(Photo: New Line Cinema)

On this day in 1997, Halle Berry wanted to make audiences laugh again.

Berry, who would go on to win the 2001 Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance inMonster’s Ball, teamed up with actress Natalie Desselle-Reid for the movie B.A.P.S.

The Robert Townsend–directed film featured Berry and Desselle-Reid in the roles of “Nisi” and “Mickey,” two waitresses in Decatur, Georgia, with big dreams of opening the world’s first joint hair salon and soul food restaurant.

Though the film has since become a staple of basic cable and pop-culture folklore, at the time it was widely panned. Noted film critic Roger Ebert gave the film the equally rare and colossally bad rating of zero stars.

In his review, Ebert wrote: “B.A.P.S. is jaw-droppingly bad, a movie so misconceived I wonder why anyone involved wanted to make it.”

His peers seemed to agree, as the film only noted a paltry 13 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

1997 theater-goers were inclined to agree as well. B.A.P.S. was budgeted for $10,000,000 yet only grossed a little more than $7.3 million at the box office.

If nothing else, at least the movie boasted a cameo from Rudy Ray Moore.

(Photo: Emergency Films)

Summary: Jordan Turner (Halle Berry) is a veteran 911 dispatcher.  After hearing a brutal murder, she becomes emotionally involved with a teenager who is kidnapped and is determined to save the girl.

Review: The Call is not a cinematic masterpiece, but formulaic thrillers never are — the most important, after years of indie flicks and flops, Halle returned to number one at the box office, proving the Oscar winner still can deliver a crowd pleaser.

Directed by Brad Anderson, the film maintains suspense, keeps the viewer excited and includes clever plot twists that are interesting enough for the genre. The Call is a movie you want to see in theaters with an animated audience who comment on everything from Halle’s “I’m Your Baby Tonight” Whitney Houston wig to Abigail Breslin’s fighting-for-her-life character to Morris Chestnut still maintaining his sexy at 44. No, The Call won’t be a film we’ll remember five years or even a year from now, but the popcorn flick isn’t meant to rock the souls of viewers, it’s meant to entertain.

Clearly not set out to bring strong performances, but Halle Berry, Abigail Breslin and Morris Chestnut were surprisingly realistic, which helped redeem the flick that could’ve easily got lost down cheese-ball lane. These are character you are routing for and up until the weak ending, The Call keeps you on the thrill ride.

Due to an abduance of clichés, the last 15 minutes nearly ruin the film: walking in dark basements, thinking the villain is dead when he isn’t it and the overzealous hero.  It appeared the writer and director weren’t sure what to do with the characters so they sloppily tied the plot together with a girl-power message. Nonetheless, the ride of The Call is so worth it.

The Call is on DVD June 25.

(Photo: Overbrook Entertainment)

In the early 1970s, Angela Davis was a household name, not for dancing, singing or sports, but for her politics — she was public enemy number one. Davis was an open Communist with ties to the Black Panther Party (never a member, despite reports), intelligent, unapologetic and armed with the most dangerous weapon — knowledge.

Davis’ knowledge was so powerful that she was barred from teaching at any university in the State of California. The Birmingham, Alabama native became a political prisoner after being accused of involvement in the 1970 kidnapping and murder of a California judge. All of the controversy — none of which Davis brought upon herself — made her a global symbol for political prisoners. In the end, she was loved more than she was hated from people of all walks of life.

Directed by Shola Lynch, Free Angela and All Political Prisoners is a superbly executed doc from a political and emotional perspective. This is the first (and probably last) time Davis spoke about her trial, which eventually resulted in the acquittal from an all-white jury in June 1972.

Lynch presents the human side of Davis’ story with candid interviews from Davis, her family and historians. Free Angela is not a doc packed full of social agenda. Lynch goes to the core of Davis’ story, rising above politics. Davis was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitive List and wasn’t always the tough as nails, afro-wearing revolutionary we’ve seen in archival footage. She was a woman in love, on the run, fighting for her life and doubtful of a corrupt justice system. Her journey to freedom is fascinating to watch with the polish and intimacy created by Shola Lynch, who also directed the superb Chisholm ‘72: Unbought & Unbossed.

