“I am honoured to return as the host of the BET Awards and share the stage with so many powerful and prolific artists; you can even say it is the ‘empire’ of Black Excellence,” said Taraji P. Henson. “Working with amazing partners like Scott and Connie at BET and Jesse Collins Entertainment is a creative’s dream. I can’t wait to celebrate Black music, entertainment, and culture with our viewers on what will be one unforgettable night.”

“Taraji P. Henson is the personification of Black excellence, and we are excited to collaborate with the phenomenal multi-talented stage and screen actress to host the ultimate celebration of Black culture again this year,” said Connie Orlando, EVP Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy at BET.“For over two decades, the BET Awards has been home to Black brilliance, talent, and creativity, providing unforgettable cultural moments, and we look forward to raising the bar for BET Awards 2022.”

Most recently Henson’s TPH Entertainment struck an overall deal with BET Studios, an unprecedented studio venture launched in September 2021 powered by the infrastructure and financing of BET and Paramount to produce original content for an array of internal buyers, including Paramount+, SHOWTIME, CBS, Nickelodeon, BET+, and BET. Additionally, BET Studios places programming on third-party platforms seeking best-in-class content from both leading and rising Black creatives.

Cast – Taraji P. Henson, Aldis Hodge, Richard Roundtree, Wendi McLendon-Covey & Tracy Morgan

Director – Adam Shankman

Genre – Romantic Comedy

Running Time – 1h 57m

Compared to what we have largely reviewed previously, this movie is vastly different. and for those wondering, yes we do have time for the RomCom genre…it’s actually one of our faves. What Men Want is a classic RomCom with it leaning more towards being a comedy than an outright romance led storyline. It’s an enjoyable watch that will lend itself well to many and is a worthy addition to Henson’s body of work. As expected the story is focused on her character, Ali Davis, who tries to make her mark as a sports agent in a largely male dominated company and industry as a whole.

Coming from a sports crazy family with boxing being a firm favourite for both her and her father (played by veteran actor Richard Roundtree), there is a lot to like about Henson’s character (Ali) who is cleverly named after the legendary boxer Mohammad Ali…something that we found refreshing and quite a cool name for anyone especially a lady. Her character is the perfect example of a strong black woman whose career driven and uses the lessons she learns to navigate everything in her life perfectly and sensibly in the end. The final resolution only comes at the end though as you might expect with most of the entertainment coming in the middle parts of the movie where we see Ali use her new found “powers” to read men’s minds and thoughts for her own benefit. What you get in the end is a solid offering full of great moments throughout that are not only funny but also heartfelt in parts.

We take it you might have an idea of what type of movie What Men Want is, this is especially the case if you are familiar with the movie What Women Want which was released way back in 2000. It’s not quite the same though with this offering being altered perfectly to lean more towards a female perspective. it’s a more than enjoyable watch that will mostly win with the female audience we reckon, however that doesn’t mean that guys (who enjoy a good movie regardless of what it is) also won’t…we are a good example of this. A great excuse to go to the movies, What Men Want gets a 7.5 out of 10 rating from us. It’s in cinemas nationwide from today.

Cast – Taraji P. Henson, Billy Brown, Danny Glover, Neal McDonough, Xander Berkeley & Margaret Avery

Director – Babak Najafi

Genre – Thriller film/Drama

Running Time – 1h 29m

Taraji P. Hanson in an action movie? As the lead? Doesn’t sound quite right does it? Well, this is very much the case in her latest flick, our focus today, titled Proud Mary. To be fair though we have seen her in a similar type of action setting in the series Person of Interest. So, in that sense it’s not so far fetched to picture her as a leading lady who carries a gun and uses it in the correct manner against all them bad guys.

The Plot

In this flick, officially in cinemas today, Taraji is Mary, a hit woman working for an organized crime family in Boston, whose life is completely turned around when she meets a young boy whose path she crosses when a professional hit goes bad.

Come to think of it, I like this concept, something that probably hasn’t been done enough of, if at all. What concept is this exactly you ask? The one of a strong black woman cast as a hit woman. And might I add that it’s not just any lady, it’s the powerhouse herself Taraji whose made massive inroads over the past couple of years with some impressive titles under her belt.

To get me hooked, I need to be intrigued and this also applies from a movie point of view. I was with this one but, honestly, was also skeptical. It’s explainable why but there’s a certain level of skepticism that hits you after you see the trailer and see its whole set up. Maybe it’s just me I don’t know. Anyway, onto my thoughts about the movie.

Despite everything, I found myself liking the movie. It’s got a nice flow to it and doesn’t look to be anything either than what it is. In another sense it’s clear that it’s too simplistic in its approach and needed a bit of refinement, but overall it’s not a bad movie to watch especially if there’s nothing blatantly better to watch at the time. Some might differ especially judging from the reaction I saw from others during and after the screening but it’s according to personal taste.

Like me, you might be a bit skeptical but Proud Mary is a good movie to kill a bit of time with. In no way is it the best I’ve seen but it isn’t the worst either. Taraji holds her own and does a decent job with what she has to work with. The supporting cast isn’t too bad either and helps get the movie over the line even though it’s just barely. More could have been done with it as the concept isn’t that bad, probably more of a good start than anything else. Proud Mary manages to get an okay 3 out of 5 rating from me.

Special shout out to MNet Movies and Ster-Kinekor for the invite!