GET OUT

Plot:

Chris (Kaluuya) who is African American and Rose (Williams) who is Caucasian have been dating for a few months now and so Rose convinces Chris that they should go visit her family who resides in a rural suburban area. Upon arriving Chris immediately begins to get eerie vibes when he notices that the only blacks on site are in subservient roles while in a zombie like state. Things really get weird when he is inadvertently hypnotized by Rose's mom and dropped into a dark place and when awakened things slowly begin to be revealed to him, that his girlfriend's family and friends are into some strange happenings regarding African Americans. When he recognizes a guy from around his neighborhood he notifies his best friend Rod (Howery) a TSA employee who after a few days and no contact from Chris he begins to launch his own investigation after he is unable to gain support from the local authorities, only to find that the white family are possibly hypnotizing blacks and turning them into slaves. But he will need to act fast before Rose's family unleash their family secret upon Chris, threatening his very existence as a Black male.


Reel Talk:

Going into the screening for this movie I had no idea what to expect because this film is from the mind of Jordan Peele, one half of the comedy duo Key & Peele from the Comedy Central show, who wrote and directed this movie. So even thou I knew it was a suspense thriller, I did not know whether it would be a comedy as well. No it is not a comedy, it is a suspense horror thriller with some humor in it. In fact who steals that arena with his smaller parts is LilRel Howery who will have you rolling laughing. The film touches on interracial dating and some of the racial stereotypical notions about what black people have to offer white people.This is a very dark film with a touch of morbidness, but it was entertainingly enjoyable. Good Job Jordan Peele transitioning from writing comedy to suspense horror. Worth cashing out!

Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones and LilRel Howery
Directed by: Jordan Peele
Rated: R

I give it 3 and a half eaten corn dogs.

By: THE REEL HUSTLER

"SHOTS FIRED" RED CARPET PREMIER - DETROIT

T GOES DOWN IN THE "D"!

You can say what you want but when the red carpet gets laid out, Detroit knows how to turn out. Last night continues to prove that notion as Detroit was among one of a few cities privileged to host an advance private sneak peek premier for FOX's new crime drama series 'SHOTS FIRED". With an all star lineup that includes Sanaa Lathan, Stephan James, Helen Hunt, Richard Dreyfuss, Aisha Hinds, Will Patton, Stephen Moyer, Tristan Mack Wilds, Jill Hennessy and DeWanda Wise, the premier pilot has been getting rave reviews. Last night after the red carpet premier screening, many viewers gave high remarks about the show saying that they can't wait now to see what happens next, Some even said that they felt that this show will be even better than EMPIRE...WOW!!! Now as I mentioned this was a red carpet premier and you can't have a red carpet premier without some celebrities and so two stars from the highly anticipated series were in Detroit to help with the promotional tour. Aisha Hinds and DeWanda Wise were the two beautiful stars that walked the red carpet and then hosted a Q & A to the filled to capacity crowded theater inside the Emagine Royal Oak Theater. And as always THE REEL HUSTLER was there to give you the all access report. Be sure to catch the series when it premiers on the FOX channel March 22, 2017.

This is my life, the life of THE REEL HUSTLER!!!

Photos courtesy of Shenelle Freeman

FIST FIGHT

Plot:

With constant teacher firings by the principal and rampant school pranks from the students, teacher Andy Campbell (Day) just wants to finish up the day without getting fired so that he can attend his young daughter's school talent show and be there in case his pregnant wife goes into labor. Things were on point until while assisting Strickland (Cube), another teacher with some serious anger management issues, takes a wrong turn causing Campbell to snitch on Strickland resulting in him getting fired. Now the terminated teacher has put it out that the two of them will have an after school fight.  Campbell who has never probably never had a fight in his life tries whatever he can to deviate from the physical encounter but with very little success and will have to face his abusive ex colleague head on in an all out schoolyard brawl.


Reel Talk:

So I went into the screening for this movie thinking, school, kids and Ice Cube that this will be like another Are We There type film, but was I so wrong. Right from the start the profane, vulgar language spilled from the actors' lips like saliva from a rabid dog and the sexual content was no tamer. So parents be warned that this is not a kid friendly film and children need to be accompanied by an adult. With that being said, was it funny? Oh yeah it was a very funny film at the expense of all the school cliches to date. Charlie Day did a good job as the timid and scared teacher where Ice Cube portrays the angry, mad all the time Strickland, a role that really helped to launch his acting career. He is one of the best snarlers in the business. Bottom line, this is a good, funny movie just be on alert that it is also very raw and raunchy.

Starring: Charlie Day, Ice Cube, Tracy Morgan, Jillian Bell, Dean Norris, Christina Hendricks and Kumail Nanjiani
Directed by: Richie Keen
Rated: R

I give it 3 corn dogs.

By: THE REEL HUSTLER

THE GREAT WALL

Plot:

William (Damon) and Tovar (Pascal) are all that remain from a band of mercenaries who were on a quest to find fabled black powder that would be a great advantage for their country's power, but were attacked by something mysterious that murdered their comrades. For safe haven they are taken in by the the vast Chinese military lead by General Shao (Zhang) and Commander Lin Mae (Jing). But once inside The Great Wall that protects China, they realize that the chances of them leaving there have now become an impossibility and also that they have also stumble across the long sought after black powder. They will also learn what it was that attacked them and killed their crew, it is a swarm of intellectual monsters that are intent on annihilating China and then the world.


