August features the release of the first Fast & Furious spin-off, the second 2019 movie inspired by classic rock and the third dog movie of the year (fourth, if you count The Secret Life of Pets 2).
The opening scene of 1993's Menace II Society helped to highlight the divide (cinematically, at least) between South Korean store owners and their African American customers in whose neighborhoods those stores were located. In 1991, real-life 15-year-old, African American Latasha Harlins was fatally shot in the back by 51-year-old, South Korean-born convenience store owner Soon Ja Du in the latter's shop located in Los Angeles. Following a voluntary manslaughter conviction, Du was sentenced to five years of probation, 400 hours of community service and a $500 fine. Twenty-six years later, The Sun Is Also a Star brings the two ethnic communities together in spectacular fashion. The day before Jamaican-immigrant Natasha Kingsley is scheduled to be deported with the rest of her family, New York City-born Daniel Bae notices her admiring the painted constellations on the ceiling of Grand Central Station but is unsure of how to approach her. When Natasha's so preoccupied with her music to notice the car speeding toward her at a crosswalk, he gets his chance; there may be no better icebreaker than saving someone's life. After an awkward silence, Natasha notices Daniel's notebook, prompting him to confess that his secret passion is writing poetry This revelation leads to a discussion about his favorite subject matter: love. Seemingly pragmatic Natasha is a non-believer; her lack of faith is disturbing to Daniel, who insists that he can win her heart if given a single day to in which to woo her. Though she doesn't have 24 hours to give, Natasha, clearly intrigued, agrees to hear him out for one hour.
What follows is a series of events that Natasha labels coincidences but Daniel views as fate which allow the two to spend more time together, and more importantly, get to know each other. The film convincingly shows them transforming from complete strangers to a loving couple in the space of a day. It also humanizes the experiences and challenges faced by undocumented immigrants. Maybe Sun should've been released in February, as it's a much more appropriate Valentine's release than this year's unwatchable Isn't It Romantic?
The final opportunity to catch up with the MCU before nearly an entireyear will be the upcoming Spider-Man sequel, Far From Home. It'll be interesting to see how Peter and everybody else have adjusted to the Big Resurrection following [SPOILER]'s snap. It'll also be interesting to see how much of a financial boost -- if any -- Spidey gets from Endgame's massive popularity.
While not the biggest fan of The Rock, I will say that I have seen some of his films that were pretty entertaining or at least ‘popcorn’ worthy. Films such as ‘The Mummy Returns’, ‘The Scorpion King’, and ‘Moana’ (voice over). The latest film I saw, ‘Skyscraper’, was so-so. It's not that it didn't have plenty of action in it, as it did, but some of it was too far fetched. Perhaps I was overthinking the film as it played out but half of the stuff he did would have killed him for sure. I could have accepted all that if at least the acting had been good been but even that was sub-par. A good way to spend a rainy afternoon, perhaps, but for overall entertainment value, not hardly.
The biggest issue I've had with this season is the build-up to the ‘great’ war and how it played out! My two gripes about it - one, the way they chose to film it was horrible! It was way too dark so I could'nt see clearly when half the battle was going on and two, the lack of significant deaths. I mean I hated to see some of the characters killed off but they were not major players in my opinion! I just didn't see things playing out like they did and I have to agree with most people and call for a redo!!! This is how the entire show ends????
There are few movies that I think truly never should have been made - let me just make this quick and say ‘Booksmart’ is one of those films. It's just dumb, high school crap and I'm sorry, but no wonder the studio's been screening the hell out of it. I can't think of any redeeming quality whatsoever so if you choose to watch it, you have been warned. Some critics have said the film has a similar vibe to 2007's 'Superbad'. But let's just lose the "super" and call it what it is:
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