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Here is my review of Towering Inferno…sorry. Let me start again. Here is my review of Die Hard…sorry. Let me start again.  Here is my review of Skyscraper. I have no idea why I wrote those two other films that clearly have no relevance or similarity with the film I am reviewing.  📷Originally posted by justalittletumblweed Yes as Bruce rightly says, Skyscraper has joined the ‘there is a massive problem in a huge tower and a hunk of a man needs to fix it’ roll up roll up Dwayne Johnson. Move over Steve McQueen. Move over Bruce Willis. It’s time for The Rock to add his input. I mean, if Die Hard and Towering Inferno had a movie child it would be Skyscraper. Right, Dwayne is an ex army guy whose leg got amputated and he now works as an advisor on this new skyscraper, the tallest in the world. His family are in the tower whilst he is not in the tower. Terrorists come into the skyscraper and start a TOWERING INFERNO. Dwayne runs off a crane about 100ft in the air into the skyscraper, finds the terrorists and makes sure that they DIE HARD.  The film is a blockbuster dumb summer flick, there’s a few chuckles, there’s good action scenes. Is it gonna grip you? No. Is it a bit of fun? Yeah sure. It’s nothing new, it doesn’t add anything to the genre. It won’t stand the test of time like the other two films have when it comes to disaster/action films. It’s largely forgettable. Apart from the one scene where Dwayne jumps off the crane, there are no hilariously stupid scenes, you know, like in Fast and Furious eg the plane, the tank, the bank in brazil, the tower in Dubai. For me, that was the biggest disappointment. I went in knowing it was going to be dreadful, but was expecting big set pieces to rival F&F, alas, there was none. The cast were lacklustre which was a bit of a let down considering some of the actors in the film. The villain was useless, I didn’t feel threatened or scared of him. He was everything a villain shouldn’t be.  The only good thing was the representation of disabled people in the film. Seeing a guy who has a physical impairment on screen battling bad guys and saving the day is something very positive to see. Obviously there were a few criticisms of Dwayne being cast as he does not have an amputated leg, but the fact that there is that representation can only be a good thing if that continues.  2/5 Predictable, boring, pointless. Not much good about this. It’s a good summer flick, but you won’t come away wanting to see it again, or remembering it 30 minutes later.

Another outing for Drac and his pack! After years of running the hotel together, Mavis (Selena Gomez) decides her and her father, Dracula (Adam Sandler) need a well-deserved vacation to rest and relax and spend quality time together; booking the gang on the world's first monster cruise as a surprise. After a less than stress-free flight on 'Gremlin Air', the gang arrive, and once aboard, are met by the charismatic Captain Ericka (Kathryn Hahn), with whom Dracula immediately 'zings'. But unbeknownst to our monster holidaymakers, this seemingly innocent cruise will bring them into direct confrontation with Dracula's nemesis, Abraham Van Helsing. It says something when, after almost one hundred years since their big screen debut, and over one hundred and twenty years since the novels which inspired them, variations of these characters (or monsters) and their stories are still being written: and for children at least, the Hotel Transylvania franchise is one of the most endearing. The film's greatest strengths are the monsters who feature, the mythology surrounding them, and the filmmaker's ability to poke fun at the clichés that inhabit, whilst still being respectful to the pedigree. The cartoonish, colourful and surprisingly detailed – if slightly over-the-top – animation is extremely pleasant and accessible; complimenting the tenor of the movie nicely. The world in which it's set is vibrant and rich, and while I really enjoyed the setting of the first film (being primarily set in the hotel and its grounds), the franchise does benefit from occasionally getting away from that area and exploring different locales; something that's always a pleasure: in the second film it was the pack's "old haunts" and California: in this film, it's the cruise ship and the fabled lost (but now found.) city of Atlantis. Love him or loathe him; there's no denying that Adam Sandler is ideally suited to this genre of film: as is the rest of the cast which remains fundamentally unchanged from the first two films; with Steve Buscemi (Wayne-Wolfman), David Spade (Griffin-Invisible Man), Keegan-Michael Key (Murray-The Mummy), Kevin James (Frank-Frankenstein's monster), Andy Samberg (Johnny) and Selena Gomez (Mavis), amongst others, reprising their respective roles. Two notable additions include Jim Gaffigan as Abraham Van Helsing, Dracula's nemesis, and Kathryn Hahn as Captain Ericka, granddaughter of Van Helsing: both do a perfectly adequate job, but both are also wholly unremarkable: this isn't a criticism of Hahn and Gaffigan as actors; more of the movie's ability to extract more from its talent. The narrative and script are the movie's primary drawbacks; neither being able to produce anything innovative or intuitive; making these aspects of the film feel maladroit. Worst still is the character development, which is either non-existent or badly paced; resulting in characters that either haven't changed at all or experience a total metamorphosis seemingly out of the blue. The humour is a mixed bag of slapstick, fart jokes, and eccentric limb gesticulations; all the things kids (and, admittedly, many adults) like, unfortunately, this can make the movie feel a little in-your-face and irritating, even crass. Yes, you can argue it's a kids film, and, as such, it's just playing to its target audience, and you'd be right: however, the film does this even as it references things clearly intended for the adults in the audience; almost as though it can't quite decide who it's communicating to at any given