Tensions and temperatures rise over the course of an afternoon recording session in 1920s Chicago as a band of musicians await trailblazing performer, the legendary “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey (Academy Award® winner Viola Davis). Late to the session, the fearless, fiery Ma engages in a battle of wills with her white manager and producer over control of her music. As the band waits in the studio’s claustrophobic rehearsal room, ambitious trumpeter Levee (Chadwick Boseman) — who has an eye for Ma’s girlfriend and is determined to stake his own claim on the music industry — spurs his fellow musicians into an eruption of stories revealing truths that will forever change the course of their lives.

Adapted from two-time Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson’s play, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom celebrates the transformative power of the blues and the artists who refuse to let society’s prejudices dictate their worth. Directed by George C. Wolfe and adapted for the screen by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, the film is produced by Fences Oscar® nominees Denzel Washington and Todd Black. Colman Domingo, Glynn Turman, Michael Potts, Taylour Paige and Dusan Brown co-star alongside Grammy® winner Branford Marsalis’ score.

This is easily one of those that doesn’t need too much convincing to watch especially when you also consider what happened the last time Denzel Washington and Viola Davis linked up. Powerhouse cast, music related, fantastic humans involved in the background and on Netflix … what more could one ask for?

From Academy Award (R)-winning director Steve McQueen (“12 Years a Slave”) and co-writer and bestselling author Gillian Flynn (“Gone Girl”) comes a blistering, modern-day thriller set against the backdrop of crime, passion and corruption. “Widows” is the story of four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands’ criminal activities. Set in contemporary Chicago, amid a time of turmoil, tensions build when Veronica (Oscar (R) winner Viola Davis), Alice (Elizabeth Debicki), Linda (Michelle Rodriguez) and Belle (Cynthia Erivo) take their fate into their own hands and conspire to forge a future on their own terms. “Widows” also stars Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Daniel Kaluuya, Lukas Haas and Brian Tyree Henry.

Officially hitting big screens on November 16th, it cannot come any sooner and I CANNOT wait for this…check out the trailer below and you’ll see why this promises to be a huge hit:

Complete star power doesn’t come any better than (in industry stalwarts themselves) Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. Having those two stars combine on any setting, no matter the plot, is enough to make even the most non-believer of movies sit up straight and pay attention. Directed by the main man himself, Fences is based on August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize winning play of the same name. Overall a promising build up but does it deliver?

The above trailer alone is enough to give you goosebumps!

Fences is the story of Troy Maxson, a mid-century Pittsburgh sanitation worker who once dreamed of a baseball career, but was too old when the major leagues began admitting black players. He tries to be a good husband and father, but his lost dream of glory eats at him, and causes him to make a decision that threatens to tear his family apart. The title is symbolic and combined with the plot you’ll soon find out why upon watching.

Like Moonlight, Fences has received positive reviews with the flick already grossing a cool $53 million. It was chosen by the American Film Institute as one of the top ten films of 2016, and has been nominated for numerous awards, including four Oscar nominations at the 89th Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor (Washington), Best Supporting Actress (Davis), and Best Adapted Screenplay. It also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor (Washington) and a Best Supporting Actress win (Davis).

It’s no secret that Denzel Washington is one of the best actors of our generation if not the best. There’s a very good reason for that…the man always manages to get it right, Fences is no different – in fact it may be his best performance yet, the man has come full circle with this role. Fences captures your imagination from the onset and never lets up. With a running time of just over 2 hours, it’s not necessarily short but best believe that you won’t even notice or wonder when it’s coming to an end.

To say that I was impressed and blown away by it is an understatement, I can safely say it is one of the best flicks I’ve seen in a good while. A classic already (in my book at least), Fences is a masterpiece and a great display of cinematography, great storytelling that flows from one point to the other seamlessly and most of all, includes acting of the highest order. It now makes sense why it’s gotten so much attention, favorable commentary and achieved so much.

Cast – Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen Henderson, Jovan Adepo, Russell Hornsby, Mykelti Williamson & Saniyya Sidney

Director – Denzel Washington

Genre – Drama

Running Time – 2h 19m

I can’t stop singing its praises and to be honest if anyone doesn’t make it a point to see this movie anytime soon, they would be doing themselves a huge disservice. The best movie I’ve seen to date and probably ever. Definitely didn’t disappoint, very far from it, Fences gets an outstanding 4.5 out of 5 rating from me – GO SEE IT NOW!

Genre – Action

Director – David Ayer

Running Time – 123 mins

Was it the biggest movie of the year as anticipated?

Suicide Squad, one of the most anticipated movies of the year and we finally had a chance to see it. This is thanks to Ster-Kenikor who invited us to the official premiere hosted at the recently opened and impressive Mall of Africa. We’ve been to a couple now but nothing quite like this one, the spectacle was packed and just went to show that this was indeed an event and movie not to be missed. But was the movie really worth it and did it live up to the hype?

Interesting to note that production for Suicide Squad started back in 2009, the movie is DC Comics’ biggest bet for the year especially considering what happened with Dawn of Justice, which we personally liked but wasn’t to everyone else’s liking, so yes a lot is riding on it.

Before actually checking it out, we couldn’t help but check out some of the earlier reviews from the international and some of the local guys, to our surprise they were mostly negative. Would that deter us though? No. I specifically believe that those are opinion based, even this post, and we all have different opinions. Truth of the matter is some loved it and some, not so much and some, well, meh. My advice would be to read this sort of stuff for some context but don’t base your decision of whether or not to check something out (a movie in this instance) based solely on posts from ‘critics’. Ehm, ourselves excluded  

Ok, had to get that one out of the way.

But did we like it? Despite a few issues, we can firmly say yes, we did! The plot is based on intelligence officer Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) who decides to assemble a team of dangerous, incarcerated supervillains for a top-secret mission. Figuring it has nothing to lose, the U.S. government supplies weapons to Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) and other despicable inmates. Dubbed the Suicide Squad, the united criminals must defeat a mysterious and powerful entity while contending with the antics of the diabolical Joker (Jared Leto).

When reading all of that it all sounds good right? The director David Ayer certainly does his best to tell what was always going to be a tricky story. But, we couldn’t help but have a bit of an issue with the execution thereof, don’t get us wrong the action sequences (which there’s a ton) and the characters themselves do an excellent job but the story does present one with a few holes and a few questions such as the idea of recruiting these guys even before there’s an immediate threat. Probably just technical stuff which won’t deter you from having fun whilst watching.

What we like is that the movie is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. It’s different, quirky, shameless and just about every other thing you can imagine that’s fun. It’s clear that the main focus is largely on certain characters who turn out to be the best and standout ones. We were pretty impressed with Deadshot, Amanda Waller and especially the quirky, fun and sexy Harley Quinn.

Maybe not quite what we expected originally but Suicide Squad definitely delivers and does the job. We liked it and wouldn’t mind seeing it again. We recommend going to see it and if possible, in IMAX! First time we’ve seen anything in that format, and it’s safe to say that there’s no better way (maybe Prestige) of watching a movie, take our word for it.

Suicide Squad gets an official 3.5 rating from us.