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FILM REVIEW: Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Robbie and her zany character are the soul of this endeavor. If nothing else, she is supremely animated, like she’s on her 10th espresso of the day and it’s only 9am. You can’t take your eyes off of her and her antics. The rest of the cast is pretty juiced too. Perez’s many faithful fans will follow her into any fire. Here, she’s almost as fun to watch as she was in the hilarious Pineapple Express. Smollett, Winstead, Basco and McGregor are fine.

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Rosie Perez, mary Elizabeth Winstead, Margot Robbie, Ella Jay Bsco and Jurnee Smollett Bell in Birds of Prey

By Dwight Brown, NNPA Newswire Film Critic

She was the Joker’s ladyfriend. Now she’s on her own. DC comic book fans will want to follow the morally challenged Harley Quinn as she creates new chaos. Will others join them?

Just four years ago, Harley and other incarcerated villains were recruited by a secret government agency to become the Suicide Squad (critically panned film but did $746M at worldwide box office). That task force was created to stop the world from destruction. Now, the very manic and merrily pig-tailed vixen  has gone rogue. Dumped the boyfriend. Blowing up stuff for no reason at all. Cheating folks, starting fights and causing mayhem.

Margot Robbie in Birds of Prey

Margot Robbie in Birds of Prey

Harley refocuses when a substantial bounty is placed on a 13-year-old girl’s (Ella Jay Basco) head. The teenager is in possession of a large, coveted diamond. Save the child or collect the money? She wrestles with what little conscience she has as she figures out what to do.

Meanwhile, Harley is pursued by a cop, Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), from the Gotham City Police Department. She hooks up with a singer/chauffeur Dinah Lance/Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Friday Night Lights) and is aided by a crossbow expert Helena Bertinelli/The Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, TV’s Fargo). She and these Birds of Prey are up against the meanest most bloodthirsty man in Gotham, nightclub owner Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor, Trainspotting and TV’s Fargo) and his henchman Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina, Argo).

Rosie Perez in Birds of Prey

Rosie Perez in Birds of Prey

Robbie and her zany character are the soul of this endeavor. If nothing else, she is supremely animated, like she’s on her 10th espresso of the day and it’s only 9am. You can’t take your eyes off of her and her antics. The rest of the cast is pretty juiced too. Perez’s many faithful fans will follow her into any fire. Here, she’s almost as fun to watch as she was in the hilarious Pineapple Express. Smollett, Winstead, Basco and McGregor are fine.

The cast’s fate is left in the hands of the director and the screenwriter, who capture a zany comic book feel that is near-perfect for the R-rated superhero genre, but not quite extraordinary. Director Cathy Yan’s approach to the material is completely competent and energetic. Cartoonish letters and subheads appear on the screen, giving footage some visual fun. She knows how to gin up the cast’s performances and gives the film a very jumbled tone that remains consistent throughout.

Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Margot Robbie in Birds of Prey

Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Margot Robbie in Birds of Prey

The clunkyish sets (production design by K.K Barrett, The Goldfinch; set decoration Jennifer Lukehart and Florencia Martin) are comical too, but not supremely dazzling. The cinematography (Matthew Libatique, A Star Is Born) captures everything, including fight scenes in slow motion. You may wish the fisticuffs and gun battles were either more original or ingeniously choreographed, like in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. A stronger stunt coordinator could have lifted the pugilism up a level to the mind boggling category.

Margot Robbie, Chris Messina and Ewan McGregor in Birds of Prey

Margot Robbie, Chris Messina and Ewan McGregor in Birds of Prey

The script by Christina Hodson (Bumblebee) puts all the characters into play and gives them some fun things to say, peppered with enough curse words to stir up the target audience of adolescents. Quinn: “…you’re that singer that no one listens to.” Black Canary: “You’re the ass—- no one likes.” The dialogue isn’t bitchy; it’s just that the squad likes to bitch at each other. The screenplay, direction and pacing (editors Jay Cassidy, Evan Schiff) would have benefited greatly if a decision had been made to frontload the beginning intermittently with strong action sequences and less setup. It’s a good 40 minutes before any significant and engaging skirmish appears.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead in Birds of Prey

Mary Elizabeth Winstead in Birds of Prey

Constant flashbacks and retelling of subplots produce a stop and go that fights forward momentum. Car chases look pretty pedestrian compared to most other action movies. A scene when Roman berates a female customer in his nightclub and orders her to stand on a table, dance and strip, seems a bit sadistic, out-of-line and too Harvey Weinstein-ish for the proceedings. Yet, the film builds and builds tension until it crescendos in the finale with a very clever climax.

