If you’re a 90’s baby like myself, then you truly loved and enjoyed Disney movies, one in particular Aladdin. During that time, Princess Jasmine was the closest thing to a Disney brown skin princess besides Pocahontas, which was nice to see, me being a woman of color. This movie would make you feel like a kid again.
The intro starts off pretty similar to the original movie, except Disney added the genie, played by Will Smith, telling the story of Aladdin in the beginning. Genie also was telling the story to his two children which will be a significance at the end of the film. Of course the real life action movie couldn’t be an exact replicate of the original but that’s what made it so great! The fact that the story line was still in tact plus Disney showcased the Arabian culture with their clothing and dancing style which was good because it’s nice to see the lifestyle of other cultures.
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Disney addressed women’s right in a sense. When Jafar wanted to take over and be the Sultan, Jasmine brought up the fact that she could be the Sultan. Of course the idea was shot down but towards the end of the film she got the respect she deserved as the female Sultan.
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Will Smith is dope! Of course that is obvious but I had to say it. He didn’t try to be like Robin but instead, he acted like his normal goofy self. Will is usually a great big ball of in energy, especially when his character as Fresh Prince. He played a sentimental role and honestly, the film wouldn’t have been comedic or as relevant without him.
The actor and actress who played Aladdin and Jasmine perfected A Whole New World. Them singing the song brought back so many childhood memories. Besides that song, all the other songs were brought to life and were sang to perfection. Will Smith even threw his own twang and beat boxing to the songs.
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Of course the creation of the movie wouldn’t be visually appeasing without CGI (computer-generated imagery), from the genie’s appearance, to Abu’s appearance, to EVERYTHING else in between. God bless CGI because it truly made the cartoon film come to life.
As a whole, the film was dope! I do wish that the characters were more brown skin but they weren’t too far off. The music was on point and so was the culture depiction. I tried not to give too many spoilers so others can still go see the movie and still read this beforehand.
I encourage everyone to go see the movie, especially if you were a 90’s baby. I give them movie 5 stars!
With this being Women’s History Month, I decided to dedicate a post someone who’s been on the screens since I could remember. Let’s take a moment to idolize and appreciate Ms. Regina King. She’s a prime example of “Started From The Bottom,” when it comes to film.
Let us start from the beginning. Her first starring role was “227” as Brenda Jenkins.
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Then she went on to play a small role in Boyz N Da Hood in 1991, which was directed by John Singleton. This was/is a classic movie that she played a ghetto girl in 😂
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Then in 1993, she co-starred with Janet Jackson, 2Pac and Joe Torry in another classic film directed by John Singleton titled Poetic Justice. Another ghetto role but she was entertaining to say the least. She was the real friend who keeps it real with you.
A third classic film that Regina King was part of was Friday, which was written by Ice Cube. This was just two years after Poetic Justice. She stayed pretty busy during the 1990s.
Regina switched back to the her tv role days and had recurring roles on shows such as “Leap of Faith,” “24,” “Southland” and “Shameless.” She got an even bigger role in “The Boondocks,” playing the voices of Huey and Riley from 2005-2014.
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Regina had another recurring role in “American Crime” WHICH got her an Emmy!!
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Another favorite of mine was the Netflix Original movie Seven Seconds. Regina played a mourning mom trying to solve her son’s hit and run case, which was caused by the New York Police Department. She had sleepless nights and even stalked the home of the guy involved. She did a stellar job, which landed her ANOTHER Emmy.
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More recently, like weeks ago, Regina got her FIRST Oscar for her supporting role in the James Baldwin novel turned film, If Beale Street Could Talk. She played a mother who’s son was wrongly incarcerated for the rape of a white woman. She remained supportive and calm throughout the process even though it was stressful.
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To say that Ms. Regina King has came a long way would be an understatement. So, we’ll just say SHE DID THAT!!
I’m happy for this beautiful black queen and I’m excited to see what else she brings to the movie screens and tv screens. What is your favorite Regina King movie or show?
