Movie Review: 'Tyler Perry's Temptation' (4 out of 5) (And why I'm not mad at this plot)

04/07/2013

0 Comments

 
I avoid spoilers in my reviews, but it's almost impossible to do this without saying why I appreciated the movie. So don't read anything in blue because it's all SPOILERS. But before I do that, let's get this out of the way. Tyler Perry pretty much sticks to the same formula and plot for every movie. Someone is either molested, raped or attacked (sometimes 2 out of 3 or all three), there's a drug user, someone is thinking of cheating or did cheat, someone is pretty loud and obnoxious telling jokes and there will be model-pretty/handsome people included who show skin. This movie was no different. So if you're mad at this film because it fit this formula, you should've stopped watching Tyler Perry movies and plays long ago.

I wanted to see the film because I'm a long-time supporter of Jurnee Smollett-Bell (favorite film of hers is "Great Debaters" but I liked her in lighter films like "Roll Bounce" and still remember her sitcom with the rest of her siblings). I also think Lance Gross is absolutely gorgeous, enjoyed him on "House of Payne" and admired him for keeping his word to his fans. I had zip zero interest in Kim Kardashian's role in the film but I wasn't mad she was in the film either. I just didn't care.

The previews of the film leave no room for wondering what the plot is about. The wife Judith (Smollett-Bell) feels left out and isn't getting enough attention from her husband Brice (Gross). Meanwhile a rich start-up technology client Harley (Robbie Jones) comes along and makes her wonder if the grass is greener on the other side. Meanwhile a new retail employee Melinda (Brandy Norwood) is hired at Brice's pharmacy and has a checkered past. Whatever you think her checkered past is will probably be true. Now watch these folks mingle.

Read More
Add Comment
 

HIV awareness: Red Ribbon Express train and more test news

08/20/2012

0 Comments

 
My website has made it more than obvious that I'm a big advocate of safe sex and STD/STI testing. I don't think people take it seriously enough. There's a whole lot of blabbering about it, but when it comes to taking action, people don't. So I'm sharing some recent news I have about the topic.

1. Although BEHIV closed in 2011 (very disappointing because I enjoyed writing about them: Article 1, Article 2, Article 3, Article 4), the Walgreen's on 75th & State is still doing free HIV/AIDS tests. The other Walgreen's participating in the CDC program stopped in June. There's also a location at Erie Family Health Center that does free rapid HIV/AIDS testing at 2751 W. North Ave., between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

2. I'm a few weeks late, but I created this gallery on the Trib's site about India's awareness initiative when they went to 23 states and 162 districts to talk about HIV/AIDS. I think Chicago should do something like this with the Metra and CTA trains.

3. Interesting (but depressing) article I prepped for the Trib's health page: "Infections among homeless could fuel wider epidemics: study"

4. I would be all for this test being mandatory. Check out another article I prepped for the Trib's site: "U.S. health panel likely to make HIV tests routine" (I was looking for an alternate location for annual testing for myself and a friend -- no point in preaching about testing if you won't participate, too -- and it was entirely too difficult to find a spot. Planned Parenthood charges $30 for those who are uninsured. Blew my mind because with health insurance, it's only $15 for lab tests. And for those who are hurting for money, both prices are steep so I want to make sure to get the word out about Walgreen's, which I called and they said they'd be testing for at least another year. Take a friend. Know your stats.

5. Jeff Johnson had a really interesting radio discussion today on marriage and he retweeted my tweets about whether people should wait before having sex. I listened to his radio show for the first time today (I usually just follow on Twitter). I really liked his news program and now that I've heard his radio show, I'll be a regular listener and you should, too. Click here for the Sunday show from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. CT.

1st tweet retweeted (3 times): Click here to read it.
2nd tweet retweeted (6 times): Click here to read it.


Add Comment
 

Natural hair vs. Permed hair: Worry more about your health, dammit!

07/28/2011

6 Comments

 
I had a debate on Facebook that went from being civil to completely ignorant with one user, and while I won't focus on how the forum did not go the way I originally planned it, it's still on my mind. So, I'm going to voice my opinion about how I feel about the topic of hair and health here where I can do it without somebody testing my patience. Of course comments are always welcome.