Most importantly, Lynch showed how Angela Davis ripped the door off the hinges for women and people of color who refuse to crumble under injustice. After watching Free Angela and All Political Prisoners, audiences will walk away rejuvenated, thankful and, surprisingly, proud of their country. Angela Davis’ journey is truly an all-American story. Being an American is not based on religion, race, gender or sexual orientation, it’s the willingness to walk in the legendary footsteps of the icons who fought for our right to exist.

Free Angela and All Political Prisoners opens in select cities on April 5.

(Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

The Intouchables was one of the breakout hits last year, breaking Amelie’s record for highest-grossing international release of a French film. Now, lead actor Omar Sy is set to make his Hollywood debut.

Sy, who played a troubled teen from a rough neighborhood charged with caring for an invalid aristocrat in The Intouchables, is close to booking a role opposite Bradley Cooper in Chef. The project, in which Cooper will play a temperamental chef whose Parisian restaurant loses its Michelin star rating, will be directed by Blue Valentine’s Derek Cianfrance.

The actor has also landed the lead in French drama Chocolat (not to be confused with Johnny Depp’s seminal love story with the same name). The film portrays the life of Rafael Padilla, a former Cuban slave who becomes the first Black entertainer in France’s Belle Epoque era.

Hopefully we’ll see the French actor walk the red carpet at the upcoming Academy Awards, where The Intouchables is nominated for Best Foreign Language Film.

Exactly 16 years ago today, John Singleton’s Rosewood opened nationwide. The Warner Bros. film was Singleton’s fourth movie, and his most political. Previously he earned big hits with urban classics like Poetic Justice and Boyz n the Hood, but Rosewood was far from urban—it was set in the Jim Crow South. The cast included Jon Voight, Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, and Esther Rolle in her last role before she passed.

Rosewood is based on the true story of the January 1923 massacre in Rosewood, Florida. Poor whites in nearby towns were jealous that Rosewood, a primarily Black town, was so prosperous. After word spread of an unsupported allegation that a Black man raped a white woman, angry mobs of whites gathered to destroy Rosewood—and they did. In real life, numerous lynchings occurred (including the cutting off of pieces of dead Black bodies as “souvenirs”), and Rosewood was burned to the ground.

Over 60 years later, CNN reported on the history of Rosewood, which inspired Singleton to turn the Rosewood story into a film.

Unfortunately, Rosewood did not perform well at the box office. The flick only grossed a little over $13 million. Nonetheless, it was an educational and emotional movie that highlighted a piece of ignored history: life in the Jim Crow South.

Check out the vintage trailer below!

(Photo: Warner Bros Pictures)

Summary: A family of sort-of-kind-of witches settle in South Carolina so their teenage girl can transition into “light” or “dark” on her 16th birthday.  But a boy comes along and the two fall in love, which is a n0-no in witch land. Their fate is at risk because teenage love and witchcraft don’t mix.

Review: Teen love fantasy flicks are all the rage. From Twilight to Hunger Games, these movies pull at the heartstrings of young girls and annoy the eyeballs of everyone else outside of the demographic. That said, the first Twilight and last year’s Hunger Games were somewhat enjoyable. Twilight was an accidental phenomenon and Hunger Games‘ commentary on media, fame and class was surprisingly interesting. Based on the book by the same name, Beautiful Creatures clearly wants to be the next teen franchise epic, which makes the Richard LaGravenese-directed film calculated and terribly predictable.

Beautiful Creatures is not the fault of the actors (although the majority of the southern accents are embarrassing) or the cartoon-like special effects, it’s a terrible screenplay that is a toxic mix of Beetlejuice and Mean Girls. From the yawnfest build up to laughable one-liners — “Love is a risk for anybody!” — even if you lower your standards to teen-dream melodrama (similar to Twilight), Beautiful Creatures is far from spellbinding.

The only saving grace is the female lead, Lena (Alice Englert), is not the powerless damsel in distress like Bella Swan from Twilight. She is not giving up her soul for Ethan (Alden Ehrenreich). The message of independence is a bit more palatable. Unfortunately, the film and the actors’ bland chemistry need movie-making magic to create the next Edward and Bella. Of course fans might balk at the Twilight and Beautiful Creatures comparisons, but it’s impossible to not notice the goal for a cash cow.

Acting giants Jeremy Irons, Viola Davis and Emma Thompson give Beautiful Creatures some thespian creditability. Nonetheless, even this trio of screen perfection can’t save a calculated, snooze-inducing and unoriginal heap of film-making. Don’t be surprised if the film doesn’t resonate with its target demographic.