time. And don't get me started on the ridiculous music and dance focused gags. Verdict There really isn't an awful lot more to say about Hotel Transylvania 3, it is what it is; a harmless, good-natured, sometimes irritating kids film. There's no deep, affecting poignancy here; no emotional resonance to be found. If you wanted to assign some deeper meaning to it, you could argue it speaks of the importance of tolerance. Most people will be content to take it at face value; as the entertaining and safe family film, it is. Hotel Transylvania 3 isn't likely to attract a significant number of adult viewers, but it will bring in families in their thousands, and that's great. If you have children wishing to see this, or even if you happen to have enjoyed the first two films, you'll likely not be disappointed: and if like me, you're just happy that these characters/monsters are still relevant and being introduced to a new generation of viewers, you'll be over the moon. 7/10

(Release Info London schedule; June 5th, 2020, Curzon Home Cinema) https://www.curzonhomecinema.com/film/watch-guest-of-honour-film-online Guest Of Honour" Jim Davis (David Thewlis) and his daughter Veronica (Laysla De Oliveira), a young high-school music teacher, attempt to unravel their complicated histories and intertwined secrets in "Guest Of Honour", a film that weaves through time exploring perception and penance, memory and forgiveness. A hoax instigated by an aggressive school bus driver Mike (Rossif Sutherland) goes very wrong. Accused of abusing her position of authority with 17-year-old Clive (Alexandre Bourgeois) and another student, Veronica is imprisoned. Convinced that she deserves to be punished for crimes she committed at an earlier age, Veronica rebuffs her father’s attempts to secure her early release. Confused and frustrated by Veronica’s intransigence, Jim’s anguish begins to impinge on his job. As a food inspector, he wields great power over small, family-owned restaurants. It’s a power he doesn’t hesitate to use. While preparing Jim’s funeral, Veronica confides the secrets of her past to Father Greg (Luke Wilson) who may hold the final piece of this father-daughter puzzle. "Guest Of Honour" is a twisting morality tale exploring the complicated relationship between Jim, and his daughter Veronica, a young high-school music teacher, and the past that haunts them both. As the film weaves through time, scenes from the past catch up to the present, illuminating dark secrets. Jim is a food inspector working in a multicultural city. For him, each establishment is a potential hazard. He has the power to shut down restaurants not observing health codes. It’s a power he doesn’t hesitate to wield. Part of Jim’s weekly ritual is visiting his daughter in prison. Having confessed to abusing her position of authority as a music teacher during a high school band trip, Veronica rebuffs her father’s attempts to secure an early release. Confused and frustrated by his daughter’s intransigence, Jim’s anguish begins to impinge on his work. Scenes from the band trip gradually reveal that Veronica and Clive, one of her senior students, turned the tables on Mike, their aggressive bus driver. Their prank spirals out of control and becomes the basis for the charges brought against Veronica. Over Jim’s visits with Veronica, it becomes clear that there's another history at play. Veronica is using the prison sentence to punish herself for earlier transgressions. When she was a young girl, Veronica believed that her father was having an affair with her music teacher. Tragedy unfolds, in which Veronica is implicated, but was never held responsible. As a teenager, she confessed to the teacher’s son, with devastating consequences. Having lived with these secrets for years, Veronica has found a unique way of serving her penance. Jim doesn’t seem at all aware of his daughter’s true history even though he finds himself increasingly implicated in the compelling revelations of Veronica’s personal narrative. Father and daughter move towards a resolution, which is brought to a brutal halt when Jim dies. As she prepares for Jim’s funeral, Veronica confides in Father Greg (Luke Wilson) who may hold the final piece to the puzzle of the past. "Guest Of Honour" is a disturbing and compelling study of perception, memory and forgiveness. As a food inspector, Jim has the power to close a restaurant down, and while he uses this authority to determine other people’s destinies, he desperately tries to understand his own place in the world. Jim’s relationship with his daughter is obviously highly complex, that’s what the film is about. Realizing that the story really begins there, with the death of the mother. Jim is left on his own from then onwards, the fifteen intervening years between Veronica as young girl and Veronica as a woman. We've to understand what Jim so much loved about Veronica as a woman, a woman who’s gone off the rails, a woman who now baffles him, a woman who seems absolutely so incomprehensible in terms of her motives. And seeing that little girl playing the piano, the whole story becomes clear. Of course, there are sub-plots and various metaphorical issues and symbolism and storytelling, but it’s about a man trying to communicate with his daughter, trying to communicate the love he has for his daughter. That's utterly relatable in terms of how so many young people can get lost somewhere between adolescence and early adulthood, in all kinds of things that maybe one wouldn’t anticipate in their earlier years and can be catastrophic. It’s a terrible thing that’s happened really. One of the Jim’s characteristics is this sense of power he wields as a food inspector which may sound a rather banal job description. It doesn’t evoke wonderful images of this is a fascinating character we want to get to know until you really go down that hole and see what the issues are with food inspectors, and what a power-complex this man has. Simply, he can wreak havoc on people’s lives, close down family businesses with the flick of a pen-based on opinion or