REVIEW: Wrath of Man [2021]

We’re all over-qualified for this game. And we all have a history. Fans of Guy Ritchie that wore out Lock Stock and Snatch during the early Aughts will find themselves hard-pressed to take the opening act of Wrath of Man seriously. It’s as though he and co-writers Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies are trying to re-capture the quick-paced slang that made the dialogue in those films so uniquely fun and of the moment despite being two decades removed in age and culture. Because while talking the talk as a thirty-year…

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REVIEW: Fast & Furious [2009]

“He used to date my sister” While only grossing half of its predecessor’s haul to make it seem as though Paul Walker‘s absence was a huge box office hindrance, Tokyo Drift still almost doubled its budget despite no discernible connection to the franchise that spawned it until the very end (minus its drag racing theme). It was apparently enough for the studio to gauge interest and see whether the quickly fading from public consciousness Walker and Vin Diesel wanted some easy money. With director Justin Lin‘s visual style alongside screenwriter…

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REVIEW: Jumping the Broom [2011]

“Do they even let black folk in China?” A tradition held by many different cultures throughout the world, ‘jumping the broom’ has very specific roots in the African American community. Used often by Welsh Gypsies as the customary way to show who will rule the household—the person jumping the highest winning—Salim Akil’s film’s purposes are quite different. Since marriage between slaves wasn’t acknowledged in the 1800s, those wishing to devote their lives to one another did so with a broom. Witnessed by their friends, jumping was akin to saying “I…

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