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movie fans and welcome back to my Channel movie files today we're discussing the new
horror comedy by the name of the blackening which I got the opportunity to check out almost a month
in advance and I'm really excited to let you all know if this film is worth checking out in the
middle of the summer it's surrounded by The Flash the Elementals you know Transformers so is this
film something you should have on your watch list we're going to be discussing that and much more
in today's spoiler-free review but first I want to talk to you all in the comments let me know if
you were looking forward to seeing the blackening and of course once you've seen it did you have a
good time you have a good laugh let me know your thoughts on the film in the comments below so yes
this was a film that when I saw the trailer a few months back I said to myself look that looks funny
as hell but listen we don't get as many comedies nowadays and especially when you get a horror
comedy it's very rare and it's also even more rare to get an all black cast leading the way so I said
to myself that looks funny but did they give too much way in the trailer is it really going to be
that funny when you see it in theaters we're here I'm here to tell y'all I have myself a very good
time with this film and I want to start off by talking about the director of this movie who is
Tim's story now To Be Honest Tim's story is kind of a mixed bag for me as a director on one hand I
really enjoy his films like the barbershop movies you know what he's done with the Think Like a Man
franchise I'm a fan of the first ride along film but then what Tim story does like the studio you
know higher produced films like the Fantastic Four or the shaft remake or that terrible Tom
and Jerry remake on HBO Max few years ago like I said it's a mixed bag but the blackening in his
direction is one of the better films in my opinion because what I think he does in this film so well
that he does in his other good movies he allows the actors to naturally carry the story and in
particularly flow well with the comedy being given to them on top of his style his Direction being a
standout so I really thought that Tim story did a good job of allowing the jokes to run
not too long I didn't feel like he bogged down the story with like unnecessary drama I
was really happy with the direction that we got from some story so kudos to him but now I want
to transition into my favorite element about this film and that is this incredible ensemble cast to
me everyone had a moment to shine every one of the characters had a moment to make the audience laugh
and they just had great chemistry I believe that they were friends again without giving too much
away if you haven't seen a trailer we have a group of friends who went to college together they want
to go on this kind of celebration on Juneteenth in the middle of the woods which is a big No-No
in the first place but they're gathered together and they're being chased by this serial killer
but again I really believe this friendship you believe that they grew up together and I really
love the chemistry in this cast but I will admit there were some standouts in this cast starting
off with Grace Byers who plays Alison now I haven't really been familiar with her work I
know she's done things on Empire the TV show as well as Harlem but this is my first time being
exposed to her and this woman was hilarious man she is biracial in the film and the moments when
she has her Blackness being on display and her whiteness be on display never got old I really
had a good time with her but also I want to talk about ex Mayo at Shanika now she's the friend
that's always down to have fun and she has this purse with her throughout this film and she's she
got everything you need right she's the friend you can lean on and she has some really funny
comedic beats in this film and then my personal favorite of the cast is played by Dwayne Perkins
who is the way in the film co-writer but he's also one of the people a part of the short film
that this movie is based upon and Dwayne just has some of the funniest moments of the film and then
he has like a subplot and might all experience in real life which is you have a friend you grew
up with and you just kind of grow apart right but then you have these moments where you can really
stand up for each other appreciate each other's company so Dwayne was hilarious to me and again
the whole cast was great but those were some of the standouts for me but just some final points
before we get into my criticism with the film I do want to double down on the fact that you
believe these characters would fight for each other and support each other as real friends
the script is so smart and really funny with the modern jokes that I think will have a lasting
effect it also does a great job of tackling the obvious stereotypes within their cultural friend
group and last thing I want to kind of mention is I love how this is kind of the first like really
horror comedy that we've gotten since like scary movie right at least on this kind of Lionsgate
producing it seen in the big screen I'm sure that there's like black lead comedy parodies you know
on like streaming services but as far as like a theatrical experience and again we don't get as
many comedies as we do but like we did in the you know obviously the 80s and 90s early 2000s
like comedy's been kind of bogged out and from being honest a lot of the comments I know comedy
subjective but a lot of them aren't funny to me this ain't one of them this film was hilarious
and I'm a fan of horror parody comedies going back to when I was a teenager growing up with
the scary movie films I really enjoyed that element of this movie and again I just want
to point point out this film is not afraid to have its Blackness on full display is not afraid
to hold back on explaining to the white audience the black experience and there's a joke a running
joke in this film involving the the black Anthem with is just hilarious as well as the the board
game they're playing and playing Spades it's just so many moments that I just had such a
good time with and it is a true crowd pleaser like I saw this with a general audience there
weren't many critics there and it was just a good time a good vibe in the theater but hey it's not
all sudden rainbows there are some criticisms I want to mention to you all starting off with it
is a horror comedy and to me as a horror fan I'm not gonna lie I wish the kills were more creative
because it is a rated R film and it was just a couple bow and arrows being shot at people I
wish it was a little bit more visceral a little bit more bloody uh being a horror fan but also
going to the horror side of it I just wish that it was a little bit more balanced the comedy is
the standout in this movie but again it's a horror fan I just wish it was a little bit more focused
on the horror elements and it was a better a balance between the two different genres but
getting into a kind of in the same vein the killer plot and the reasoning felt a bit predictable to a
certain extent now at the end of the day again it's a horror comedy I know they're poking fun
of it's a very self-aware film and they're also making fun of horror movies but I do wish that the
the Killer and the the reason and why they were doing what they're doing was just a little bit
more creative in that department we'll say handed a little bit differently and lastly when it comes
to the jokes in the first half and just the first half in general as far as the pacing the story
and the setup of it all to me was the weakest element of the film but once things really get
going and we have like our group introduced to the killer that's when the film took off to me
so those are my main Pros those are my main cons before I give you all my overall thoughts and let
you know if you shall see this film in theaters if you stuck around to this point in review I really
appreciate y'all with that being said overall this was definitely a crowd-pleasing film with a lot of
great laughs some really solid Direction in an incredibly likable characters and the cash has
worked on so many levels overall I recommend you all to give the black Lane a watch when it comes
out on June 16th I'm gonna give this film a solid 3 out of five and look again it's surrounded by
The Flash Indiana Jones a couple weeks laters we have Elementals we have Transformers there's a lot
going on this film is coming out so I say all that to say if you get the opportunity to see
it in theaters definitely support the film but if not if you miss out because I know money's tight
it's 19 different movies coming out this month try to give this a watch when it is available on
stream and if you can't enjoy it in the theater so that's my thoughts on the blackening I want
to know y'alls in the comments below what did you like what did you love what were some things that
didn't work for you all let's talk about in the comments below thank you once again for
watching today's review just a friendly reminder before you all leave to consider liking the video
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