perfidy. He starts to abuse his power and manipulate his occupation to his own ends. But he’s rather delusional. He sees himself as some saviour, as some campaigner for health and safety, health and cleanliness, the health code is his bible and it takes him over. We've a backstory where he started a restaurant and that seems to have been scuppered by what happened to Veronica. He has to walk away from that business because of the vicissitudes of Veronica’s life and whether he holds some resentment there's another thing to be discussed. Maybe he’s doing this job as some kind of revenge. Now he enters a restaurant with the power to destroy the business, the lives of the owners. His vocation is taken away from him, and now he can visit the same fate on others. There are many levels to this film, you keep discovering. His daughter Veronica is a young music teacher who's passionate about her craft. But, she also carries trauma that bleeds into her relationship with her father. The film explores the complexities of family life. How family can absolutely make you or absolutely break you or both at the same time. The vast breadth of feelings, the turmoil those feelings cause! Music is very important to Veronica, it’s her source of joy and we’ll see in "Guest Of Honour" that she’s not always happy all the time so it will be nice to see the moments where she's lost in her music. She believes that she has found a way to a strange sort of peace in her life, until that is challenged by revelations of a past she never fully understood. She’s a character who’s broken, who makes impulsive, self-destructive decisions. We see her joy in music and we see her dark pain as well. With incarceration, she’s found a way of medicating herself. But it’s not sustainable and then something unexpected happens, which transforms her life. The character who holds the key to this past seems to be a priest. Father Greg is a Texan who's transplanted to Canada, The biggest mystery in the film is whether the food inspector Jim, in asking for his eulogy to be performed by this particular priest, has somehow planned an emotional reconciliation he could never have achieved with his daughter in life. Father Greg is an unusual priest. He knows about Veronica who’s come to see him to arrange a funeral for Jim. As he talks with Veronica to learn details for the eulogy, Father Greg comes to understand that he knows a great deal about her narrative. But he’s bound by oath not to share his knowledge. He breaks his word because, he decides, it's critical for Veronica to understand her father. Rather than see her continue to suffer, living with false assumptions, Father Greg renounces his pledge. As viewers, we can locate ourselves in this very complex narrative in terms of how he sets himself within it. Father Greg has an unexpected front row seat to Veronica’s story. Father Greg is one of those characters that’s woven throughout the story, Not quite a narrator, and not the protagonist, but a figure that intersects with the different characters. In that way, he knows all of the people that the audience meets, at different times and in different situations. And often times, as we find out, he knows these very personal parts of some of the characters’ histories. Father Greg’s character is a way for the audience to keep up with the storyline and these characters whose lives interrelate. You've these imperfect, interwoven characters and then there’s the priest who’s something of a psychiatrist, or a psychologist, or a doctor, somebody that people go to and share their personal stories. “Guest Of Honour" is an emotional investigation of the bond between a father and a daughter. Their history has been rocked by events that neither fully understands. They’re both in a suspended state for much of the film, trying to understand the nature of their connection to one another. There’s a very clear sense of time passing in this film. While we understand from the beginning that their physical relationship has ended with the father’s death, the details of their  past are evealed in a form of psychological autopsy. The film finds a cinematic way of allowing the viewer to inhabit they particular world the characters are trying to navigate. The film explores what might be called the emotional chronology of Jim and his daughter, Veronica, a way of measuring their complex feelings. While the structure of the film is non-linear, it's actually based on a simple recounting of the scenes as they flow into the characters’ minds. While the situations specific to Jim and Veronica are extreme, the parent/child bond will be very familiar to audiences. The film creates a sense that for Jim and Veronica the scenes all play in a continuous and sometimes shocking sense of the ‘eternal present’. The film itself becomes a sort of machine through which the characters come to an understanding of what they mean to each other. "Guest Of Honour" is a story told through glass. Apart from the actual glass of the camera lens, which displays the way in which images of the past can be refracted and refigured, there's a literal use of a glass musical instrument woven through the film. The use of glass as a distorting lens, as well as a material which allows the process of creative expression, is an important motif in "Guest Of Honour". The soundtrack wows in unexpected ways, as the characters come to terms with the complexity of their lives and the exoticism of their relationship to their own pasts. Every child feels their parents made mistakes, certain ways in which the parent did not express love, or pay the right sort of attention. Those moments reverberate through our lives in sometimes painful ways. "Guest Of Honour" covers such a wide range of time, you get to see the evolution of specific characters, which is very exciting. Our family has been around us for our entire lives, they’re everything we know. Sometimes we project our feelings onto them, sometimes we feel their words are hurtful, but that’s what having a family is all about. The film ends with an unexpected reconciliation.

