Hate it or Love it: Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns”

 So, this weekend I checked out Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns” starring Angela Bassett and Rick Fox and it pains me to say it but I hated it. I’ll admit it, I was skeptical that Angela and Rick would make a decent on screening pairing and my suspicions proved to be correct. Overall this movie was a real regression for Tyler and he was totally all over the place. I found myself wondering several times “where is he going with this?” Also, it really highlighted the problem with Tyler’s movies that they all have the same basic premise…you have a vulnerable struggling Black woman who is so guarded that she screws over a perfect Black man because she has been hurt one too many times. That plot is getting kind of played out and I’m kind of sick of seeing it. Although things always end well, I just gotta wonder…why do Black women have to be the source of the problem in all his movies?

Anyway, I looooove “Why Did I Get Married?”…but this effort from Tyler was not the business. There were too many stereotypes, cliches, the movie was long and drawn out with very little flow or purpose, the Madea cameo was pointless and not funny, and Angela and Rick had zero chemistry. Angela over-acted and brought no versatility to the role at all. She proved herself incapable of any type of comedic performance which might’ve made the movie seem less depressing. However, Jennifer Lewis was definitely the highlight and she added the few funny moments to the movie.

Did you check out “Meet the Browns”? What do you think of it?

Posted by Reecie

Reecie Recommends: Will Smith’s “I Am Legend”

After weeks of seeing the previews for Will Smith’s “I Am Legend”, I was more than happy to check out his new flick last night. With a little Oscar buzz surrounding his performance I was worried that the previews were misleading and it was going to end up being mostly boring and slow. However, the film draws you in from the very beginning and does not let go of you til the credits roll.

We already know that Will Smith is an A-list leading man in Hollywood, but this movie was an even more remarkable challenge than anything else he has undertaken before: providing a compelling portrayal of the last man alive and of course holding his own as pretty much the only human character in the entire movie. For a major Hollywood blockbuster that is pretty major and Will passed with flying colors. I doubt that anyone could have done such a superb job. The way he seamlessly switched from comedic, to dramatic, to being terrified, to being brave was truly an amazing thing to be a part of. And I say be a part of, because it is impossible for anybody who is a true movie lover to sit there apathetically and not being on the edge of your seat the entire time and totally invested in the movie. This movie makes you wonder what you would do if you were the last person on earth…would you make the best of it? Would you give up hope? But the movie deals with these things in very relatable ways and not on a preachy level at all.

So…if you are looking for a fantastic action, suspense, thriller then you MUST check out “I Am Legend”. Don’t let anyone with a simple mind fool you into believing that this isn’t one of the best movies of the year!

What did you guys think of the movie? Please try to refrain from giving away spoilers!

Posted by Reecie

Let’s Make a List: The Scariest Movies/Best Horror Movies of All Time

With this being Halloween season, scary movies are a hot commodity. Personally, I love horror movies. Yeah I’m a scaredy cat, but I still can’t resist a good suspense thriller. So…I want to know…what do you guys consider the scariest/best horror movies of all time?

My list:

1) The Saw Movies- I’ve seen all 4 of these movies and I gotta say that nothing is more terrifying than the thought of a psycho serial killer kidnapping you, strapping you into a death device, and trying to save your life while the clock is ticking. Every last one of those movies was sick, but for horror movies, this is definitely as good as it gets.

 

2) Event Horizon- Perhaps this movie was so scary to me because I was a young buck and everything was scary to me…but I think this is really one of the most chilling movies I’ve ever seen. There was a subtle horror to it that you don’t find in a lot of the slasher flicks.

  

3) Nightmare on Elm Street Movies- This franchise was terrifying on every single level. Freddy Crougar terrorized people in their dreams and not too much is scarier than a killer nightmare!

4)Halloween/Friday The 13th Movies- Both of these franchises consisted of huge ogre killers who walked so slowly yet managed to always catch up to their fleeing victims. I think these movies are the equivalent of “the boogyman” for teenagers…it’s like “don’t have sex in the woods, lake, or backseat of a car or Jason will come and kill you”.

5) Dawn of the Dead- I never saw the original but the remake with Ving Rhames was pretty dog on scary. 28 Days gets an honorable mention for being along the same lines.