Beautiful Creatures is in theaters today.

(Photo: Universal Pictures)

Summary: Sandy Bigelow Patterson (Jason Bateman) hunts down a crafty criminal (Melissa McCarthy) who steals his identity.  The two form an implausible bond.

Review: Melissa McCarthy is a refreshing “It” girl in Hollywood. She is talented, attractive, but not the norm for Tinsletown. However, the Oscar nominee’s shining star is not immune to a bad movie — which is exactly the result in the annoyingly ludicrous Identity Thief.  As most road trip comedies go, McCarthy and Bateman fight, love, fight again and reconcile with eye-rolling clichés.

An audience must suspend disbelief in most comedies, but Identity Thief was wildly illogical — ruining the film’s handful of chuckles. Directed by Seth Gordon and written by Craig Mazin, it’s one of those films where you scratch your head and whisper to the person next to you, “This doesn’t make any sense. Why don’t they just …” fill in the blank.  For example, McCarthy’s thievery crosses state lines — she resides in Florida and Bateman is in Colorado.  Law enforcement (one being the always smooth Morris Chestnut as Detective Riley) cannot pursue her, so Bateman volunteers to go to Florida (leaving his pregnant wife and two kids behind) to abduct McCarthy with handcuffs and bring her back to Colorado where she’ll magically be inspired to confess.

Why not call the credit card company?  Hire a lawyer?  How would abducting someone across state lines be possible or legal? Oh! And Bateman only has one week to complete the impossible task or his boss will fire him for his deteriorating credit rating (he works in the financial industry and somehow he wasn’t intelligent enough to not give his social security number over the phone to McCarthy, who was fishing for victims).  This is just one example of an unfunny jumble of absurdities.

McCarthy stumbles along with stereotypical big girl shenanigans: loud, eating, hyper-sexual and can’t find a man. Bateman plays his usual — all American family man who is shaken up by an edgy sidekick. While the two work well on-screen, the awful script guts out the comedy. T.I. and Morris Chestnut have disposable roles.

A scoop of one-liners, McCarthy’s likability and the polished comedy chops of Jason Bateman cannot save Identity Thief.  Hollywood is in a comedy recession; making a laughable comedy is as hard as making a scary horror movie.

Identity Thief is in theaters now.

Summary: Sisters are left on their own in a cabin in the woods after their psycho father tries to kill them. A ghost looks after the sisters for five years until they are discovered — so much for a search and rescue team! The ghost, known as Mama, is a bit protective over the little darlings and has a past of her own.

Review: Jessica Chastain is the “It” girl in Hollywood with her award-winning performance in Zero Dark Thirty. However, there is a different Chastain in Mama — an up-and-coming actress in a D-rated horror flick who probably had no idea she would become Tinseltown royalty when signing up for this celluloid yawn-fest. Presented by Guillermo del Toro and first-time director Andres Muschietti, Mama is monotonous ridiculousness.

Channeling the atrociousness of Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, one can tell Mama will be a dud within the first 15 minutes: a crazed daddy, a lone cabin in the snowy woods, a ghost that flies around like a Disney villain and Jessica Chastain’s Carol Brady meets a Mary J. Blige circa 1994 wig. Plus, a disconnected plot of a jealous ghost who attaches herself to two abandoned children.

The disaster of Mama is not any fault of Jessica Chastain — she is barely promoting the film. One can imagine she hopes the movie will quietly disappear as she snags her well-deserved Oscar. But even in this terrible flick, Miss Jessica is still fun to watch. She bounces around as a rock ‘n roll chick and girlfriend of the uncle who finds the disturbed sisters. The trouble with Mama is due to a humdrum script, roll-your-eyes special effects and zero scares. For first-time director Muschietti, hopefully there is more we can see from him — no one could’ve made Mama a good movie and no one should’ve tried.

Unimaginative and far from scary, don’t believe anyone who tells you Mama is worth your money or time.

Mama is in theaters today.

(Photo: Lionsgate)

Summary: A follow-up to the 1974 original (even though there was already a follow-up in 1986), a surviving infant of Leatherface’s kin doesn’t know she is related to the family of serial killers. After they all die off, Heather (the beautiful Alexandra Daddario) is now a teenager who is left a massive mansion with only the sadistic Leatherface — her cousin — still kicking. Will Leatherface accept his lil’ cousin and her teen-dream friends or will they get the iconic chainsaw?

