Author: Shani

You could say this film was made to change the narrative around Whitney Houston. Perhaps you’ll understand her and her struggles more after watching it.

Whitney Houston who was probably the greatest singer of our time was overcoming her struggles at the time of her death right before the Grammys. Yea, there have been numerous films created around her life story. It none have depicted her life I. The way that this film did.

You come to learn the many side of Whitney and even the adventures she had at a young age, when she was trying to figure out who she was as a person. Perhaps a subject that many have been able to relate to, being the person that your loved ones and society expect you to be; especially being a religious individual and a person of color. I don’t think anyone could see the weight she carried on her shoulders to not only make her family happy but the entire world. The expectations seemed to be higher for her.

The film is definitely one to watch and definitely covers all the hits. It’s great that the 22 songs in the 144-minute film are sung by Whitney herself, with the filmmakers obtaining the original recordings of her hits and remixing them so they sound just as breathtaking in a movie theatre as they do on a car stereo. As for Naomi Ackie, she put on a superb performance as Whitney Houston. Everything from her facial expression to her mannerisms were covered impeccably.

To hell with “all is calm.”

From 87North, the bare-knuckle producers of Nobody, John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Bullet Train and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw comes a holiday action-comedy that says you should always bet on red.

Just when you thought when needed the fun filled adventurous Christmas film with a little taste of comical violence! You could say this is the modern day version of ‘Home Alone’, but obviously not really fit for the younger children. You’re sure to have fun with this one, it will surprisingly keep you entertained through its entirety.

The stars of this film are David Harbour who plays Santa and his little costar who plays the role of the little girl; who’s actions will remind you of the Kevin McCallister. What a cute and great duo these two made for this one. Don’t miss out on it, but remember… don’t take the little ones!

When a team of mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage, the team isn’t prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus (David Harbour, Black Widow, Stranger Things series) is on the grounds, and he’s about to show why this Nick is no saint.

The film also stars Emmy winner John Leguizamo (John Wick), Cam Gigandet(Without Remorse), Alex Hassell (Cowboy Bebop), Alexis Louder (The Tomorrow War), Edi Patterson (The Righteous Gemstones)and Beverly D’Angelo (National Lampoon’sVacation franchise).

It feels like we’ve waited forever for the sequel to Avatar.

As technology has advanced through the years, James Cameron has pushed the limits of his power of belief even further, playing with 3D, High Frame Rate, and other toys that weren’t available when he started his career. One thing is for sure, Cameron has opened the door wide open and invited viewers into this fully realized world with so many striking images and phenomenally rendered action scenes that everything else fades away for the three-plus hours you’re viewing this film.

One thing you will notice, “Avatar: The Way of Water” struggles to find its footing at first, throwing viewers back into the world of Pandora in a confusing/bumpy road. One can tell that Cameron really cares most about the world-building mid-section of this film, which you can’t blame him because it is one of his greatest accomplishments. But before all that, we come to find out what has come of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a human who is now a full-time Na’vi and partners with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), with whom he has started a family with. They now have two sons—Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) and Lo’ak (Britain Dalton)—and a daughter named Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), and they are guardians of Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), who is the daughter of Weaver’s character from the first film.

Their family’s happiness is threatened when the ‘sky people’ return, including an avatar Na’vi version of one Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who has come to finish what he started, including vengeance on Jake for the death of his human form. He comes back with a group of former-human-now-Na’vi soldiers who are the film’s main villains. They aren’t the only villains in the film because Cameron portrays the military, planet-destroying humans of this universe as the villains as well.

Now somewhere mid-way through the film, you will get the vibe that you are watching a National Geographic film, because it takes you through a scenic ride of waterways, seas and sea life. Now do we need it? No, because a good 20-30 minutes could have been cut around this part to shorten the already LONG film. At the end of this scenic trip, Jane has moved his family to an underwater region run by Tonowari (Cliff Curtis), the leader of a clan called the Metkayina. Himself a family man—his wife is played by Kate Winslet—Tonowari is worried about the danger the new Na’vi visitors could bring but can’t turn them away.

All these issues bring up the subject of moral questions about responsibility in the face of a powerful evil. Do you do something or just stand aside and watch your home be destroyed? Do you let the beloved da red animals be poached for a prize and money?

What makes this film different from the first is that you come to know a bit more about each character and the deeper connections they have to one another and to Pandora. I will warn you, there is one character that you will say… what is your purpose? I don’t get it. Pet Gatos it’s setting it up for another film in the works. Let’s just hope it doesn’t take as long to see it!

If you’re invested into the Avatar franchise, you have to see it. If you’re not, it’s still worth a watch because it is definitely something beautiful to watch!

We were all a little worried what route this film would take after the untimely death of Chadwick Boseman, let’s be real… he made the Black Panther what it is today.

Letitia Wright was given the hard task of carrying on the title. It’s safe to say she did it justice. It’s hard taking on such a role, she had some pretty big shoes to fill.

The beauty of the film is that they honored Chadwick Boseman in the classiest and most sincere way. One of the most moving features to realize about the film is that they did not CGI Boseman’s character into the film. They used bits and pieces that he filmed during the first film and cut them into the latest film.

Now let’s dive into bits of the film, without giving away too much. You will enjoy the story line, but mostly you will visually enjoy this film. It is absolutely beautiful to watch. There are some surprises in deaths… get ready to have your heartstrings pulled. As for the fight scenes, that’s where the disappointment came in to play. While they were set on adventurous locations, the fight scenes sort of fell flat and dragged out.

That being said, I gave the film four stars because of it. But it is still one that needs to be watched to see how the story of the black panther continues.

Julia Roberts and George Clooney team up for the latest rom-com and I had high hopes for it, granted that it’s freaking Julia Roberts and George Clooney. Honestly I should’ve gone into it not expecting anything because I walked out disappointed.

Save your money on this one, because you can wait for it to come out on cable. It was all predictable and lacked the comedy we wanted to fulfill the void of missing Julia and George for so long on the big screen. I will say that the film without them would’ve just been any other Lifetime rom-com, so at least there’s that.

The film dragged and just lacked personality, perhaps it was the writing. Knowing these two and the chemistry they had together, I feel like the two and the audience got ripped off. This could have been so much better. They just didn’t have much to work off and it just left the film to be flimsy.

You’ll see the the film follows this couple who were once in love and come together to try to end the engagement and upcoming nuptials of their only daughter. They try to do the sneakiest things to plot their mater plan. Little do they know someone is on to their plan.

Will the battle between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode finally end?

You will have to wait and see because I’m not going to spoil it for you!

I will say it is worth a watch even though it does get weird sometimes… weird enough that you find yourself laughing at times. The films does refer back to the original films and even touches on the subject if whether or not the mask is possessed.

We come to meet Cory, who is a new love interest in film for the grand-daughter of Laurie Strode. He actually faces a life and death situation when he comes face to face to Michael Myers and manages to survive but the events that unfold after that are what make you say ok… this is getting weird.

I will say Laurie does finally get revenge for all the grief Michael has caused her during her entire life, including losing her daughter and her son-in-law and the numerous people he managed to slash throughout the franchise. How it happens? I can’t spill those beans but it is quite satisfying for those who have followed the story.