Butler, Comer and Hardy lead Jeff Nichols’ motorcycle-driven snapshot of masculinity in THE BIKERIDERS
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Tabari McCoy recorded his first comedy album in his basement when he was either 10 or 11 years of age. But it was terrible – and like the item central to the plot of Indiana Jones and The Lost Ark – it was filed away, never to be heard again.
An award-winning journalist, Tabari continues his writing pursuits today – most prominently at McCoy On Movies, his online movie blog Now with his debut album Laughing With a Panther (Rooftop Comedy) in stores and his national TV debut on Fox's Laughs under his belt, his future on stage is looking bigger and brighter ... Or that's at least what he tells all the financial institutions to whom he owes money.
But no matter what he says, he does it with one simple goal in mind: Making people laugh – and hoping he doesn’t anger his family or God in the process.
By Tabari McCoy
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:
By Tabari McCoy
Grand Theft Auto … But you get to play as the cops? The theatrical coming soon poster for Sony Pictures’ BAD BOYS: RIDE OR DIE. Credit: © 2024 Sony Pictures. All rights reserved. |
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KEY CAST MEMBERS: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Ioan Gruffudd, Tasha Smith, Jacob Scipio, Rhea Seehorn, Eric Dane, Alexander Ludwig, Melanie Liburd, Paola Núñez, Joe Pantoliano, Dennis Greene and Quinn Hemphill with John Salley and Tiffany Haddish
By Tabari McCoy
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes explores the best, worst of humanity, society effectively
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KEY CAST MEMBERS: Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon, Travis Jeffrey, Lydia Peckham and William H. Macy
By Tabari McCoy
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The teaser poster for GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE. Credit: Sony Pictures Publicity. |
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KEY CAST MEMBERS: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, McKenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Emily Alyn Lind, Logan Kim, Celeste O’Connor, Annie Potts, Kumail Nanjiani, James Acaster, Dan Akroyd, Ernie Hudson and Bill Murray with William Atherton
By Tabari McCoy
Writer/director Kobi Libii strikes a strong social cord with satirical exploration of American society’s relationship to African-Americans with debut feature
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Justice Smith, David Alan Grier, An-Li Bogan, Drew Tarver, Micaela Watkins and Nicole Byer
By Tabari McCoy
“Maybe there’s a better movie hiding in this trunk?” Jamie (Margaret Qually) and Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) take in an unexpected discovery in a scene from co-writer/director Ethan Coen’s DRIVE-AWAY DOLLS, a Focus Features release. Credit: Jojo Whilden © 2023 Paramount Pictures. All rights reserved. |
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Beanie Feldstein, C.J. Wilson, Joey Slotnick, Colman Domingo, Bill Camp, with Pedro Pascal and Matt Damon
THE BACK STORY: The scene: Philadelphia 1999, right on the verge of Y2K. Jamie (Margaret Qually) is a free-spirited individual who likes to have sex with any woman she sees fit, much to the chagrin of her police officer girlfriend Sukie (Beanie Feldstein). Marian is a very uptight woman stuck in an office job who can’t seem to move on from her last girlfriend years ago … Which is why she decides to plan a trip to Tallahassee, Fla., to go visit her Aunt Ellis (Connie Jackson).
Seeing how Sukie has had enough of her cheating, Jamie invites herself along for the ride, determined to get her best friend some romantic action. Problem is, the duo don’t have a way of getting there. That’s when Jamie comes up with the idea to find one via a car delivery service owned by the understated Curlie (Bill Camp). Curlie just so happens to have a Dodge that needs to get to Tallahassee the next day, so the girls take the charge and are off.
By Tabari McCoy
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And that’s where she encounters a cast of characters that are going to change her life.
After meeting her new homeroom teacher Ms. Norbury (Tina Fey), Cady is observed by Janis (Auli’I Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey), two social outcasts who quickly see she needs a rundown of the law of the land. That means letting her know about the Plastics, a.k.a. queen of the school Regina George (Reneé Rapp) and her two faithful underlings, the clueless Karen Shetty (Avantika) and the smart-yet-still-fearful-of-her Gretchen Wieners (Bebe Wood). None of this would be a problem for Cady if Regina hadn’t also taken an interest in her … And Cady took an interest in Aaron Samuels (Christopher Briney), a.k.a. her ex.
So … What happens when you mix teenagers, insecurity, hormones and life lessons all to the beat of a diverse musical soundtrack? A film that is sure to turn plenty of potentially mean older fans into pleasantly surprised moviegoers …
Fortunately for Jayne and Perez, Jr. – and fans of the original film – Mean Girls 2024 makes for an entertaining film fans old and new will enjoy.
None of this would matter, however, without the performances of the relatively unknown cast. Whereas Rice channels Cady with the same innocence Lindsey Lohan did in the original, Rapp owns pretty much every scene she’s in – while yet being more relatable arguably than Rachel McAdams was in the role in 2004. Wood likewise gives Gretchen considerable spunk and Avantika plays her role with such a wide-eyed aloofness it honors the work her predecessor Amanda Seyfried did and then some.
