After Lifetime's failed Brittany Murphy and Aaliyah biopics, many have understandable doubts Angela Bassett-directed biopic of the late great Whitney Houston. However, the official trailer for Whitney may just change your mind!

Lifetime has released the clip for the biopic, which stars Yaya DaCosta. Yaya is giving it EVERYTHING SHE HAS in this movie! The trailer showcases Whitney and ex-husband Bobby Brown's volatile relationship, including their fights and drug use. I LOVE Yaya as an actress, and she isn't disappointing at all. I'm actually excited now and can almost breathe a sigh of relief.

Whitney premieres on Saturday, January 17, 2015 on Lifetime. Check out the trailer below!



What do you think of the trailer? Will it be a hit or huge miss like the Aaliyah biopic?

Image via Buzzfeed

8:44:00 AM

Last night was a flashback to the late 80s and early 90s with Lifetime's The Unauthorized Saved By The Bell Story! This story was based off Dustin Diamond's (Screech) own book, Behind The Bell, a behind the scenes look at the show. I was excited to watch, even though I had my doubts just looking at the cast. I didn't technically "grow up" on Saved By The Bell (I was only 3 when the show ended), but I remember watching it as a kid, when reruns were on TBS every morning at 7 am. That's how I spent my summer mornings, at my Nana's house, watching the gang at Bayside High.

The movie showed how the show was developed, for those who didn't already know. The show, at first, wasn't even supposed to be about the students. It was supposed to be based on the teachers, starting as Good Morning Miss Bliss. The show was based in Indiana and shown on the Disney Channel, but was quickly cancelled after just one season. It was eventually brought back to NBC and revamped to be about the kids, and the setting was moved to California. However, though the live audience loved them, the reviews were terrible when the show first premiered. Unfortunately, the ratings weren't great at NBC either, and they were cancelled again. However, more and more kids started talking about the show and watching, and the show was given another chance, eventually going global!
Behind the scenes, the actors struggled being teens in Hollywood, managing their money, fame, and success, specifically Dustin, who felt like an outcast during the show, which eventually lead him to alcohol and weed. However, there were great things done too, like the cast fighting for serious issues involving teens like drug abuse, drunk driving, and more. And yes, the development of Jessie's "I'm So Excited" scene was shown too. We see relationships develop, specifically Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Lark Voorhies, who dated for a while during the show's history.

There were quite a few aspects I didn't like, though. I get that this was Dustin's story, but it was too centered around him. It seemed like we were supposed to feel sorry for him a little bit, which I'm not. Having him actually be the narrator just seemed off, especially since we always knew Zach Morris (Mark-Paul) But this was his story. That's why it's "unauthorized." The story seemed to merely scratch the surface on what was going on behind the scenes.  The fashion and little details about Bayside High were off (for example, at the end, during the graduation scene when the cast wore blue, but the colors were definitely maroon/burgundy...I'm picky about things like that). The casting seemed a little off too, especially in terms of appearance. Dylan Everett (Mark-Paul/Zach) was too short, and Julian Works (Mario Lopez/Slater) didn't do Mario justice at all, though he did sound a lot like him. Again, probably me being picky, but things like that stand out to me.

Being a huge fan of the show, a lot of this stuff wasn't anything that I hadn't heard before. It was cool to see it come to life on screen, but it was still really dry. Like I said, it was so Dustin-centric, it was a little dull. I'm sure there was a lot more behind the scenes going on, but it didn't get a lot of focus, because we were so worried about Dustin. It was one of those movies that was cool for what it was, but it wasn't all that great. I think more could've been done, but that's just me.

I give it ★★★☆☆ (3 stars).

