OBSESSED

A Friday Matinee review

It's no secret that Grandma J loves nothing under God's heaven more than my little JJ going to a Friday matinee. This week there wasn't much to choose from. No chic flicks, no musicals except Hannah Banana, nothing in 3-D. Not even one new movie about security guards going wacko in a maul mall. So, not wanting to see a fight movie or violence, Grandma J decides to see Obsessed, because it has a boat load of suspense...and it's share of violence and fighting.


Derek Charles (Idris Elba), and his beautiful wife, Sharon (Beyonce Knowles), have finally "made it". After years of hard work, Derek earns a position as VP in his firm. The Charles' move into their new home in an upscale suburb of LA with their two year old son, and Sharon has plans to go back to school to get her degree. Life is good, and the Charles family couldn't be happier......we know this is gonna change,right?


The morning after moving into their dream home, Derek Charles has a chance encounter in the elevator with Lisa (Ali Larter), a temp who has been assigned to his firm. It turns out, Derek's assistant is out sick, and Lisa is his temp. He is a bit playful and friendly, something Lisa will take full advantage of.


Now, it seems Derek has a history of dating his assistants....in fact Sharon had been his assistant, and the deal was, he would only have male assistants once they got married and Sharon quit working for the firm.


When Sharon visit's Derek at work, Lisa barges in to Derek's office and introduces herself.


Lisa immediately crosses the lines of propriety and accesses personal files and information about Derek and his daily routine. This takes him by surprise, and he questions how she knows so much. It turns out she has been in contact with the sick male assistant, who upon his return to work becomes friends with Lisa.....yes Lisa stays on for a while as a temp, filling in for another assistant.


Her predatory aggressiveness starts to bother Derek, but he doesn't want to make waves since nothing has actually happened. The more he avoids her, the more she happens to be everywhere.


The stalking continues at the company Christmas party, where no spouses are allowed, and things get nasty. As time goes by, the stalking continues to escalate, and eventually, Derek's position in the firm is put in jeopardy, his marriage is crumbling, and he comes close to criminal accusations.


The Charles' find a family picture in their home with Sharon's head cut out of it.


The culmination of this suspenseful movie.....ala Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction, is when the focus switches to the two women....Sharon vs. Lisa unleashed.

I like the movie. Of course Beyonce didn't sing, but I thought her performance was good.



I give this movie 4 ½ chandeliers.

Friday Matinee on Friday ...

...is quite unique around here lately. But Grandma J likes to stick to tradition whenever possible.

I'm changing things up a bit. I'm going to see a suspense thriller!

OBSESSED

Yeah, hard to believe, right? But Beyonce is in it, and I know she'll break from the original script and sing "At Last" for Grandma J, just like she did in Cadillac Records.

Check back later for my review.

Cadillac Records

This movie is based on a true story of a record label that brought Southern soul, and rhythm and blues into the mainstream.

Cadillac Records founder, Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody) , a polish immigrant starts with nothing but a dream, and a belief in the talents of Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright), a Mississippi sharecropper.

As the Chess record label grows, and mainstream DJs play this new popular music, Leonard gets Muddy a Cadillac....a symbol of success. This becomes the prize for all the rising stars at Chess Records that have a hit record.

The cast grows with Columbus Short playing Little Walter, Cedric the Entertainer playing Willie Dixon, Mos Def as Chuck Berry, and of course Beyonce as Etta James.

The story line was a bit broken up and didn't have a good flow Chuck Berry brought the label even further into mainstream with his new style...Rock and Roll.They all lived high on the hog, drank a lot, drugs, flashy jewelry.

The music was well worth seeing this movie again.

The Etta James portion of the story was too far into the movie. I kept wondering when she would be discovered. When she finally burst on the scene she was wonderful. I was hoping for more of her than they showed.

Actually, there was way too much to squeeze into one story....each of these music icons is worthy of their own movie. Like Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters.

I give this movie five 45's! It's all about the music Baby!