The House Next Door

a/k/a Meet The Blacks 2

Release Date:  6/11/21; In Theaters
Genre:   Comedy/Horror
Rating:  R
Director:  Deon Taylor
Studio(s):  Hidden Empire Film Group, Naptown Productions, Lionsgate
Running Time:  TBD

Cast:  Mike Epps as Carl Black; Katt Williams as Dr. Mamuwalde; Lil Duval as Cronut; Bresha Webb as Allie Black; Zulay Henao as Lorena Black; Gary Owen as Clive; Michael Blackson as Mr. Wooky; Tyrin Turner as Rico; Danny Trejo as Hugo; King Bach as Freezee; Snoop Dogg as Snoop Dogg; Rick Ross as Mr. Saturday Night; Alex Henderson as Carl Jr.; Haha Davis as Officer Friendly, Zooman Miller as Monty; Jena Frumes as Clive’s Hot Wife.

Story:  From Beverly Hills to the Chicago ’burbs, mayhem and hilarity seem to follow The Blacks wherever they go. After surviving a night of terror on the West Coast, (not-so) best-selling author Carl Black (Mike Epps) moves his family back to his childhood home in the Windy City where he hopes to find the peace and quiet he needs to write his new book. But when an eccentric neighbor (Katt Williams) moves in next door, Carl becomes convinced that the man is a vampire trying to take his family, and must team up with his oddball neighbors to save his career and their lives! Source:  Official site, thehousenextdoormovie.com.

Trailer:

Spiral

a/k/a Spiral: From the Book of Saw

Release Date:  TBA
Genre:  Horror
Rating:  R
Director:  Darren Lynn Bousman
Studio(s):  Twisted Pictures, Burg/Koules Productions, Dahlstar, Serendipity Productions
Running Time:  Unknown

Cast:  Samuel L. Jackson (Marcus), Chris Rock (Det. Zeke Banks), Marisol Nichols (Capt. Angie Garza), Max Minghella (William Schenk), Genelle Williams (Lisa Banks).

Story:  A sadistic mastermind unleashes a twisted form of justice in SPIRAL, the terrifying new chapter from the book of SAW.  Working in the shadow of an esteemed police veteran (Samuel L. Jackson), brash Detective Ezekiel ‘Zeke’ Banks (Chris Rock) and his rookie partner (Max Minghella) take charge of a grisly investigation into murders that are eerily reminiscent of the city’s gruesome past.  Unwittingly entrapped in a deepening mystery, Zeke finds himself at the center of the killer’s morbid game.  Source:  Spiral, official site.

Teaser Trailer:

True To The Game 2: Gena’s Story

Release Date:  11/6/20; In Theaters
Genre:  Drama
Rating:  NR
Director:  Jamal Hill
Studio(s):  Faith Media Distribution
Running Time: 81 mins.

Cast:  Cast members from the original film returning for the sequel are Vivica A. Fox, Andra Fuller, Erica Peeples, Iyana Halley, and Jamaar Simon.  New additions are Rotimi, Jeremy Meeks, Niatia ‘Lil Mama’ Kirkland, Faith Evans, Starletta DuPois, Tamar Braxton, Lisa Renee Pitts, Christian James, Kevin Sizemore and Waka Flocka Flame.

Story:  Based on Teri Woods’ novel of the same name, True To The Game  was released in 2017.  True To The Game 2 picks up a year after the first installment, following the lives of the characters affected by Quadir’s (Columbus Short) murder.  Separating herself from Philly’s dangerous scene, Gena (Erica Peeples) has reinvented herself as a journalist, living and working in NYC. Quickly growing in her company, Gena is sent on assignment to LA for a career changing story. Though Gena is far from home, her life in Philly seems to always make an appearance.  Someone from Quadir’s circle has avenged his death with a hit on Jerrell’s crew members, reigniting another war between the two crews. Jerrell (Andra Fuller) is determined to get paid by any means necessary and he’ll start with Gena.  Source:  Black Film.

