Malcolm & Marie

Release Date:  2/5/21; Netflix
Genre:  Drama
Rating:  NR
Director:  Sam Levinson
Studio(s):  Little Lamb, The Reasonable Bunch, Netflix  
Running Time:  106 mins.
Cast:  Zendaya (Marie), John David Washington (Malcolm)


Story:  Sam Levinson teams up with Zendaya and John David Washington for an achingly romantic drama in which a filmmaker (Washington) and his girlfriend (Zendaya) return home following a celebratory movie premiere as he awaits what’s sure to be imminent critical and financial success.  The evening suddenly takes a turn as revelations about their relationships begin to surface, testing the strength of their love.  The first film to be written, directed, and completed during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.  Source(s):  Shadow & Act; IMDB.

Trailer:

Jingle Jangle

a/k/a Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey

Release Date:  11/13/20; Netflix
Genre:   Musical
Rating:  PG
Director:  David E. Talbert
Studio(s):   260 Degrees Entertainment, Brillstein
Entertainment Partners, Get Lifted Film Company, Netflix.
Running Time:  119 mins.
Cast:   Forest Whitaker (Jeronicus Jangle), Madalen Mills, Keegan-Michael Key, Anika Noni Rose, Phylicia Rashad, Hugh Bonneville.
Story:   Produced by John Legend’s Get Lifted Film Co., the movie is a musical adventure set in the gloriously vibrant town of Cobbleton. The film follows toymaker and inventor Jeronicus Jangle (voiced by Whitaker) who spends his days creating fanciful inventions. Keegan-Michael Key plays his trusted apprentice who steals his most prized creation. Newcomer Madalen Mills plays Jangle’s granddaughter, who discovers a long-forgotten invention and awakens the magic within for a holiday adventure.  Teaming together, the pair begin working on a new magical creation, which has the powers to change their lives forever.  But will they succeed? And is it really the answer to their prayers after all?  Sources:  tyla.com; Variety; IMDB.
Trailer:

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Release Date:  12/18/20 Netflix
Genre:  Drama
Rating:  R
Director:  George C. Wolfe
Studio(s):  Netflix
Running Time:  93 mins.

Cast:   Viola Davis as Ma Rainey; Chadwick Boseman as Levee; Glynn Turman as Toledo; Colman Domingo as Cutler; Michael Potts as Slow Drag; Taylour Paige as Dussie Mae; Jonny Coyne as Sturdyvant; Jeremy Shamos as Irvin; Dusan Brown as Sylvester.

Story:   Tensions and temperatures rise over the course of an afternoon recording session in 1920s Chicago as a band of musicians await trailblazing performer, the legendary “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey (Viola Davis). Late to the session, the fearless, fiery Ma engages in a battle of wills with her white manager and producer over control of her music. As the band waits in the studio’s claustrophobic rehearsal room, ambitious trumpeter Levee (Chadwick Boseman) – who has an eye for Ma’s girlfriend and is determined to stake his own claim on the music industry – spurs his fellow musicians into an eruption of stories, truths, and lies that will forever change the course of their lives.  Adapted from August Wilson’s play.

Details:  With his career cut short, it seems that Netflix’s upcoming Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, an adaptation of the famed August Wilson play, will be Boseman’s last film. Here’s what we know about the movie.  It’s based on the August Wilson play of the same name.  The story follows the members of a band in 1920s Chicago as they await the arrival of the lead singer, Ma Rainey (Viola Davis), for a recording session. As the day unfolds, Ma fights with her white producers for control over her music, and ambitious trumpeter Levee (Boseman) lets his hot head get the best of him. Source(s):  Wikipedia; IMDB; Netflix.

 

Trailer:

Coffee & Kareem

Release Date:  4/3/20; Netflix
Genre:  Comedy
Rating:  TV-MA
Director:  Michael Dowse
Studio(s):  Pacific Electric Picture Company, Netflix
Running Time:  88 mins.
Cast:  Taraji P. Henson, Terrence Little Gardenhigh, Ed Helms, Betty Gilpin, RonReaco Lee, Andrew Bachelor, David Alan Grier.

Story:   While police officer James Coffee (Ed Helms) enjoys his new relationship with Vanessa Manning (Taraji P. Henson), her beloved 12-year-old son Kareem (Terrence Little Gardenhigh) plots their break-up. Attempting to scare away his mom’s boyfriend for good, Kareem tries to hire criminal fugitives to take him out but accidentally exposes a secret network of criminal activity, making his family its latest target. To protect Vanessa, Kareem teams up with Coffee – the partner he never wanted – for a dangerous chase across Detroit.  Source:  IMDB; Netflix.

Trailer:

Project Power

Release Date:  8/14/20; Netflix
Genre:  Sci-Fi/Thriller
Rating:  R
Directors:  Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman
Studio(s):  Netflix, Screen Arcade, Supermarché
Running Time:  Unknown
Cast:  Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Art), Dominique Fishback (Robin), Rodrigo Santoro, Amy Landecker, Allen Maldonado, Kyanna Simone Simpson, Andrene Ward-Hammond, Courtney B. Vance, Machine Gun Kelly, Casey Neistat, Jim Klock, Luke Hawx, Janet Nguyen.

Story:  On the streets of New Orleans, word begins to spread about a mysterious new pill that unlocks superpowers unique to each user. The catch: You don’t know what will happen until you take it. While some develop bulletproof skin, invisibility, and super strength, others exhibit a deadlier reaction. But when the pill escalates crime within the city to dangerous levels, a local cop (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) teams with a teenage dealer (Dominique Fishback) and a former soldier fueled by a secret vendetta (Jamie Foxx) to fight power with power and risk taking the pill in order to track down and stop the group responsible for creating it.  Source(s):  IMDB; Slashfilm.com.

Trailer:

Concrete Cowboy

Release Date:  4/2/21; Netflix (Original Release – 9/13/20)
Genre:  Drama/Based On A True Story
Rating:  R
Director:  Ricky Staub
Studio(s):  Green Door Pictures, Lee Daniels Entertainment, Neighborhood Film Co., Tucker Tooley Entertainment; Netflix
Running Time:  111 mins.

Cast:  Idris Elba (Harp), Caleb McLaughlin (Cole), Jharrel Jerome (Smush), Lorraine Toussaint (Nessie), Byron Bowers (Rome), Method Man (Leroy).

Story:  In this drama inspired by the real-life Fletcher Street Stables, 15-year-old Cole is taken to live with his estranged father Harp in North Philadelphia. There he discovers the city’s vibrant urban cowboy subculture, which has existed for more than 100 years providing a safe haven for the neighborhood despite the surrounding poverty, violence, and encroachment of gentrification.  Source:  IMDB; Shadow and Act.

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