The Star, is a computer animated adventure and comedy film which has an amazing cast including Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead) as the donkey Bo, Gina Rodriguez (Jane the virgin) as Mary and Zachary Levi (Chuck, Tangled and THOR) as Joseph. The Star also included a variety of stars as supporting characters including Oprah, Kelly Clarkson, Mariah Carey and Keegan-Michael Key. The Star is a playful retelling of the Nativity story but instead of focusing on Mary and Joseph, it is told from the animals point of view, all while remaining loyal to the story. .The Star tells the story of a small brave donkey working in a mill with dreams of doing more when he finds Mary and Joseph. Bo is seen by Jospeh as being a disobedient donkey, however, all the mishaps caused by Bo are his way of protecting Mary from the soldier King Herod sent to kill the new unborn king. This lovable retelling is entertaining and amusing for the whole family and is excellent at teaching younger viewers about the nativity.

Before I delve into the bowels of this movie's storyline; I have to state for the record that before watching it, I was relaxed. After watching Hereditary, I was so uptight, that I squeaked when I moved. Once in a while, a movie comes along which can mess with your head that much that by the time you have watched it on several occasions, you still can't decide whether or not you love it or hate it; Hereditary for me is one of those movies. In saying that; after much deliberation, I believe that I neither hate it or love it but respect it immensely for its extraordinary atmosphere of tension, edginess and graphic detail. And now for the movie's narrative. Hereditary gives us the story of the Graham Family's slow descent into hell after the death of Annie Graham's mother Ellen. From this point onwards, the dysfunctional family setup between Annie, Steve, Peter and Charlie becomes frightenly obvious as each family member seem to be uncomfortable whilst in the presence of each other and therefore spend most of their time in separate rooms. What starts out as a tense psychologically broken family story, ends with a very nasty vicious horror climax. Toni Collette is absolutely disturbing in it; her portrayal of Annie kept me on edge throughout the entire film with only two other movie moments that I can remember whereby you feel as if something is going to happen more and more as the tension builds in movies like The Hurt Locker while they are trying to disarm a bomb or in Foxcatcher when Steve Carell's performance as John Du Pont has you at bursting point with anxiety. Hereditary is a whole different monster with the pressure cooker starting to boil at the beginning and going supernova at the end. Gabriel Byrne, Milly Shapiro, Alex Wolff and Ann Dowd are all brilliant in their parts, proving that casting really did get it right this time. The soundtrack to the film is so sinister and unsettling, that it would over time disturb your mind and therefore wouldn't be recommended for relaxation. The director, Ari Aster has done quite a job with this movie, his vision both perverse and visually gothic; in my opinion, the first of many great movies in what could be a very promising career providing he doesn't sell out by making countless sequels that seem to get worse as each one passes by. In the end, what everyone wants to know is should you watch it and will you like it. My answer is yes you should watch it and as for the liking it part, that will be entirely up to you. If you're expecting a straight forward Horror film which falls neatly into the Horror Genre, this is not the movie for you. On the other hand, if you avoid the trailers, and keep an open mind which will allow you to watch this movie and rate it by its own merit, chances are, you'll enjoy it. Pleasant Dreams Richard Green

In the last review I spoke about Yardie, and how Idris Elba, in his directional debut hadn’t made a good film. Well Aneesh Chaganty, in his directional debut, has made one of the finest thriller films I’ve seen this year. Searching is about how a father begins to suspect that his teenage daughter has gone missing. He breaks into her laptop to find out who her friends are, who she has been talking too, what she is doing with her life. What he finds out on the laptop lead to clues and discoveries that otherwise wouldn’t have been found.  It’s a thrilling film. And what is different about it is that the whole film is shot through a computer screen. The majority of this is using the daughters Mac and the father searching on it. Some of it is filmed through the news. Some through the camera in a police investigation room. It’s really clever how it is shot and according to the director it took them a long time to figure out how to shoot the film. Whilst it is like this throughout the entire film it doesn’t feel gimmicky. It’s brilliant how effective they use to add something fresh to the thriller genre. The opening scene of the movie is the family documenting their daughter growing up through home videos, calendar dates. We learn so much about the family in such a short space of time, the daughters interest, what the family gets up to. Tragically the mother has died of cancer which we see documented through the computer screen (think of a 21st century UP, seriously, it’s quite heart-breaking) that by the time we see the family in the present we feel really connected to them. It’s an effective piece of story-telling. Quickly this tool stops being noticeable because the audience are so drawn into the family life.  There are plenty of other things that are good about this film. However the way of telling the story is very fresh. John Cho, the lead actor is brilliant as a father who has had to deal with so much heart-ache. He learns, with the audience, because we are seeing it with him for the first time too, so much about his daughter through her laptop. There are so many twists and turns throughout the whole movie. What I found totally different to other thrillers is usually when you see the clues it’s right at the end of the movie when the actor is describing how he came to that conclusion. With Searching, he normally finds the clue early on, and realises later and we see it all. So he might be flicking through a page that is a clue, carries on and then goes back to it, it’s so similar to what the audience is experiencing. It’s so damn clever.   5/5 Searching is pretty damn good. I feel like I haven’t given it enough justice. But it’s so different to most thrillers. This review sucks. But the film doesn’t. Does that work?

