Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Redefining Toronto, the "Screwface" Capital



Screwface by definition:
-a mean face
-a dirty look
-an ice grill
-to gawk
-to scowl
-deeply pissed off
-highly intoxicated
-a dirty or inappropriate facial expression
-revealing nothing








But we'll support a wack nickname...!?


NEW YORK CITY - The Big Apple
LAS VEGAS - Sin City
NEW ORLEANS - The Big Easy
DETROIT - Motor Town
CHICAGO - The Windy City
BOSTON - Beantown
ATLANTA - Hotlanta
PARIS - The City of Love
JERUSALEM - The City of Peace
HONG KONG - The Pearl of the Orient


CALGARY - The Heart of the New West
EDMONTON - The City of Champions
WINNIPEG - Winterpeg





What are we trying to prove?





Lose the mean mug, and smile already!



Monday, April 5, 2010

Movie Review: Why Did I Get Married Too?

Why did Tyler Perry make this sequel? That's the first question that came to mind after the credits started to roll and I realized that the last 15 minutes of this film totally flopped the storyline.

Before I begin my grievance, let me preface my statements by saying that I LOVE Tyler Perry. I travelled to Chicago JUST to see him live mere weeks ago. I own the majority of his movies/stage plays. I admire his writing ability. I hope to emulate his actions and successes in any way possible. He is my new "Hollywood" role model. (Sorry Oprah!)

I loved the first movie, Why Did I Get Married. I thought it was honest and funny. The characters were dynamic, and the drama was entertaining to say the least. A well-written story, and one of my favourites. Great acting.

So naturally, the sequel seemed like a good idea. Reunite the characters. Take them somewhere hot so we can see Malik Yoba (Gavin) and Michael Jai White (Marcus) take off their shirts and unleash the chocolate abs. Watch Janet Jackson (Patricia) in her most vulnerable role yet, which was apparently filmed during her time of mourning for her brother Michael. Again, fabulous acting. Especially from Janet.

It was funny. Tasha Smith (Angela) was loud and crazy, and provided endless jokes with her sister-girl antics. Jill Scott (Sheila) and Lamman Rucker (Troy) were sweet, and it was nice to see her character happy for a change. Tyler Perry (Terry) continued to be the voice of reason...and ohoh, even that a**hole Richard T. Jones (Mike) was back again to stir up controversy!

What's that? This sounds exactly like the last movie? My point exactly.

In the past 3.5 years that had supposedly passed since the first movie, these characters displayed absolutely no growth! After the tears, and soul searching, the exposure, and revelations...they still gathered as a group again and had the same old issues.

Funnily enough...the a**hole "Mike" is the only character that really seemed to learn his lesson from the past movie!

Now, I realize it's human nature that people are going to be who they're going to be. But for the sake of the sequel, it would have been nice to feel like the other characters had actually learned something at their last retreat in Colorado where all hell broke loose. Instead, I felt like maybe a few months had passed, and everyone was right where we left them.

It was great for continuity of character. The funny people were still funny, the rude were still rude, and it was great to see the same cast back again as a family. They obviously work well together.

In fact, for the majority of the movie...I was fully entertained. I laughed, I gasped, and I felt the range of emotions right along with the rest of the semi-packed crowd at the Scarborough theatre. Sadly, at the point of the MOST the point of the movie where tears should have started falling and the violins should have made me weep...instead I found myself laughing out loud. Actually, EVERYONE was laughing. Not a good sign.

It just wasn't believable. With maybe 15 minutes left in the movie, just past the climax and on the way to the resolution...the movie got super corny. Quick resolutions. And then there was a death...of the wrong damn character! I didn't understand why Tyler Perry even went there, and killed off a good character who still could have made the ending satisfying. But nope. GONE.

I heard that Tyler cut out the funeral scene out of respect for Janet, where her character was to address the congregation. With all due respect for her loss, Tyler should have listened when Janet insisted that he keep that scene in. I have a feeling that the funeral scene might have provided the words and perspective that was necessary to wrap up all the loose ends, much like her end-of-movie speech did in the last film.

Of course I still have to give Tyler Perry credit. Cicely Tyson and Louis Gossett Jr. were a nice addition to the cast (this brother can get ANYONE in his movies!) and there was definitely no lack of drama and minute-to-minute action.


As a professor once told us in a creative writing can write the best story ever. You can create a masterpiece filled with highs and lows, crafty characters and unique twists and turns...but no matter how great that story is, if you don't connect with your audience in those last seconds when everything is coming to an end...then you've lost them. The true power of the story is in its conclusion.

That's how I felt about this movie. It was fantastic for the first hour. It got better through the second hour...and right when I was ready to feel that Tyler Perry pride...I found myself throwing my hands up in the air at the resolution.

And speaking of corny...the last minute cameo...SUPER wack. I haven't laughed/rolled my eyes at an awkward-yet-"supposed to be normal" cameo like that since Tyra Banks' appearance in Love & Basketball. When the entire theatre bursts into laughter by just looking at a character's face...chances are, they weren't the right actor for the job!

So there it is. Another movie I desperately wanted to love...but walked away from shrugging my shoulders in slight disappointment and a little bit of confusion.

Tyler Perry is the master of the feel-good film, but I feel like he compromised the integrity and growth of the characters, the realism of the movie, and gave a bit of a "Hollywood" ending to what had started out as an authentic social tale.

nd if there's a part 3 to this movie with Janet's potential new love interest Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in the cast.........I'm done.