This was the year the Oscars actually got it right, as far as wins go. I guess the Academy can retire that “Oscars So White” title for now. Black films and people are STILL making history. Just in case you missed it:
Regina King won for Best supporting actress for “If Beale Street Could Talk”
Ruth Carter won for Best Costume Design for “Black Panther”
Hannah Beachler won for Best Production Design for “Black Panther”
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Spike Lee Best won for Adapted Screen Play for “BlackKlansman”
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Mahershala Ali won for Best Supporting Actor in “Green Book”
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I feel that every movie that the above movies nominated, that won, were well-deserved. Spike Lee has been making movies for 30 years and he FINALLY got a Oscar. Regina King started off in movies like “Friday” and “Boyz N Tha Hood” and look where she is now. Mahershala Ali has been on FIRE 🔥 the past couple years from “Moonlight” to “Green Book.”
“Black Panther” alone has gotten Grammy nominations for its album to Golden Globe nominations to SAG award wins to now Oscar wins. Ryan Coogler, ALL the actors, everyone behind the scenes like Ruth Carter and Hannah Beachler made that the film what it was and it shows!
I’m glad the Oscars got it right year, especially coming from having all their nominees being white (#OscarsSoWhite) to having black nominees in ALMOST every category. What are your thoughts on the award show?
I’m late I know. I seen this movie about 3-4 weeks ago and never got around to writing a review BUT…
I coincidentally stumbled across the book The Hate U Give about a month and a half ago and then found out that this was the movie that I had been seeing previews for. Of course movies never play out how they were written in the book but the movie did a good job of getting 70% close.
First off, the book was beautiful, sad but it’s reality. If you’re unaware of the book, here is a synopsis:
The book is about a teenager named Starr. She stays in Garden Heights, a black neighborhood with crime but she goes to a private school 45 minutes away. She has two brothers and is the middle child, her mom is a nurse and her dad is a former felon who owns the neighborhood market. Starr is riding with one of her childhood friends when they get pulled over by the police. The officer kills her friend in front of her and she is the only witness to tell what really happened. In the midst of all this, there’s the neighborhood’s biggest drug dealer, King who is head of the gang King Lords. King is also/was good friends with Starr’s dad and he’s Starr’s best friend,Kenya, dad.
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Starr gets the courage to do a TV interview with her face bleeped out and she reveals too much information about “The neighborhood drug dealer” and of course that narrows down to King. How the topic came up was because Khalil’s mother use to work for King and she owed him money and she was supposed to provide for her family (Khalil and his little brother). Since Khalil stayed with his grandmother and she could only do so much, he started selling drugs to provide for his family and help pay his mother’s debt. King wanted revenge for Starr “snitching” even though she didn’t say any names.
In the midst off all this craziness, Starr has to go to school and act like nothing is going on but her white boyfriend (Chris) and friends sense something is wrong. Chris later finds out that she knew Khalil from her TV interview, even though her face was blurred out, he should know his girlfriend’s demeanor right? Starr’s friends found out because they use to attend her old birthday parties that Khalil would go to and her friend stumbled across an old picture of all of them and put the pieces together. Starr was really living two lives, one surrounded by entitled, preppy white kids and the other life surrounded by her people, with a little violence.
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After everything is exposed, the verdict comes out and the grand jury decided that they weren’t going to indict the officer; in so many words, he’s innocent. Haven’t we seen that same story so many times. When the announcement is made on the TV, all hell breaks loose in the community. There was peaceful protest Starr finally decided to make her appearance and let it be known that she was the witness. She gave a heartfelt speech, ending it with a chant “His life mattered” before the police started getting aggressive and throwing teargas. The scene was hectic so her, her big brother and boyfriend decided to escape to her Dad’s store to recuperate from all the tear gas. In the midst of all that, “someone” throws a flamed bottle into the store as Starr and everyone else are locked in. Luckily Starr’s dad came in the nick of time to get them out. All arrows are pointed to King because he was at the scene of the crime laughing with his crew, watching the store burn down. This was one of those moment that community came together and told the police who caused the fire, King. The story has a happy ending, including Starr and her family moving out of the neighborhood AND her dad being able to rebuild the shop.
Now, the movie…
The Tramatic Night
On the night of Khalil’s death, Everything went according to the book until Starr and Khalil kissed in his car in the movie. Not to say it didn’t make the scene better, because it did, but just calling out that, that part wasn’t in the book.
