by LeBron Hill | Apr 19, 2017 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
The Fast and Furious franchise gets another high-octane, action-packed addition with The Fate of the Furious. The movie is the eighth film in the saga and sticks to the same street racing and over-the-top stunts rubric that led to the franchise’s early success in 2001 with Fast and Furious. The cast is full of the same lovable characters such as Dominic Torreto (Vin Diesel) and Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson). It also features some who are new to the film such as Charlize Theron (The Italian Job) and Jason Statham (The Transporter Trilogy). F. Gary Gray directs — the fifth director of the saga — and is a veteran in the action film genre, having directed movies such as Law Abiding Citizen and The Italian Job. The film begins with Dominic and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) on their honeymoon in Cuba. “Dom” soon has to put his racing skills to the test and raced in his cousin’s beat up 1949 Chevrolet Fleetline against a 1956 Ford Customline. The backbone of the franchise has always been larger-than-life stunts and tons of explosions. However, this movie features a more interesting storyline. Dom’s relationship with his family is intriguing, especially for those who are hardcore fans of the franchise. Moviegoers get a deeper look into Dom’s psyche, and what makes him who he is. Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson are both action juggernauts, allowing for an interesting conversation surrounding the question of who would win in a fight. Viewers have already started a Twitter war, using the hashtags, #teamVin and #teamDwayne. The franchise is the highest grossing movie franchise in Universal Studios history, and...
by LeBron Hill | Apr 4, 2017 | News Slider, Opinion
On March 31, DreamWorks added a 34th 3D animated movie to its collection with Boss Baby. The movie’s theme is centered around the importance of family. Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) plays the Boss Baby, a newborn who works in management of Baby, Inc. He is sent to a family who works for their rival company, Puppy, Inc. to stop the company from releasing a super cuddly and cute puppy that will lower the sales of babies for good. The mother is played by Lisa Kudrow (Friends), and the father is played by Jimmy Kimmel (Jimmy Kimmel Show). The brother of the Boss Baby is reluctant of him and immediately notices that this baby is not like the others. Upon the arrival of the baby, The Templeton’s (Tim, Ted and Janice) were enjoying life, just the three of them. Tim spent most of his time using his imagination, fighting pirates or trying to escape the clutches of up-to-no good villains. His life was great until his parents decided to add another Templeton to the clan. The Boss Baby arrives, and Tim was highly suspicious from the beginning. At first, Tim and Boss Baby are not friends in the slightest. The Boss Baby agrees to leave the family if he accomplishes his mission of stopping Puppy, Inc. from producing their product. It turns out that the CEO of the company was previously a Boss Baby and was pushed aside after he went to a family. He swore his revenge on the baby company for what they did to him. Tim and his little brother succeed in stopping the CEO’s plans of revealing the puppy and...
by LeBron Hill | Mar 27, 2017 | News Slider, Opinion
Having opened in theaters this weekend, The Power Rangers Movie, based on the beloved children’s television show created in 1994 by Saban Entertainment, has already received positive reviews. The show was originally about five teenagers from Angel Grove: Jason, Kimberly, Zach, Trini and Billy. They were chosen by Zordon, an ancient alien keeper of the power morphers, to defend earth from the treacherous hands of the evil Rita Repulsa. The movie cast is led by Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) as Zordon and Elizabeth Banks (Hunger Games) as Rita Repulsa. The director is Dean Israelite, a fairly new director having only directed Project Almanac prior to this movie. The movie does a great job at satisfying both the Power Rangers fans who have followed the series throughout the 23 seasons it has been on air and the fans who have only seen the first season as a kid. The production begins with Zordon seconds away from being killed by Repulsa. In his last breath, he took the power morphers and sent them to the five who are worthy to become Power Rangers. Once the Rangers found the morphers, they first had to come together as a a team to be able to morph. Unbeknownst to the rangers, Repulsa has made her way to earth in search of the Zeo crystal and is building her monster, Goldar, to destroy Angel Grove. One of the first skepticisms about the movie was regarding how similar it would be to the show. There were also concerns that the production team would change the plot to where it would not resemble the original television adaption. It is safe to say that the movie has the same putty-fighting, megazord-forming action as its TV counterpart. It does not stray from the same quirkiness...
