worddiva Reviews

Imani (2023)

Pretty good

[6/10 · 27 August 2023]

This movie kept me engaged throughout the entire 2 hours. The fight scenes were not Jason Statham level, but they were good. The plot was cohesive and made sense. The acting was not the greatest, but it was not so bad that it made the movie unwatchable nor did it distract from the pacing so much that it inhibited enjoyment. All in all, i give it a solid 6 stars.

This movie kept me engaged throughout the entire 2 hours. The fight scenes were not Jason Statham level, but they were good. The plot was cohesive and made sense. The acting was not the greatest, but it was not so bad that it made the movie unwatchable nor did it distract from the pacing so much that it inhibited enjoyment. All in all, i give it a solid 6 stars.

Double Cross (2020– )

Bad acting, but so entertaining

[5/10 · 16 February 2021]

This is not a show I would normally watch at all as I tend to prefer a full cast of actors who can actually act and deliver realistic dialogue, but Eric Cross was too much fun to watch. His character reminded me of a character in another series that I enjoyed very much--Dexter. I also thought the role played by the lead male doctor was not bad. I actually only gave it a chance because it's a Black production AND Darren Dewitt Henson is in it. I like some of his other projects.

There was some absolutely asinine subplots going on. The detective and his wife made no sense. No kind of chemistry whatsoever. The human trafficking ring with the old woman locked in the cell. (What the heck was wrong with her skin??? Was that real or fake?) Casting Erica as a doctor was completely unrealistic. She didn't pull that off at all. The sister who was snatched as a kid and all the random females with her were the worst actresses of all. Their scenes were cringe-worthy!!! The hospital administrator was so unrealistic with her silly facial expressions that it was hilarious. I cracked up every time she appeared on screen. The detective's wife could not act her way out of a paper bag. Her scenes were sad, and I actually felt lowkey embarrassed for her, the kidnapped sister, the hospital admin, and the other chick who wanted to be a boss after the "mother" was killed. Did these people even take acting lessons or were they found on a bus stop or in the mall or something? I hope they learned from this show and their acting improves if they plan to try to continue this career path. Lord.

DESPITE all of the bad acting, those were not the lead actors so they didn't completely destroy the show. However, I found myself addicted! Even with the bad acting, I still had to know what happened next, and Eric Cross stole the show every scene he was in, apparently without trying because he also has some more work to do in polishing his acting skills.

I watched the first season on Amazon Prime and got a free trial of ALLBLK just to see the second season, but there were only two episodes posted. So I went on and paid for a month just to watch the rest of the episodes. I am really hopeful that the acting and direction gets better because it has some potential to have successfully piqued my interest enough to watch every episode. Had this show had a bigger budget and a better director (and some writers who were actually logical thinkers), I think it could have been really good! BUT that's not to say it's terrible because I don't think it is at all. It was really entertaining if you can look past the bad acting and crazy subplots. Does that even make sense? lmao

But give it a chance. Don't believe us reviewers. Watch ONE episode and see what you think for yourself. Look at it solely for entertainment value and put aside any hopes of logic, realism, or great acting and you will not be disappointed if you don't set your expectations any higher than that.

And if they come out with another season, I will sure watch that too. I really hope to see these actors grow and improve in this and future roles.

Fallen (II) (2016)

Just dumb

[2/10 · 13 October 2020]

I didn't even make it all the way through. By the time I got to the scene where the gargoyle fell off the roof and this simple girl just stood there and watched it fall toward her head instead of getting out of its way, I was able to figure out the rest would be as disappointing as what I'd already seen because it was already on my nerves. All I saw were dumb scenes like that. What is wrong with the director? If you wanted to have him save her from the gargoyle, why not have her talking to someone, distracted, with her back toward the gargoyle rather than looking up at it falling toward her face?? THINK, man. Dang.