(Release Info London schedule; October 20th, 2018, Cineworld, 5 - 6 Leicester Square, 20:45) "The Hate U Give" Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg) is constantly switching between two worlds; the poor, mostly black, neighborhood where she lives and the rich, mostly white, prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil (Algee Smith) at the hands of a police officer. Now, facing pressures from all sides of the community, Starr must find her voice and stand up for what's right.   Sixteen-year old Starr Carter lives in 'Garden Heights', a working-class community with her close-knit family. Her father, Maverick (Russell Hornsby), is a reformed ex-gang member who grew up in 'Garden Heights' and once served time in prison. Now, a family man and valued member of the community, Maverick owns  the community grocery store. Starr’s mother, Lisa (Regina Hall), a nurse, was also reared in 'Garden Heights', in a family that aspired more for its children through education, just as she does for her own. Half-brother Seven (Lamar Johnson) and younger brother Sekani (TJ Wright) complete the family. Dismayed by the academic achievements of schools in their community, and wanting to give their children better opportunities, Lisa and Maverick enroll Starr and her siblings in 'Williamson Prep School', a predominantly white school about forty minutes away. In 'Garden Heights', Starr is 'Starr Version One'. She's comfortable speaking the slang vernacular of her community, enjoys hip hop without feeling self-conscious, but fears being seen as acting white. At 'Williamson', Starr becomes 'Starr Version Two'. There, she's constantly on guard not to appear or act too hood. She refrains from speaking slang, even if the white kids do, her two best friends Hailey (Sabrina Carpenter) and Maya (Megan Lawless) are not black, and her boyfriend, Chris (K.J. Apa) is white. Everything changes when Starr witnesses the shooting death of her childhood best friend, Khalil at the hands of a police officer during a traffic stop. As the sole witness, Starr must choose between speaking up for Khalil, or remaining silent. Telling the truth could also endanger herself and her family by implicating King (Anthony Mackie), 'Garden Heights' drug lord who Khalil worked for. And, she worries about 'The Williamson Community' connecting her to Khalil’s death, and what they will think. As her community cries out for justice for Khalil, and word spreads about Starr’s involvement, Starr finds herself navigating an increasingly volatile environment. Starr begins a journey of self-discovery, one that will reveal powerful truths and realizations about herself and, where her true community lies.   The script opens with Starr’s father, Maverick giving his children 'The Talk', an instructional time-bound lesson black parents use to protect their children from the danger police can pose to their safety. The key message is know your rights. Maverick overcame his life as a drug dealer, gang member and convict to become a loving family man and a positive presence in the community. Mav prepares his children for the world by teaching them about their worth, and their rights. He's both protective and supportiv. He's very loving and sweet to his daughter, but he's also stern because he realizes she has the potential for greatness, and he expects nothing less. You’re seeing a black father have the conversation to make sure that his kids are safe. That's what's going to be good about this movie; to allow people to understand that some people’s circumstance and environments are not the same as yours. Anything can happen when your child leaves the house. It’s your responsibility as a parent to have that talk. Rehearsing the opening scene is a particularly emotional and painful experience. Audiences are going to bear witness to a father saying to his children; 'you better heed what I’m telling you because it can save your life'. Code switching can be defined as the practice of changing one’s behavior to suit different environments. For 'The African American Community', code switching is yet another survival tactic that often takes an emotional toll. "The Hate U Give" is about Starr’s awakening, triggered by Khalil’s tragic death. Tragedy forces Starr to realize who she's meant to be. This is what the story becomes, it’s about her journey of being a full person. Being the sole witness to Khalil’s death, Starr is thrust into a situation that seems insurmountable. It challenges her whole life, it challenges her whole perspective, it challenges her identity, as she has to figure out if she has the strength to speak up for him and what she believes in. It takes time for her to reach a place of strength where she feels comfortable to use her voice. But it's because she thinks deeply about her actions, and her priorities are her family, her friends and her community. It's also there that she finds her strength and resolve. The early lessons from Mav has given her a solid foundation from which to start her journey of self-discovery, to recite 'The Black Panther Ten Points Program', and about 'Malcolm X', Huey Newton and Martin Luther King, and so Starr has an understanding of who she's within the historical context of America. Starr struggles to reconcile her life in 'Garden