You Don't Want To "Meet The Blacks"

Meet The Blacks (2016) 

Rated R

Starring Mike Epps, Zulay Henao, Gary Owen, Bresha Webb, Lil Duval, Paul Mooney, Charlie Murphy

Directed by Deon Taylor

The Story:

Carl Black (Epps) takes some newfound money and moves his family from Chicago to Beverly Hills. Of course, now that they are there, they are subject to the annual purge ritual that is going to take place that evening.

Good luck.

That's my advice also, if you plan on streaming this one on Netflix.

I gave it a try, but it's just painfully unfunny.

I think I struggled to get to the 20 minute mark, waiting for something, anything of interest to happen to make me want to stick around and see what might happen next.

If it was supposed to be a parody or satire of the Purge movies, I'll never know.

I decided to purge it myself.

Final Grade: F-

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A Work Of Fiction...Or Is It? "True Memoirs Of An International Assassin"

True Memoirs of an International Assassin (2016)

TV-14

Starring Kevin James, Zulay Henao, Ron Rifkin, Kim Coates, Maurice Compte, Andrew Howard, Yul Vazquez, Andy Garcia, Rob Riggle, Leonard Earl Howze, Katie Couric

Directed by Jeff Wadlow

The Story:

When Sam Larson (James) has his first book published, one minor change leads his tale of assassin Mason Carver from the works of fiction to an autobiographical triumph. The problem? People assume he is indeed "The Ghost" and he is suddenly thrust into a web of international intrigue where he is expected to be the assassin he has written about.

The latest Netflix Original, Jeff Wadlow brings a humorous touch to an action film... or an action touch to a comedy and adds his own fun spin to the "fake spy" genre.

He's aided with a wonderful cast that is led by James as the writer turned assassin who calls upon his knowledge to get him out of the sticky situations that he finds himself in once he's been kidnapped.

It doesn't hurt that he gets some help from an undercover DEA agent (Henao) to try and keep him out of trouble.

There's also a great CIA duo (Riggle & Howze) who watch Larson at work and can't decide if he's a real assassin or really going to die, and they spend most of the movie wagering on his survival.

So, if you've enjoyed Kevin James films in the past, you're going to like this one.

He's well received around these parts and while it didn't measure up with Here Comes the Boom or the first Paul Blart movie, it was definitely worth a watch.

Final Grade: C+ / B- range