I Opened Up ‘The Book of Clarence’

January 19, 2024

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Book ’em, Clarence (CREDIT: Moris Puccio/Legendary Entertainment/TriStar Pictures)

Starring: LaKeith Stanfield, Omar Sy, Anna Diop, RJ Cyler, David Oyelowo, Michael Ward, Alfre Woodard, Brian Bovell, Teyana Taylor, Caleb McLaughlin, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Eric Kofi-Abrefa, Nicholas Pinnock, James McAvoy, Chase Dillon, Babs Olusanmokun, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chidi Ajufo, Tom Glynn-Carney, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor

Director: Jeymes Samuel

Running Time: 129 Minutes

Rating: PG-13

Release Date: January 12, 2024 (Theaters)

Should The Book of Clarence become a new Easter viewing tradition? In the name of the Father, it might deserve it. So why did it come out in January? I suppose it has something to do with the fact that it’s a weird cinematic beast that TriStar didn’t really know how to promote. To be fair, though, I’m not sure any other studio would’ve known what to do with it. A funkified, unapologetically Black biblical fan fiction doesn’t exactly have a built-in audience. But I’m certainly glad it made its way to the big screen. It’s a vision, it took me on a journey, and it both challenged and restored my faith.

Grade: 3 Resurrections out of 4 Crucifixions

‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ Takes it Worldwide

June 8, 2022

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Jurassic World Dominion (CREDIT: John Wilson/Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment)

Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, DeWanda Wise, Mamoudou Athie, BD Wong, Omar Sy, Isabella Sermon, Campbell Scott, Justice Smith

Director: Colin Trevorrow

Running Time: 146 Minutes

Rating: PG-13 for Intense Dino Chomps

Release Date: June 10, 2022

What would happen if dinosaurs came back to life and then spread out all over the world? Dr. Ian Malcolm would crack jokes about it, you can be sure of that! Of course, that’s what always happens whenever Jeff Goldblum is in a Jurassic Park/World movie, even when the dino habitat is more contained. And that really illuminates how Dominion is just like any other movie in this series. It contains all the typical narrow escapes from T-Rexes and velociraptors, just with some Indiana Jones-style globetrotting thrown in. There’s at least a hint at first that things will be different this time around, as an opening news report seems to indicate that we’re in store for a probing examination about the global consequences of Arrogant Science Run Amok. But instead we mostly get everyone chasing after a MacGuffin. That’s understandable, because the MacGuffin is also one of the main characters. But still, the appeal of Dominion can be boiled down to: A Bigger Scale, But Also Everything is the Same.

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