5:31:00 AM

Steel Magnolias is a classic in the film industry! The 1989 original, starring acting veterans Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, and Julia Roberts, along with Dolly Parton, Olympia Dukakis, and Darryl Hannah. I'm not going to give a whole recap of the movie, but for those of you who have never seen the original or the remake, it's about six women who are all close friends who share in the ups and downs of each other's lives down in Louisiana. The film is filled with laughter and love, and well as tears and pain. With all of the great reviews about the film, t honestly only made sense that one day, someone would want to make a remake.

And here we are, 23 years later, with a remake from director Kenny Leon. When the news of the remake came out about a year ago, and I heard that it was with an all African-American cast (starring some of my favorite black actresses like Queen Latifah, Phylicia Rashad, and Alfre Woodard, along with Jill Scott, Adepero Oduye, and Phylicia's daughter, Condola Rashad), I was beyond excited!

Some spoilers may be ahead.





The reviews were mixed among the Twitterverse, with some saying it was terrible, others loving it, and many saying that it was just...ok. Though I (along with mostly everyone who's seen the first one) was bound to compare it to the original, I went in really excited about this remake! And I was determined not to let my intense love for the original get in the way of reviewing this. I knew that it wouldn't be like the original (remakes almost never top their predecessor), but I was disappointed. I thought it was ok, but it still fell short a lot of times.

Now, like I said before, this was a movie that I was excited about when I first heard about it. I knew that it would be modernized (this is 2012, so if anybody was expecting that old southern feel from the original, who were you really kidding?) I wasn't too shocked to hear the Wobble at Shelby's wedding reception, or hear the actors talk about Facebook or Beyoncé. Also not not shocked that the movie cut some of the scenes, putting lines into other parts of the movie. Lifetime movies don't typically go over two hours with commercials and the original is that length. Figured they would add in scenes too to add in a little more perspective from the characters (and they did that plenty!).

However, the scenes were just rushed, with a lot of the lines emotionlessly and quickly spit out like they were just going through a run through on set! As a result, jokes throughout the movie weren't as funny. It didn't feel like there were any real connection between the actors other than between Phylicia and Alfre as friends Clairee and Ouiser, but especially not between Queen Latifah and Condola (who played mother-daughter pair M'Lynn and Shelby). That was the most important relationship! Though Condola's performance was actually very natural and great to me, Queen Latifah seemed distant when it came to her, which was important since M'Lynn and Shelby were so close! I can only truly praise half of the main cast--Condola, Phylicia and Alfre (who was the most comedic part of the whole movie).

Though I was sitting down and watching closely, I honestly wasn't that connected as the movie went on until towards the end when Queen Latifah acted out Sally Field's famous breakdown (though still a little forced and ) after Shelby passed, and Clairee offered up Ouiser for M'Lynn to hit! That scene always gets me emotional, but still laughing and happy at the end as the ladies celebrate Shelby's life, and stand strong for each other. But in fact, the whole of the original had me dying laughing, because it was so natural and the chemistry was so great, and this one wasn't. Overall, it was just...a movie. Just a story that I didn't connect to until the part where you couldn't help but be emotional because a main character had just died. I did love how the movie ended with a short monologue from Shelby, ending with her famous line of "I would rather have 30 minutes of something wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special," showing that Shelby had no regrets about dying because she gave birth to a beautiful son, and her legacy lives on.

Now, let me say this too. Many were saying online that African Americans ought to support and not bash the film because we as a culture don't have many opportunities like this in the entertainment industry, which is true. And I do try to support the opportunities we do have, especially as leads on movies and tv series. HOWEVER, I'm not going to just say that a movie is great simply because it has a film full of people who look like me. I judge a film based on the emotions conveyed, if the story really shines onscreen, especially when it's a remake of a movie that I love to death! Even with Lifetime movies, there are some where my eyes are GLUED to the TV because they're so good. I got bored with this one, which hurts to say, because I was so excited for this. I have to be honest and give an average grade with a B-/C+. I commend the director and the cast for the effort, and for making it their own, but it just didn't stand out to me.

How did you feel about the remake? Sound off below!

Image via USA Today

6:00:00 AM