Mr. Sali's Reviews (#76)

Check out this week's featured reviews from Amari's blog, Wherever I Look:

It's still very hard to believe that Robin Williams is gone. Posthumous releases of his films makes the thought even harder to accept.

Last month, Amari reviewed Boulevard, a film about a man who randomly takes a ride down an unfamiliar street, leading to a subsequent break in his monotonous life--a break that also allows him to explore who he really is. Click here to read Amari's review.

 

Also, check out Amari's review of Grandma, a comedy featuring an all-star cast, including Lily Tomlin, Julia Garner, Marcia Gay Harden, Julia Greer, Laverne Cox, Sam Elliott, the late Elizabeth Peña, and many others. |Review|

Mr. Sali's Reviews (#74)

Below are links to three reviews posted on Wherever I Look! Happy reading and a happy weekend to you all!

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"With Paul Feig and Melissa McCarthy back together again, the ever so slight blemish in McCarthy's record, Tammy, is quickly forgotten as McCarthy reclaims the crown of Queen of Comedy." [Full review]

 

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Click here to read Amari's review of the latest episode of the hit HBO series, Game of Thrones.

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"Aloha tries to present a complex story dealing with new love, and one which has been abandoned; Hawaii's culture; and a chance at redemption which may leave a person's morality in flux. All of which isn't honestly handled in the best way, but it does end giving you a few nice fuzzy feelings." [Full review]

Mr. Sali's Reviews (#73)

Mr. Sali reviewed quite a few movies and television episodes this week. Below are links to three movie reviews I think you should check out:

"Ballet 422 is the type of documentary which more so has the viewer act as the shadow who watches as everyone gears up for a performance vs. being the type of documentary which is almost detective like and probing."

Ballet 422 is a documentary about the creation of the New York City Ballet's 422nd original repertory ballet. Click here to read Amari's full review. 

  

Click here to read Amari's review of Every Secret Thing (2014), a film about "a detective looking to unravel a mystery surrounding missing children and the prime suspects: two young women who, seven years ago, were put away for an infant's death." (IMDb)

Without a doubt, Macdonald should benefit from this movie in some way. Especially since there aren’t too many heavyset actresses out there who do more than comedic roles. Though, with that said, while the film had the potential to create a quality mystery, - See more at: http://amari-sali.blogspot.com/2015/05/everysecretthing-overview-review-with.html#sthash.e7xdC4M2.dpuf

"Like many productions which are rip-offs, Chocolate City hardly offers anything to distance itself from the more familiar property, with the exclusion of the amount of toned Black bodies."

Click here to read Amari's honest review of Chocolate City, aka Magic Mike with black people. 

Mr. Sali's Reviews (#72)

This week in "Mr. Sali's Reviews", I am featuring three of Amari's reviews.

Movie poster from the film's Wikipedia page

He says of Insurgent, the second installment of the Divergent series:  

"Insurgent is all one could hope for in a sequel, yet unfortunately is burdened by a familiar script due to the many other similar trilogies out there."

[Read the full review]

Movie poster (from Imp Awards)

Some of his thoughts on the film, Lily & Kat:

  "A slightly boring movie in which you watch the lop sided relationship of the leads go from high to low, and repeat, over the course of a week."

[Read the full review]

And he gave the new CW series, iZombie (based on the comic book of the same name) a very positive review! Click here to read it!

From Wikipedia

 

Mr. Sali's Reviews (#70)

Seven reviews for 70 installments of Mr. Sali's Reviews!

(Reviews in links)

 Movies

Paris is Burning (1990)

Back in 2013, Amari gave a positive review of this classic documentary! 

  Middle of Nowhere (2012)

 Despite the unfathomable snub for Best Director (for Selma), all eyes are on Ava DuVernay this year. Past projects are being revisited and future projects are enthusiastically anticipated. Check out Amari's review of her Sundance-winning film, Middle of Nowhere. 

 

 The Imitation Game (2014)

Check out Amari's review of this Oscar contender!

 

 Low Down (2014)

 See what Amari thought about this jazz biopic

 

 

Television

Empire: Season One, Episode Three ("The Devil Quotes Scripture")

 

This show has been compared to everything from King Lear to Dynasty to Glee--and the nation seems to be loving it! Check out Amari's review of Episode Three of the new hit series!

American Horror Story - Freak Show: Season Four, Episode 13 ("Curtain Call")

 

Check out Amari's review of American Horror Story: Freak Show's most recent episode.

 Cross Ange: Season One, Episode 16 ("Resonant Battlefront")

Check out Amari's review of Episode 16 of this mecha anime series!

Mr. Sali's Reviews (#69)

Wherever I Look 

A blog of recaps and media reviews.

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From Wikipedia

The day after Christmas, Amari recapped and reviewed Downton Abbey's Christmas special. Click here to read his comments on the episode. 

Collected Quotes

"Collected Quotes" is a segment on Wherever I Look in which Amari "collects" significant and moving quotes from books, movies, and television shows. Read the quotes he took away from Toni Morrison's Sula and Alice Walker's The Color Purple.

From Amazon

Amari also reviewed Wendy Williams' first book, 2003's Wendy's Got the Heat. Click here to read his review.

From Wikipedia

Click here to read Amari's review of the hit movie, Gone Girl starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike.

I Watched "Valley of the Dolls"......

I just finished watching this movie for the first time. It's not the worse movie I've ever seen--not even close, but I certainly didn't get much out of it. I wasn't moved, I wasn't touched or inspired. Nothing. I couldn't tell you what I think could have been done to make it better.

Everyone in it was pretty, though. I also liked the theme song.

Review of 1933's "Baby Face" (Pre-Released Version)

Here's a movie that I've actually wanted to watch for a LONG time: 1933's Baby Face starring the clearly-from-Brooklyn film legend, Barbara Stanwyck. 

SUMMARY

A young woman (Lily Powers--played by Stanwyck) uses her body and her sexuality to help her climb the social ladder, but soon begins to wonder if her new status will ever bring her happiness. [IMDb]

Waterloo Bridge (1931) Review

Welp. I just got through watching Waterloo Bridge. Interesting movie. 

I can be quite a rambler when it comes to speaking and writing and I sometimes have a hard time organizing my thoughts--so with that said, I have to thank the administrator of Masters Film Review for his page on "Criteria for Film Reviews". I will be using the majority of his criteria from here on out to guide me through reviews! 

Okay, now let's begin...

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Waterloo Bridge (1931) was adapted from the stageplay written by Robert E. Sherwood. After watching the film, I realize that I should read the play at some point in order to have a better understanding of the movie. 

SUMMARY

In World War I London, Myra (played by Mae Clarke) is an American out-of-work chorus girl making ends meet by picking up men on Waterloo Bridge. During a Zeppelin air raid she meets Roy (played by Douglass Montgomery, then known as Kent Douglass), a naive young American who enlisted in the Canadian army. They fall for each other, and he tricks Myra into visiting his family who live in a country estate outside London, where his step-father is a retired British Major. However Myra is reluctant to continue the relationship with Roy, because she has not told him about her past. [IMDb]