iloveblackmovies
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Hancock
MOVIE REVIEW
Rated - PG 13
2 OUT 5 POPCORN BAGS
LAUREN FRANCIS-SHARMA SAYS:
MOVIE REVIEW
Rated - PG 13
2 OUT 5 POPCORN BAGS
LAUREN FRANCIS-SHARMA SAYS:
Will Smith, Jason Bateman, and Charlize
Theron star in "Hancock."
Theron star in "Hancock."
The Dark Knight
MOVIE REVIEW
Rated - PG 13
2 OUT 5 POPCORN BAGS
LAUREN FRANCIS-SHARMA SAYS:
MOVIE REVIEW
Rated - PG 13
2 OUT 5 POPCORN BAGS
LAUREN FRANCIS-SHARMA SAYS:
Will Smith, Jason Bateman, and Charlize
Theron star in "Hancock."
Theron star in "Hancock."
Who Killed Bishop Brown?
DVD REVIEW
Rated -N/R
3 OUT 5 POPCORN BAGS
SHAWN EDWARDS SAYS:
DVD REVIEW
Rated -N/R
3 OUT 5 POPCORN BAGS
SHAWN EDWARDS SAYS:
Kelley capitalizes on a style of filmmaking that has become very popular in the black community - a
combination of drama, comedy, music, and morality.
Okay, here is the deal. Tyler Perry is to aspiring young black filmmakers what Quentin Tarrantino
was to young white filmmakers a decade and a half ago. You can see Perry's influence throughout
"Who Killed Bishop Brown." The dialogue, filmmaking and even casting choices mimic Perry’s
production style.
“Who Killed Bishop Brown” is full of self-righteous dialogue, preachy messages and clumsy
blocking. But it also features realistic characters and an ability to connect with the audience in a way
put them in, in this film with Christian overtones.
What sets “Who Killed Bishop Brown” apart is its murder mystery angle, which is the best part of the
film. In “Who Killed Bishop Brown” New Jerusalem church is a mess. The congregation is
disappearing, the preacher is a bully, and the deacons are on the take. “Who Killed Bishop Brown”
attempts what few films have done – expose the ugly side of politics in the black church.
The film's strongest asset is the message of salvation and redemption. The Gospel-esq songs that
periodically pop out of nowhere are inspirational and well-written. The songs strike a chord and will
resonate with the viewing audience but don't really push the story forward.
Overall Kelley proves that he is a gutsy filmmaker who is willing to take the familiar and spice it up
with his own brand of filmmaking. And “Who Killed Bishop Brown” clearly makes Kelley one to watch.
He's a gifted talent who is on the verge of taking black film to the next level.
combination of drama, comedy, music, and morality.
Okay, here is the deal. Tyler Perry is to aspiring young black filmmakers what Quentin Tarrantino
was to young white filmmakers a decade and a half ago. You can see Perry's influence throughout
"Who Killed Bishop Brown." The dialogue, filmmaking and even casting choices mimic Perry’s
production style.
“Who Killed Bishop Brown” is full of self-righteous dialogue, preachy messages and clumsy
blocking. But it also features realistic characters and an ability to connect with the audience in a way
put them in, in this film with Christian overtones.
What sets “Who Killed Bishop Brown” apart is its murder mystery angle, which is the best part of the
film. In “Who Killed Bishop Brown” New Jerusalem church is a mess. The congregation is
disappearing, the preacher is a bully, and the deacons are on the take. “Who Killed Bishop Brown”
attempts what few films have done – expose the ugly side of politics in the black church.
The film's strongest asset is the message of salvation and redemption. The Gospel-esq songs that
periodically pop out of nowhere are inspirational and well-written. The songs strike a chord and will
resonate with the viewing audience but don't really push the story forward.
Overall Kelley proves that he is a gutsy filmmaker who is willing to take the familiar and spice it up
with his own brand of filmmaking. And “Who Killed Bishop Brown” clearly makes Kelley one to watch.
He's a gifted talent who is on the verge of taking black film to the next level.
MOVIE REVIEW
Rated - R
2 OUT 5 POPCORN BAGS
VALERIE FREEMAN SAYS:
Clifford "Method Man" Smith in "The Wackness".
