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T.A. Moreland

T.A. Moreland

Movie Review: Kevin Hart's What Now – Not Now!

Kevin's Hart's What Now? Tour is the centerpiece of this film. Hart performs before a record-setting, sold-out performance filmed outdoors in front of 50,000 people at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field. However, the movie opens with a skit which includes Halle Berry and Hart in a spy type role participating in a high stakes card game with Don Cheadle. Hart then leaves that setting to go to Lincoln Federal Field.

Kevin Hart: What Now? is a collection of already seen skits performed in front of a large, impressive audience with big screens and lot of lights.

However, there is no reason to see Kevin Hart: What Now?, now; it gets a Rent It rating.

The opening scene with the undercover agent storyline adds very little to the film and it's as if the comedian is trying to figure out a way to work with the sexy Halle Berry and as if Don Cheadle said, "Hey, man, find me a role in your next movie!" The opening segment seems forced, and doesn't work.

Once the movie moves on to Hart on stage, the routines are the ones his fans have heard before, for example, how he doesn't have lights on his long driveway or how he wouldn't want to be with a woman who survives a mountain lion attack.

Kevin Hart uses the "N" word generally, and the "B" word in reference to women, neither of which is necessary for Hart to be funny.

Of course, Kevin Hart: What Now? has its funny moments like when Hart talks about the impact private school has had on his kids, taking the "edge" off of his son.

But ultimately, Kevin Hart: What Now? is a perfect production for the Rent It rating. Kevin Hart: What Now? is entertaining, but there is no need to rush to see it.

Kevin Hart: What Now? is rated, R for language and adult themes and is 96 minutes in length.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Girl on the Train Will Take You for an Entertaining Ride.

The Girl on the Train is the story of Rachel Watson's life post-divorce. Every day she takes the train into work in New York, and every day the train passes by her old house. The house where she lived with her ex-husband, who still lives there, with his new wife and child. As she attempts to move on from that stage of her life, she starts watching a couple who live a few houses down -- Megan and Scott Hipwell. She daydreams about what she envisions is Megan's perfect life. The two households connect when Rachel's ex-husband and wife employ Megan as their nanny. Things become complicated and troubling when Rachel who battles alcoholism wakes up with a horrible hangover, bloody and bruised from the night before. She knows something terrible has happened. Then come the TV reports: Megan is missing. Rachel remembers seeing Megan the night of her drunken bout and becomes invested in the case, trying to find out what happened to Megan.

The Girl on the Train is entertaining but you have to put aside your sense of realism. Every time Rachel passes the home she resided in with her ex-husband or their neighbors' place, she manages to see something fascinating: someone walking around in their underwear or having sex visible through a window or if they are outside, they're kissing or sitting by a romantic pit fire. These two couples seem to live their entire lives on full display by a passing train.

However, ultimately, this movie works because Emily Blunt as Rachel absolutely shines in the lead role. Blunt fully embodies this multifaceted character which is the key to the success of this movie.

I have written before how difficult character driven films are because they lack special effects which alone provide significant entertainment value thus allowing for a weaker plot. But this is a compelling story with superior acting and it gets a See It! rating.

The film is delivered in a choppy disjointed fashion. But it all comes together in the end.

The Girl on the Train gets a "C" for cast diversity. Set in the highly diverse New York City metropolitan area, the only people of color in minor or background scenes.

The Girl on the Train is rated R for violence, sexual content, language and nudity and is 112 minutes in length. And it's a See It!

Movie Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

You Don't have to be Strange to Enjoy Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

Jacob Portman (Asa Butterfield) just doesn't know whom to believe. His grandfather Abraham (Terrance Stamp) tells him colorful tales of living in an orphanage for "peculiar children" in Wales in early 1940s. Jacob's father (Chris O'Dowd) dismisses his father, Abraham's memories as nothing more than fantasies. When Abraham dies, Jacob's parents take him to a psychiatrist to help resolve issues surrounding images he claims to have seen after his grandfather's death. The doctor recommends that Jacob and his father go to Wales and visit the orphanage where his grandfather claims to have grown up, as a part of his healing process.

Once in Wales, Jacob goes on an adventure that corroborates the assertions his grandfather made.

Miss Peregrine is a thoroughly entertaining movie based on the bestselling children's book. And it's a See It! It's different, creative, with strong characters, an exceptional cast and an intriguing storyline. I definitely preferred it to all of the films in the Harry Potter series. However, this is probably not a film for anyone under 10.

Directed by Tim Burton, this a perfect script for his peculiar filmmaking style.

Miss Peregrine gets an "A" for cast diversity. Considering the fact it's set in rural Great Britain in the 1940s, having a Samuel L. Jackson in the starring of role of Barron, is admirable. This movie very easily could have had an all-white cast.

It's rated PG-13 (for intense sequences of fantasy action/violence and peril) and is two hours and seven minutes in length. You should See It!

Movie Review: Deepwater Horizon is light on entertainment

Based on the true events occurring on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, the story chronicles those who worked on the Deepwater Horizon and their extreme efforts to survive the largest man-made disasters in world history.

Deepwater Horizon is a very typical Hollywood attempt at making a blockbuster. The film opens with Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg) and his cute blond wife, and their adorable daughter. Viewers are supposed to develop an emotional connection and root for Mike as he encounters the disaster later in the film. The film is too cliché and too surgical to be effective. It gets a Rent It rating.

Deepwater Horizon is laden with oil drilling jargon. It's as if they are speaking a foreign language. Much of my understanding of what was going on came from what I already knew from the original story.

However, there is no denying the film's powerful recreation of the colossal and at times overwhelming visual impact of the natural gas powered inferno that ravaged the platform, crew and ultimately miles of the surrounding Gulf of Mexico. Deepwater Horizon reflects the fact that the bar for Hollywood special effects continues to rise.

At the same time, the industry ignores a basic tenet when creating scenes: fire creates heat! This film like others before it has characters running through blazing gauntlets. Fire is not like water. If water doesn't touch you, you don't get wet. But even without direct contact, fire burns.

The movie gets a "B" for cast diversity. Gina Rodriguez has a major role as Andrea Fleytas, the Latina who in real life, coordinated rescue efforts on the rig. There were also some men of color in background scenes.

Deepwater Horizon is rated PG-13, for prolonged intense disaster sequences, related disturbing images and brief strong language and is 99 minutes in length. Wait and rent this one.

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