Month: June 2022

Successful talk show host Martin Lawrence travels to Georgia with his Survivor-winning fiancé Joy Bryant and his ten year old son for his parents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary. Once they arrive, it becomes understandable why Martin generally does not visit home as most of his family treats him horribly. That is the way with a lot of families but here it’s played for not really funny laughs. His relationship with his parents, James Earl Jones and Margaret Avery, could have been a good exploration on how people are sometimes too tough on the ones they love, but it barely touches the surface and just makes Jones mean and unpleasant. Showing that he learned from the best, Lawrence turns on his ambitious girlfriend and only has eyes for a high school sweetheart. I liked Michael Clarke Duncan as Martin’s brother, but his family is fat shamed at every possible chance.

Vampire Eddie Murphy travels to Brooklyn in search of a dhampir whose ancestry originates from his native land. Directed by horror pioneer Wes Craven, it’s like a combination of Coming to America and Blackula but nowhere near as funny nor entertaining as either of those films. Angela Bassett as the dhampir/NYPD cop puts a lot of effort into her role, but she seems as unclear as to the tone of the film as the audience is sure to be. 

After the murder of one of his patients, Roy Scheider is visited by Meryl Streep, the mistress of the patient. Working with her through the clues of the murder, he must come to terms with the fact that she committed the crime even while finding himself falling in love with her. The star power of its leads does not make this anything more than a middle of the road mystery film. It’s entertaining, but also forgettable overall.   

For his ninth birthday, Hal Scardino receives a cabinet and a Native American figurine which comes alive when it is placed inside. The special effects in this are impressively good. Along with the personification of the various figurines played by Litefoot, David Keith, and Steve Coogan, it’s what makes the film entertaining. Unfortunately the child actors and the writing for them is not top quality and there are a LOT of extreme closeups of those actors’ faces. I haven’t read the books, but I like how it recognizes personhood of those who are different. 

Lifelong friends Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan originally bonded over a mutual love for hip hop music. Now, with both of them having careers in the industry, they begin rethinking the platonic nature of their relationship. A romantic comedy thrives on the attractiveness of its leads and this film has that in abundance, but the quality of the storytelling is strongest when it focuses more on their love for hip hop than any interest they have in each other. They both are willing to throw away that have much more chemistry. A secondary romance between mutual friends Yasiin Bey and Queen Latifah has cute potential but that opportunity is floundered.   

Life on the Pine Ridge Reservation is told through the experiences of a young girl and her brother after the death of their absentee father. Each of them are trying to find their way with the brother working through a growing desire to leave while his sister searches for roots and role models in her community. Director Chloé Zhao again beautifully captures the middle American landscape and shines light on a culture that is often forgotten. The performances of Jashaun St. John and John Reddy as the siblings are very natural and realistic. I was surprised to learn that despite an extreme problem with alcoholism, alcohol is illegal on the reservation.

Third string quarterback Jamie Foxx performs impressively in his debut, giving new life to the team helmed by veteran coach Al Pacino, which could help stave off the sale of the franchise by owner Cameron Diaz. The film is a bit all over the place in its narrative and underlying message, but the on the field scenes are energetic and tight even with the eye-blisteringly ugly opponent uniforms in the final match. Likewise, the actors playing football players (Foxx, L.L. Cool J, even an aging Dennis Quaid) are solid, but Pacino and Diaz are ridiculously miscast for their roles. They defy believability in almost everything they say.