James' World 2

Us is a horror film written and directed by Jordan Peele, who produced the film alongside Jason Blum and Sean McKittrick (with the trio previously having collaborated on Get Out and BlacKkKlansman), as well as Ian Cooper. I am not a fan of horror flicks but I am a fan of Lupita Nyong’o, so I saw the movie. Honestly, Us was more of a mystery than a horror movie, which I thought was interesting. The film follows a family who are confronted by their doppelgängers (a ghostly double or counterpart of a living person) and has grossed $102 million worldwide. Us received praise from critics for Peele’s screenplay and direction, as well as for the score and acting.

In 1986, Russel (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and Rayne (Anna Diop) Thomas go on vacation with their young daughter, Adelaide (Madison Curry) to Santa Cruz, CA. While at the beach carnival, Adelaide’s mother…

Captive State is a science fiction thriller directed by Rupert Wyatt and co-written by Wyatt and Erica Beeney. The film follows a young man who is a participant in the conspiracy argument against an alien race that has invaded Earth, and enforced strict martial law on all humans. I had never heard of this movie and after seeing it, I know why. I found it confusing at best. It received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed $5 million worldwide.

Currently, Chicago is placed under martial law when extraterrestrials invade across the globe. The Drummond family is attempting to flee the city but every exit is barricaded. After breaking through an unmanned barricade that lead inside a tunnel, the car had to stop because extraterrestrials were waiting at the other end. Before they could put the car in reverse, the aliens attacked, vaporizing the father and mother in the front…

Cold Pursuit is a dark/black comedy action film directed by Hans Petter Moland (in his Hollywood debut), written by Frank Baldwin from a screenplay by Kim Fupz Aakeson and based on the 2014 original Norwegian vigilante film, “In Order of Disappearance (Kraftidioten)”, also directed by Moland. The story follows a snowplow driver who seeks revenge on a local drug cartel following the murder of his son.  While the concept of one man against a cartel is highly unbelievable and added to the races remarks Liam Neeson spewed regarding the rape of a friend by a Black person, I decided to see Cold Pursuit anyway.  Oddly, I liked the movie despite all the negativity and critical bad mouthing. I believe people should say what’s in their heart, that way we know who they truly are.

Nelson “Nels” Coxman (Liam Neeson) lives a quiet life as a snowplow driver at the…

Captain Marvel is a superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Carol Danvers. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the twenty-first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, with Geneva Robertson-Dworet also contributing to the screenplay. I was dying to see Captain Marvel but wasn’t sure I’d like Brie Larson in the lead role.  Good thing I saw the movie, she’s fantastic.

In 1995, on the Kree Empire’s capital planet of Hala, Starforce member Vers/Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) suffers from recurring nightmares involving an older woman, The Supreme Intelligence /Mar-Vell / Dr. Wendy Lawson (Annette Bening). Yon-Rogg (Jude Law), her mentor and commander, trains her to control her abilities while The Supreme Intelligence, an artificial intelligence and the ruler of the Kree, urges her to…

Bird Box is a post-apocalyptic thriller film, directed by Susanne Bier from a screenplay written by Eric Heisserer and based on the 2014 novel of the same name by Josh Malerman. The film follows a woman and two children who must travel through a forest and down a river blindfolded to avoid supernatural entities that cause people who look at them to commit suicide. I thought Bird Box was over rated via Netflix and local TV ads, but I still found it entertaining.

Bird Box opens in a post-apocalyptic world as Malorie Hayes (Sandra Bullock) advises her two young children, Boy/Tom (Julian Edwards) and Girl/Olympia (Vivien Lyra Blair) that they will be going downstream on a river in a boat. She strictly instructs them to not remove their blindfolds, or else they will die.

Five years earlier, a pregnant Malorie is visited by her older sister, Jessica (Sarah Paulson)…

“Tyler Perry’s A Madea Family Funeral” is a comedy written, directed, and produced by Tyler Perry. It is the eleventh and final installment of the Madea film series. The movie follows a joyous family reunion that becomes a hilarious nightmare when Madea and the crew travel to backwoods Georgia, where they find themselves unexpectedly planning a funeral that might unveil some ugly family secrets. In my opinion, this is the worse movie Tyler Perry has ever made. I was actually sorry I went to see it.

Right from the onset of “A Madea Family Funeral”, the jokes started flying, the problem is the jokes were not that funny. I felt the plot was downright ridiculous and unrealistic, plus Mabel “Madea” Simmons (Tyler Perry), used old theatrics e.g., using his male voice and asides that worked well in the Madea plays, to deliver hilarious lines but didn’t work on the…

I am still shaking my head over America voting Donald Trump in as President of the United States. Didn’t all the people see and hear the same bigoted, impossible promises I did? Now he’s appointing the worst possible cabinet to help him with his personal agenda.

NOW, America is shaken, concerned and afraid but it’s too late. Or is it?  When Trump’s run for president first began, everyone said Donald Trump would never make it to the primaries. There were 17 candidates running in the Republican Party and Donald Trump was given more media coverage than any other candidate in the history of a presidential run. Every day we were bombarded with Donald Trump’s name, something he commented on constantly. Once he won the primaries, things got worse. Trump became more outlandish and we began to see a pattern. We also discovered Trump is mentally unstable. Anyone with any sense…

Shoplifters is a Japanese drama directed, written and edited by Hirokazu Kore-edawho also  wrote the screenplay contemplating what makes a family, and inspired by reports on poverty and shoplifting in Japan. Shoplifters took me to a world in Japan that I wouldn’t have otherwise experienced. I am so grateful to have seen this movie. Shoplifters was a new experience for me coupled with love and tenderness and a cliché, “everything is not always as it seems”.

Opening in Tokyo, Japan, Shoplifters focuses on the Shibata family who lives in poverty and consist of Osamu Shibata (Lily Franky), a day laborer who had to leave his job after severely twisting his ankle; his wife Lin Nobuyo Shibata (Sakura Ando), who works for an industrial laundry service, Aki Shibata (Mayu Matsuoka), who works at a hostess club; a young boy named Shota Shibara (Kairi Jō), and Hatsue  /…

“What Men Want” is a fantasy comedy directed by Adam Shankman and is loosely based on the 2000 film, “What Women Want” in reverse gender. The plot follows a woman who, after drinking a potent concoction given by a shaman, gains the ability to hear men’s inner thoughts. While this is not a new concept, the movie is surprisingly funny.

Ali Davis (Taraji P. Henson) is an executive sports agent working for Summit Worldwide Management, which is mostly male-dominated. She’s been over-looked for partner several times but believes today is the day. She and her gay assistant Brandon (Josh Brener), who wants to be a sports rep, are gearing up toward a celebration, believing she is going to make partner. Ali is passed over once again, which makes her fighting mad. Ali’s boss, Nick (Brian Bosworth), acknowledges that Ali is a hard worker but he says she just doesn’t…