He's a New Year's Baby Maker. He's the...
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Week of January 9, 2015
New Year’s resolutions are for quitters. First up…
The Equalizer
If you’re going to call yourself an Equalizer you had better
have some remarkably accurate measuring cups.
Mind you, it’s not a recipe the stranger in this action
movie is trying to balance, but the scales of justice.
After witnessing a pimp abuse his friend (Chloë Grace
Moretz), former CIA operative Bob McCall (Denzel Washington) murders the pimp
and five others.
His actions alert the Russian mob boss (Vladimir Kulich)
running the prostitution and racketeering rings in the neighbourhood. In turn,
he sends in ex-Spetsnaz (Marton Csokas) to kill McCall.
But in order to do that, the specialist must survive
McCall’s carefully orchestrated counterstrikes against him.
Based on the ‘80s TV show, this take on the revenge-for-hire
premise lacks character development and depth, but it makes up for both in
stylish violence and restrained bravado.
Plus, with the Russians out of the way the Asian gangs can
now move in. Green Light
Get On Up
The best thing about a movie based on your life is that you
get to see how you die.
Regrettably, the person in this biography is already dead.
Raised in a troubled home, James Brown (Chadwick Boseman)
found a way out through music.
From impersonating Little Richard to singing lead for The
Famous Flames to eventually helming his own group, James establishes himself
not only as a vocal powerhouse but also an influential voice in the Black
community.
Behind closed doors, however, he’s a controlling wife-beater
prone to erratic mood swings.
But his abuse of his wife and his band-mates never stops him
from producing hits.
Backed by Boseman’s breakthrough performance, James’
prolific catalogue and a spirited script, Get On Up does an exemplary job of
capturing the turbulent genius of James Brown.
Besides, how can you stay mad at a man who does the splits
after he backhands you? Green Light
No Good Deed
If your Black neighbour ever asks to borrow some sugar don’t
assume they mean brown sugar.
Fortunately, spice profiling isn’t an issue in this
thriller.
Despite her husband’s (Henry Simmons) absence, when Colin
(Idris Elba) appears on her doorstep claiming he was in an accident, Terri
(Taraji P. Henson) allows him in to wait for a tow-truck.
Eventually, her friend Meg (Leslie Bibb) drops by for a
visit. But when she disappears, Terri begins to suspect Colin may have done
something.
Her suspicious is verified when Colin takes her and her kids
on a trip to meet his cheating fiancée (Kate del Castillo).
Simplistic to the point of stupidity, with painful dialogue
and a subdued end fight, No Good Deed is a poor retread of better domestic
revenge movies.
Besides, the only man a married woman should allow into her
home is the one she hired to kill her husband. Red Light
Boyhood
The key to surviving boyhood is good medical coverage.
However, this drama goes beyond the obligatory broken arm.
2002 - Mason Evans, Jr. (Ellar Coltrane) is 6-years-old when
his mother Olivia (Patricia Arquette) leaves her then-boyfriend and moves him
and his older sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater) to Houston, in order to
attend University.
2005 - Olivia marries her professor but his drinking ends
the marriage.
2008 - Mason takes an interest in girls, while his mom
marries one of her students - an alcoholic Vet.
2013 - Mason must break-up with his girlfriend before
heading to University.
Periodically, Mason’s unemployed - but amusing - dad (Ethan
Hawke) shows up to take them bowling and offers an unbiased ear.
Meticulously filmed over a 12-year period, director/writer
Richard Linklater masterfully weaves an elaborate yet intimate and honest
portrait of growing up.
Incidentally, boyhood typically ends when you’re kicked out
of choir. Green Light
***Reboot in Your Ass***
Shaft (2000)
The hardest part about being a black cop is not getting shot
by white cops when you pull your gun.
The honkies in this action movie, however, know better than
to mess with Shaft.
When rich white boy Wade Jr. (Christian Bale) is accused of
killing a black man (Mekhi Phifer), no nonsense detective John Shaft is
assigned to the racially charged case.
But the accused is allowed to flee the country when the only
witness (Toni Collette) goes missing.
Unrelenting, Shaft spends the next two years searching for
her.
When he finds her, Wade Jr. serendipitously returns
Stateside with a sadistic drug lord (Jeffrey Wright) on his payroll.
John Singleton’s much-maligned reboot of Shaft isn’t as blasphemes
as perceived, with Sam Jackson serving as a worthy successor to Richard
Roundtree.
Besides, young African Americans need to be exposed to
influential Black icons before the CIA assassinates them all.
He’s a Sex Machine Repair Man. He’s the…
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