(***) When comic actor Adam Sandler took on the challenging role of a diamond dealer in the gritty riveting film Uncut Gems, he crossed a chasm. It was as if he’d put his past behind him and was determined to become a multifaceted actor. Hustle proves that point. Sandler doesn’t overdo the basketball scout character of Stanley Sugarmen. […]
Music Fans Come Home to Capital Jazz Fest 2022
They came by the tens of thousands to the Capital Jazz Fest 2022. Traveling from all parts of the country, on the first weekend in June, to Columbia, Maryland’s Merriweather Theater. It’s like they were returning to an annual reunion. Enthusiastic music lovers soaked up the jazz, R&B and funk music. They danced, swayed, clapped and sang […]
Top Gun: Maverick
(***1/2) Not sure what they paid Tom Cruise for making this Top Gun sequel. But whatever it was, it’s not enough. He carries this behemoth action/drama on his shoulders and well deserves a great big pay day. Back in 1986, cadets at a U.S. Navy elite fighter pilot school were rivals competing for respect. One upstart stood […]
Explore Houston’s Colorful And Flavorful Black-Owned Restaurant And Food Scene
FEAST YOUR EYES ON HOUSTON’S BURGEONING BLACK RESTAURANTS, POPUPS AND MARKETPLACES. MEET THE CHEFS AND RESTAURATEURS BEHIND THEM ALL. Click on this link to read Essence article: https://www.essence.com/lifestyle/food-drinks/houston-food/.
The Takedown
Biracial buddy cop movies (e.g., Beverly Hills Cop, Lethal Weapon) aren’t a new phenomenon and could use a refresh. The genre gets a needed update with this French ebony/ivory crime story that’s novel due its unusual antagonists who are right-wing, antiimmigrant zealots. In this year’s French presidential election, the incumbent Emmanuel Macron, a moderate, beat his far-right and very xenophobic challenger Marine Le Pen. Clearly racism and the fear of […]
Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story
(***) You can bet on music’s healing power. New Orleans has played those odds for over 50 years with its renown jazz fest that mends spirits and brings all kinds of people together. Jazz festivals abound worldwide and quite often the term “Jazz” is just a catch-all for various music genres. Case in point, the […]
The Northman
Hell hath no fury like a Nordic prince wronged. That’s the premise of this 10th century Scandinavian revenge allegory. Deceit, murder and vengeance rain down in torrents. Once upon a time, King Rørik of Denmark appointed two brothers, Horwedil and Fengo, as the rulers of the peninsula of Jutland. Horwedil slayed the King of Norway, he […]
Paris 13th District
(***) If bed swapping was a sport, these French twentysomethings would be Olympic-caliber athletes. Millennials have infested Paris’13th arrondissement district. They walk down streets, chatting and philosophizing. It’s enough to make you wonder who they are, what they do and where they’re going. If your eyes focus on Émilie (Lucie Zhang), Camille (Makita Samba) and […]
Everything Everywhere All at Once
(**) She’s yanked, pushed and pulled. To here, there, everywhere. To times and places she couldn’t imagine. The very drably attired Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) owns and operates a laundromat with her nerdy looking husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). At least she thought he was her spouse. He may be […]
The Devil You Know
(**) Marcus and Drew are like Cain and Abel. Two brothers both loving and jealous. In the bible, only Cain survived. Should one of them be worried? Producer (Sons of Anarchy), writer (Luke Cage), director (Things Never Said) Charles Murray’s home turf is television. The limitations of his small screen producing, writing and directing style may become […]
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