Dolemite is my Name

This new film, which just dropped on Netflix, tells the story of Rudy Ray Moore, who created a famous stand-up comedy character named "Dolemite."


The film begins with Eddie Murphy, who plays Moore, working in a record store. He does gigs at a local comedy club, but has no success doing his set. He was once a musician, but did not see success in that as well. Hegoes to his boss in the record store, played by Snoop Dogg, and tries to get a deal to record some of the music he'd written. His boss blows him off, and basically tells him to get back to work.

He and his friend Theodore, played by Titus Burgess, work in the record store together, and deal with the challenges of retail work, including kicking out patrons who come into the store while intoxicated. It's in one of these encounters that Rudy gets a brilliant idea-to create a character to perform stand up comedy. He seeks out the drunk patron he kicks out daily, in an effort to resource material for his stand-up character. Rudy then creates the character "Dolemite" after one of the stories the drunk patron tells.

The next time he performs at the comedy club, Moore performs the Dolemite character, which he has created to look like a pimp. In other gigs at the club, he barely got a yawn. This time, with a new set of material and a new character to perform, he's a hit!! He then begins to record his comedy sets, which he then sells at the record store he works at. It's all uphill from there.

Before watching this film, I thought the most profane film I had watched in my life was "Straight Outta Compton." This movie might be as equally as profane. That being said, this movie brilliantly shows the power of creation, the fortitude in pursuing a dream, and perseverance. And more importantly: if there's something you want to do, don't let anyone ever tell you no.

Also starring Wesley Snipes, Keegan Michael Key, Mike Epps, Craig Robinson and Da'Vine Joy Randolph, now in theaters and on Netflix, 5 enthusiastic stars.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle

This movie is set in a specific time yet not in a specific time at all-it appears to be around World War II, shortly before it, during it, or just after it.

The movie tells the story of two cousins, Mary Catherine Blackwood (nicknamed "Merricat) and Constance Blackwood who live in the home, along with their uncle Julian. They live apart from the rest of the town in their mansion on the outskirts of town. They live in isolation, completely apart from everyone else.

The family has always been a pariah for the entire town; the residents fear the Blackwoods and call them witches. You see, Merricat's parents met an untimely end in the home, which the town folk suspect was murder.

The house is frozen in time since the deaths. Daily life continues ad nausea, with only Merricat's weekly trip to the general store in town for groceries to break up the week.

Life continues on for Merricat, Constance, and Julian, who are trying to rebuild their lives after the deaths. Every day is the same as the last, until their long lost cousin Charles returns to the Blackwood home, in an endeavor to obtain the inheritance from the recent deaths.

The movie feels like a horror movie or ghost story, like "The Others" or "The Haunting", and removed from time like "Edward Scissorhands."

This was one of the most boring movies I've watched in months. As I watched all of it, and didn't turn it off 30 minutes in, which I should have done, I am writing this review. Do yourself a favor and skip this movie on the Netflix menu.

Now streaming, 1 star.

Steal a Pencil for Me

This documentary accompanies a book by the same name, which tells the true story of Jaap and Ina Polak, two married Holocaust survivors.

At the beginning of the war, Jaap was married to another woman, Manja. They had drifted apart in their affection for one another; they mutually decided to stay married until the end of the war.

Ina met Jaap and his wife Manja before the war at a dinner party. Ina could tell that theirs was a loveless marriage, and pined for Jaap from afar.

At the beginning of the war, Jaap was an accountant who helped Jewish families hide their fortunes from the Nazis.

When the Nazis began to collect all of the Jews, Jaap and his wife Manja were taken to the Westerbork concentration camp. Ironically, so was Ina. While in the camp, Jaap was the principal of a make-shift school. At this point, he began to write Ina letters. They corresponded together for months if not years, sometimes with the knowledge of his wife Manja.

Sometime later, Jaap and Manja were transferred to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Ina was placed on the Auschwitz transfer list; however, in a second stroke of fate, she too went to Bergen-Belsen. Jaap and Ina’s love affair began anew, constantly writing letters to one another.

What happened to Jaap and Manja and Ina after the war? How did Jaap and Ina find one another, and end up a married couple?

To find out how their story ends, watch “Steal a Pencil for Me”, now streaming on Netflix, 3 stars.