seansoulo73's reviews

I'm genuinely perplexed by any rating above a 5 for Tyler Perry's Straw. It appears Tyler Perry is regressing in his craft; his earlier works demonstrably surpassed the quality of his current output. While his undeniable financial success is often cited, it regrettably hasn't translated into an improvement in his filmmaking. Though he commands a loyal fanbase, as a viewer who values film as an art form and appreciates compelling storytelling, I found Straw to be profoundly lacking. My wife persuaded me to watch, and within 20 minutes, my suspicion was confirmed: this was another rushed, haphazard production. Even Taraji P. Henson, despite her talent, couldn't salvage this exasperating endeavor. It's clear Perry invests heavily in his lead actors, but with such resources, one would hope he could also invest in a collaborative writing team and allow other directors to bring fresh perspectives. Is he truly limited to his own vision? For those who champion nuanced storytelling over repetitive tropes, stereotypes, and glaring plot holes, this 'microwave, cookie-cutter mess' falls far short.

We deserve films of the caliber produced by visionaries like Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, Spike Lee, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Antoine Fuqua, F. Gary Gray, Steve McQueen, and Michael B. Jordan, to name a few."

Kevin Hart's 'Fight Night...' is a promising addition to the black film landscape, showcasing a talented ensemble cast and a captivating storyline. I told ya'll the Philly boy has acting chops! I may have been critical of his last few stand-up specials, but I Kevin can act indeed.

With Hart Beat Productions teamed up with Will Packer Productions again, I hope to continue to see films with strong scripts, strong actors and quality production value that showcases the black experience in its many different facets. We deserve better than we get from Tyler P's revolving battered woman syndrome and low budget Tubi productions.

The stereotypical portrayal of Clifton Powell's 'Mush Mouth' and a few other mob boss characters like Boone, Tex, and Bunker feel overly caricatured. Look, I get that it is an ode to the blaxploitation era, and I'm a huge fan of period pieces, but the only believable figures of the interstate bosses are David Banner, Terrance Howard and of course, Sam Jackson. They can feel out of place in an otherwise well-crafted film.

Anyway, I'm wondering how Kevin got all these heavy hitters in one project, like Don Cheadle, Tarija P. Henson, Terrance and Sam? Not to mention he put together a talented cast of heist bandits who are all rising stars in their own right. Overall, I'm loving this mini-series, and I hope it's just the beginning of many more strong stories to come from Hart Beat Productions; especially in a time when Hollywood seems all too interested in remakes than original stories. You did that Kevin!

We need more of this refreshing stylized filmmaking. Jeymes Samuel hit us over the head with "The Harder They Fall" and I hope to continue to see this brilliant musician turned director's work for many years to come. I still love watching his Bullets video with Rosario Dawson. He's obviously a period piece junkie like myself, and his ability to capture the essence of old with a touch of new is chic to say the least. Super dope!

Keep elevating our stories and giving them the production value they deserve. The cast was outstanding, the story was well developed and the location couldn't have been more perfect. Only thing is, I really wish they would have given Teyana Taylor a larger piece of the story because she has that IT thing. And the message...well, take it for what it was depending on your own belief system. I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish!

This show is one for the books! I ordered BET+ just to give Average Joe a try and to support Deon Cole. It's a surprising breath of fresh air, well written and well acted by the entire cast. A cranky, crime dramedy that ranks up there with shows like Fargo and Breaking Bad. And it's just nice to see such a diverse cast with black folks at the helm, embroiled in a story line that is anything but typical. This Average Joe project is so far removed from what you'd expect from the BET network.

The show's creator put some serious thought into the story and it just hits on all cylinders. Not sure where this will go after the first season or if it's simply meant to be one season, as BET is notorious for greenlighting shows and cancelling after one season. Hopefully Average Joe keeps going past one season or simply goes down as one of the best original shows the network has ever seen. Either way, bravo, Deon Cole and cast...bravo!

Been rockin' with the Best Man franchise from day one and although I didn't know what to expect with the switch from film to a TV series, Malcom D. Lee and company pulled it off wonderfully. I'm about the same age as all the cast members, so in '99 I was a single man who had already walked away from an engagement. By the second installation I was married with kids, and now with this latest and final reboot, I'm 20 years in on this marriage journey.

This film captured every facet of black marital excellence, struggle, stress, sickness, tribulation, triumph and loss. Binge watched it from start to finish with my wife today and we could relate on so many levels. Bravo to the entire cast! Ya'll did that! Take a bow.

