Saturday, February 23, 2019

WHAT MEN WANT (2019)



Directed By: Adam Shankman 
Written By: Tina Gordon, Peter Huyck & Alex Gregory 
Based on the screenplay “What Women Want” By: Josh Goldsmith & Cathy Yuspa 
Story By: Jas Waters & Tina Gordon 
Based On The Story “What Women Want” By: Diane Drake, Josh Goldsmith & Cathy Yuspa Cinematography By: Jim Denault 
Editor: Emma E. Hickcox 


Cast: Taraji P. Henson, Josh Brener, Aldis Hodge, Erykah Badu, Tracy Morgan, Jason Jones, Max Greenfield, Richard Roundtree, Kellan Lutz, Pheobe Robinson, Tamala Jones, Brian Bosworth, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Pete Davidson 


A woman is boxed out by the male sports agents in her profession, but gains an unexpected edge over them when she develops the ability to hear men's thoughts.

CREED 2 (2018)



Directed By: Steven Caple Jr. 
Written By: Juel Taylor & Sylvester Stallone 
Story By: Cheo Hodari Coker & Sacha Penn 
Based On Characters Created By: Ryan Coogler 
Cinematography By: Kramer Morganthau 
Editor: Dana E. Glauberman, Saira Haider & Paul Harb 


Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Russell Hornsby, Wood Harris, Dolph Lungdren, Florian Munteanu, Brigitte Nielsen 


Under the tutelage of Rocky Balboa, heavyweight contender Adonis Creed faces off against Viktor Drago, son of Ivan Drago.

NIGHT SCHOOL (2018)



Directed By: Malcolm D. Lee 
Written By: Kevin Hart, Nicholas Stoller, John Hamburg, Harry Ratchford, Joey Wells & Matthew Kellard 
Cinematography By: Greg Gardiner 
Editor: Paul Millspaugh 

Cast: Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Rob Riggle, Romany Malco, Taran Killam, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Al Madrigal, Mary Lyn Rajskub, Keith David, Anne Winters, Fat Joe, Ben Schwartz, Yvonne Orji 


A group of high school dropouts are forced to attend night school in hope that they'll pass the GED exam to finish high school.

HOTEL ARTEMIS (2018)



Written & Directed By: Drew Pearce
Cinematography By: Chung-Hoon Chung 
Editor: Gardner Gould & Paul Zucker 


Cast: Jodie Foster, Sterling K. Brown, Sofia Boutella, Dave Bautista, Zachary Quinto, Brian Tyree Henry, Charlie Day, Jenny Slate, Jeff Goldblum, Kenneth Choi 


A woman known as The Nurse runs a high-security, members-only hospital for high-rolling criminals in Los Angeles. When a bank robber brings his injured teammates along with $18 million in jewels there, both mob boss Wolf King and the police follow. With the hospital under siege, The Nurse, her orderly and her other criminal patients have to defend themselves.

Saturday, February 16, 2019

WIDOWS (2018)


Directed By: Steve McQueen 
Written By: Gillian Flynn & Steve McQueen 
Based On “Widows” By: Lynda La Plante 
Cinematography By: Sean Bobbitt 
Editor: Joe Walker 

Cast: Viola Davis, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Brian Tyree Henry, Daniel Kaluuya, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, Liam Neeson, Lukas Haas, Jon Bernthal, Carrie Coon, Jacki Weaver, Ann Mitchell, Garret Dillahunt, Kevin J O’Connor 

 "Widows" is the story of four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands' criminal activities. Set in contemporary Chicago, amid a time of turmoil, tensions build when Veronica, Alice, Linda and Belle take their fate into their own hands and conspire to forge a future on their own terms.

Friday, February 15, 2019

ROXANNE, ROXANNE (2018)



Written & Directed By: Michael Larnell 
Cinematography By: Federico Cesca 
Editor: Claudio Castella 
Music By: RZA 


Cast: Chante Adams, Nia Long, Mahershala Ali, Elvis Nolasco, Nelsan Ellis, Shenell Edmonds, Tremaine Brown Jr., Jermaine Crawford, Curtiss Hook, Adam Horowitz 


In the late 80s/ early 1990s, the most feared battle MC in Queens, New York, was a fierce teenage girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders. At the age of 14, Lolita "Roxanne Shanté" Gooden was well on her way to becoming a hip-hop legend as she hustled to provide for her family while defending herself from the dangers of the streets of the Queensbridge Projects in NYC.

KIN (2018)


Directed By: Josh Baker & Jonathan Baker 
Written By: Daniel Casey, Jonathan Baker & Josh Baker 
Based on The Short Film “BAG MAN” By: Josh Baker & Jonathan Baker 
Cinematography By: Larkin Seiple 
Editor: Mark Day 
Music By: Mogwai 

Cast: Myles Truitt, Jack Raynor, Dennis Quaid, Zoe Kravitz, James Franco, Carrie Coon 


A young boy finds a powerful otherworldly weapon, which he uses to save his older adoptive brother from a crew of thugs. Before long, the two of them are also pursued by federal agents and mysterious mercenaries aiming to reclaim their asset.