6) Scream- Oh come on…you may be laughing at me for including this, but Drew Barrymore being strung up in that first scene was truly horrifying!

7) The Relic- This was a sleeper hit, but with alien bugs invading a museum I was jumping out of my seat!

8 ) The Exorcist- All the bodily fluids coming out of that girl is enough to rate this one of the most gross movies ever at the very least.

 9) The Blair Witch Project- You got to be one stupid mutha f(*ker to go out in the woods and get lost to the point of getting killed by who knows what…but this is still one of the most simple yet scary movies made.

10) The Shining- Jack Nicholson played the hell out of this role…I don’t even think anyone was killed in this movie, but that doesn’t make it any less scarier!

So what movies should be added to this list? What genre of horror movies scare you the most- the ones with a serial killer, aliens, ghosts, etc?

Posted by Reecie

Reecie Recommends: Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married?”

So I know I’m a week late with this since I was too busy the opening weekend with my bday stuff to check out the movie…but better late than never. With all the rave reviews I heard about the movie I made it a priority to check it out this weekend.

So…what’s the verdict? I absolutely LOVED it! This is a movie where Tyler did every single thing right. The movie has a great message, great cast, excellent plot development, and watching it is truly a good time.

I know people assume that the title “Why Did I Get Married?” means that the movie is going to be a cliche anti-marriage movie, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, this movie is actually very pro-marriage but more importantly pro-WORKING at marriage. With the incredibly high divorce rates in this country there is no denying that people give up much quicker on marriages than they used to…and this movie really drives home the point that a marriage can work if both people are willing to work it out. Of course it doesn’t over-simplify the very complex reasons why so many marriages fail…but it does provide a sense hope and optimism. 

Since I hate movie reviews that tell the whole movie…I won’t go into depth about the movie at all…I will just say GO OUT AND SEE IT! If you don’t like this movie, then someone needs to check that you have a pulse.

Did you check out the movie? What did you think about it? How does this stack up to Tyler’s other flicks? Who was your favorite couple? Who did the best job acting? What do you think about the message of the movie? Isn’t it refreshing to see a movie like this for those of us that still believe in the virtue/value of marriage?

Posted by Reecie

What Are Your Guilty Pleasures in Music, Movies, TV, Video Games?

We all have our guilty entertainment pleasures in life. A lot of people would be kinda surprised to find the kind of things I love to watch and listen to. I call most of these things my guilty pleasures because a lot of them are just downright sleazy or shows that I’m obsessed with. So it makes me wonder…what’s lurking on your Tivo, in your IPOD, or in your DVD player that nobody would be able to guess? To break the ice…I’ll start off with my list.

 

Television:

I’m totally a reality tv junkie. And by reality tv that includes Maury Povich (who doesn’t love the suspense of paternity tests?), People’s Court, the Amazing Race, Big Brother,American Idol, America’s Next Top Model, pretty much any dating show, and prank shows like Boiling Points and Hell Date. I must also profess my love for game shows like Family Feud and my all time favorite Fear Factor.

On a much more productive note…right now I’m addicted to Flip That House, Property Ladder, and Sweat Equity. I love home improvement shows and the educational aspect of it. 

Finally, I loooove Law & Order and CSI. I can watch those shows all day long back to back…but I prefer the originals to all of the spinoffs.

Movies:

I love scary movies! I’m actually kind of a punk and a little squeemish when it comes to these movies, but I can’t help but love them anyway. I can’t stand dramas or sappy movies… bring on the gore, the suspense, and the action!

So HM readers…it’s your turn…what are your entertainment guilty pleasures? What shows, movies, or music do you love but wouldn’t want to admit to in the light of the day? What entertainment items are you obsessed with? Do any of my items make your list as well?

Posted by Reecie

“The Brave One”- Movie Review @ HonorableMedia *spoilers*

This movie has been out for a lil while.  I harbored a little trepidation from going to check it out in the first place cause the movies that are out now in the theatres don’t really do it for me. Anyone else agree? Anyway, so the lady and I went to peep this last night and I gotta say that it’s one of the best movies of the year.  Jodie Foster’s re-emergence on the the screens not only depicted a new, more edgier look, but it showed us a different side of her acting abilities that we hadn’t seen in her past works.