There is a young and female audience that will crave this kind of pandemonium. The same crowd that adored the Suicide Squad will too. If you’re a fan of the Deadpool series, this film will be right up your alley. But it is much closer to Deadpool 2 in feel and accomplishment than to the first Deadpool, which exhibited incredible visuals, hip style, consistently demented acting, unbelievable stunts, sick dialogue and an over-the-top depravity that could scar you psychologically for life.

Margot Robbie, who also produced the film, Cathy Yan and Christina Hodson are on to something. If they continue to develop the characters, advance their storylines and skim off the best parts of this film as they create the sequel, their future looks bright. In their corner, they’ll have a built-in audience of critic-immune movie fans who like their anti-heroine comic book films dark, with a strong dose of madness.

Visit NNPA News Wire Film Critic Dwight Brown at DwightBrownInk.com and BlackPressUSA.com.

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2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring Review — Is This $136K EV Sedan Worth It?

AUTONETWORK ON BLACKPRESSUSA — Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, but it still feels elegant instead of trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

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The 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring is the kind of luxury EV that makes people stop and ask a simple question: Is this really better than a Tesla Model S, Mercedes EQS, or BMW i7? At $136,150, it has to do more than look futuristic. It has to feel special every time you get in it.

Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, yet it still feels elegant rather than trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Inside is where the Air Grand Touring really makes its case. The 34-inch Glass Cockpit Display and retractable Pilot Panel screen give the cabin a clean, modern look that still feels different from other EVs. The Tahoe Extended Leather and Lucid Black Alcantara headliner lifts the sense of occasion, and the front seats are a highlight. They are 20-way power-adjustable, heated, ventilated, and include massage. That matters because luxury buyers at this price expect comfort first.

Rear passengers are not ignored either. You get 5-zone heated rear seating, a rear center console display, and power rear and rear side window sunshades. Add in the Surreal Sound Pro system with 21 speakers, and the Air feels like a true long-distance luxury sedan.

Lucid also gives this car serious EV hardware. The dual-motor all-wheel-drive system, 900V+ charging architecture, and Wunderbox onboard charger are big talking points. Buyers in this segment care about range, charging speed, and everyday ease, not just raw performance. That is where the Lucid continues to stand out.

On the technology side, the Air Grand Touring includes DreamDrive Premium, with 3D Surround View Monitoring, Blind Spot Warning, Automatic Park In and Out, Automatic Emergency Braking, and a Driver Monitoring System with distracted and drowsy driver alerts. This one also has DreamDrive Pro, which adds future-capable ADAS hardware.

There are still some real-world annoyances. Based on your notes, the windshield wiper control is hard to find and use, and that matters more than people think in a high-tech car. When controls become less intuitive, even a beautiful interior can feel frustrating.

Still, the 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring succeeds where it matters most. It feels luxurious, advanced, comfortable, and thoughtfully engineered. For buyers who want an EV sedan that feels truly premium and less common than the usual choices, this Lucid makes a very strong case.


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Snoop Dogg Celebrates 10 Til’ Midnight at the Compound

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles.

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Snoop Dogg celebrated the premiere of 10 Til’ Midnight at his Inglewood recording studio & multipurpose facility, The Compound, but the night felt like much more than an album release. It felt like Los Angeles. It felt like legacy. And it felt like another major move from one of the city’s greatest cultural architects as he continues to prove that he is not just dropping music — he is building moments, shaping narratives, and pushing the culture forward in real time.

What made the event so powerful was the clarity behind the vision. During a panel conversation with DJ Hed, Snoop opened up about the heart behind 10 Til’ Midnight, explaining that the project was created to help bridge older and younger generations while also speaking to the long-standing divisions between Bloods and Crips in a unique way through film. That alone gave the project a different kind of weight. This was not just about songs. This was about using creativity as a tool for connection. This was about taking a story rooted in Los Angeles and telling it in a way that could bring people together.

Snoop Congratulated By Rapper & Fellow 10 Til Midnight Cast Member G Perico (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Snoop Congratulated By Rapper & Fellow 10 Til Midnight Cast Member G Perico (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles. The film was shot in the city, including at WePlay Studios in Inglewood, which gave the entire project an even deeper hometown feel. It was not just a West Coast story in content — it was a Los Angeles-made production from the ground up.

That matters because, in a city like this, authenticity still carries weight. Snoop understands how to make sure that what he creates does not just represent Los Angeles on the surface, but actually comes from it.

What also makes 10 Til’ Midnight significant is that it represents another major step in Snoop’s evolution as both an artist and executive. Public reporting around the project identifies it as his 22nd studio album, but the bigger story is what it represents in this season of his life. This is one of several consecutive moves he has made in his 50s that show he is still building, still expanding, and still finding new ways to reinvent what the next chapter looks like.

