The mission of The Department of Afro-American Research Arts and Culture to identify the global significance of the creative contributions pioneered by an international diaspora of Blackness
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Showing posts with label 1996. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1996. Show all posts

Friday, June 21, 2013

The Preacher's Wife (1996)






















Starring:
  • Denzel Washington
  • Whitney Houston
  • Courtney B. Vance
IMDB.com
Good natured Reverend Henry Biggs finds that his marriage to choir mistress Julia is flagging, due to his constant absence caring for the deprived neighborhood they live in. On top of all this, his church is coming under threat from property developer Joe Hamilton. In desperation, Rev. Biggs prays to God for help - and help arrives in the form of an angel named Dudley. However, Dudley's arrival seems to cause even more trouble...

This is a wonderful piece of work that should not be compared with any other in the genre of the Christmas/angel type or the so often mentioned Bishop's Wife. Its not the first film to use an old story and alter it and should be looked at as an original piece of work which is what it is. It simply works well mainly because it is perfectly cast, any romantic will be drawn in, willing the beautiful people in this case Whitney Houston and Dezel Washington together. Washington is pure magic on the screen, playing the inoffensive angel who ignores the ignorance and rudeness thrown at him by thoughtless people who should know better, he pulls off some great moments in the story. Unusually too the children are well cast, not too sugary or given scene stealing lines, they complement the adults rather than displace or ridicule them. This is a specialist type of film, a romantic, unrealistic dreamy story, and must be judged in that light.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Space Jam (1996)




















Starring:
  • Michael Jordan
  • Wayne Knight
  • Theresa Randle
IMDB.com
Swackhammer, owner of the amusement park planet Moron Mountain is desperate get new attractions and he decides that the Looney Tune characters would be perfect. He sends his diminutive underlings to get them to him, whether Bugs Bunny & Co. want to go or not. Well armed for their size, Bugs Bunny is forced to trick them into agreeing to a competition to determine their freedom. Taking advantage of their puny and stubby legged foes, the gang selects basketball for the surest chance of winning. However, the Nerdlucks turn the tables and steal the talents of leading professional basketball stars to become massive basketball bruisers known as the Monstars. In desperation, Bugs Bunny calls on the aid of Micheal Jordan, the Babe Ruth of Basketball, to help them have a chance at winning their freedom.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Eddie (1996)





















Starring:
  • Whoopi Goldberg
  • Frank Langella
  • Dennis Farina
IMDB.com
Eddie is a New York limo driver and a fanatical follower of the New York Knicks professional basketball team. The team is struggling with a mediocre record when, in mid-season, "Wild Bill" Burgess, the new owner, as a public relations gimmick, stages an 'honorary coach' contest, which Eddie wins. The fans love it, so "Wild Bill" fires the coach and hires her. She takes the bunch of overpaid prima donnas that make up the team and turns them around. But the owner hopes to move the team, now the darling of the New York fans, to St. Louis. He may OWN the team, but it BELONGS to the city and the fans!