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Semi-Soeter is the sequel (or should I call it a legacy sequel?) to the 2012 film Semi-Soet. Back then, “pretend couple to real couple” plots were all the rage, and Joshua Rous and his co-writers, Anel Alexander, James Gracie, and Sandra Vaughn, decided to capitalize on that trend. The narrative was about an employee of an advertising company faking her relationship with the very businessman that was about to take over the firm that she worked at in order to secure a deal with a wine company. Why? Because the winegrower explicitly stated that he wanted a person with a “stable romantic relationship” to market his product. It made no sense whatsoever, but since premises like these were being lapped up by everyone back then, it got a free pass. Looking back on it, you can sense the underlying agenda to champion heterosexual relationships because it was the “smart thing to do,...

In the '90s, Whoopi Goldberg earned her way into the hearts of millennials with her performances in movies such as the "Sister Act" films, "The Lion King," and "The Little Rascals." The star-studded 1997 musical fantasy TV film "Cinderella" was another go-to movie for pizza parties during my elementary school days. The fairy tale remake stars Brandy Norwood as the titular character who, with the help of her Fairy Godmother (Whitney Houston), wins the love of Prince Christopher (Paolo Mantalban). Goldberg plays Queen Constantina, the prince's controlling mother who wants to find him a suitable mate.

"Cinderella" is an all-around funny movie. Cinderella's stepmother (Bernadette Peters), her stepsisters, Calliope (Veanne Cox) and Minerva (Natalie Desselle Reid), and the royal family's servant, Lionel (Jason Alexander), all provide some comic relief. But what really made my classmates and me choke on our Pepsi was Goldberg's performance as the queen. Her patented squeals...

Another week, another episode of Aew: Dark which emanates from Grand Rapids, Michigan – which means this was taped at the same time as this past weekend’s Battle of the Belts special. We’ve got Taz and Excalibur on commentary as usual so let’s get to the action!

Match #1: Private Party, The Butcher & The Blade def. Isaiah Broner, James Alexander, Brayden Lee, & Sam Moore

My Thoughts: So we open Dark with an 8-man quasi-squash match. Hey, at least Private Party, The Butcher & The Blade are getting “TV” time right? Right..? It seems both teams are floundering somewhat after the end of the Hfo/Ahfo so to see them in action is good, even more so when the in-ring action is good too!

My Score: 2.5 out of 5 Match #2: Anna Jay A.S. def. Megan Meyers

My Thoughts: Anna Jay gets a new name and new attitude… Hopefully her...

It’s a case of cold-blooded, premeditated nostalgia: Abbott & Costello’s fantasy musical is innocent comedy rooted in early ’50s kiddie entertainment — a vein perfectly suited to the duo’s talents. Lou Costello makes a fine underdog fantasy hero, too. The feature restoration is quite an achievement for the 3-D Archive, as cine-archeology was required to understand the arcane color process ‘SuperCineColor.’ But the show’s slapstick action, clever songs and dippy dancing are finally back and looking great. The labor of love extends to the extras: excised scenes, background material, some words from the only surviving actor, a learned piece on the color process and a surprise guest appearance by the Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Jack and the Beanstalk

Blu-ray

ClassicFlix

1952 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 78 min. / 70th Anniversary Limited Edition / Street Date July 26, 2022 / Available from ClassicFlix / 49.95

Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Buddy Baer, Dorothy Ford, Barbara Brown, David Stollery,...

Welcome to this week’s review of Aew Dark: Elevation which was filmed prior to Blood and Guts last Wednesday. We’ve got Tony Schiavone and Mark Henry on commentary and a mere six matches to cover. So let’s get to it!

Match #1: Anna Jay def. Megan Meyers

My Thoughts: Megan Meyers looks the part that’s for sure. She reminded me of Abadon but less monstrous and terrifying. She showed some promise too, taking it to Anna Jay – which means this was, you guessed it, an Aew quasi-squash match!

My Score: 2 out of 5 Match #2: Best Friends def. Isaiah Broner and Gpa

My Thoughts: This was another quasi-squash with Broner and Gpa given enough room by Best Friends to put in some offence. Broner looked impressive both in size and strength whilst Gpa brought the skills. Nice to see Chuck Taylor get the pin this week too!

Cinemax has boarded Trackers, a thriller drama series based on the novel by bestselling South African author Deon Meyer.

James Gracie (aka James Alexander Gracie), Rolanda Marais and Ed Stoppard are set to star in the series, a co-production between Cinemax, the South Africa’s M-Net and Germany’s Zdf.

Multichoice’s M-Net and Zdf teamed for Trackers in late 2018, with Jyri Kähönen set to direct all episodes and Ivan Strasburg as director of photography. Around that time, the companies started conversations with Cinemax about coming on board as a co-producer.

Trackers interweaves three story strands into a sophisticated action-packed thriller that covers the length and breadth of South Africa, explosively colliding in Cape Town in a violent conspiracy involving organized crime, smuggled diamonds, state security, Black Rhinos, the CIA and an international terrorist plot.

Gracie plays Lemmer, a man who is seeking revenge while rebuilding his life in a...

Stars: Keanu Reeves, Boris Gulyarin, Ashley St. George, Elliot Lazar, Veronica Ferres, Pasha D. Lychnikoff, Rafael Petardi, Taran Vitt, James Gracie, Ana Ularu, Dmitry Chepovetsky, Kis Yurij, Molly Ringwald | Written by Stephen Hamel, Scott B. Smith | Directed by Matthew Ross

Siberia tells the story of an American diamond merchant (Reeves), who travels to Russia to sell rare blue diamonds of questionable origin. As the deal begins to collapse he falls into an obsessive and passionate relationship with a Russian cafe owner (Ularu) in a small Siberian town Mirny. As their relationship builds, so does the treacherous world of the diamond trade from which he is unable to extricate himself.

Matthew Ross’ thriller Siberia follows the straight-laced diamond trader Lucas Hill, played by Keanu Reeves, who, while on his latest deal runs into a vast host of questionable predicaments and a dark morally corrupted path of righteousness, albeit condensed into a...

Hitting theaters on Friday, July 13 is Saban Films’ Siberia starring Keanu Reeves.

Check out the trailer below.

The film also features Ana Ularu, Pasha D. Lychnikoff, Dmitry Chepovetsky, James Gracie, Eugene Lipinski, Rafael Petardi, with Veronica Ferres and Molly Ringwald.

Siberia follows Lucas (Reeves), an American diamond merchant, who travels to St. Petersburg to sell rare blue diamonds of questionable origin. As the deal immediately begins to collapse, Lucas travels to Siberia in search of his missing partner and their diamonds, where he quickly falls into a relationship with Katya (Ularu), the owner of a small Siberian café. As Lucas and Katya’s passion builds, so does the treacherous world of the diamond trade from which he is unable to extricate himself. Both collide as Lucas desperately searches for an escape route in a world with no exit.

The film is directed by Matthew Ross (Frank & Lola). “I think his...

Need to catch up? Check out the previous Outlander recap here.

Claire, may I humbly suggest that you never set foot on a seafaring vessel ever again?

If the vagaries of 18th-century sea travel aren’t tough enough on their own, this week’s Outlander caps a season in which Mrs. James Fraser was pressed into service as a ship’s doctor, was forced to live aboard a boat full of men dying in extremely disgusting fashion, jumped overboard to escape said boat and then wound up on another ship and weathered a seriously scary storm before nearly drowning when...