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In the movie, When the officer pulled them over, Starr instructed Khalil to put his hands on the dashboard because that is what her father taught her, dealing with his past. Khalil was really nonchalant about it of course because as we all think ” I didn’t do anything wrong. Why you pulling me over?” Khalil didn’t listen and then the officer asked him to get out the car. As the officer began to search him, he made some inappropriate comments like “oh you’re trying to score with her tonight” (referencing Starr). All of that was not in the book.
Where’s Devante?
If you read the book, you would know about Devante, but he was nowhere to be found in the movie. If you aren’t familiar, Devante was one of the King Lords who worked directly for King. He was the guy that Starr’s friend Kenya was crushing on and he was the reason Kenya wanted to fight the girl at the party. Starr first officially met Devante at the basketball court with her brother. It was then that she found out that Devante’s brother was the one shot and killed at the party.
As time goes on, Devante comes in Starr’s dad store seeking help. He stole a couple thousand dollars from King and he needed a place to stay and work, so to help him, Mav (Starr’s dad) hired him on at the store and let him stay at they’re house. This escalated when King somehow found out that Mav was hiding Devante. Of course Mav lied to King but in order to protect Devante further, he send Devante to stay with his brother in law, Carlos. From then on Devante was exposed to a safer and better life UNTIL he decides to go see his brother at the cemetery an some of King’s workers spot him and beat him up. Starr, Seven, and Chris find Devante at King’s house, with the help of Kenya since she stays there as well, and they get him out safely. While in the car, that’s when they find out the verdict that the officer who killed Khalil will not be prosecuted. Then the book transitions into the protest that happens in the book.
They Really Did Move…
In the movie, Starr’s family didn’t move, but in the book they did. Matter of fact they moved before the verdict was announced.
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The Ending.
At the end of the movie, after Mav gets Starr and Seven out of the burning shop, her mom and little brother show up. As I stated before, King was across the street laughing s the shop burned down and just when they were about to fight, the police showed up. Words were exchanged and then WHOA! The little brother Sekani is holding a gun, pointing it at King. THAT WAS NOT IN THE BOOK and boy did it have my heart beating. Mav had to deescalate the situation and everyone in that moment, even the police, had to self-reflect and come to terms that we need to stop the violence. No one got hurt in the situation this was one of the times that Mav had to fess up and tell the police that King set the shop on fire. He had to protect what was his.
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One of the main things that was in the book and movie was that Khalil loved listening to Tupac and in that brief moment that him and Starr reunited, he told her that THUG LIFE really meansTheHateUGiveLittleInfantsFucksEverybody, hence..The title of the book. That hate you give (teach) your children, they grow up having to life a differently. For example, if a white couple have children and they teach them that black people are worthless and trouble, then those children are going to grow up treating black people without any respect and more importantly stereotyping them, us, ME. On the other hand, if a black couple have children and they teach them that if someone tries to hurt their family, then you must protect the family at all costs, even if it means killing someone, even the police, hence Sekani. Sekani probably felt that his family was in danger so he pointed the gun to protect his family. Luckily he didn’t tho.
Overall, I LOVED the book. The movie was about 70-80% right but it was still good. To add more drama, I wish they would’ve kept Devante in the movie. I loved the message but this is everyday life for Black America; police shooting an unarmed black man and claiming that they feared for their life because they thought the black man had a gun, but it was really a hand brush or a cell phone. Hopefully this movie AND book will send out another message on a deeper level for white america, and even other races who automatically put black men, and black people of that matter, at fault when we are put in situations. We obey, we listen, we respond, but all that doesn’t matter when it’s truly the color of our skins that the police fear.
Also, Rest to the Screenwriter for the film Audrey Wells. She passed away Thursday October 4, a day before the film was released. I know she will be proud of the movie’s success. May she rest in peace!
Tell me what you think of the movie and or book if you seen or read it.
Over the weekend I went to see Night School starring Tiffany Haddish and Kevin Hart. If you haven’t seen the million previews over the last few months, the movie is about Kevin Hart being a high school dropout and he has to go back to high school because his job as a top salesman ended, due to him burning down the store. In order for him to work as a financial analyst at his friend’s company, he has to get his GED. But in the mean time, he’s working at fast food chicken spot. His nigh school teacher is Tiffany Haddish and she is TOUGH. She plays somewhat of a serious, which is different for her and I liked that. The story line is pretty predictable, because in the end he gets his GED..after 2-3 times of taking the test.