Heights' with her life in 'Williamson'. Lawyer and community activist, April Ofrah (Issa Rae), also plays a pivotal role in the final phase of Starr’s growth. April wants justice and is willing to go to the Carter home and ask them to put Starr on television, and persuade her to testify for the grand jury. The bravery that requires on both ends is admirable. Initially suspicious of April’s motives, Starr grows to appreciate what's being offered. April recognizes how important Starr's voice is, and pushes Starr to utilize it as best she can. It's not until Starr realizes that she does need to use her voice that April and Starr develop a camaraderie, and April gives Starr the tools she needs in order to speak. The protest scene is the culmination of the journey Starr takes in finding her voice. It's the moment where Starr stands up for what she believes in, and stands in the authenticity of where she comes from. Starr’s mother, Lisa is someone who showed early promise before it was derailed by an unplanned pregnancy. Now, she's a devoted parent who wants to create a better future for her children. She doesn’t want Starr to make the same mistakes she did, or for her sons to get involved in the lifestyle Maverick had. Lisa wants her children to break the cycle that often sabotages the futures of children from communities like 'Garden Heights'.  And so, she and Maverick make the financial sacrifice to send them to 'Williamson'. It’s about trying to put them in the environment where they've the best opportunity to go to college, and so they've a fighting chance in the world with other kids who've access to more information and  better schooling. Like Starr, Seven is also split between two worlds; the loving family of the Carter household, and the chaotic home Iesha shares with King, the local drug lord. Seven benefits from living with Maverick and Lisa; he becomes the first to break the cycle by graduating 'Williamson' and eligible for college, by the end of the film. The Carter parents are a positive model of black parenting.  Mav and Lisa instill such morals into their children. It's awesome to see Mav's past and see where he comes from, where he's now and, the type of father that he's. The damages we do to one another gets passed on from generation to generation.  If we don’t stop hurting one another, future generations are going to have the same problems. This movie is a metaphor for that. Sekani embodies this idea in the film. He's the infant Tupac is talking about. He sees the police take down his dad. He’s seeing gang-members shoot to scare Starr from going to the grand jury. The sequence with Sekani and the gun gets to the heart of the issue. Carlos (Common), Starr’s uncle is a black police officer, which within this story becomes a real challenge, as it must be for some real-life black police officers who work in the community. He offers Starr a police’s perspective on Khalil’s death and asks her to trust the system. However, Carlos is forced to admit some hard truths himself about his own bias. Carlos believes that he’s taught a certain amount of things about how the police conduct themselves but also he admits himself in one particular scene in the movie, that he sees race in the wrong way as well. Through Carlos character the film explores what happens when we've internalized racism, and how we police ourselves and contribute to bias.  King is 'Garden Heights’ resident drug lord. He and Mav were childhood buddies. They're responsible for the drug game in the neighborhood before they got pinched. Mav goes to prison. King did what he was supposed to do to make their relationship right, but after Mav got out, he becomes his own man and King stays in the game. That’s where the tension comes in. King and his boys are telling Starr to stay quiet because snitches get stitches. But this little girl has more strength than any man or adult in the community because she stood up and spoke out. Khalil is not in the movie for long and, within that time, you've to fall in love with him and feel Starr falling in love. You also have to realize that while he has a lot of responsibility taking care of his mom and his grandma, that he's still a kid. Khalil is central to the story because not only does he trigger Starr’s emotional and political growth, his death also causes her friends to realize that they may not be speaking up for injustice as much as they could be. His tragic death allows Starr to discover her true allies. Chris, Starr's boyfriend, is someone who has never really looked at race because he comes from an upper-class, very rich family. He goes to private school in 'Williamson'. He’s dating a young 'African American' woman, but he doesn’t know what it’s like for her to grow up with the racism, and living in the inner city. Despite the difference in their backgrounds, Chris is willing to try and bridge the gap. Chris ends up getting to know Starr when she opens up her world to her. At the start he didn’t really understand racism. He understood it in an intellectual way, but Starr opened his eyes. The Carter family faces a lot of challenges, but, what remains through all of that's the deepest sense of love, of friendship, of strength found in each other.  