The original comment was from a user who mentioned someone saying something offensive about her natural hair. My mother wears her hair naturally and I like it. My brother does, too, and I like his. I can see the beauty in natural hair as well as relaxed hair, and I unapologetically have no desire to not have a perm. It's a preference. But I thought the comment that was made to the person who started the forum was dumb. There's absolutely no logic in insulting someone for the way she chooses to wear her hair. If she likes it natural, she's not bothering you. If I like mine relaxed, I'm not bothering anybody either. But I made a couple points:

#1 I'm running into women who wear their hair naturally who somehow have convinced themselves they have the golden key to happy life, like women with relaxers are somehow lost and don't accept ourselves.

#2 I'm really getting tired of sistas spending so much time worried about their hair. I wish this type of energy would be focused on our health. I've seen too many women with beautiful hair and their health (sexual health, diet, blood pressure) are shot to shit.
6 Comments
 

Florence Henderson got crabs, my take on safe sex

06/25/2011

0 Comments

 
Updated 6/27/2011

Sometimes people are a little surprised that I don't like erotica fiction. Never have, never will. I think too much of it is for shock value and using nicknames for private parts over and over again and giving in-depth details about who is doing what in a sex scene is a waste of space to me. So why are people surprised that I don't like erotica fiction? Because I'm quick to talk about safe sex in raw detail. Before I go into why, I do want to point out that I'm not against sex scenes in a book. I just cringe through sex scenes about characters I don't know. I can't stand opening a book and there's a sex scene in the first paragraph. I have another reason, too, but it involves a graphic scene in a ghostwriting project that I thought was absolutely repulsive. If I gave away that scene, you'd know the book (maybe) so I won't. But I will say I think sex scenes in books should be done tastefully, and we should actually know the characters and be excited they're doing "the grown" because we're invested in the characters. I also think it wouldn't hurt if books mentioned safe sex and STDs more. (No, I'm not about to go into a promo about "Round Trip.")
Add Comment
 

Digital Death: Keep a Child Alive

12/05/2010

0 Comments

 
Update 12/7/2010: After seeing how many people were also going Digitally Dead I wondered, "If all of these people participating would join, wouldn't we all raise the $1 million ourselves?" I decided to cancel my Digitally Dead promise and just donate myself. I donated to Alicia Keys and then Swizz Beatz. I could've gone without Facebook, but I'd have missed Twitter. However, I felt more satisfied to just donate instead of not use the social networking sites where I try to link to stuff that I think we should know about anyway (outside of my random ramblings). You can still donate to the link below if you like though. I still support donating to the organization.

Shamontiel Vaughn sacrificed her digital life to help save millions of real lives affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and India. That means no more Facebook or Twitter updates from her until enough money is raised to buy her life back. Shamontiel joined Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz in sacrificing their digital lives to fight HIV/AIDS. Donate $1 or more by visiting this link: http://bit.ly/hEl6pV #buylife
Add Comment
 

Let's talk about sex, World AIDS Day is coming Dec. 1

11/28/2010

2 Comments

 
I've reached out to friends, family, readers, strangers and students. I've volunteered for events with awareness groups like BEHIV, covered HIV/AIDS Awareness events on college campuses and am quick to tell a person I'm dating about safe sex. I'm not the person who shies away from the topic of STDs nor am I the person who will hesitate to ask if a guy has been tested for HIV/AIDS. But what I've found in my journey is I spent so much time talking about HIV/AIDS that I didn't pay enough attention to the most common STD--HPV. This one is so crazy that over 50 percent of sexually active people can get it while using condoms. The only upside is 90 percent of people who get it can fight it from their natural immune system (according to CDC), but that's still a helluva thought. Imagine being safe every time and then walking into your gynecologist's office or your doctor's office to find out you have an STD, but you've taken every precaution outside of abstinence.

Well, if you don't know about HPV, I'm here to tell you about that and give you more tips on safe sex and sex in relationships. Please visit each and every link when you get the chance.

2 Comments