After the roaring success of Straight Outta Compton, the news of a movie chronicling the short, yet poignant life of Tupac Shakur.
He was a man of many faces. On one hand he’d let you know that he loved women making song like “Keep Your Head Up” or “Dear Momma”. Then he’ll turn around and drop a song like “I Get Around” talking about all the women he sleeps with. Speak on how the black community needs to stick together and then make a song like “Hit Em Up” (which is still in the top 5 most vicious diss tracks in Hip Hop). Being a Hip Hop Head myself I was leery of the end product of this film but I was both pleasantly surprised and massively let down by this film.
The acting from the leads was pretty good for the most part. Demetrius Shipp Jr. plays Pac pretty damn well. His mannerisms, speech pattern, even the way he performs on the stage mimics Shakur quite closely. Afeni Shakur was a woman of intelligence, and courage but not so much in this movie. The way that Danai Gurira played Tupac’s mother was not so much that way. She constantly dropped the word motherf**cker, which made her seem less than studious. I also, disliked her delivery of her lines which came off like she was playing a slave.
Dominic L. Santana who had to play the infamous Suge Knight had it easy playing a fairly straight forward gangster that did business through fear and intimidation. He did his job but there was not much to the role or the portrayal. The guy that they got to play Snoop Dogg was the worse. He looked nothing like the man that cooks with Martha Stewart. I also suspect that Snoop did voice over for the young man that played him in the film as it sounded far to close to his voice.
The movie kind of rehashed a lot of commonly known knowledge about the man, the myth, the legend. The greatest sin of this story is the content of the theatrical cut of this film. It showed all of the trouble Tupac got in to and hardly any of the good he did throughout his lifetime. They mention the T.H.U.G. Life movement he wanted to start but never spoke on how he was implementing it to help his people. They never mentioned the speeches he gave or the poetry he wrote. He was a multifaceted man and that was never touched upon by the finished product we receive in All Eyez On Me.
I spoke with a white couple after they saw the movie. The husband was a Tupac fan and had a lot of the same issues that I had with picture. He felt like they made him seem really gullible because he was too ready to do dumb stuff and never was shown using the vast intelligence he truly possessed. The wife knew little of Tupac but it peaked her interest in what the Black Panther Party stood for an what they went through. This was important to me cause anytime something brings questions and a spark for knowledge on the plight of The Black Panthers it is urgent to cultivate that interest and spread that part of how crazy this country really was for a portion of it’s citizens. We actually had a rather lengthy conversation about the subject and she thanked me for filling her in and promised to research more. I walked away glowing.
This movie could’ve been more with a run time of almost two and a half hours. They took a pretty safe route with the film and ended up with a boring outcome. This should of never happened with none of Hip Hop’s most influential contributors. I’m leaving this film with 2 out of 5 stars.
If you were born in the ’80s, ’90s, or literally ANY decade after those, you know about Super Mario. A cultural phenomenon was brought to life on the big screen this last weekend. One that has not only stood the test of time but reinvented itself time and time again. This wasn’t even the first time it’s been made into a movie but, well, let’s be honest.. some of us choose not to acknowledge the LIVE action adaptation of the beloved game from 30 years ago.
It was pretty bad… But this was animation. ILLUMINATION animation at that. The Universal company that brought us Gru and his Minions, showed us the Secret Life of Pets, and gave us a reason to SING! Still, I had my reservations and even some concerns, especially when the casting was announced.
Eyebrows were raised. As big of stars as they were on paper, could they really deliver on voicing characters from a staple of our childhood? They did.
Chris Pratt and Charlie Day may not be Italian, and Jack Black may not be a King or Turtle creature from the Mushroom Kingdom, but they make the characters their own all while paying homage to the lore of a video game.
From the jump, the story reintroduces us to the brothers that just want to save Brooklyn one clogged sink at a time. We feel an instant connection and relate to these “underdogs of the plumbing world”. The movie is riddled with easter eggs, each of which tugs on the heartstrings of every generation of Mario fandom. And the soundtrack was beautifully put together to not only make us feel like we’re taking a walkthrough of the game but like an experience all its own with some familiar favorites thrown in.
