Food & Travel

Studio:     Lionsgate (111 min)

Plot:     A wealthy businessman is forced to re-examine his life, when he meets a single mother who works on the cleaning crew in his office building.

Cast:     Tyler Perry, Thandie Newton, Gabrielle Union, Brian White, Rebecca Romijn, Jamie Kennedy, Phylicia Rashad, Beverly Johnson

Rating:     PG-13

Bottom Line:     **

 

By Samantha Ofole-Prince

 

Tyler Perry wants audiences to know that he’s tackling a new genre in his latest offering “Good Deeds.”

 

Perry, who has made twelve inspirational themed flicks in eight years, returns as actor, writer, director and producer in what he coins a “romantic movie.”

Dear Tamara:

 

My boyfriend and I recently had a heated argument. I was sure that after a few days things would cool off and we would go back to normal, like we always do. That was until a mutual friend told me that my boyfriend had changed his relationship status on Facebook. When I went to check, I found that he had “unfriended” me and completely blocked me from his page! Not only was I furious, I was embarrassed. 

 

We have a ton of mutual friends and he is friends with several members of my family. Needless to say, I have been getting a ton of phone calls and text messages from people wanting to know what’s going on and if I’m okay. I am not sure what to tell people; especially since I didn’t know that we had broken up. I hate that he put our business on blast. How should I respond to this? Should I change my relationship status as well?

 

Unfriended

 

By Nick Edmonds

 

Everyone who knows Public Enemy, knows what they they stand for. Their music was conscience and delivered a strong message that is still relevant in today’s society. Public Enemy delivered a positive and empowering message, opposite of what you would hear from the average rapper today who would tell you to make as much money as you can and then spend it all on cars, clothes, jewelry and women. Public Enemy’s  music was a lesson that needs to be taught over and over again.

Studio: Universal Pictures (115 min)

Plot: A young CIA agent is tasked with looking after a fugitive in a safe house. But when the safe house is attacked, he finds himself on the run with the fugitive.

Cast:     Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shepard

Rating:     R

Bottom Line:     ***1/2

 

By Samantha Ofole-Prince

 

A thriller with grit and intrigue, Denzel Washington plays the CIA’s most dangerous traitor, Tobin Frost, who stuns the intelligence community when he surfaces in South Africa.

 

When the safe house to which he’s remanded is attacked by brutal mercenaries, a rookie (Ryan Reynolds) is forced to help him escape. It’s kill or be killed, so joining forces, the duo are forced to track down the mercenaries who want them dead.

 

David Oyelowo

 

By Samantha Ofole-Prince

 

Audiences grooved to his energetic portrayal of blues man Muddy Waters in “Who Do You Love,” sympathized with his dilemma as Joseph Asagai in the television drama “A Raisin in the Sun” and applauded his character’s demise in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.”

By Samantha Ofole-Prince

 

From fascinating franchises to thrilling new installments, film critic Samantha Ofole-Prince reviews the best 11 movies of 2011.

 

Like any other year, 2011 has had its fair share of turds and treats.

 

This was a year in which sequels had a huge presence on the big screen with two of the biggest successes at the movie box office being the final installment of the “Harry Potter” franchise and the “Twilight” sequel.

 

There were also unnecessary sequels to “Mission Impossible,” “Alvin and the Chipmunks,”  “Sherlock Holmes,” numerous book adaptations, and a grand total of 40 3-D flicks released.

Studio: Paramount Pictures (133 mins) 

Plot:    The IMF is shut down when it’s implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization’s name.

Cast:   Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, Simon Pegg

Rating:     PG-13

Bottom Line:     ***

 

By Jonathan  McMillan

 

In recent years the James Bond franchise was rebooted, making it more contemporary. And for the better part of the last decade, Jason Bourne has pretty much dominated the spy movie genre with Hollywood’s rendition of The Bourne Trilogy.

“Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol,” the fourth installment in the Mission Impossible saga, was rumored to be a reboot due to the feeling from critics that the “franchise is played out and its star over-exposed” after “Mission Impossible III” was released.

 

By Tashmica Torok

 

Many of us hear the knocking and we dive for under the couch.  I fling the door wide and leave it open.  I love new opportunities.  I love new fresh breath.  I want it to swirl up inside my home and blow the unwanted out through the back door.

 

We all have some leftover unwanted from this year.  

 

It is a time for reflection.  It is.  Some may scoff and say, it’s just another day.  Or the pessimist might say resolutions fail.  I say, ideas do die without action.  The order of the day is lists checked twice.  Santa had a fail proof plan.