Photo: amazon.caMust buy: The Help
Mississippi writer Kathryn Stockett's rendering of African American life in the southern U.S. in The Help, earned her a spot on the NYT Best Sellers list as well as critical scorn for re-imagining the slavery of Blacks in the pre-civil rights movement '60s as a struggle concerning white folk themselves. (Things like where will whites allow their 'help' to use the toilet and what ingredients should they bake into pies.) Director Tate Taylor (Pretty Ugly People) picks up on the book's self-imposed dilemma and runs with it, all the way, including a meditation on what these answers would look like (comedic, it appears) in his adaption of the self-same book.
Read the rest of Ava's review.
Don't even rent: The Hangover Part II
You know that dismal feeling when you’re watching a film, and everything seems so... familiar? You know all the punch lines, can predict every plot twist, and once-interesting characters are about as engaging as wet paint. Fans of The Hangover will likely experience this very melancholia after the second installment of Todd Phillips' burgeoning franchise, which is little more than a tired carbon copy of its predecessor.
Read the rest of Manori's review.
