From
"Just Jared"
:
"Gina Rodriguez & Damon Wayans Jr. Premiere New Netflix Movie 'Players' in L.A."
Gina Rodriguez is stepping out for the premiere of her new Netflix movie!
The 39-year-old Emmy-winning actress attended the premiere of Players held on Thursday evening (February 8) at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood in Los Angeles.
Fellow cast members in attendance included Damon Wayans Jr., Joel Courtney, Liza Koshy, and Augustus Prew.
Damon‘s wife Samara Saraiva was also in attendance.
Here’s the synopsis for Players: “A New York sports writer with a playbook of clever hookup schemes unexpectedly falls for a fling. Can she go from playing the field to playing for keeps?”
Players – which also stars Tom Ellis, Ego Nwodim, and Marin Hinkle – debuts on Netflix on Feb. 14.
From
"Hollywood Reporter"
:
"Players Premiere"
Gina Rodriguez, Damon Wayans Jr., Joel Courtney, Augustus Prew and Liza Koshy supported their new Netflix film at the L.A. premiere on Thursday.
From
"Daily Journal"
:
"REEL TALK: 'Jesus Revolution' may not be what you expect"
“Jesus Revolution” isn’t what I expected, and you also might be quite surprised. Based on the true story of the Christian movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Jon Gunn and Jon Erwin adapt Greg Laurie’s book to create an inspirational story that allows viewers to step back in time to discover a ripple of a story that became a tidal wave sweeping across America.
The era, as described by one character in the film, is a “dark and divided place.” While many of us might use that same phrase today, it certainly was fitting in that time period as well.
As the Vietnam War raged on, protests dominated the daily news, and a new generation had blossomed in the form of “hippies.” “Peace not war,” and “Make love, not war,” were commonplace slogans seen everywhere, and women were asserting their independence and equality.
Meanwhile, in San Francisco, Lonnie Frisbee (Jonathan Roumie), a young man with long dark hair and brown eyes embodying the look and demeanor of what many imagine to be Jesus Christ, began to garner attention with his followers. Happening upon the sparsely attended church near Los Angeles led by Chuck Smith (Kelsey Grammar), the two find a common goal and build a new denomination of followers.
This all-inclusive perspective is a new-fangled one and one that will change the destination of not only Smith and Frisbee, but all those close to these leaders.
Just below the surface of the primary story are several ancillary ones that allow us to better know Smith, as well as Frisbee. Smith’s daughter (Julia Campbell), a rebel whose views differ from her father’s, is looking for answers that fit her life’s theories. There’s a sweet love story intermingled between Greg (Joel Courtney) and the girl of his dreams (Anna Grace Barlow), but her father does not approve.
As we watch the story unfold in precisely the way we knew it would, the characters actually evolve and devolve in unexpected ways. With fame, fortune and, most importantly, power, Smith and Frisbee find themselves battling their own demons of ego. The sugar-coated realities quickly dissolve to reveal humans exhibiting their weakness and recognition thereof.
Keeping in mind this is based on a true story and the credits deliver the final tale, Grammer’s and Roumie’s performances create authenticity without disdain as we’ve seen in many other biopics about church leaders. Grammer’s character is looking at retirement just around the corner, but we see a sparkle in his eye as he sees a way to still make a positive difference in the world even if it bucks the norms.
And Roumie’s smile and gaze makes you question his actual identity. To do this, even for a moment, you know you have a meaningful performance.
Directors Erwin and Brent McCorkle are careful to never push the envelope with their actors. To do so would have created an artifice that would have turned off viewers. But under their care, we have an inspirational feel-good movie whose story was as meaningful 50 years ago as it is in today’s world.
From
"MovieWeb"
:
"Jesus Revolution Gets Big Love from Filmgoers Despite Rotten Reviews"
Critics haven't been very kind on Jesus Revolution... but audiences don't care. Directed by Jon Erwin and Brent McCorkle, Jesus Revolution was just released in movie theaters by Lionsgate. Based on true events, the film respectively stars Joel Courtney and Kelsey Grammer as a youth minister and pastor who partner up with teenage hippies in the 1970s to create a spiritual awakening that continues to this day.
Upon its debut, Jesus Revolution was slapped with a rotten score of 56% at Rotten Tomatoes. Some critics, such as our own Julian Roman, found joy in watching the film, with Roman noting in his review that it was "a pleasure to leave the theater with a smile." Bringing the film's score down are others who've been much more critical, with one reviewer calling the film religious "propaganda" and another describing Jesus Revolution as "an average movie at best."
"The intentions are pure enough, but the film suffers from a narrow historical perspective and a muddled narrative focus while trying to push its message," as Cinemalogue's Todd Jorgenson puts it.
Meanwhile, most filmgoers appear to be walking away satisfied after watching Jesus Revolution. The audience score at Rotten Tomatoes is nearly perfect at 99%, a far cry from the 56% rotten rating it got from critics. Better yet, most of these fan ratings come from five-star reviews. It's getting a lot of praise for being "thought provoking," "inspirational," "heartwarming," and "not that junk that usually comes out of Hollywood."
What's more, Jesus Revolution has also been given a rare A+ grade by CinemaScore, which quizzes filmgoers on their opinion upon seeing a new movie. Not very movies manage to rank as high as A+, making this quite the accomplishment for Jesus Revolution. Only two movies grabbed the coveted score last year: Top Gun: Maverick and The Woman King.