Trailer:

Undercover Brother 2

a/k/a Undercover Brother’s Brother

Release Date:  11/5/19; DVD & VOD
Genre:   Comedy
Rating:  R
Director:  Leslie Small
Studio(s):  Universal 1440 Entertainment, Hal Lieberman Company, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (UPHE)
Running Time:  85 mins.

Cast:   Michael Jai White (Undercover Brother), Barry Bostwick (The Man), Gary Owen (Military Brother), Affion Crockett (Sarcastic Brother), Laila Odom (Chief Honey), Shiquita James (Club Patron), Lindsay Lamb (Iona), Isabelle Fretheim (Brenda Assassin).

Story:  A sequel to the 2002 comedy, Undercover Brother.  Undercover Brother 2 centers on the coolest spy in the game and his less-than-cool younger brother, Lionel.  Way back in 2002, the brothers were hot on the heels of The Man, the leader of a racist, worldwide syndicate known as The Organization. However, they got caught in an avalanche of oppressive, white snow, preventing them from finishing the mission.  Sixteen years later, they are discovered, thawed out, and set out to finish the job they started. With the help of The Brotherhood, an old foe, they must take on an even more dangerous threat to the black community and the world extreme “wokeness”.

The original Undercover Brother, directed by Malcolm D. Lee (Girls Trip, The Best Man), was a very modest success, bringing in $41 million at the box office.  Fronted by Eddie Griffin as the titular character with a cast that included Chris Kattan, Denise Richards, Dave Chappelle, Billy Dee Williams and Neil Patrick Harris, the send-up of the blaxploitation movies of the 70s managed to find something of a cult following in the ensuing years.  Source:  Movieweb.

Trailer:

The Human Tornado

a.k.a Dolemite 2
a.k.a Human Tornado

Release Date:  (1976)
Genre:  Action/Comedy
Rating:  R
Director: Cliff Roquemore
Studio(s): Comedian International, Xenon Entertainment Group, Dimension Pictures, Vinegar Syndrome.
Running Time: 98 mins.
Cast:  Rudy Ray Moore (Dolemite), Lady Reed (Queen Bee), Jimmy Lynch (Mr. Motion), Gloria Delaney (Hurricane Annie), J.B. Baron (Sheriff Beatty), Jerry Jones (Detective ‘Pistol Pete’ Blakeley), Herb Graham (Cavaletti), Ernie Hudson (Bo).

Story:  Dolemite (Rudy Ray Moore) is back and badder than ever in THE HUMAN TORNADO! After being run out of town by a racist sheriff, Dolemite returns to LA only to discover that Queen Bee’s (Lady Reed) club has been taken over by the mafia. On top of that they have also kidnapped two of Queen Bee’s top girls! With the law hot on his tail, Dolemite rounds up the toughest Kung-Fu fighting badasses in Southern California to take on the mob, culminating in one of the craziest surprise endings in blaxploitation film history!  Source:  Daarac.org.

Full Synopsis:  In Citronell, Alabama, Dolemite performs his comedy routine to a rapt audience while a scantily-clad woman performs a provocative dance.  Later, Dolemite drives to his hilltop mansion, where a party is in progress.

He leads Mrs. Bently into the bedroom and tells her that he will be with her later. In the living room, a man delivers the bad news that plans to build a home for boys have been abandoned. Dolemite offers his own home to the cause and receives an enthusiastic round of applause. Dolemite returns to the bedroom and tells Mrs. Bently that he needs to “get this shit over with.” She replies, “Dolemite, you’re worth every damn cent I pay you.”