In the early months of 2016, publishing houses found themselves in a bidding war for the unpublished manuscript of first-time author, Angie Thomas. Entitled "The Hate U Give", the story focused on Starr Carter, sole witness to the death of her childhood friend at the hands of a police officer. The coming of age story features an 'African American' teenager who lives in the working-class community of 'Garden Heights', but who travels 45 minutes to attend a private prep school in the prosperous community of 'Williamson'. The shooting death of Oscar Grant in Oakland, California on January 1, 2009 at the hands of a 'BART' police officer made headlines all across the country. Although Grant’s death took place hundreds of miles away, it triggers conversations in Starr’s dominantly black neighborhood and her majority white private prep school. The themes around 'The African American' family dynamic, self-identity and being black are particularly strong and not something explored a lot in film. Thie film explore a fresh take on these issues from a young person’s perspective. Starr and Khalil have to deal with a situation much like Oscar’s. It's about a individual who's searching for identity, who finds her voice and finds out who she becomes, against a background of police brutality and racism. It's critically important to understand Starr’s journey from a young girl who witnessed a horrible tragedy to a young woman willing to stand up for the things she believes in. “The Hate U Give" connects the fictional world of the movie to the long line of high profile police shootings of young black people that have sparked protests and gained national attention across the US in recent years. The film creates a dialogue about important issues about race, social justice, and identity in order to move towards peace and chang. We've to continue the dialogue about our differences. We all have biases within us. When you've a one-dimensional, self-centered approach to life, it does not allow you to understand how your actions and words can impact others. The film encourages people to have more empathy in everything we say and do. It’s important to be yourself, to stand up, to not be afraid to speak the truth and be heard. Your voice can make a difference. Maybe not at that exact moment, but down the line, and that’s what "The Hate U Give" stands for.

https://vimeo.com/289199600

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(Release Info London schedule; March 13th, 2020, Vue Cinéma, Finchley Road, O2, Centre, 255 Finchley Rd, London NW3 6LU, United Kingdom, 2:30 pm) https://www.myvue.com/cinema/finchley-road/film/my-spy/times "My Spy" Jason Jones (Dave Bautista) is a hardened covert operative who finds himself out-maneuvered by Sophie (Chloe Coleman), a precocious youngster​. When 'CIA' field agent Jason Jones, 'JJ' to his friends, is demoted to a light surveillance detail, he finds himself at the mercy of a sweet but determined 9-year-old girl, Sophie, who uses her tech savviness and street smarts to find 'JJ’s' undercover hideout near the apartment she shares with her protective mother Kate (Parisa Fitz-Henley). In exchange for not blowing 'JJ’s' cover, Sophie convinces him to spend time with her and teach her to be a spy. Despite his reluctance, 'JJ' finds he's no match for Sophie’s disarming charm, intelligence and aptitude for espionage. As the story begins, we see 'JJ' in his element, playing a mega-tough professional who dispatches the villains with ease. But now he’s going into a more nuanced world that demands a different, more subtle skillset, as opposed to a guy with a machine gun in the desert. Getting information, instead of breaking necks, doesn’t come so easily to 'JJ'. We meet 'JJ', he's piercing eyes and wearing a suit that barely contains his formidable physique, in a faraway desert, where he’s demonstrating his cowboy heroics and expertise in kicking butt, as he wipes out a band of bad guys carrying a plutonium pit. 'JJ' is an ex-'Special Forces', so action and heroics are what he’s good at. 'JJ’s' natural badassery is offset by his challenges with the covert spy stuff, which requires subtlety, finesse and emotional intelligence. None of which 'JJ' possesses. When he returns to 'CIA' headquarters, 'JJ’s' caustic and disapproving boss David Kim (Ken Jeong) dresses him down for botching the mission, the goal of which was to discover what the terrorists knew. But that’s going to be a little difficult, given that 'JJ' has killed them all. Kim gives 'JJ' one last shot to succeed as an agent, a seemingly lightweight surveillance assignment. Grunt work. Moreover, 'JJ’s' been saddled with a new partner, Roberta 'Bobbi' Ulf (Kristen Schaal), a tech specialist and aspiring field agent with messy hair, unkempt clothes, and an acerbic manner. This is all a punishment for 'JJ', so he’s not thrilled about it. Now, he and his pet fish, 'Blueberry', are stuck in this apartment with a partner who’s been forced on 'JJ'. Even worse, he’s running surveillance, to him, it’s really babysitting, and he thinks it’s a really embarrassing situation. As if 'JJ’s' mickey-mouse gig weren’t bad enough, things get even more uncomfortable for the beleaguered agent. He and Bobbi have planted high-tech cameras in a neighboring apartment occupied by a nine-year-old girl, Sophie, and her mother, Kate, whose