Every word in the movie is pure eye candy for both those that are casual fans, and those analyzing every frame to see what they’ll catch next. Bowser’s ship, the Mushroom Kingdom, Kong’s arena, and the Rainbow Road.. They’re all meant to give us just enough of a “new” look at these amazing worlds, but stay true to how we remember them.
The movie itself moves along at the perfect pace. Although, if you don’t really know ANYTHING about the Super Mario Bros, you may have gotten a little lost and felt left behind in the green tunnel. But that’s ok! It’s an adventure of the imagination and a classic story of a boy that meets a girl and tries to save the world from a monster that wants to destroy it.
What’s funny is that you could easily say this is a story about two characters who couldn’t be more opposite if they tried, battling to win the heart of a princess. Who would’ve thought that the King of the Koopas was just trying to impress his crush?
And that song? Ohhh THAT song! It’s my new ringtone and deserves the Oscar for Best Original Song.
Back to the movie.
Universal and Illumination clearly understood the assignment. Is it missing some things or could things have been done differently or even better? Absolutely! We’re the worst critics of the things we hold nearest and dearest to our hearts. But if you’re up for going on a 90-minute adventure through amazing worlds, with awesome music, and characters that’ll make you smile and laugh, then this is the perfect movie to spring you into that warm summer feeling.
Plus there’s the whole part with karts and shells, and banana peels and oh my goodness how amazing was that?? It’s enough to make you want to stand up and cheer, then go home and destroy your friends and family on your favorite track haha.
The bottom line, it pays homage in all the right ways to the little guy with the mustache, while giving us something new and exciting. Take the kids and go see Super Mario Bros. You’ll be glad you did!
Justice League x RWBY: Superheroes & Hunters Opening Act Saturday, March 25 at 1:30 p.m. on North 200A. Talent confirmed so far to participate in the post-screening panel is Natalie Alyn Lind (Big Sky, The Goldbergs, Gotham) as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince and longtime RWBY cast member Lindsay Jones (Camp Camp) as Ruby, Kara Eberle ( RWBY: Ice Queendom) as Weiss, Arryn Zech (Detective Now Dead) as Blake and Barbara Dunkelman (Blood Fest) as Yang – along with Jeannie Tirado (Soul, Saints Row) as Green Lantern and Tru Valentino (The Rookie, The Cuphead Show!) as a cyborg. Also attending the panel will be producer/director Kerry Shawcross (series RWBY) and writer Meghan Fitzmartin (Supernatural, Justice Society: World War II).
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment returns to WonderCon 2023 with the big screen debut from DC Animated Films: highlights this year include the world premieres of the highly anticipated Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham and Justice League x RWBY: Superheroes & Hunters Part One the weekend of March 24-26 in Anaheim, California. Both screenings will be followed by panel discussions with actors and creators. Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham premieres at The Arena on Friday, March 24 at 6 p.m. Tati Gabrielle (Kaleidoscope, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Uncharted) as Kai Li Cain, Christopher Gorham (The Lincoln Lawyer, Insatiable) as Oliver Queen, David Dastmalchian (Dune, Suicide Squad, Ant-Man) as Grendon, producer/co-director Sam Liu (The Death and the Return of Superman), co-director Christopher Berkeley (Young Justice) and screenwriter Jase Ricci (Teen Titans Go! and DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem Across the Multiverse).
Both films will have encore screenings in the Arena on Sunday, March 26. Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One will screen at 12:15pm, followed by Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham at 2:00pm
No Question Mark Box Here; Super Mario Delivers a 1-Up in Theaters
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment returns to WonderCon 2023
Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Crunnchyroll presents ‘BOFURI: I don’t want to get hurt so I’ll max out my defense’: You’re not twinking!
‘Knock at the Cabin’: Puttin on your boogie shoes!
No Question Mark Box Here; Super Mario Delivers a 1-Up in Theaters
Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Illinois’ financial crisis could bring the state to a halt
The final 6 ‘Game of Thrones’ episodes might feel like a full season
No Question Mark Box Here; Super Mario Delivers a 1-Up in Theaters
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment returns to WonderCon 2023