by Brooke Dorris | Mar 23, 2017 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
Whitney Houston fans: this is the musical for you. Even if you are not the biggest Whitney Houston fan, you will still love TPAC’s latest show, The Bodyguard. Deborah Cox and Judson Mills bring to life Rachel Marron and Frank Farmer in the incredible new production. Frank Farmer, a former Secret Service Agent, is hired to protect music superstar Rachel Marron from an elusive stalker. Both headstrong and wanting to be in charge, they never expect to fall in love with each other. The Bodyguard is a musical based on the 1992 film The Bodyguard with the score featuring Whitney Houston songs such as hits like “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” “I Have Nothing” and her cover version of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.” It is also based on a book by the Oscar-winning Alexander Dinelaris. Grammy® Award-nominated and multi-platinum R&B and Pop recording artist and actress Cox made her Broadway debut in the lead role in Aida. From there she has gone on to create platinum selling albums, which led her to receive an American Music Award nomination. From One Wish, her second album, came the double-platinum single “Nobody’s Supposed to Be Here,” which held the record for longest running No. 1 R&B Single for 14 consecutive weeks. Cox even collaborated with Whitney Houston in 2000 to record the duet “Same Script Different Cast” for Houston’s Greatest Hits CD. But one actor who might have stolen the show was Douglas Baldeo, who plays Rachel’s adorable son Fletcher. Baldeo is a triple threat: he can sing, dance and act, and he proved that on opening night. When the...
by Lorena Coleman | Mar 19, 2017 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast has received a live-action revamp, brought to life by Director Bill Condon. The result is a fresh remake on a beloved classic: a film that stays true to the original tale while adding character back-story and substance. The story centers on Belle (Emma Watson), a young girl from a “provincial” town who takes her father’s place after he is imprisoned in an enchanted castle. Belle’s captor, the Beast (Dan Stevens), is, in essence, imprisoned as well — a young prince who has been cursed and can only return to his human form if he finds true love. Beauty and the Beast is just the latest project in a series of live-action adaptations by Disney, following Cinderella (2015) and The Jungle Book (2016). Given Beauty and the Beast’s predecessors’ success and the amount of hype in the press leading up to its release, there was a risk that the movie would leave its audiences’ expectations unfulfilled. Fortunately, that was not the case, as the film exceeds expectations. Watson’s Belle is not a damsel in distress but portrays the princess as a fearless heroine. Belle is strong, independent and kind, making her character an empowering role model. Because she displays these qualities and is ambitious (in this version, she is not just a book lover, but an inventor as well), she is deemed odd by the villagers in town. Prior to her imprisonment in the castle, Belle dreams of a way to escape her confined life in the village. While Belle initially plans to escape the castle, she finds herself befriending its enchanted staff, who in turn...
by Emily Wieman | Mar 10, 2017 | News Slider, Opinion
Most audiences already know the story of King Kong — there’s a big monkey that walks around smashing things until the lights in the theater turn on, signaling the time to go home. What Kong: Skull Island adds to the story is surprisingly enjoyable. Unlike the original film, which focuses on Kong’s capture, Skull Island elaborates on the life of the island which includes giant spiders, octopi and stick bugs. The adventure follows around big names like Tom Hiddleston, who plays a tracker named James Conrad, and Samuel L. Jackson, who acts as Lieutenant Colonel Packard. Academy Award winning actress Brie Larson joins as Mason Weaver. The cinematography had a rough start, but once the audience adjusted to the film’s style, it was enjoyable to watch. Though the film tried to have serious moments, these moments mostly came off as ironic jokes. Nevertheless, this made it much more entertaining to watch. If moviegoers decide that they want to watch a movie that has no philosophical value yet still manages to keep viewers interested, this is the film for them. Kong: Skull Island is what you expect it to be: full of action, gore and one freaking giant money. So take it at face value. Rating:...
