The Suicide Squad - Movie Review

The Movie: The Suicide Squad

The Director: James Gunn

The Cast: Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Jai Courtney, Peter Capaldi, David Dastmalchian, Daniela Melchior, Michael Rooker, Alice Braga, Pete Davidson, Joaquín Cosio, Juan Diego Botto, Storm Reid, Nathan Fillion, Steve Agee, Sean Gunn, Mayling Ng, Flula Borg, Jennifer Holland, Tinashe Kajese, Sylvester Stallone, Viola Davis

The Story: Supervillains Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, Peacemaker and a collection of nutty cons at Belle Reve prison join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X as they are dropped off at the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom - Movie Review

The Movie: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

The Director: George C. Wolfe

The Cast: Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo, Michael Potts

The Story: Chicago, 1927. A recording session. Tensions rise between Ma Rainey, her ambitious horn player and the white management determined to control the uncontrollable "Mother of the Blues".

Troop Zero - Movie Review

The Movie: Troop Zero

The Director: Katie Ellwood and Amber Templemore-Finlayson

The Cast: Mckenna Grace, Viola Davis, Jim Gaffigan

The Story: In rural 1977 Georgia, a misfit girl dreams of life in outer space. When a competition offers her a chance to be recorded on NASA's Golden Record, she recruits a makeshift troop of Birdie Scouts, forging friendships that last a lifetime.

Widows - Movie Review

The Movie: Widows

The Director: Steve McQueen

The Cast: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Jon Bernthal, Carrie Coon, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Brian Tyree Henry, Daniel Kaluuya, Kevin J. O'Connor, Jon Michael Hill

The Story: Set in contemporary Chicago, amid a time of turmoil, four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands' criminal activities, take fate into their own hands, and conspire to forge a future on their own terms.

2016 Recap - The Performances

In 2016, I watched a lot of movies. Probably more in one year than I ever have before so there was a lot of acting to take in. Most are passable and get the job done adequately and then there's a few that make you cringe and wish the casting director had made a different choice. Finally, there is a select handful that really catch my attention and never for the same reason. These performances are so unique, often very powerful, and, if nothing else, they are just fun to watch on screen.

Fences - Movie Review

The Movie: Fences

The Director: Denzel Washington (Antwone Fisher)

The Cast: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen Henderson, Jovan Adepo, Russell Hornsby, and Mykelti Williamson.

The Story: A black man in 1950's New York trying to raise and hold together a family while struggling with the demons of his own upbringing.

Suicide Squad - Movie Review

Suicide Squad, directed by David Ayer, is the latest installment from the DC Comics Cinematic Universe and features a collection of super powered villains who are forced to work together by taking on missions that are doomed to fail. The blockbuster film features performances by Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Viola Davis, Jared Leto, Jai Courtney, Cara Delevingne, Joel Kinnaman, Karen Fukuhara, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje.

Lila & Eve - Movie Review

Lila & Eve is a film written by Pat Gilfillan and directed by Charles Stone III and will be featured at Seattle's Sundance Cinemas beginning on Friday, July 17th. The movie features performances by Viola Davis, Jennifer Lopez, Aml Ameen, Shea Whigham, Andre Royo, Chris Chalk, Julius Tennon, Teddy Williams, and Ron Caldwell.

Blackhat - Movie Review

Blackhat is a cyber terrorist, hacker thriller directed by Michael Mann whose previous work includes The Last of the Mohicans, Heat, The Insider, and Collateral. The movie stars Chris Hemsworth, Leehom Wang, Wei Tang, Viola Davis, and John Ortiz.

Ender's Game - Movie Review

Ender's Game is a science fiction story adapted from a novel written by controversial author Orson Scott Card. Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld, Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, and Viola Davis all star in the movie which was adapted for the screen and directed by Gavin Hood.

Prisoners - Movie Review

Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal square off in Prisoners, an intense crime thriller directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Aaron Guzikowski. The all star cast also includes Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, Viola Davis, Melissa Leo, and Paul Dano.

Beautiful Creatures - Movie Review

Beautiful Creatures is a movie adapted for the screen from a popular novel written by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. Director Richard LaGravenese had a tall task ahead of him in pleasing hardcore fans of the book while looking to draw in a new audience all while putting relatively unknown actors, Alice Englert and Alden Ehrenreich in the lead roles of Lena Duchannes and Ethan Wate respectively.

Won't Back Down - Movie Review

One of Hollywood's tried and true, bankable genres of film making is the inspirational story that is "based on actual events". These are often the types of movies that get a strong emotional response and usually come with equal amounts of cheering and tears being shed.

Writer and director Daniel Barnes has been able to assemble the type of cast that makes these types of stories work and with two strong leads like Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal, there is little doubt that "Won't Back Down" can deliver the goods.

The Help - Movie Review

For a movie like 'The Help' to work, the cast would need to be spot on perfect and their portrayals of each character would have to be carefully crafted to avoid falling in to cliche and stereotype. For the most part, the actors succeed at pulling this off and what we are given is a heartfelt portrayal of a turbulent time for women of all races and classes.