I feel like the jokes weren’t that funny. Yes, the movie had it’s funny parts but overall, I could’ve waited to see this movie on TV or come out on DVD. I like Tiffany Haddish role more than Kevin Hart because she played something reverse of what she usually does, which is comedy.
I will commend Kevin on producing this film under his HartBeat Productions Company; BUT, to me, he is not as funny as he use to be anymore. Yes, he has legendary jokes that we can still use to this day BUT I can’t think of any recent joke that has been truly funny. I would love to see him play a serious role in an action film, with limited comedy or limited typical Kevin Hart comedy, if that makes sense.
Has Kevin Hart become unfunny? Let me know your thought below!
Over the weekend I seen this movie and did NOT know that it was based on a true story. I really thought it was just another great movie that Jordan Peele wrote and Spike Lee so happenedly directed BUT that was partially the case. The man character Ron Stallsworth, is played by John David Washington, which is Denzel Washington’s SON. Ron is a rookie at the Colorado Springs police department and is placed on special assignment when he persuaded the chief that the KKK needed to be investigated. He infiltrated the Klan by calling them (got the number from local newspaper, stupid right?) Since there wasn’t caller ID back then, Ron didn’t have to call private. He literally put on his “white voice” and got in.
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Ron used his “white voice” over the phone and had his white coworker actually go meet up with the klan and eventually join. There’s always one skeptical person and that was one of the Klansmen. He tried to intimidate the “white Ron Stallsworth” but it didn’t work.
The real Ron Stallsworth befriended a woman by the name of Patrice, from the Black Student Union at a local college and she was pro Black and down with the Black Power Movement. The police department tried to compare her and the student union to the “dangerous” Black Panther Movement but they weren’t like that BUT even if they were, they would be fighting or equality and respect.
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Any who, the Klan was working on an attack towards the black student union, specifically Patrice because she was very vocal on the racism she faced, specifically from the Colorado Police Department, an officer that Ron was familiar with.
Ron had spoken to the David Duke over the phone on multiple occasions. David Duke was the head of the Klan at the time and so happened to be a politician. He was granted the opportunity to meet him in person, as himself, as his security for the initiation of the white version of him being inducted into the Klu Klux Klan. Along with the initiation going on, that same day was the day that the KKK had planned to attack Patrice and the Student Union. Ron stopped the attacked and it ended up back firing on the people involved because they were the ones who ended up dying.
While investigating the KKK, There weren’t any cross burnings happening in that chapter, nor any hangings or other causes of death. Ron also helped the FBI identify missing weapons (that were used in the attempted attack) that were stolen by military members who were actually in the KKK as well. They were arrested.
What was educational about the movie?
The fact that it was a true story and the fact that you wouldn’t be able to do this now as easy due to technology.
The fact that they really thought that black people only talked a certain way. The klan said that black people say things like “shucking and jiving” AND EVEN MORE FUNNY, instead of saying “Are you going to the store to get some chicken” we say “Ar-uh”, like we really can’t say the word “are”. So judgmental, but are we surprised…nah.
Why was this funny?
This was funny because the Klan and any other racist people don’t give Black People enough credit for being just as smart and even smarter than them.
The Klan got GOT. Now’s who’s the dumb one.
Also, the fact the David Duke didn’t know he was talking to a black man over the phone and he was sooooo comfortable with the real Ron. Btw, David Duke was played by Topher Grace, who played Eric Forman on That 70’s Show.
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Why was the infiltration successful?
Ron saved lives
Ron prevented SOME cross burnings
He got a lot of intel
Why was the movie successful?
Well, it brought in $10.8 Million opening weekend!
I really enjoyed this movie. It was informative, entertaining, kind of angering because of the language used, but overall it was a good movie.
Today, 20 years ago, the Players Club was released and it’s still relevant today. Looking back, there were a lot of big names actors in the film such as:
Bernie Mac
Terrence Howard, Charlie Murphy and John Amos
Jamie Foxx & Ice Cube
Of course there were many more but that’s just to name a few. Many of the movies quotes are still used today such as
Danii Gold 