Cravalho and newcomer Spivey, however, may have the best star turns of the entire affair, each bringing a dynamic (and needed) entertainment aspect to the film. Fey, Tim Meadows (reprising his role as the beleaguered Mr. Duvall) and the other adults are wise to mostly stay out of the way, letting the young people – even though it’s hard to buy in to most of the cast outside of Rice, Cravalho and Avantika being in their teens – shine. Of course, Jayne and Perez, Jr. deserve kudos for their interpolation of TikTok and the modern world into the mix to deliver the best package possible – then again, having Fey on board for this go round likely helps.
Whether you prefer the 2024 version of Mean Girls likely comes down to how much you love the original versus you love musicals. The new one has all the exploration of the insanity that is high school, the humor and utlimately the empowerment that made the original so beloved by so many, plus a few new wrinkles thrown in for good measure. Thus, both are fine, both are entertaining …
And don’t worry, both are worthy of fetch-ing your attention.
By Tabari McCoy
Bill Burr’s directorial debut for Netflix delivers laughs despite uneven storytelling
The poster for the new Netflix comedy OLD DADS. Credit: Netflix © 2023 Netflix. All rights reserved.
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DIRECTOR: Bill Burr
They are also in their very late 40s/early 50s, don’t like change and have some anger management/maturity issues. In Jack’s and Connor’s respective cases, they are also fathers of young children – and Mike? Well, more on that later …
Unfortunately for the trio, they are also struggling to stay in touch with today’s modern world, its trends and most of all, its sensitivities. So, be it the holier-than-thou attitude of his son’s kindergarten principal Dr. L (Rachael Harris), his new 28 year-old boss Aspen Bell (Miles Robbins), Connor’s overbearing wife (Jackie Tohn) and/or his miscreant son (Dominic Grey Gonzalez), Jack is nearing a breaking point.
And as you might expect, when Jack and his friends break, a lot of feelings – and possibly some bones – are going to get hurt.
THE REVIEW: Burr has well-documented his journey as both an older father in real life and coming out of a traditional nuclear family in 1970s Massachusetts throughout his career. It’s served as fodder for many of his stand-up routines, his Monday Morning Podcast (and its Thursday follow-up) as well as his previous Netflix effort, the animated F is for Family. Thus, for those familiar with his work, OLD DADS will feel familiar with many jokes aimed at pointing out the hypocrisy and silliness (at times) of modern culture wars and aging … In a way that is likely to almost infuriate the very people who won’t see the humor in what is being criticized given the film’s language, viewpoints and nudity. (Yup, there’s nudity)
That notwithstanding, OLD DADS is a lot like parenthood itself: Entertaining at best, uneven and a little dystopian at its worst while in general doing a decent enough job at presenting its story. Some scenes feel to drag on unnecessarily while others feel inserted for the sake of being a funny moment rather than a moment that helps progress the story along.
What does work, however, is that it is clear that as a director, Burr understands how a story arc should work, involves his characters so that their interactions don’t feel forced or ludicrous (even though some of their scenes togethers do) and how to deliver jokes that don’t feel recycled. It will be interesting to see what his next effort produces as OLD DADS shows he has come strong potential as a feature filmmaker … Even if that may come with a lot of not-so-safe for work – or millennials – content.
By Tabari McCoy
By Tabari McCoy
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KEY CAST MEMBERS: Will Forte, Brett Gelman, and the voices of Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher, Randall Park, Josh Gad, Harvey Guillén, Rob Riggle, Jamie Demetriou and Sofia Vergara
By Tabari McCoy
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KEY CAST MEMBERS: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu, America Ferrera, Ariana Greenblatt, Michael Cera, Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, Will Ferrell, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Rhea Perlman and the voice of Helen Mirren
By Tabari McCoy
Wes Anderson’s latest film lands with a crater-like thud of jumbled, unfulfilling quirks and boring execution and familiarity
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KEY CAST MEMBERS: Jason Schwarzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffery Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Ethan Josh Lee, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, Tony Revolori, Jake Ryan and Jeff Goldblum
By Tabari McCoy
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Melvin Gregg, Grace Byers, Antoinette Robinson, Sinqua Walls, Jermaine Fowler, Dewayne Perkins and Xochitl “x” Mayo with Deidrich Bader, Yvonne Orji and Jay Pharoah
So, what happens when the group is forced to confront their own hypocrisies, idiosyncrasies and culture to ensure they can stay alive? A lot – and since they all can’t die first, a lot of hilarity is set to follow.
By Tabari McCoy
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“All right … Let’s get out there and revive a cinematic universe!” Credit: © 2023 Warner Bros. Pictures |
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton, Ron Livington, Michael Shannon, Sasha Calle, Maribel Verdú, Kiersey Clemons, Ben Affleck … And some other special guests.
By Tabari McCoy
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Pete Davidson, Colman Domingo, Luna Lauren Velez, Dean Scott Vazquez and the voices of Peter Cullen, Ron Perlman, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, Liza Koshy, John DiMaggio, David Sobolov, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Cristo Fernández, Tobe Nwigwe and Tongayi Chirisa
By Tabari McCoy
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, Jake Johnson, Jason Schwartzman, Issa Rae, Karan Soni with Daniel Kaluuya and Oscar Isaac