DVD REVIEW
Rated - PG 13
3 OUT 5 POPCORN BAGS
KAM WILLIAMS SAYS:
Rated - PG 13
3 OUT 5 POPCORN BAGS
KAM WILLIAMS SAYS:
Oliver Stone has never been afraid to court controversy, and this bio-pic is no exception. The about one
still in office.
This incendiary offering is apt to be appreciated or reviled along party lines for it paints a most
unflattering picture of George W. Bush (Josh Brolin) as a spoiled-rotten nincompoop who has been a
miserable failure at his every endeavor. For, once it breezes past his early adult years frittered away as
a boozing, womanizing embarrassment to his family, it settles down to focus on his copious
shortcomings, first, as a businessman, and then as a politician.
Along the way, we’re treated mostly to W’s familiar fiascos, such as his much-publicized, ill-fated forays
into the oil and baseball businesses. So, the movie doesn’t really make any new revelations, unless
you were unaware that he got a girl pregnant, was arrested for drunk driving and has been a bitter
disappoint to his father (James Cromwell), former president George Herbert Walker Bush.
The film is at its best only after a Born Again Junior cleans up his act, marries Laura (Elizabeth Banks),
and makes the fateful decision to enter politics. Once he ascends to the presidency, we find him
surrounded in the White House by a cast of infamous characters including Karl Rove (Toby Jones),
Vice President Cheney (Richard Dreyfuss), Dr. Condoleezza Rice (Thandie Newton), Secretary of State
Colin Powell (Jeffrey Wright), Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (Scott Glenn) and CIA Director
George Tenet (Bruce McGill).
What makes the story fascinating at this juncture is that it takes a “fly-on-the-wall” approach to confirm
the country’s worst fears about the shady shenanigans among members of the administration. For
example, we see Rove as the ever-scheming brains behind the throne while Cheney is exposed as a
power-hungry maniac who felt that the Patriot Act didn’t go far enough. Rice, Powell and Tenet are
presented as weak-kneed sycophants who consciously compromised their integrity by beating the
drums of war, knowing full well that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction.
Still, the worst criticism is reserved for Bush, who is positioned as a clueless chimpleton-in-chief more
than willing to hand the reigns of government over to his vice president so he could be free to eat junk
food and watch sports on TV. A damning biography magnifying the worst traits of the president with the
lowest approval rating in history.
still in office.
This incendiary offering is apt to be appreciated or reviled along party lines for it paints a most
unflattering picture of George W. Bush (Josh Brolin) as a spoiled-rotten nincompoop who has been a
miserable failure at his every endeavor. For, once it breezes past his early adult years frittered away as
a boozing, womanizing embarrassment to his family, it settles down to focus on his copious
shortcomings, first, as a businessman, and then as a politician.
Along the way, we’re treated mostly to W’s familiar fiascos, such as his much-publicized, ill-fated forays
into the oil and baseball businesses. So, the movie doesn’t really make any new revelations, unless
you were unaware that he got a girl pregnant, was arrested for drunk driving and has been a bitter
disappoint to his father (James Cromwell), former president George Herbert Walker Bush.
The film is at its best only after a Born Again Junior cleans up his act, marries Laura (Elizabeth Banks),
and makes the fateful decision to enter politics. Once he ascends to the presidency, we find him
surrounded in the White House by a cast of infamous characters including Karl Rove (Toby Jones),
Vice President Cheney (Richard Dreyfuss), Dr. Condoleezza Rice (Thandie Newton), Secretary of State
Colin Powell (Jeffrey Wright), Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (Scott Glenn) and CIA Director
George Tenet (Bruce McGill).
What makes the story fascinating at this juncture is that it takes a “fly-on-the-wall” approach to confirm
the country’s worst fears about the shady shenanigans among members of the administration. For
example, we see Rove as the ever-scheming brains behind the throne while Cheney is exposed as a
power-hungry maniac who felt that the Patriot Act didn’t go far enough. Rice, Powell and Tenet are
presented as weak-kneed sycophants who consciously compromised their integrity by beating the
drums of war, knowing full well that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction.
Still, the worst criticism is reserved for Bush, who is positioned as a clueless chimpleton-in-chief more
than willing to hand the reigns of government over to his vice president so he could be free to eat junk
food and watch sports on TV. A damning biography magnifying the worst traits of the president with the
lowest approval rating in history.
Thandie Newton and Jeffrey Wright in W.