JULIET NAKED (2018)



Directed By: Jesse Peretz 
Written By: Jim Tayler, Tamara Jenkins & Evgenia Peretz 
Based On The Novel By: Nick Hornby 
Cinematography By: Remi Adefarisan 
Editor: Sabine Hoffman & Robert Nassau 
Music By: Nathan Larson 


Cast: Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke, Chris O’Dowd, Ayoola Smart 

Annie is stuck in a long-term relationship with Duncan - an obsessive fan of obscure rocker Tucker Crowe. When the acoustic demo of Tucker's hit record from 25 years ago surfaces, its release leads to a life-changing encounter with the elusive rocker himself. Based on the novel by Nick Hornby, JULIET, NAKED is a comic account of life's second chances.

Saturday, February 9, 2019

JEFF OF THE CINEFILES & UNFINISHED BUSINESS: HALL OF FAME: FILE #0056: ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953)


Directed By: William Wyler 
Written By: Ian McKellan Hunter & John Dighton 
Story & Screenplay By: Dalton Trumbo (Uncredited) 
Cinematography By: Frank F. Planer & Henri Alken 
Editor: Robert Swink 

Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, Eddie Albert, Harcourt Williams, Margaret Williams 


A bored and sheltered princess escapes her guardians and falls in love with an American newsman in Rome.

Friday, February 8, 2019

NOBODY'S FOOL (2018)


Written & Directed By: Tyler Perry 
Cinematography By: Richard J. Vialet 
Editor: Larry Sexton 


Cast: Tika Sumpter, Omari Hardwick, Tiffany Haddish, Whoppi Goldberg, Amber Riley, Michael Blackson, Missi Pyle, Mechad Brooks, Jon Rudnitsky, Nev Schulman, Max Joseph 

A woman is released from prison and reunites with her sister. She soon discovers that her sister is in an online relationship with a man who may not be what he seems.

GUESS WHO (2005)


Directed By: Kevin Rodney Sullivan 
Written By: David Ronn, Jay Scherick & Peter Tolan 
Story By: David Ronn & Jay Scherick 
Based on The Original Screenplay “GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER” By: William Rose Cinematography By: Karl Walter Lindenlaub 
Editor: Paul Seydor 

Cast: Bernie Mac, Ashton Kutcher, Zoe Saldana, Judith Scott, Hal Williams, RonReaco Lee, Sherri Shepherd, Niecy Nash, Paula Newsome, Phil Reeves, Nicole Sullivan, Jessica Cauffiel, Kimberly Scott, Richard Lawson 

Percy and Marilyn are renewing their vows for their anniversary, and their daughter Theresa brings her boyfriend Simon for them to meet. Unbeknownst to her parents, the kids plan to announce their engagement during the weekend. The Jones family is Black; Theresa neglects to tell them Simon is White. Race complicates Percy's general mistrust of any boyfriend, so he instigates an investigation of Simon, discovering he's recently lost his job and hasn't told Theresa. Mistrust rears its ugly head, and in the process of Theresa and Simon's argument, Marilyn and Percy fall out. What can the men do to cross the divide between each other and between men and women? Will anyone be exchanging vows?

MO' MONEY (1992)



Directed By: Peter MacDonald 
Written By: Damon Wayans 
Cinematography By: Don Burgess 
Editor: Hubert C. de La Bouillerie 


Cast: Damon Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Stacey Dash, Joe Santos, John Diehl, Harry Lennix, Jackie Hoffman, Bernie Mac, Irma P. Hall, Salli Richardson-Whitfield. Mark Beltzman, Almayvonne 


Trying to get his act together, a con artist gets a job in a credit card company. He falls in , love with a fellow employee, he steals a couple of cards, everything is going great. But soon, the chief of security drags him into the big leagues of criminals.

Friday, February 1, 2019

EQUALIZER 2 (2018)



Directed By: Antonie Fuqua 
Written By: Richard Wenk 
Based On Characters Created By: Michael Sloan & Richard Lindheim 
Cinematography By: Oliver Wood 
Editor: Conrad Buff 


Cast: Denzel Washinton, Ashton Sanders, Melissa Leo, Bill Pullman, Pedro Pascal, Orson Bean, Sakina Jeffrey 

Robert McCall serves an unflinching justice for the exploited and oppressed, but how far will he go when that is someone he loves?

KINGS (2018)



Written & Directed By: Deniz Gamze Erguven 
Cinematography By: David Chizallet 
Editor: Mathilde Van De Moortel


Cast: Halle Berry, Daniel Craig, Rachel Hilson, Lamar Johnson, Kirk Blatz, Douglas Spain 


The life of a foster family in South Central Los Angeles, a few weeks before the city erupts in violence following the verdict of the Rodney King trial.

HOW TO BE A PLAYER (1997)



Directed By: Lionel C. Martin 
Story By: Mark Brown 
Written By: Mark Brown & Demetria Johnson 
Editor: William Young 


Cast: Bill Bellamy, Pierre, Natalie Desselle, Mari Morrow, Lark Voorhies, Bernie Mac, Jermaine Hopkins, A.J. Johnson, Beverly Johnson, Gilbert Gottfried, Max Julien, Amber Smith, Elise Neal, Jazsmin Lewis 


Dray is a young playboy whose only objective in life seems to be to have sex with as many girls as he can without getting caught by his girlfriend Lisa. Dray's sister Jenny and her friend Katrina plan to show him that the way he lives is wrong and organize a party in Malibu, inviting all of his girlfriends.