She's Not Our Sister (2011 TV Movie)

We tried

[4/10 · 19 May 2020]

They tried it with this film, and I tried to watch it. smh

4 for the terribly slow pacing and plot 3 for that excessive, forced, stiff, backstory-summary dialogue at the beginning and unnecessary dialogue throughout the rest of the part I watched 2 for including the first song which did not even related to what was going on 1 for the laugh tracks when nothing was funny at all 8 for a good cast 10 for Christian Keyes though.

Act Like You Love Me (2013)

Held my interest all the way through

[7/10 · 26 April 2020]

This movie was pretty good--definitely better than I thought it would be. But since I tend to like pretty much anything with Essence Atkins and Lynn Whitfield (Christian too, but I just like looking at him period no matter what he does or says), I figured it'd be worth a watch as long as I didn't expect too much. There are a lot of godawful, ridiculously foolish Black romantic comedies out there that leave me feeling robbed of minutes off my life, but this surely isn't one of them. It had all the really important elements: likable, believable characters with unique stories and perspectives (plus a couple of not-so-unique stories) as well as intensely unlikable characters, interesting and well thought-out plot and subplot, and good dialogue and acting. It was a fresh spin on an old plot, and it even had a few funny parts--like Joe Torry and that crazy song, and Christian acting like he was sleeping on that bean bag. LOL

In fact, the only bad thing about this movie was Denyce Lawton's makeup at the party. It didn't match her complexion AT ALL. It looked like she was wearing a discolored mask!! Why in the world was her face green? Oh, wait...maybe it was supposed to be green to represent "envy."

Um, no. LOL

Slamma Jamma (2017)

Terrible acting...just TERRIBLE ALL AROUND

[1/10 · 6 November 2019]

OMG I could not even make it through this movie. I got to the halfway point and I had to turn it off because the entire thing was just garbage. I so wanted to enjoy this movie as I know one of the actors, but there was just nothing to redeem this. No real plot, overly long bad scenes, stilted dialogue and awful acting--they did me in. I finally had to just turn it off to regain my peace. This is tragic.

Illegal Tender (2007)

Bad acting, poor script

[4/10 · 30 October 2019]

This had great potential, but the mom's acting made me cringe and the girlfriend got on my nerves with her incessant questions around the basement scene. The script was also annoying--what was up with the constant running? What good is an artillery if you're too scared to stand your ground and use it. Some gangsta film. This was lame.

Professor Mack (2019)

Lacking character development

[3/10 · 13 August 2019]

What was the point of this movie? For a character-driven movie, this movie lacked any character or substance whatsoever. It's NOT TOTALLY awful since it can at least be sat through--for that I'll give it at least 3 stars--but it was mostly annoying. I constantly wondered what the heck was wrong with this clown and if women really act this stupid and silly in real life. Her boasting about all her men the first third of the movie and her whole attitude was so childish. So by the end we learn she was abandoned her whole life and her fear of abandonment made her become a player in denial. She was a professor with a doctorate who was too dense or clueless to see that SHE needed therapy even more than the guy who's obsessed with his 3 y.o. She lied throughout the movie, wasted people's time, and played games with everyone. And why did she go interrupt the attorney at his office for that dumb chat? What was the point of that conversation? Why did she even bother to "break up" with toddler guy? Just a lot of pointless scenes.

See You Yesterday (2019)

Could have been awesome, but didn't happen

[2/10 · 19 May 2019]

The concept, plot and acting all kept me riveted. The premise was brilliant enough that with a little MORE creativity, the creators could have made this all come together eventually and fully. But no. Instead of finally resolving it, the writer/director chose to say nothing and leave loose ends. That's the worst possible thing they could have done with this film to me. I can't stand cliffhangers, and had I read the reviews upfront I wouldn't have even wasted my time watching. So annoying.

Things My Daddy Should've Told Me (2016)

What happened to the sound???

[2/10 · 3 April 2018]

The movie started out okay, although the production made it seem more like a stage play than a movie. Despite the amateurish opening and bad acting, I was committed to giving it a chance and watching anyway. After the happy hour scene, however, the sound dropped so low I couldn't hear what they were saying. Footsteps were more audible than the dialogue. Seriously. I figured that was my cue to forget this one and go to bed.