Review: Texas Chainsaw 3D is the sixth installment of Leatherface in drag and the absolute worst: illogical plot, bland scares and trite horror flick shenanigans. The pretty people in crisis bounce around in midriffs, boobs jiggling, booties shaking and repeatedly falling while being chased by the chainsaw-yielding madman — if Leatherface were a real person he would chainsaw through any movie studios that tried to give this battered franchise another reboot. Out of respect for all horror fans — leave The Texas Chainsaw Massacre alone!

There is no way to reinvent the story — it has been massacred of any horror movie fun. Actually, the plot of Texas Chainsaw 3D might’ve functioned better if it wasn’t attached to the franchise. Clearly, the creators tried to satisfy the necessities of being connected to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which only resulted in farfetched twists and unexplainable plot holes. For example, if this is the sequel to the 1974 original, then how can the surviving infant be a perky-bosomed gal in her early twenties with horny BFFs? She would be nearly 40!

Texas Chainsaw 3D is Tremaine “Trey Songz” Neverson’s debut film and he gives fans what they want when he pulls a Taylor Lautner and is shirtless in his first scene. Ignoring the bad movie, the “Neighbors Know My Name” singer is a solid actor.  It was wise to get his feet wet in a comfortable supporting role — even if the film is a dud.  There will be more to come from Mr. Songz on the big screen.

That said, Texas Chainsaw 3D is pointless, atrocious on every level and gives horror films a bad name.

Texas Chainsaw 3D is in theaters today.

This year in film focused on epics (Lincoln, Cloud Atlas, Les Misérables) with movies clocking in nearly three hours yet not saying much. That could be why this was a rough 12 months at the box office. However, there were a handful of memorable movies, which may have took some digging to find.

Check out my fourth annual list for the best films of 2012 (click on the quote to go directly to the review).

10. Beasts of the Southern Wild

(Photo: Courtesy Court 13 Productions)

“The film with the biggest heart of 2012. ”

9. Flight

(Photo: Paramount Pictures)

“Cinematically, the best moment is a terrifying plane crash scene that is sure to haunt frequent travelers.  What Psycho did for motel showers is what Flight will do for the ‘friendly’ skies.”

8. Argo

(Photo: Warner Bros Pictures)

“Directed and starring Ben Affleck, this is J.Lo’s ex (sorry, I couldn’t resist) at his film-making  best. Slick, polished and enough suspense to keep viewers interested, Argo deserves accolades this awards season yet is still accessible to the average audience.”

7. Bully

(Photo: Sundance Institute Documentary Fund)

“An intense examination of bullying from the perspective of the victims.”

6. Middle of Nowhere

(Photo: Forward Movement Pictures)

“A heartbreaking but teachable story about love and the morbid sacrifices we make to find it.  If you walk out of Middle of Nowhere with no feeling then you are missing some soul.”

5.  The Paperboy

(Photo: Benaroya Pictures)

“The Paperboy will get the respect it deserves years later. One day, film schools will dissect the movie and marvel at the flick’s wondrous deconstruction of race, gender and class.”

4. Marley

(Photo: Cowboy Films)

“Marley will go down in cinematic history as one of the greatest music documentaries of all time. The first must-see movie of 2012.”

3. How to Survive a Plague

(Photo: Public Square Films)

“A brilliant blueprint on how to spark a revolution. The activists who were highlighted in this film are American heroes to us all — gay, straight, black, white, male or female.”

2. The Central Park Five

(Photo: Florentine Films)

“The execution of the story is flawless, detailing an injustice that jailed innocent men who only got media attention when they were labeled criminals — not when they were proven to be innocent.  The documentary is fascinating yet sobering to watch. Well over 20 years since the incident, the film’s story is unfortunately still relevant.”

1. Django Unchained

(Photo: Columbia Pictures)

“Django Unchained thunders across the big screen as a fireball of celluloid flawlessness. I will not argue the trite debate whether the film is or isn’t that hot-button word: racist. Racism is The Central Park Five, the execution of Troy Davis and wannabe cops who “stand their ground” to unarmed Black boys — not a Hollywood film, which is meant for entertainment and includes some of the most respected and intelligent Black actors of today. Quentin Tarantino’s greatest work since Pulp Fiction and, undoubtedly, the best film of 2012.“