Muppets Haunted Mansion

 Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021)

Starring the Muppets, Will Arnett, and Taraji P. Henson

Directed by Kirk R. Thatcher

Written by Kirk R. Thatcher and Kelly Younger

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Hidden Figures

Hidden Figures (2016)

Starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, and Mahershala Ali

Directed by Theodore Melfi

There's something so refreshing about the simplicity and basic nature of Hidden Figures and its engagingly pleasant and uplifting story that it's awfully tough not to enjoy director Theodore Melfi's film as it jauntily prances across the movie screen.  The great trio of black actresses at the film's center -- Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe -- do a fantastic job of sugarcoating the fact that the film's screenplay is riddled with one-note white supporting characters and its direction is full of clichés.  However, despite the lack of edginess and its rather elementary (and rudimentary at times) treatment of race relations in the 1960s, Hidden Figures is immensely enjoyable and held my attention as the true story of the three fascinating lead characters unfolded.

Hidden Figures succeeds not because it's got great direction or plot, but because it's a mainstream Hollywood film that capably tells an unknown true story headlined by three charismatic lead actresses.  At the forefront is Taraji P. Henson as Katherine Goble, a rather genius mathematician who worked for NASA at the Langley Research Center in Virginia.  After working in the segregated computer lab, Goble is called up to help the head of the Space Task Group Al Harrison (Kevin Costner) as his team attempts to launch an American into space.  Henson's Goble is an extremely intelligent woman, but she's also a caring mother to her three daughters who faces all the challenges thrown at her with perseverance ever after losing her husband a few years ago.  Henson is captivating at the center of the film, balancing heart and humor with ease.

Perhaps the bulk of the film's humor (and this is a surprisingly funny piece at times) is supplied by Janelle Monáe as Mary Jackson, the requisite sassy gal who longs to get her Masters in Engineering but isn't allowed because of Virginia's segregation laws.  While not known for acting, Monáe has proven to be an intriguing newcomer in the field with her work here and in 2016's Moonlight.  She has a presence onscreen that emits strength and grace and she's someone I'm certainly going to pay attention to in the years to come.

The only actress Oscar-nominated for her role here is Octavia Spencer, who plays Dorothy Vaughn, the supervisor of the "colored" computer room.  Spencer is essentially playing the same role here that she played in her Oscar-winning turn in The Help, but she's admittedly good in that no-nonsense type role.  Here, Spencer takes on the motherly role with ease, but I honestly think she's the least impressive of the acting trio -- not saying that in a derogatory way, just in the fact that her role seems the most generic.

The three actresses make this film shine.  Unfortunately, some of what goes on around them proves disappointing.  Kirsten Dunst and Jim Parsons are given rote, been-there-seen-that roles as 1960s white folk seemingly opposed to integration only to have their eyes opened up when they see what other groups have to offer.  Their evil side-eyes and brusque mannerisms are so utterly stereotypical that it sometimes proves laughable as opposed to impactful which is a shame because I'm sure that these three real-life ladies faced some true opposition to their emergence in NASA.  Kevin Costner bucks the trend as Goble's superior, but it's a bit too little to help.

Director Theodore Melfi doesn't reinvent the wheel here in any way, but in the end, that's okay.  Hidden Figures was meant to be a crowd-pleaser, not a deeply innovative piece.  In that sense, it's entirely successful.  In the end, though, it lacks the gravitas or uniqueness to really make a cinematic impact, but the story of the three ladies at its center is certainly a worthwhile historical footnote to learn about.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Date Night

Date Night (2010)

Starring Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Mark Wahlberg, Taraji P. Henson, James Franco, Mila Kunis, Common, and Ray Liotta

Directed by Shawn Levy

Oh, Tina Fey.  I truly enjoy 30 Rock where you play the quick-witted Liz Lemon.  Your writing on that show is spot-on and makes me laugh out loud.

And Steve Carell.  While I haven't watched The Office on a regular basis, whenever I catch it in syndication, I find the whole thing incredibly amusing.  Your character Michael Scott creates a hilariously uncomfortable atmosphere that has put the series on my Netflix Instant Queue.

And yet, when the two of you comedians combine in the film Date Night, it's amazing how absolutely unfunny you both are.  When given an opportunity, you certainly can elicit laughs.  Just look at the scene where you both pretend to be strippers in a seedy club.  Who knew sexy robot dancing would make me crack up as much as I did?  But beyond the sexy robot, I hardly cracked a smile while watching this flick in which the two of you play a homely married couple from New Jersey who are mistaken for another couple on the run from some corrupt cops, local politicians, and mobsters.  While watching, I couldn't help but think of childhood film favorite with a similar plot -- Adventures in Babysitting -- and wishing I was watching that instead.

Granted, it's not really all your fault, Tina and Steve.  Director Shawn Levy (whose previous claim to fame are the godawful Night at the Museum films) doesn't exactly have a great eye for comedy.  Sometimes (as in the aforementioned strip club scene) he lets the two of you run wild to great effect.  However, at other times, he doesn't reel you in enough.  There seemed to be many moments where he let you run free which caused some scenes to go on for what felt like an eternity -- an eternity devoid of any laughter.