“The Brave One” places Erica Bain, played by Foster, as a New York City radio personality who undergoes a dark and life-altering transformation after she and her fiance were robbed and brutally assaulted at night by thugs who also recorded the attack.   While Erica surprisingly lives through the attack, her fiance dies just days after both had ordered their wedding invitations.  Sad indeed but what happens next in Erica’s life is what some may call “vigilantism” or “rampant murder” as she roams the streets of New York single-handedly taking down individuals who have participated or will participate in heinous crimes.  Yes, Erica takes the law into her own hands as she feels the city, the world, the police have failed her in not being able to find those who took the life of her fiance.  During the movie, Erica ponders whether her night-time activities are by choice or by fate as she always winds up at dark corners between what’s right and what’s wrong.  We follow Erica through a series of events where she and her hand gun cast down on pimps, subway theives, et. al.  We see Erica’s transformation from a genial, care-free and madly in love reporter to some sort of Dark Knight-esque caper vowing to bring villians to justice, or rather, to death.

As Erica is playing this complex and juxtaposed duality between protagonist and “antagonist,” she befriends Detective Mercer, played by the talented Terrance Howard.  Mercer, amidst the negative air that surrounds NYC’s police dept, is characterized as the “good cop” who will fail at nothing to bring the “bad guys” down, even those he would consider a best-friend.  His “friendship” with Erica starts to get blurry as he begins to tie in recent deaths in the city to coincidental conversations and intimating remarks made by Erica. Mercer soon realizes that Erica has a serious V for Vendetta when Erica sends him the text message, “Goodbye” and a video attachment of the brutal beating of the night her fiance died.  Erica, through her own detective efforts, finds out where the individuals who attacked her resided.  She goes after the thugs but finds herself in a serious bind when one of the attackers gets her in an okey-doke.  As tension rises in the scene, Mercer, bashes through the door, knocks the attacker off Erica and points his gun at Erica and the attacker.  Erica, in the meanwhile, has her gun pointed at the head of the attacker and puts Mercer in an uncomfortable position to either shoot her or shoot the attacker because she’s going to do what she came there to do and no one was going to stop her.

So what happens next?…..haha, go watch the movie!!! Trust me, the ending is gangsta!  This movie gets 2 major thumbs up and I applaud both Foster and Howard for their excellent acting and emotional deliverance in this movie.

Couple worthy points for discussion:

1. What is this movie saying about taking the law into your own hands? Is this something we should embrace or not? Regardless the outcome at movie’s end, should Erica Bain be tried for murder or does she have standing in a court of law?

2. Is America’s city streets that unsafe that a vigilante is what is needed to clean things up? How would you feel if something like this actually took place in your city?

3. Could and should we tie in any gender or race issues to this topic and is there any evidence showing us how easy it is for a victimized white woman to easily get away with murder (pun intended) in today’s society?

 ~Thesis

Jackie Chan Smites “Rush Hour” Franchise

Source

Goodmorning all.  Well, it’s with some, but understandable, surprise to hear that Jackie Chan really hasn’t cared much for the “Rush Hour” franchise which catapulted his career in the states.  According to the article, Chan mentioned that he initially starred in the first “Rush Hour” to test the American market which he didn’t have high hopes for to begin with.  He got involved in the 2nd installment because he was offered an “irresistable” amount of cheese and he decided to give the fans what they wanted by doing a 3rd and final act.

Although he has willingly participated in the humour that drove the success of these movies, he still does not understand much of the comedy and feels that the action scenes were too “Americanized” for him.  He has also stated that much of the money he’s received from these movies have gone to fund “Chinese-language projects that truly interest him.”

What’re your thoughts about Chan’s smiting of the industry that broke him in the American audience.  Is it the proverbial, “biting the hand that feeds you” or is it merely exploiting the industry that exploited you and your “martial arts” to begin with? It’s not too often that you hear any kind of backlash from Chinese actors.  Do you think there are more “Jackie Chans” in the industry that are not speaking up on their distaste or do you think Chan is simply an ingrate?

