advertisement to being sold out in less than a week. Leading to the gourmet cheese sandwiches you have to eat when you ran out of grade school lunch money. Billy happens to be serving six years in jail, the paying back the 26 million owed to the festivals investors by his master frauding. The tea on this documentary is scolding and definitely a must see,

[letstakeaction-blog1]

Chitwetel Ejofor’s:”The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind “ Film Review

Chiwetel Ejiofor’s latest Netflix film “ The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” where he plays the father role Trywell, is a great light-hearted film based on a true story. Will, the son who naturally happens to be a thirteen-year-old self-taught engineer saves not only his family from famine but his whole village.

Nationalism is a great theme that happens to carry this film. The Malawian, Will was only at high school for a short amount of time due to his parents being unable to afford his schooling. The family had dependencies on the rain’s harvest but fell short when other farmers began cutting trees aiding in a massive flood. This caused the soil to produce brittle and scarce grain to survive on. America at the time was under George W. Bush during the 9-11 era, and where they would typically get help, this time there was none. In Malawi, the villagers often faced corruption with its own government, as the head chief was even silenced at one point. With being unable to feen for themselves the family begins to go in crises mode, holding up with only one meal a day. During this time, Will would sneak into his old school and read books on energy.

The shots in this film were good as well as the old rustic out of date housing shown as props. A lot of times in the movie Will is made to be seen as the higher statue, like looking up to his father. This creates a sort of dominance in Will that translates him to be more of a dominant person. The film ends with a mid shot of Will looking over his people with honor.

[letstakeaction-blog1]

Jordan Peele’s : “US” Film Review

Jordan Peele has struck again with the release of his anticipated film “US.” If “Get Out” reached your expectation, then this will blow you over the moon. However, this film is not for those that lack the mental capacity to understand and articulate hidden messages, in other words- this film is not for those who aren’t intellectuals.

The film as a whole was filmed to be watched a few times, and once you see it, you’ll do the same. Music plays a major role in the film early on with what seemed to be Afrocentric drum beats. The shots were done very well while moving in slow to focus on building much suspense. The shots in the glass house were great, but have me wondering how the camera was able to catch everything. In this film, I believe that there was a good balance of light and dark throughout the film.

Once I left the film- I was disturbed and had to do a lot of recollection. If you saw the previews to this film then you know absolutely nothing about what’s to come. The movie is filmed in Santa Cruz, California featuring its emphasized boardwalk attraction. American culture is a broad theme throughout this film that led to many underlying messages. Unlike “Get Out,” US is not about race, but being your own worst enemy. Everyone has a role to play in society, but could we all be aiding in its downfall. Who takes the downfall from unequal privilege? The film also ties religion into its chaos by using the Bible verse Jeremiah 11:11.

Us was a major plus for the African American horror-thriller genre. Lupita Nyongo is now one of the first black woman of its kind to play the lead role kicking in majors doors at the box office this past weekend. Not a soul could guess this movies plot or the insane twist at the end that still has me wanting to further dig in more about the ideals of symbolism. Jordan Peele and his twisted mind strikes again, and I am even more excited to see just how twisted his mind can really get with what’s to come.