The plot is ridiculously convoluted, too, which I realize might have restrained you both from your full potential.  That being said, Tina and Steve, take my advice and stick to your day jobs.

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself

Starring Taraji P. Henson, Tyler Perry, Gladys Knight, Mary J. Blige, and Adam Rodriguez
Directed by Tyler Perry

The flick starts off rather promisingly with a hot-looking Taraji P. Henson sporting a nifty afro singing a sultry song in a slightly sleazy bar. Unfortunately, after those initial five minutes, everything just goes downhill.

Henson is April, a nightclub singer struggling to make it by week to week, as evidenced by the fact that we're told that her house is run-down (we, as an audience never really see this...to us, the house looks like it's in moderately good shape). At the same time we're being introduced to April, we also see three kids (who, come to find out are April's niece and nephews) breaking into crazy old Madea's house attempting to steal her VCR. Of course, big sassy Madea will have none of that, but as she begins to beat up the kids, she realizes that these young'ens may be in bad shape. The kids say that their parents have died and that they're living with their grandmother who has gone missing for the past few days. Madea takes the kids to their Aunt April's house, and, you guessed it, after an initial trepidation to take in the kids, April ends up being won over by the concept of family and all is well in the end.

Yep, I ruined the ending for you...but it's not as if you couldn't see it coming from the first seconds of the flick. Tyler Perry writes everything so that it is paint-by-numbers. There's no surprises here in the slightest. It doesn't help that it is poorly directed and shot. There are very few shots that contain two people in them -- it's mostly a shot of one person talking, then another person talking, then back to the other person talking. And then there's shots where the extras literally stand in front of the camera blocking the view of what we're supposed to be seeing. And everything was obviously shot on a soundstage...nothing looks remotely real. Incredibly poorly shot and directed.

Let's not forget the completely unnecessary musical interludes -- there's six of them, I think, and we see whole entire songs sung that really serve no purpose except to get reaction shots of April as she's listening to them. Granted, the songs sounded nice and Gladys Knight and Mary J. Blige have decent voices, but there is no point at all to these songs playing out in their entirety in the movie. Add to that, the character of Madea (the only part of this movie that actually worked...which was different from his last effort for me where the character didn't really work at all) disappears in the final 45-60 minutes, never to return except during the unfunny bloopers in the credits.

And none of the actors do Perry's poor script any favors. Henson, who started out fine in those first five minutes where she was singing, falls apart after that. It's like she went to the Sassy Black Actress School to learn what the stereotype of an angry African-American woman should be. The kids in the flick were just as bad...really, no one here was any good.

The RyMickey Rating: D-

Movie Review - Not Easily Broken (2009)

Starring Morris Chestnut, Taraji P. Henson, and Jennifer Lewis
Written by Brian Bird
Directed by Bill Duke

Couple is happily married. 15 years go by. Couple is just rolling along, living a boring existence, neither really happy with the other. Horrible accident happens. Wife gets hurt. Wife gets angry at husband for not spending enough time with her. Wife's mother gets angry. Husband thinks about cheating on his wife because she's such a jerk to him.

Who cares about any of the above...I can't even bring myself to write complete sentences about the movie.

It's not that it was the worst thing ever, but every single stereotype is present here. Based on a book by a popular African American reverend, it's nice to see a movie that focuses on trying to save your marriage...but your movie needs to be good. Simply being nice doesn't cut it.

The RyMickey Rating: D

Movie Review - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Taraji P. Henson, Tilda Swinton, and Julia Ormand
directed by David Fincher
screenplay by Eric Roth

Inconsequential.

That's the only thing I could think of when this movie was finished. Who knew that a movie nominated for 13 Oscars could be so flippin' boring?

The story is simple and it's spread out over three painfully dull hours. Benjamin is born old knowing nothing and grows young while gaining knowledge. There are many, many vignettes that you would think lead up to some defining moment in his life, but they all end up being inconsequential. (There's that word again)

That's the problem with the film. There are scenes that are good by themselves (particularly his affair with Tilda Swinton), but Pitt's portrayal of Benjamin is so one-note that you never get the sense that he learned a thing from his journeys...and there are many journeys.

It's not just Pitt that's one-note...the whole movie is kinda flat. Washed out colors and monotone line readings just made the flick a drag both visually and aurally.

Taraji P. Henson's Oscar-nominated role as Benjamin's adopted mother is okay, but I always got the sense that she was "acting." She never embodied the role.

The special effects were certainly admirable and should probably win the Oscar. There was never a moment when I felt like I was watching a digitalized face of Brad Pitt on an old man. The make-up was also stellar. There were a few shots cinematography-wise that were good as well.

My main problem with the film is that I sat through three hours of it and I have no idea what it was trying to say. Love is everlasting? Age shouldn't hold us back? Age is nothing but a number? Don't judge a book by its cover? I have no clue because there really was no point to anything in this film.

It was simply inconsequential.

The RyMickey Rating: C-