Snoop Dogg at the Premiere of 10 Til Midnight (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Snoop Dogg at the Premiere of 10 Til Midnight (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Now, as the head of Death Row Records and the newly aligned leader of Death Row Pictures, he is taking the brand into a new dimension. That is what made this moment feel bigger than music. Snoop is not just protecting the legacy of Death Row — he is stretching it. He is expanding it beyond records and into film, visual storytelling, and larger creative worlds that can continue carrying the label’s impact forward. Public reporting has noted that this project arrives as part of that broader cinematic push.

That is a major Los Angeles move because the city has always been built on the intersection of music, film, neighborhood identity, and cultural storytelling. With 10 Til’ Midnight, Snoop is leaning all the way into that intersection.

The room at The Compound reflected that. It felt like a private premiere, but it also felt like a statement — a reminder that Snoop Dogg’s staying power has never been based only on nostalgia. It comes from his ability to remain connected, remain visionary, and remain in tune with how to move the culture without losing the essence of who he is.

That is why this premiere mattered. It was not just about celebrating another album. It was about witnessing a Los Angeles legend continue to evolve, continue to unify, and continue to use art to tell stories that hit deeper than entertainment alone.

In that sense, 10 Til’ Midnight became more than a project launch. It became another example of how Snoop Dogg is still taking Los Angeles to the next level — using music, film, and legacy together to build something bigger than a moment.

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OP-ED: Small Businesses Need Minnesota to Act on Pass-Through Tax Policy

MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN RECORDER — A Twin Cities immigrant entrepreneur who built several businesses including grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods is calling on Minnesota lawmakers to extend the Pass-Through Entity tax option before it expires, warning that its loss would hit small businesses already recovering from Operation Metro Surge with higher federal tax bills.

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A Twin Cities Small Business Owner Is Urging Minnesota to Extend a Tax Policy That Could Save Thousands of Businesses

By Daniel Hernandez | Minnesota Spokesman Recorder

I came to the United States as a teenager with a clear goal: to build something meaningful through hard work. I put in long days in construction, restaurants, and landscaping; doing whatever it took to learn, save, and eventually start my own business.

Over time, I built and ran several successful ventures, including an event photography company, a magazine, a tax and accounting firm, and now grocery stores serving neighborhoods across the Twin Cities where other retailers chose not to invest. I’ve created jobs, supported families, and committed to communities that deserve stability and opportunity.

That’s why I’m speaking out now.

Small business owners in Minneapolis and the communities we serve are recovering from serious disruptions, including the impacts of Operation Metro Surge. That event hit immigrant communities especially hard. In my own case, I lost nearly half of my 60 employees and saw revenue drop by about 85%. While I worked to provide competitive wages, health benefits, and paid time off, the real hardship fell on the people who lost their jobs and income.

Even as we rebuild, small businesses are facing another challenge. The Minnesota Legislature is considering letting an important tax policy expire: the Pass-Through Entity tax option.

Here’s what that means in plain terms.

Many small businesses, including mine, are pass-through businesses. That means the business itself doesn’t pay income tax. Instead, the owners report the income on their personal tax returns. But under current federal rules, there’s a limit on how much state tax we can deduct. That often leads to higher federal tax bills.

The Pass-Through Entity option fixes that. It allows the business to pay the state tax directly, which means the business can fully deduct those taxes on its federal return and lower the total amount of income taxed federally. The result is straightforward: small business owners pay less in federal taxes, without reducing what the state collects.

This policy is not new or controversial. Thirty-six states already offer it. It doesn’t cost Minnesota anything, it’s revenue neutral. And it benefits more than 66,000 businesses across the state.

In a state where the cost of doing business is already high, it’s hard to understand why we wouldn’t offer the same basic tax treatment as states like California and Illinois.

Small businesses have carried a heavy load in recent years, through a pandemic, rising costs and public safety disruptions. We’ve adapted, reinvested and stayed committed to our communities. What we need now are practical policies that support that work, not make it harder.

If the Minnesota House does not act soon, many businesses will face significantly higher federal tax bills. That’s money that could otherwise be used to hire workers, raise wages or reinvest in local neighborhoods.

I urge Gov. Tim Walz and members of the House Tax Committee to pass House File 3127 and extend the Pass-Through Entity election.

Small businesses are the backbone of our communities. We’ve proven our resilience. Now we need our state leaders to show the same commitment to us.

Daniel Hernandez is the owner of Colonial Market located at 2100 E. Lake St.

 

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