HUSTLERS (2019) – My rating: 8.3/10

Hustlers is a crime drama written and directed by Lorene Scafaria, based on New York magazine’s 2015 article “The Hustlers at Scores” by Jessica Pressler. Jennifer Lopez is also a producer on the film through Nuyorican Productions, alongside Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell, and Adam McKay through their Gloria Sanchez banner. The plot follows a crew of strippers in New York City who begin to steal money by drugging stock traders and CEOs who visit their club, then running up their credit cards. I had no idea the New Yorker article would become a movie, they did a good job.

**** SOME SPOILERS BELOW ****

In 2014, former New York City-based stripper Dorothy/Destiny (Constance Wu) is invited for an interview with Elizabeth (Julia Stiles), a journalist working on a story involving Dorothy’s former friend and mentor, Ramona Vega (Jennifer Lopez). Seven years prior, Dorothy, known by her stripper name as Destiny, is working at Moves, a strip club, to support her grandmother (Wai Ching Ho) but is barely getting by. Mesmerized by Ramona’s performance plus all the tips she earns, Destiny meets her on the roof of the club. Ramona looks Destiny over and decides to take her under her wing thus forming a formidable team. Destiny enjoys her newfound wealth and friendship with Ramona. A year later (2007), the financial crisis strikes and both women find themselves short of cash. Destiny becomes pregnant and bows out of the stripper scene. Unable to find a regular job,
Destiny goes back to stripping at the club but Moves has changed: the financial crisis has impacted their business, and the club is primarily staffed by immigrant women from Russia willing to perform sex acts for money, a line Destiny is unwilling to cross. She reconnects with Ramona, who introduces her to a new scheme. Along with her two protegées, Mercedes (Keke Palmer) and Annabelle (Lili Reinhart), Ramona targets rich men at bars, get them drunk, then escorts them to Moves where the girls steal their credit card numbers and charge them to their limit. Destiny joins in and learns Ramona uses a mix of ketamine and MDMA to impair judgment and cause memory loss in their targets, a tactic deemed worthwhile since their victims will rarely admit to being robbed by strippers.

Hustlers is a pretty decent, indecent movie about some very hard working women who feel instant, illegal money is worth the risk of jail. I must first mention 50-year old J. Lo has done a magnificent job of keeping her body sexy, tight and presentable for any role she’s up for.  While she looked a little amazon-ish next to 37-year-old Constance Wu, she still has it going on.  However, none were a match for Keke Palmer (26 years old) who was a fantastic addition to the gang.  Hustlers is obviously not for children nor is it for sanctified worshippers who don’t need to see how some desperate women choose to live their lives for money. Hustlers pretty much keeps you intrigued and entertained.  The film has grossed $110 million worldwide and received positive reviews from critics, with Lopez’s performance singled out for praise. I enjoyed Hustlers, especially the brilliant performances by J. Lo and Constance.  I recommend Hustlers for those who don’t mind a good sexy movie.  Check It Out!

 

Tyler Perry’s A Madea Family Funeral (2019) – My rating: 4.5/10

“Tyler Perry’s A Madea Family Funeral” is a comedy written, directed, and produced by Tyler Perry. It is the eleventh and final installment of the Madea film series. The movie follows a joyous family reunion that becomes a hilarious nightmare when Madea and the crew travel to backwoods Georgia, where they find themselves unexpectedly planning a funeral that might unveil some ugly family secrets. In my opinion, this is the worse movie Tyler Perry has ever made. I was actually sorry I went to see it.

Right from the onset of “A Madea Family Funeral”, the jokes started flying, the problem is the jokes were not that funny. I felt the plot was downright ridiculous and unrealistic, plus Mabel “Madea” Simmons (Tyler Perry), used old theatrics e.g., using his male voice and asides that worked well in the Madea plays, to deliver hilarious lines but didn’t work on the big screen. Anthony (Derek Morgan) died while having sex with his mistress (Tiffany Black) who happens to be a good friend of Anthony’s family. The team, Madea, Aunt Bam (Cassi Davis) and Hattie (Patrice Lovely), tried to withhold this devastating secret from Vianne (Jen Harper), Anthony’s wife, which made for a failing hush-hush operation. Any normal person would have noticed the whole presentation was bogus but for the comedy to work, Vianne missed the entire point, making the premise of the film a downtrodden disaster.

