MY THOUGHTS ABOUT GET HARD 2015!!!

I am a huge Kevin Hart fan every since his first mainstream comic stand up (I'm a Grown Little Man). Enjoyed all of his movies especially The Wedding Ringer. Watching the trailer for the first time, I was insanely excited to see Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart working together! Finally I got a Saturday night show tickets to watch it and the movie was rather unique within its story in the beginning. Will Ferrell did what he does best with his over the top comic role of a millionaire, smart but naïve character. Kevin Hart also did what he does best as a broke, vulnerable but funny confident character. Soon you find out that you have seen this before in buddy cop movies. Two very different personalities (status and attitude) get together to accomplish a goal and become best friends. It is a clichéd story which didn't live up to my expectations but they did have humorous scenes which got me laughing and isn't that the whole point? (Loved the transition where Ferrell's house turns from a lavish villa to a prison!) Aside the cliched story and excessive sexual humour, I enjoyed Get Hard and the chemistry between the two lead actors.
By Mohammad Shah

  

Movie Review: Inherent Vice

INHERENT VICE is one trippy, flippy, hippie movie carried by the brilliant Joaquin Phoenix and beautifully brought to life by Paul Thomas Anderson, my favourite living American filmmaker. Best described as a drug fuelled detective story, this film is a cinematic time machine that transports you right back to 1970, when the era of 'free love' was fading into oblivion and the streets were shrouded in a psychedelic haze of marijuana smoke and post-Manson paranoia. I found myself being utterly seduced by its stoned surrealism and bewildered by its behemoth of a plot that seemingly meanders aimlessly from scene to scene, much like our pot-headed protagonist himself. Eventually, you just have to give in to the experience and consider the journey itself more than the destination. All in all, This "groovy product" is what you may call "an acquired taste," but if it sounds like your kind of trip, I guarantee it will get you high on movies again...

Movie trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZfs22E7JmI

- Shivraj Nanra

Tv Show: Empire (2015)

The main character's backgrounds are rooted in long-standing black stereotypes (drug dealing hustlers from the hood, turned hip hop moguls), which is problematic if the show, boasting an almost all-black cast, is to be viewed as "the black experience."

First and foremost, the show offers relatively complex characters, who deal with various interpersonal relationships/conflicts, proving that black families are just as nuanced and complicated as any other race. Secondly, the show flips the "token black" staple, by including a single white face, singer Elle Dallas, who just so happens to be played by rock legend Courtney Love.

Last but not least, the show tackles homosexuality, both male and female, in the black community. While gay has become a staple as of late in with TV soap, it had yet to be dealt with in the context of black life, and, more specifically, the hip hop community, which is notoriously known for reinforcing homophobic views. Empire not only chooses to diverge from the stereotypes, offering a gay male who is both masculine and intelligent, but also confronts the hardships of rejection and identity crises in the face of homosexuality.

As a lover of music, Empire may not provides the most accurate depiction of the industry, but it does offer a substantial dose of superstar cameos from. As previously stated, Hole front-woman Courtney Love is on the show; Snoop Dogg and Mary J Blige are also set to make cameos, and rap legend Lil' Kim and singing sensation Mariah Carey have also been rumored to join the cast.

All-in-all, the show is far from perfect. If you're looking for fun entertainment, I would definitely recommend. If depth or complexity is what you're going for, this is no "How to Get Away with Murder" or "Scandal." The plot is unrealistic and dumbed down. It's not painstakingly idiotic, but it doesn't require a single brain cell to follow along.

- Alisha Akram