~Thesis

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Hip-Hop vs. America on BET

Thanks to Stallion, an HM contributing commentor, for the heads up on BET’s special Hip-Hop vs. America. To be quite honest, the HM contributors did not get a chance to watch the series, even though it is a topic that is worthy of discussion. The BET special is available to watch at BET.com.

According to the Baltimore Sun Times, Hip-Hop vs. America is a town-hall style meeting addressing the negative impact of hip-hop music. Moderated by camera-friendly BET personalities Jeff Johnson and Toure, the series features different panels of cultural critics (Stanley Crouch, Nelson George, Michael Eric Dyson) and hip-hop stars past and present (MC Lyte, Master P, T.I. and Nelly). Among the topics discussed before a live studio audience: hip-hop’s relationship with criminality, the culture’s misogynistic images of black women and how blacks feel about hip-hop’s public airing of the community’s “dirty laundry.”

But the discussion is nothing new. It has been going on in the black community for at least a decade. Long before Imus insulted Rutgers’ women’s basketball team, activists such as the late C. Delores Tucker and hip-hop intellectuals (writers Joan Morgan, Kevin Powell and Farai Chideya) were debating the genre’s degrading imagery and lyrics. At the time, such concerns were largely ignored by mainstream media. And all the while, BET gladly served as an accomplice to black musical oppression by offering little counterbalance to the inanity and straight-up buffoonery glorified in mainstream rap.

Please read the entire article here.

I can’t wait to watch the BET special, which can viewed at BET.com, and comment on the issue and follow up with my fellow contributors and commentors. But I’d like to add Stallion’s input to help lead the discussion at HM:

“I think Nelly made a good point about his tip drill video. After hearing people complain about the video, you would think he made that video for the TRL and 106 & Park Audience… (and) more video like that. I remember when I first saw the video. I was surprise to see that Nelly made that kind of video, but at the time, the only way I could see it and other videos like that was to watch BET around two or three in the morning…They (also) made a good point about parenting. I like to think I’ve grown up to be a nice respectable man. I’m in college getting a degree, I work a part time job and so on and I credit my mom and dad for the man I am today. I also believe being surrounded by positive people who cared about an education played a part in it time. I do think growing up in the day we had more positive black role model like in sports like Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson, Emmit Smith, Dieon Sanders and more positive black shows on television. I remember watching show like Family Matters, Fresh Prince, Hanging with Mr. Cooper (Yeah I said it) and so on. Even if these people were involve in shady stuff I never heard about it and Hip Hop back in the day had a better balance…”

Have you seen the BET Special Hip-Hop vs. America? Do you agree or disagree with the Baltimore Sun Times? Is BET too late on this issue? How can hip-hop continue to evolve without being blamed? Please let us know what you think!

Reecie Recommends: Rush Hour 3

 

I don’t know about you guys…but I kinda expected Rush Hour 3 to suck…however, I still wanted to see it. Well from the opening scene, I was laughing hysterically. Since it’s been so long since the other two Rush Hour movies, I can’t really make an accurate comparison…but I will say that this one had a great mix of action and comedy. Jackie Chan carried the movie on the action tip and had quite a few great scenes. Chris Tucker delivered on the comedy side, even though you could tell that he is a little on the rusty side. I don’t want to give away any parts of the movie…so I will leave it at I highly recommend this flick to anyone that is a Chris Tucker and/or Jackie Chan fan.

What did you think about Rush Hour 3? Isn’t it great to see the movie get a #1 box office opening? Would you recommend this movie to a friend?

Posted by Reecie

Reecie Recommends: The Bourne Ultimatum

This weekend I checked out the third installment of the Bourne series “The Bourne Ultimatum” and I left the theater totally satisfied! This is a true, good old fashioned action flick. This is the first movie in a long time that veered away from kung fu, jumping up the walls, gravity defying stunts and stuck to the gritty fistfights, shoot outs, and foot and car chases. Although the plot of the movie was practically identical to the two preceding movies, the execution was great. I won’t give away details of the movie…I will just say that if you’re interested in an adrenaline rush at the theaters then this is one to check out.

Did you check out the movie? How did it stack up against the other two movies? Would you recommend it to someone else?

Posted by Reecie