AlfreWoodard Tagged Articles at Cinematical

To state that The Family That Preys is Tyler Perry's most accomplished screen effort to date doesn't change the fact that it's still exactly the kind of preachy, pandering, tone-shifting, gospel-laced soap opera that he's served up time and time again to his dedicated audience. However, in the grand scheme of things, his skills as a writer-director have been honed just well enough to make one wish that Perry would trust someone else to polish his rough spots at the script stage, so that his cast might play at something a bit more substantial than petty drama and broad sermons, and so that his critical reputation as a filmmaker might grow (well, recover) from the shrill likes of his trademark Madea character.

American Violet opens in the kitchen of a Texas housing project, as a mother makes breakfast for her children. She pours water into a tea kettle; serves eggs; hurries the kids along – a lovely, peaceful scene. Then the film cuts abruptly to police preparing for a raid: they load their weapons (I believe the first shot is of a gun), put on armor, and pile en masse into trucks. The moment we move from the kitchen table to the police staging area, the soundtrack changes too, from a languid, piano-tinged theme to a percussive arrangement that screams evil.

This approach is representative of much of the movie, which is a strident, aggressive polemic against racism in the justice system, as well as the story of a courageous woman who risked much to sue an all-powerful District Attorney. It is straightforward, unambiguous, and often frankly partisan, hitting its talking points hard without ever really peering under the surface. The tale it tells is reasonably compelling, and as a legal thriller the film more or less works. But much of it is obvious and ham-fisted – the sort of Serious Drama you might expect to see on basic cable. Adventurous moviegoers won't find much of interest here.

Cinematical has just received this exclusive teaser poster for Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys (click image to enlarge), starring Alfre Woodard and Kathy Bates as the matriarchs of two very different families being torn apart by greed and scandal. This marks the sixth feature from Perry, whose films usually tackle the inner workings of a dysfunctional family. Written and directed by Perry, The Family That Preys also stars Perry, Rockmond Dunbar, Sanaa Lathan, KaDee Strickland, Cole Hauser and Taraji P. Henson. I'm digging what I see from this poster; the art sorta plays tricks with your head if you stare at it long enough -- and I imagine that's the point as it feeds into the themes found throughout the film.

The Family That Preys hits theaters on September 12.

The universe contains a limited number of storylines, and I don't mind sitting through a familiar plot structure if the movie provides me with unique twists, snappy dialogue, or compelling or quirky characters. But Take the Lead offers nothing new. Any of us could extrapolate the entire plot from the movie poster alone, much less the trailer.

Take the Lead is allegedly based on the real-life experiences of dance instructor Pierre Dulaine. Dulaine worked on the choreography for this film, so he does in fact exist. However, I hope he is a more interesting, well-rounded person than this movie would lead us to believe.

In the movie, Dulaine (Antonio Banderas) witnesses a student from an urban high school committing an act of vandalism. He visits the school the next day and ends up offering his services as a dance instructor as a way of helping the underprivileged students. The principal, Augustine James (Alfre Woodard), puts him in charge of detention, on the grounds that nothing could be more punishing to the students than being subjected to ballroom dancing. Of course, it comes as a huuuuge surprise to everyone but Dulaine and the audience when the daily-detention crowd not only learns ballroom dancing, but Lessons About Life. And finally, a big contest takes place in which the street-smart minority kids compete against the snooty rich white kids.