“The Big Lie” is a shopworn formula which has been recycled by countless television sitcoms since serving as the premise for almost every episode of I Love Lucy. The age-old theme typically revolves around a morally-compromised protagonist who ends up ensnared in an ever-expanding web of deception after telling a[...]
Hall Pass: Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis Co-Star in Raunchy Buddy Comedy (Film Review)
Peter and Bobby Farrelly are famous for cranking out crude teensploitation flicks like Dumb & Dumber (1994), There’s Something About Mary (1998), Me, Myself & Irene (2000), Shallow Hal (2001) and Stuck on You (2003). Owen Wilson, on the other hand, is a relatively-cerebral thespian known for his droll sense[...]
LADYBRILLE Holiday Film Preview- ‘Tis the Season of Oscar Hopefuls’
Right around the same time that visions of Santa and sugarplums start dancing around in children’s heads, matinee idols begin dreaming of winning an Academy Award. That’s because the studios wait until the Holiday Season to release their best films in theaters, given how Academy voters tend to forget pictures[...]
Film Review: Tyler Perry’s ‘For Colored Girls’ With Whoopi Goldberg, Janet Jackson, Thandie Newton, Kimberly Elise
Black Feminist Classic Refreshed Courtesy of Tyler Perry Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf made a big splash when it debuted on Broadway back in the Seventies. The emotionally-draining “choreopoem” was essentially a series of soul-baring monologues plumbing the depths of the[...]
Sex and the City 2 Film Review: Shallow Sirens Venture to Abu Dhabi for Another Vapid Adventure
Perhaps not being female or not being privy to the original HBO series seriously limits one’s ability to appreciate the adaptations of Sex and the City. Regardless, this critic came away feeling the same about the sequel as I did about the original screen version. This installment is set a[...]
Bukom-The Fighting Spirit (Film Review)
In Ghana’s capital city, Accra, on its outskirts, lies a small town called Bukom. Bukom is known for two things, fishing and fighting. Children at a very early age learn to fight. As they mature, fighting turns into boxing and ultimately dreams of escaping poverty by boxing in the “White[...]
Blind Side (Film Review), Rich Family Adopts Homeless Orphan in True Overcoming-the-Odds Tale
What is it about the holiday season and heartwarming tales revolving around an orphan who’s miraculously saved by some selfless act of charity? This year’s contribution to the tried-and-true genre is The Blind Side, a real-life story based on Michael Lewis’ best seller of the same name.
End Game (Film Review), South African Docudrama Chronicles Demise of Apartheid
While most people are well aware of the years of civil unrest which led to the demise of Apartheid in 1994, not as many know about the secret talks that simultaneously transpired for almost a decade between the South African government and the African National Congress (ANC), the political party[...]
A Passion For Giving (Film Review), PBS Documentary Extols Virtues of Philanthropy
The Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu once said, “He who obtains has little, he who scatters has much.” That sentiment is the recurring theme of A Passion for Giving, an inspirational documentary marking the brilliant directorial debut of Robin Baker Leacock. Accompanied by her husband, Robert, who served as her cameraman, Ms.[...]
2012 Film Review, Roland Emmerich Releases Another Apocalyptic Adventure
Roland Emmerich’s name is closely associated with overblown apocalyptic adventures like Independence Day (1996) and The Day after Tomorrow (2004). Regrettably, the German-born director’s latest, 2012, fails to measure up to his earlier offerings, despite its being filled with his trademark bombastic special effects coming courtesy of a quarter-billion dollar[...]
Kam’s Kapsules: Film Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun!
We have GREAT news for you! IT IS FRIDAY! We hope you are as excited about this fact! If you are wondering what to do this Friday and upcoming week, Ladybrille contributor Kam Williams helps us out with previews of movies opening November 20, 2009. Enjoy and have a fantastic[...]
Good Hair Film Review, Chris Rock Takes Lighthearted Look at Black Women’s ‘do
If you were raised in an African-American community, then you’re probably very familiar with the notion of “good hair,” a term that’s generally applied to folks born with wavy locks which are less trouble to take care of than the more tightly-curled or nappy variety. Back in the Sixties, at[...]
Precious Film Review, Lee Daniels’ Long-Anticipated Sundance-Winner Lives up to the Buzz.
Precious is finally arriving in theaters after being the beneficiary of practically a year’s worth of buzz since winning a trio of trophies at Sundance, including that prestigious film festival’s equivalent of Best Picture. I’m happy to be the bearer of the good news that the movie more than lives[...]
Skin Film Review, Apartheid Poses Problem for White Couple with Black Baby
Until 1994, South Africa’s system of Apartheid forbade people of different “races” to use the same stores, to attend the same schools or to reside under the same roof. Those oppressive segregation laws came to rip an Afrikaner family apart after the wife gave birth to a baby with dark[...]