I hope we are not about to see the Shyamalan effect with Jordan Peele, where the debut film is amazing and everything that follows leaves you scratching your head. I feel like I'm on that road with Peele's body of silver screen work. "Get Out" was a masterpiece, while "Us" jus didn't do it for me and now "Nope!"

Keke Palmer did her thing in the role she played (she is the star of this movie for sure) and Daniel kept up with a good performance in his own right, but the film itself was something outta the Twilight Zone. More of a sci-fi thriller than a horror flick, it had too many holes and unanswered questions for my liking. Peele's approach to filmmaking is amazing, much like Shyamalan, but the stories, like Shyamalan's are starting to fall short of being good films.

Jordan may have dreamt this story and woke up at 5am and jotted down every detail he could remember. And like our weird dreams, they never make any sense and we forget a lot of the details by the time we wake up! Nope was like one of those weird a... dreams!

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Despite the cluster fxxk of a bank job plan or lack thereof, this flick was non-stop action from the jump. Truly a hold onto your hat and seat, wild ride the whole film.

Since Jordan Peeled created "Get Out" there are more and more of these racially charged thriller / horror projects emerging and none of them come close to being as good as Peele's project. I am a huge Regina Hall fan, but this movie was straight up weird and failed to hit the mark for me.

This was probably the darkest caped crusader installment yet. I love the serious dramatic element of the DC Comic hero over the light hearted, comedic Marvel characters. Acting was awesome, but there are so many new twists and turns in Bruce Wayne's backstory with each reboot. Zoe was definitely the best Catwoman to date.

The boy Coodie did this documentary justice! Brilliant depiction of his childhood friend...the God MC, Kanye West! Despite all his trials and tribulations that play out in the public eye, this doc reminded me of how nice Kanye is on the mic as well as on the beats! His conviction of his own abilities was apparent from day one! Even when no one at the Roc took him seriously, he proved his greatness. Bravo!

This was a bit too melodramatic for my taste. Denzel's previous directorial productions were better. No doubt, Michael B. And Chante Adams delivered, but the flashback sequences were overdone and confusing at times. From the black perspective, the casting was odd. The lead character didn't have one real black friend? Just co-workers/friends? Also, wondered why the child/Jordan looked mixed when clearly, it's hard to imagine Michael B. And Chante producing a kid to look like he did. I noticed that the real life kid has a lighter complexion, but so did the real dad and mom. Guess they had to attach a big name to get it green lit.

Sorry, I only watched Season two, but the wife enjoyed both seasons. I thought Marcus was a little too square at first, like Mia did (lol), but he proved to be an alright guy with commitment issues much like other young fellas trying to figure out this thing called love.

Again, I can only speak on Season 2, but from the writing to the acting, the storylines to the soundtrack, this was a perfect production. You'll laugh, feel sad, hurt, pain, joy and elation. Christopher Powell was hilarious from start to finish. The 6 foot beauty, Jessica Williams opposite William Harper was a little weird because she towered over him in some scenes, but opposites attract in real life, right? Still, the chemistry between the two was spot on. This was a rom-com for the ages. Hope to see much more of these young talents.

Sorry, but why Hollywood feels the need to make sequel after sequel or prequel is beyond me. Watched on HBOMax and it barely kept my attention. Not sure why we needed this installment.

Mental illness is a very real thing, but I really thought this was going to be a sci-fi flick with an ounce of truth to what our main character was experiencing. Turns out...well, you gotta watch, but the story could have been way better. Lead performances were all great still.

Love is love. Love is complicated. Love is hard and often paid by sacrifice. This was a serious gesture of unselfish love towards one's family in a most helpless situation. Could many men make the same choice Cameron did in the face of limited time, feelings of jealously, regret and sheer hopelessness?

Mahershala, Naomie, Aquafina and Glenn close all delivered.

Yes, Kevin has done it again. Keep up the good work. I dug into Kevin in the past for some of his lax approach to his last few comedy specials, but I always maintained that the boy can act. I was also glad to see Wesley redeem himself since that fiasco remake, "Coming to America." The chemistry between Hart and Snipes just worked and the Philly soundtrack was s on point!

I hadn't read the books before discovering this series, but I was hooked from the gate. Looking forward to seeing where this goes and I'll definitely read the books in due time.

A musical classic seen when I was a kid and still in my top 10 American movie classics. Speilberg's version is a bigger budgeted, perfectly reimagined ode to the original. Superb all around!