deceased husband was connected to the terrorists 'JJ' had eliminated earlier. But the ingenious young lady, with the assistance of her dog, discovers one of the cameras and tracks down 'JJ' and Bobbi to their once covert lair. Lonely and friendless, Sophie blackmails 'JJ' to be her new best friend, and teach her everything he knows about being a spy. Desperate not to have his cover blown by a child, no less 'JJ' reluctantly promises that he’ll go ice skating with her, be her guest at her school’s 'Special Friends Day', humor the other kids with a ride on a teeter-totter and a game of dodgeball, and teach her the finer points of spycraft. Not only does Sophie have 'JJ' wrapped around her little finger, she quickly becomes adept at beating a lie detector test, outsmarts 'JJ' in a training move, and learns some of the fun spy stuff, like how to walk away from an explosion without looking back, or figuring out pithy statements to make before taking out a bad guy. As Bobbi fumes, ​she's supposed to be training with 'JJ' and her new pal grow closer, as the youngster attempts her biggest mission; set up her mom, Kate, with 'JJ'. Romance begins to blossom, but first, 'JJ' must deal with villains who are closing in on him and his new family, as Sophie puts her new skills to the test. The bad guys never have a chance. The favorite on-screen moment between Sophie and 'JJ' is when 'JJ' reluctantly teaches his young charge how to outsmart a lie detector. "JJ' is incredulous at how quickly she not only learns how to beat the machine, but how she turns her new skillset against him. Sophie is so deadpan and really carries it off. Ever mindful that a youngster, Sophie endeavors mightily to avoid using colorful language. Bad language is a fact of life. Everybody has to be on their toes because Sophie is always lurking in the shadows, just waiting for you to say a bad word. You just want to cheer and root for her. She's wonderful character. The heart and soul of ​"My Spy" ​is centered around the surprising bond between 'JJ' and Sophie. One is a nine-year-old girl, the other is a grizzled special ops veteran turned spy. As Sophie’s path to becoming a junior master spy blossoms under 'JJ’s' reluctant tutelage, his actual partner, Bobbi, feels like she’s been left behind. This is especially maddening for Bobbi because, she’s eager to leave the office and tech side of the operation and get out in the field and take down bad guys. Bobbi wants to be recognized as 'JJ’s' partner and equal. Bobbi’s frustration level escalates as Sophie becomes increasingly espionage-savvy. Sophie is not only getting closer to 'JJ', she pretty much starts running the mission So, Bobbi’s not thrilled with Sophie. Yes, she’s actually jealous of a nine-year-old. Bobbi confronts 'JJ', demanding to know why he’s teaching Sophie, and not Bobbi, everything he knows. And 'JJ' is clueless about handling her frustration, which drives her even more crazy. They’re like a bickering married couple. Sophie’s mother, Kate, an 'ER' nurse working long hours, is at first oblivious to her daughter’s friendship with 'JJ', not to mention her lessons in espionage. Then there’s Sophie’s’ other top-secret operation, to make a love connection between her mom and 'JJ'. But Sopies’s master plan goes sideways when Kate spots 'JJ' and Sophie holding hands as they’re enjoying ice cream cones. The protective 'Momma Bear springs into action, swatting away 'JJ’s' cone and kneeing him in his special ops. Obviously the scene is carefully mapped out in advance. There's an ice-skating sequence where 'JJ' reluctantly accompanies Sophie on a sojourn to a local rink. There's a dance scene featuring the culmination of 'JJ' and Kate’s first date. Both scenes bring out a side of 'JJ' that Kate didn’t expect to see. David Kim is 'JJ' and Bobbi’s exasperated and fed-up boss. Kim has pretty much had it with 'JJ’s' take-no-prisoners exploits and lack of field smarts, so he banishes him to monitor a woman and her young daughter in a nondescript Chicago apartment building. Kim is definitely a by-the-book, control-freakish 'CIA' boss. He’s at a tough place in his life and taking it out on everyone, especially 'JJ'. Blending action, humor and an unexpected friendship between a mega-tough superspy and a fatherless child. You've an emotional investment in these characters and their story. You can compare ​"My Spy's" surprising genre; blending to 'The ​Guardians Of The Galaxy' films. 'The ​Guardians' ​films are about family, but are disguised as superhero films, just as this one is a heartfelt relationship story, disguised as an action-comedy. ​"My Spy"​ gives audiences something unexpected; Dave Bautista being vulnerable and funny, as well as badass and tough., He compares his acting and on-screen presence to Clint Eastwood’s, it’s contained, grounded and subtle. This film has all the action you expect, as well as the romance and heart you don’t expect from a Dave Bautista movie. It has elements of a family comedy, that’s also relatable to adults, all wrapped up in a big action movie. Along with the action and comedy, there’s an inspiring message of two very, very different kinds of people coming together against all odds. That’s inspiring. And now, more than ever, audiences need a good laugh and to be entertained.