Sheriff Bently and his deputies raid the party.  Party guests Bo, Jimmy and Dough see the police car from the patio and run inside to tell the others, but none are able to escape, and Bently holds the group at gunpoint. When Bently and Deputy Charlie attack a young woman, she falls into the doorway of the bedroom, where Dolemite is with Mrs. Bently.  On the sheriff’s order, Charlie kills Mrs. Bently, but Dolemite shoots Charlie, escapes through a back door, and tumbles down the hill to the road, where Bo, Jimmy and Dough are waiting in a car. Bently and Deputy Jethro give chase. After killing Jethro and destroying Bo’s car in a fiery wreck, Dolemite and his comrades travel on foot. Jimmy flags down an openly gay white man, and when Dolemite, shotgun in hand, demands a ride to California, the driver cheerfully obliges.

Along the way, Dolemite phones Queen Bee, who runs a successful nightclub in Los Angeles. She entices Dolemite with the news that dancer Hurricane Annie is pining for him. Meanwhile Mafioso and rival club owner Joe Cavaletti plans to eliminate Queen Bee, and sends three armed henchmen to her club.  Master of ceremonies, Mr. Motion, and star attraction, Java, try to fend them off. The men beat Queen Bee and kidnap Java and a waitress named T.C. Cavaletti forces Queen Bee and her girls to work at his nightclub, the Twenty Grand while Java and T.C. are taken to Cavaletti’s torture house, where an insane old woman torments them with a live snake. Dolemite and his comrades discover that Queen Bee’s home and nightclub are both empty. After searching several nightspots, the group locates Hurricane Annie, who suspects that Queen Bee and her girls are Cavaletti’s prisoners.

They find Queen Bee waiting tables at the Twenty Grand, but she can divulge very little as she is being watched. Dolemite goes home with Hurricane Annie, who teases him about his recent weight gain. They remove their clothes and do exercises on the bed, which leads to sex. The next day, Sheriff Bently appears at the office of Police Captain Ryan, demanding the arrest of Dolemite for the murder of Mrs. Bently. Ryan assigns his Detective Pete Blakeley to the case.

Later, Dolemite learns that Mrs. Cavaletti is a nymphomaniac, and poses as a dealer of erotic paintings as a means to seduce her. After their lovemaking causes the bedroom to collapse around them, Mrs. Cavaletti divulges the location of the torture house. Queen Bee and her girls are staffing Cavaletti birthday party that night and they, along with Mr. Motion, Dolemite’s friends, and karate champion Howard Jackson, plan an attack.  Meanwhile, Dolemite fights his way into the torture house. In the basement, a sadistic henchman puts a live grenade between T.C.’s legs, while a rack of spikes is about to fall on Java.  Dolemite appears, breaks the henchman’s neck, and frees them.

At the party, Mr. Motion and Bo pose as caterers and sneak their comrades into the house. The forces of Dolemite and Queen Bee soon triumph over those of Cavaletti.  Blakeley, Ryan and Bently arrive and find Cavaletti being eaten alive by rats, while Dolemite drives away.  Bently gives chase, shoots Dolemite in the back and says, “Your career is over, stud,” before leaving.  Dolemite sits up, opens his jacket, and reveals a bulletproof vest.  Source:  American Film Institute.  Photo Source(s)/Gifs:  Daarac.org, IMDB.

Trailer:

I Got The Hook Up 2

Release Date:  7/12/19; In Theaters
Genre:  Comedy, Sequel
Rating:  R
Director:  Corey Grant
Studio(s):   BondIt Media Capital, Genius Minds, RLJ Entertainment.
Running Time:  Unknown
Cast:   Romeo Miller, Master P, D. C. Young Fly, Michael Blackson, Fatboy SSE, KJ Smith, Clifton Powell, AJ Johnson, Tiny Lister, John Witherspoon, Sheryl Underwood.

Story:   After best friends Black and Blue’s restaurant is shut down, Black needs to find some cash — fast. He thinks his luck has turned when Blue’s son, Fatboy, and his best friend, Spyda, bring him a stash of stolen cellphones, and Black decides to sell them on the streets. There’s only one problem: the boxes with the phones also contains the Colombian cartel’s stash of Molly, which Spyda decides to sell.  Source:  Google; IMDB.

Trailer: