Tag: Shaft
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You People: Everything We Know so Far About the Eddie Murphy Comedy
Kenya Barris has established himself as a multi-talented figure in the film and television industry. Perhaps best known as the creator of the Emmy Award-winning Black-ish (2014-2022) and the show’s two spin-offs Grown-ish (2018-) and Mixed-ish (2019-2021), nearly all of Barris’ stories eloquently and thoughtfully commentate on the black experience in America, typically to humorous…
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Samuel L. Jackson Saw Snakes On A Plane As A Special Kind Of Movie
As Samuel L. Jackson said in the TV edit of David R. Ellis’ 2006 hit film “Snakes on a Plane“: “I have had it with these monkey-fighting snakes on this Monday to Friday plane!” “Snakes on a Plane” was part of a curious cinematic trend in the mid-2000s that might be described as neo-grindhouse. The trend…
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‘The Burning Sea’ Review: A Sequel to ‘The Wave’ and ‘The Quake,’ This Norwegian Disaster Movie Is Competent in an Overly Familiar Way
In “The Burning Sea,” which is your basic, everyday Norwegian oil-rig disaster thriller, Stian (Henrik Bjelland), a rig worker stationed on a drilling platform that’s about to collapse, must descend into the bowels of the rig to shut down a well that can’t be reached remotely. As the soundtrack fills with one of those flatulent…
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Tommy Lane, Actor and Stuntman in ‘Live and Let Die,’ ‘Shaft,’ Dies at 83
Stuntman and actor Tommy Lane, who appeared in films including “Live and Let Die” and “Shaft,” died Monday in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. He was 83.His daughter Kamala reported that he died after a long bout of Copd.In Richard Roundtree’s “Shaft,” his character Leroy could be seen crashing through Richard Roundtree’s Times Square office window. “That’s…
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‘Shaft’ on Independence Day: The Film That Changed History on July 4th Weekend 1971
This weekend marks the 49th anniversary of the release of “Shaft.” Released in 1971, it grossed about $90 million in adjusted prices — a huge success, more than 25 times its cost. More importantly, it forced studios to acknowledge the Black audience segment that was long taken for granted.By 1969, Hollywood studio filmmaking was 105…
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The ‘Tom & Jerry’ Feature Team Proves Filmmakers Can Get Creative in Global Lockdown
With no live-action shooting possible because of the global lockdown, animation and post-production, however, are continuing productively via social distancing. That’s a great advantage for Warner Bros.’ live-action/animated “Tom and Jerry” feature (scheduled for December 23). While shooting is complete on the hybrid directed by Tim Story (“Shaft”), which stars Chloë Grace Moretz as a…
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Box Office: ‘Men in Black: International,’ ‘Shaft’ Add to Summer Sequel Slump
As “Men in Black: International” and “Shaft” join the growing list of under-performing sequels this summer — an ignominious group that includes “Dark Phoenix” and “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” — worries of franchise fatigue are beginning to simmer in Hollywood.“Franchises that don’t up the ante or bring anything new into the fold are suffering…
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Box Office: ‘Men in Black: International’ and ‘Shaft’ Belly Flop
Disney/Pixar’s “Toy Story 4” can’t come soon enough to buoy the floundering summer box office. This weekend’s openings are pathetic. Franchise reboot “Men in Black: International” (Sony) and the second remake of “Shaft” (Warner Bros.) together grossed under $37 million. Two summers ago, when “War for the Planet of the Apes” opened to “only” $56…
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‘Men In Black: International’ at North American box office fuels premature early talk of summer franchise fatigue
Samuel Jackson in Shaft also slips up, but summer is long and packed with potential hits.The dismal $28.5m estimated North American box office debut by Men In Black: International came as little surprise given generally poor reviews and tepid advance word, adding fuel to possibly premature early summer talk of franchise fatigue.However the summer is…
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‘Men in Black’ & ‘Shaft’ Become Latest Summer Sequels to Disappoint
It was another disappointing weekend for a pair of new sequels as both Sony’s Men in Black International and WB’s Shaft were both unable to reach even the slimmest of studio expectations heading into the weekend.The weekend is down significantly compared to last year when Incredibles 2 bowed with a record-shattering $182.6 million opening and…