Reel Talk:

I didn't know what to expect from this film because the trailers did not divulge much, so my expectations were not high at all. Well let me say that this was surprisingly a good movie. Now I will be honest, there are like a bunch of movie rip offs in this film, but it was still a entertaining movie. Matt Damon was pretty  good in this film which pits him between love and love for money, and he must only choose one. This is also a visually good looking film with not so impressive 3D effect due to it being billed in 3D. Still a good movie worth checking out.

Starring: Matt Damon, Tian Jing, William Dafoe, Andy Lau, Pedro Pascal and Hanyu Zhang
Directed by: Yimou Zhang
Rated: PG-13

I give it 3 and a half eaten corn dogs.

By: THE REEL HUSTLER

MARRIED BUT SINGLE TOO

THE BIG PLAY BACK!

I have said it a few times that THE REEL HUSTLER is not a big fan of stage plays, they rarely are good enough to keep my attention during their normal three hour time periods. But last year the hit play Married But Single caught and kept my attention turning out to be a good play. Well writer and producer Je'Caryous Johnson has come to the city with the follow up Married But Single Too, to which he has stepped it up a few notches from the first one. Back are cast members Lisa Raye McCoy, La'Myia Good and Carl Payne as the hilarious Pimping P and the new editions are Bill Bellamy, Chante Moore and Genuwine. If you were fortunate to see the first one and enjoyed it the you will really enjoy this one. You can definitely see how Je'Caryous Johnson has evolved since the first play, the story is better, the casting is better and the stage setup is better. Good job again Mr. Johnson, can't wait to see how you follow up on this one.

This is my life, the life of THE REEL HUSTLER!!!

MUMFORD HIGH SCHOOL CAREER DAY EXPO

REAL TALK WITH THE KIDS!

THE REEL HUSTLER stepped up in the place to be at the career day expo at Mumford High School held on Thursday, February 16, 2017. It was a fun day filled with a lot of career ideas for the students as there were plenty of career variations from the employment supporters. As you know I was able to snap some flicks capturing the moments.

This is my life, the life of THE REEL HUSTLER!!!

I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO

Plot:

It was during the period that Blacks were striving for racial equality to end the oppression being delivered by Whites in America that human activists Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X and Medgar Evers rose as leaders to break down the racial barriers. To document their ventures was a daring yet creative young writer named James Baldwin who went cross country to cover the struggles that Blacks were suffering at the expense of White people. While he tagged along and then wrote of his experiences he would also end up being targeted by the government as a threat along with the Negro activists who were out for
bettering racial conditions but were deemed a threat to the country.



Reel Talk:

This film is a documentation from the book manuscript "Remember This House" that James Baldwin was writing but never completed, detailing the harsh reality of the racial prejudices from being Black in America that existed then and still exist today. And how because he was willing to write and expose the issues of mistreatment that he would become an enemy of the state forcing him to relocate to another country. There was one quote that I thought was profound when he stated that his role was simply "To move largely and freely to witness and write the story and get it out". From the standpoint of a fellow African American journalist, this movie is powerful because we are still witnessing the struggle today. One word "equality" is all he was pointing out that men like Martin, Malcolm and Medgar died trying to achieve. This is definitely a must see, very educational and strongly suggest schools get involved and recommend their students see it. I was shocked when I found out it was narrated by Samuel L. Jackson who we're use to him normally screaming and shouting (LOL) but his voice delivery was very mellow, almost to the point that I did not recognize it. Excellent documentary movie!!!

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson (Narrator), Archived footage of James Baldwin, Dick Cavett, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X and Medgar Evers
Directed by: Raoul Peck
Rated: PG-13

I give it 5 corn dogs.

By; THE REEL HUSTLER

THE SPACE BETWEEN US

Plot:

Nathaniel Shepard (Oldman) heads a space program that monitors a team of astronauts that are stationed on Mars. A situation arises when astronaut Sarah Elliot (Montgomery) is pregnant and a decision needs to be made if she should come back to Earth or have the baby on Mars. The latter prevails and she has a baby boy but she dies from the complications from the birth. Now the United States can't risk the scandal so they must keep this matter a secret. Some sixteen years later the teen Martian boy Gardner Elliot (Butterfield) bored and alone (no other teens) on Mars with just his guardian astronaut Kendra Wyndham (Gugino) and the other fellow astronauts, he befriends his Earth chat buddy Tulsa (Robertson) who also knows about feeling alienated. Having the urge to see how life is on Earth, he is given the chance to come for a visit but eventually goes rogue so that he can find his friend Tulsa and then seek out his dad who he knows nothing about, even though this jeopardizes his health due to his body unable to adjust to the planet's environment. Nathaniel and Kendra race against time to find the young teens so that they can get Gardner back home before he dies on planet Earth.


Reel Talk:

Now...even though there are some very cheesy scenes, this was a good movie. I liked the story about the boy being born and raised on Mars and then the teen love twist, made for a good movie. Asa Butterfield and Britt Robertson as the two young love birds were pretty good and Asa was also good as the alien boy visiting Earth. This was a good SCI-FI love story that is family friendly.  Worth cashing out to check it out. Oh yeah and I have a confession, I still think Carla Gugino is fine...LOL!

Starring: Asa Butterfield, Britt Robertson, Gary Oldman, Carla Cugino, BD Wong and Janet Montgomery
Directed by: Peter Chelsom
Rated: PG-13

I give it 4 corn dogs.

By: THE REEL HUSTLER

FIST FIGHT - Official Trailer #2