Acertando o Tom

In the midst of movies and shows where it seems like you need to have background knowledge in order to fully enjoy it, movies like "Praise This" are a godsend (no pub intended).

As someone who isn't a Christian (or any of the other denominations), this movie does not feel like it's trying to shove any beliefs on you as much it's trying to instill faith in yourself and it's a message anyone can be told.

Chloe Bailey kills it as Sam who is ambitious to a fault. Anjelika Washington as Jess is the weird black girl energy I have not gotten in movies and I desperately need.

All of the cast plays the roles they've been given well. My personal highlights being Druski as Aaron, Jekalyn Carr as Kiki, Loren Lott as Kelly, and Koryn Hawthorne as Fallon.

I think my favorite thing is that it didn't linger on the falling apart drama that feel good movies have to have. Listen I know I'm probably alone on this but I hate something having drama just because the plot needs it.

But it is believable because Sam's character is portrayed as a hurt person who doesn't seem to have issue with using others because she thinks she's fighting life all alone.

If you like fun jukebox musicals that are similar to Pitch Perfect, then you should definitely check out this movie.

Gospel Pitch Perfect.

It was a cute movie. Great soundtrack and fun cast. Girl is forced to move to ATL. Hates it. But her perky cousin starts bringing her to church/choir group. They're the underdogs and their captain won't allow their style to change.

As they get to their first comp the Captain decides to switch teams to their biggest competitor in an off attempt to sabotage them. New girl starts free styling about god and boom they place and move on.

Obviously it keeps going from there.

Definitely give it a watch. Like I stated the soundtrack is good. Quavo had a small part in it but not too bad.

Greetings again from the darkness. Off the top of my head, I can't think of another faith-based film aimed at pre-teen African Americans, especially girls. Writer-director Tina Gordon understands the audience for her film, and smartly uses music and an immensely talented singer (or singers) to convey the message. Where this one seems to go off-track is having four other co-writers involved: Camilla Blackett, and the Murder Ink writing team of Brandon Broussard, Hudson Obayuwana, and Jana Savage. We don't know who wrote what here, however since very few scenes or lines of dialogue strike as realistic, it seems a broad brush of blame is deserved.

Sam (5-time Grammy nominee Chloe Bailey) is on her way from Los Angeles to Atlanta. Her mother died a year earlier, and she's been a hand full for her frustrated dad (Philip Fornah) since. He's hoping her psychologist Uncle (Kendrick Cross) can reach her in ways that he hasn't been able to. Sam has a rebellious streak and is an aspiring singer-songwriter. Her cousin Jess (Angelika Washington) is over-the-top energetic and upbeat, and thrilled to have her "Sister Cousin" join her in The Oil Factory, the gospel singing group run out of the church headed by Pastor Goodman (Tristan Mack Wilds), a reformed man himself.

Prior to Sam joining, The Oil Factory flops at a performance so badly that they likely missed out on a participation trophy. Of course, Sam sees herself as too cool for gospel, but crossing paths with rising star Ty (rapper Quavo) provides an opening, and Sam's amazing talent immediately makes this rag tag group a contender at the competitions. And you can surely guess that along the way, Sam has the opportunity to learn some tough life lessons.

One might think this sounds eerily similar to PITCH PERFECT (2012), but what's missing here that was present there, is comedy that works and characters that can be related to. This film offers up a slew of characters, but only Sam and Jess are given even the slightest chance to create a full person. The rest are simply chess pieces in a formulaic game that lacks a punch. On the bright side, despite the presence of multiple pastors, very little actual preaching occurs. And there is a glimpse at the contrast between powerhouse (mega-money) churches, and organic congregations sharing a purpose.

Despite the many flaws and disappointments, we are left with no doubt that Chloe Bailey is the real deal as a singer. The script lets her down in being unable to convince us that her character Sam has matured and learned her life lessons well, but there is a message here, no matter how choppy and fragmented the presentation plays out.

Streaming on Peacock beginning April 7, 2023.

I'm starting to think people who write reviews on this site don't actually see the movies and let their biases put something down on blast. This makes the reason why some reviews tends to be negative. Not sure why that is when a majority of movies hit the streaming service these days at the same time they hit theaters. Otherwise they'll hit in a few weeks but point is, no reason to lie about something. This movie is available to stream on Peacock and it's pretty decent. In fact, it's good enough to to hit theaters and is far more entertaining than a lot of what's been released as of the date of this writing.

The story revolves around a young girl sent to live with her aunt and uncle after the death of her mother. The family is God fearing and active members of their community church. At first there's some resistance here on her part as this is all new to her but with some encouragement from a higher calling and bonding with her cousin, she becomes the newest member of the church choir. This is pretty much a simple story of inner city kids using their talents to praise God. Soon they find themselves competing for a national choir competition and along the way the ride was actually pretty good. I'd say this movie is along the lines of Sister Act and Pitch Perfect where there's complex characters we actually care about and want to see them succeed. There's some decent music here that I found myself getting into and good story about family and friendship. As of 4/7/23, it's streaming on Peacock and I have to say, it's a lot better than some of the movies in theaters at this very moment. Plus, this is a guaranteed good time.

I love a good African American movie, especially with great vocals - but very different from the usual gospel music we hear in church. Don't get me wrong, I like the twist when they changed some "bangers" into gospel music, but it felt more like a hip hop movie... if my church sung these typa songs, you'd see me attempt to break dance rather than praising. The movie showcased what we have in the usual church; the gossipers, the haters and, the sinners; it's sad but true because Christian's are not perfect, no one is. Overall it was a good movie, but I wish we got to see Chloe be more vulnerable with God.