AJ (Courtney Burrell) seemed to be the focus of the film. He is the son of Anthony and Vianne, the brother of Silvia (Ciera Payton), Jesse (Rome Flynn) and the husband of Carol (KJ Smith), who he not only cheated on but abused verbally. BTW, the woman AJ cheated with is his brother’s fiancé, Gia (Aeriél Miranda). The remainder of the story is so ridiculous, I am at a loss for words. For some reason, Tyler introduced a new character into the mix with no legs named Heathrow who cannot talk without a device pressed to his throat.  This is supposed to be Tyler Perry’s last Madea movie. I’m not sure with the kind of money Madea pulls in ($27M opening weekend box office) that this is really going to be the end but according to Rotten Tomatoes (1), it should be! As much as I’ve always loved Tyler Perry and his beloved character, Madea, I have to warn you not to waste your time or money on this one, it’s really bad! Don’t Check It Out!

 

DO YOU BELIEVE? (2015) – My rating: 9.5/10

One of the best spiritual movies I’ve seen.  Do You Believe? is well acted with an unforgettable story.  12 lives eventually intersect with each other by the end of a fantastic journey.  Some learn, some remain the same, some die and some don’t have a clue.  Do You Believe? is suspenseful, thrilling, exciting, emotionally draining and even funny.  Kudos to Jon Gunn for directing a marvelous movie.  Mira Sorvino, who plays Samantha, gives a riveting performance and her daughter, in the movie, Lily (Makenzie Moss) steals the show. Others of the 12 include 2 brothers, Kriminal (Senyo Amoaku) and Pretty Boy (Shwayze) who are part of a gang, Joe (Brian Bosworth) a dying inmate, Pastor Matthew (Ted McGinley), his wife Grace (Tracy Melchior), an EMT, Bobby (Liam Matthews),  his wife, Elena (Valerie Dominguez), Elena’s brother Carlos (Joseph Julian Soria) who is also a Marine suffering from Post Traumatic Disorder, a young woman named Lacey (Alexa PenaVega) who cuts on herself and is in despair, an older couple, JD and Ten (Lee Majors and Cybill Shepherd, respectively, who lost a child many years ago, Dr. Farell (Sean Astin) who wants to take all the credit for saving patients, Andrea (Andrea Logan White) an Atheist lawyer, and Maggie (Madison Pettis) a pregnant teenager.  The movie opens with a verse from James 2:17 –  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (NIV)   Also, Malachi (Delroy Lindo) carries a large cross and ask the question: Do You Believe?  I love this movie — it’s very well done and gives a powerful message.  It’s worth every dime spent on the big screen.

GODZILLA (2014) – My rating: 7.5/10

For some reason, Japan and the US has had a long term affair with Godzilla or the idea of a Godzilla.  There have been several movies dedicated to Godzilla, each holding it’s own merits.  This Godzilla has the best special effects I’ve seen since Avatar.  Since this is a fantasy, the plot can be as outrageous as Hollywood can make it.  If I were naming this movie, it would be called Godzilla vs Alien Praying Mantis.  Unexpectedly, Godzilla turned out to be the hero and the bad guy.  A lovely family consisting of a husband, wife and son become casualties of a cataclysmic phenomenon.  Actually the son and father survive.  The movie picks up 15 years later when the son, Ford Brody, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson is grown and dad Joe Brody played by Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad’s Walter White) is presumed crazy.    Once we really get into this story, it’s all over the place.  Since there are quite a few creatures, we are taken to many different locations that are being attacked.  Ford has a wife and son who he is trying to get back to with the hopes of keeping them safe.  Interestingly, the Japanese doctor played by Ken Watanabe, had the same look on his face throughout the entire movie.  He looked shock and disturbed at all times.  I think he was always in think mode and that was how he expressed that emotion.  Just when you think the movie is over, we get a surprise twist.  Godzilla didn’t quite come together the way I wanted it to but it held it’s own.  I was entertained and as I said the special effects were awesome.  If you’re going to see Godzilla, see it on the big screen.  Godzilla 2014 is definitely better than Godzilla 1998 which was a disaster of a film starring Matthew Broderick.