Dennis Haysbert – Memphis Flyer

What’s new this weekend? For starters, The Little Mermaid (2023). Including the year is important, because Disney’s latest live-action remake is a new version of the 1989 film which paved the way for the House of Mouse’s animation renaissance. Halle Bailey (not, as I thought, Halle Berry) stars as Ariel, mermaid princess of the undersea kingdom of Atlantica whose love for the human Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) causes her to defy her father King Triton (Javier Bardem) and make a deal with Ursula the Sea Witch (Melissa McCarthy) so she can walk on dry land. Given the sorry state of the Above World, it seems like a big mistake, especially since Ariel has her pick of all those nice fish-boys, but who am I to judge?

Gerard Butler’s latest shoot-’em-up Kandahar takes him to Afghanistan during the American occupation, where he plays a CIA operative who has his cover is blown. He and his translator (Navid Negahban) must evade the war and hit squads to reach their extraction point in, you guessed it, Kandahar. Expect gun violence and monologs about courage and duty delivered through gritted teeth.

Comedian Bert Kreischer, allegedly the real-life inspiration for National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, stars in The Machine as himself in this (presumably heavily) fictionalized version of his life from stories he told in the 2016 Showtime comedy special of the same name. He must escape after being kidnapped by people he pissed off twenty years ago while drunk. Mark Hamill is involved, as is YouTube star Jimmy Tatro. Expect gun violence and funny monologs delivered through gritted teeth. Since this is the Flyer, we’re running the Red Band trailer.

Memphis in May officially ends on Wednesday, May 31 with the Indie Memphis screening of Redha. Director Tunku Mona Riza is from Malaysia, the honoree country for this year’s festival; his film tells the story of Daniel (Harith Haziq), an 8-year-old with severe autism whose mother Alina (June Lojong) fights for his acceptance. In English, the title Redha means “Beautiful Pain.” The screening begins at 7:00 p.m. at Studio on the Square.

June 1 at Crosstown Theater is the 1993 neo-noir Suture, which was largely ignored on release but has gained a cult following due to it’s twisty plot and a crafty lead performance from Dennis Haysbert. Years before Face/Off, Scott McGehee and David Siegel were switching faces and taking names.

They say movie sequels are never better than the original, but Think Like a Man Too undeniably surpasses its predecessor. The sequel picks up where the $90-million-plus-grossing film, Think Like a Man (2012), left off — but in a more entertaining fashion.

Still embodying the witty romance of the first film — inspired by Steve Harvey’s book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man — Think Like a Man Too incorporates high-energy action and teaches a few moral lessons along the way.

The film centers on Michael (Terrence Jenkins) and Candace (Regina Hall), who were introduced in the previous film as “the Mama’s Boy” and “the Single Mom.” After falling for each other the first go-around, Think Like a Man Too highlights their decision to tie the knot.

The couple selects Las Vegas as their location to get hitched, and they invite their friends along for the ceremony. This turns into an unforgettable weekend.

The gang in Think Like a Man Too

All couples introduced in Think Like a Man, including characters played by the likes of Jerry Ferrara, Gabrielle Union, Michael Ealy, Taraji P. Henson, Meagan Good, and Romany Malco, return for this film.

The guys serve as Michael’s groomsmen, and the ladies are Candace’s bridesmaids. However, before any wedding takes place, there are the inevitable pre-wedding festivities the night before. But these festivities don’t go as planned.

On the guys’ end, Cedric (Kevin Hart), identified as the “Happier Divorced Guy” in Think Like a Man, plays the role of Michael’s best man. He’s unquestionably the most entertaining character in the movie, and his story arc is also the most disastrous.

Cedric plans an extravagant weekend for himself and the groomsmen. He rents a bright-colored Lamborghini, reserves a high-priced suite that comes equipped with a swimming pool among other luxuries, and goes on a gambling frenzy.

Things take a turn for the worse once Cedric realizes that he’s maxed out his credit cards. And what he planned to be an unforgettable weekend for Michael transitions into a quest for him to satisfy the hefty tab he’s acquired.

The ladies experience their own whirlwind of escapades as well. Different from their mild performances in Think Like a Man, they’re collectively funny and vibrant in the sequel.

Candace’s arch-nemesis, her husband-to-be’s mother, Loretta (Jenifer Lewis), attempts to make the ladies’ stay in Sin City as sinless as possible. But her plans are derailed when she comes across a smooth-talking gentleman (Dennis Haysbert) and reheats her love life.

After breaking free from their elderly tag-along, the ladies set out on a night that encompasses heavy drinking, partying, edible marijuana, and performing a rendition of Bell Biv DeVoe’s “Poison” at a strip club.

In the end, an unexpected occurrence reconnects the ladies with the guys, threatening all of their freedom and jeopardizing the big day in the process.

Relatively similar in structure to The Hangover, only with romance and a lot more self-censorship, Think Like a Man Too turns out to have a bigger impact than its predecessor and is an overall solid film. Rated PG-13 for some partial nudity, explicit language, and drug usage, it’s obviously not appropriate for the entire family. But, it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re of age and a fan of romanticism meshed with non-stop amusement.