Page 4 The Skanner Seattle February 7, 2018
Arts & Entertainment
Kam’s Kapsules: Movies Opening Friday, February 9, 2018
BIG BUDGET FILMS
The 15:17 to Paris (PG-
13 for violence, profani-
ty, bloody images, drug
references and sugges-
tive material) Clint East-
wood directed this ac-
tion thriller reenacting
the subduing by three
American tourists of an
Islamist terrorist who
opened fire with an as-
sault rifle on passengers
aboard a train traveling
from Amsterdam to Par-
is. Co-starring heroes
Spencer Stone, Anthony
Sadler and Alex Skarla-
tos as themselves.
Fifty Shades Freed (R
for profanity, frontal
nudity and graphic sex-
uality) Final installment
of the erotic trilogy finds
newlyweds Christian (Ja-
mie Dornan) and Ana’s
(Dakota Johnson) mar-
ital bliss threatened by
the surfacing of a stalk-
er (Eric Johnson) and his
former dominatrix (Kim
Basinger). With Arielle
Kebbel, Brant Daugherty
and Dylan Neal.
La Boda de Valentina
(R for profanity) Mari-
mar Vega plays the title
character in this roman-
tic comedy about a Mex-
ican immigrant in love
with a New Yorker (Ryan
Carnes) who’s being
pressured by her family
to return home to marry
her ex-boyfriend (Omar
Chaparro).
Featuring
Kate Vernon, Jesus Zav-
ala and Tony Dalton. (In
English and Spanish with
subtitles)
Peter Rabbit (PG for
rude humor) Combina-
tion live-action and ani-
mated adaptation of Be-
atrix Potter’s classic tale
about an rebellious rab-
bit’s (James Corden) at-
tempt to raid a farmer’s
(Domhnall Gleeson) gar-
den. Cast includes Daisy
Kam
Williams
Kam’s
Kapsules
Movie
Reviews
Ridley, Rose Byrne, Sam
Neill, Margot Robbie and
Sia.
INDEPENDENT &
FOREIGN FILMS
Basmati Blues (Un-
rated) Musical comedy
about a brilliant scien-
tist (Brie Larson) who in-
vents a genetically-mod-
ified strain of rice with
the help of her father
(Scott Bakula) only to
have it ruin the Indian
farmers they’d hoped
to help. With Donald
Sutherland,
Utkarsh
Ambudkar and Tyne
Daly.
Before We Vanish
(Unrated) Sci-fi thriller
about three aliens who
each inhabit an earth-
ling’s body in prepara-
tion for a mass invasion
of the planet. Co-star-
ring Masami Nagasa-
wa, Horoki Hasegawa
and Ryuehei Matsuda.
(In Japanese with sub-
titles)
Entanglement (Un-
rated) Romantic dram-
edy about a guy (Thom-
as Middleditch) who
unwittingly uncovers
a dark family secret
about the woman (Jess
Weixler) he’s about to
fall in love with. Sup-
porting cast includes
Diana Bang, Nicole
LaPlaca and Johannah
Newmarch.
The Female Brain
(Unrated) Battle-of-the-
sexes comedy examin-
ing the biochemistry
controlling
women’s
romantic
impulses.
Directed by Whitney
Cummings, and featur-
ing commentary by Sofia
Vergara, Cecily Strong,
James Marsden and Deon
Cole.
Fourplay (Unrated) Ro-
mantic dramedy revolv-
ing around a blind-date
brunch hosted by a Brit-
ish couple (Colin Firth
and Mariel Hemingway)
for an American script-
writer (Mike Binder) and
a French makeup artist
(Irene Jacob). With Ste-
phen Fry, Jack Dee and
Christopher Lawford.
Signature Move (Un-
rated) Out-of-the-closet
dramedy, set in Chicago,
about a lesbian Pakistani
(Fawzia Mirza) who falls
in love with a Mexican
‘Peter Rabbit’ features James Corden as a rebellious rabbit plotting to raid a garden
gym rat (Sari Sanchez)
she meets in the ring af-
ter taking up Lucha-style
wrestling.
Featuring
Shabana Azmi, Audrey
Francis and Mark Hood.
(In English, Spanish and
Urdu)
When We First Met
(Unrated) Romantic com-
edy about a guy (Adam
Devine) who travels
back in time to under-
stand why the girl of
his dreams (Alexandra
Daddario) dumped him
after what he thought
was the perfect first date.
With Robbie Amell, Nou-
reen DeWulf and An-
drew Bachelor.
FILM REVIEW: ‘Where’s Daddy?’ Indicts Child Support
System as Racist and Rigged against Black Men
By Kam Williams
For The Skanner News
T
oday, there’s a cultural con-
sensus that the criminal
justice system aggressive-
ly targets and imprisons
African Americans. Might the
family courts be just as racist
and rigged against Black men?
That is the question explored in
thought-provoking fashion by
“Where’s Daddy?”, a sobering
indictment of the child support
system directed by Rel Dowdell
(“Changing the Game”).
Rel does double duty here, mod-
erating dozens of man-in-the-
street interviews, a la Michael
Moore, conducted with brothers
and sisters embroiled in custody
battles. His novel, in your face
style isn’t always comfortable,
but it yields riveting raw footage
ranging from bitterness about
being locked up to tearful testi-
mony about baby-mamas spend-
ing support payments on Mer-
cedes and their hair instead of on
their kids.
‘Where’s Daddy?’
We learn that celebrities are not
at all immune from child support
woes. To wit, we hear from former
Philadelphia Eagles receiver Ar-
kansas Fred Barnett, journalist/
author Mister Mann Frisby, co-
median J’Vonne Peterson and rap
artist Freeway. Again and again,
someone recounts a nightmarish
encounter where he felt treated as
if guilty until proven innocent.
However, this informative doc-
umentary definitely takes an
even-handed approach, with just
as many criticisms being leveled at
deadbeat dads as at money-grub-
bing moms. Regardless, the up-
shot is that many Black males find
themselves dragged before judges
quick to jail anyone delinquent or
in arrears for child support.
Besides airing the diametrical-
ly-opposed opinions of plaintiffs
and defendants, director Dowdell
allows an array of experts to weigh
in on the subject. Their insights
are often more enlightening, if
a little less passionate, as they
are able to reflect without axes
to grind. Among the luminaries
making appearances are
Yesha Ministries’ Bish-
op James D. Robinson,
clinical psychologist Dr.
Kathleen Walls, Ph.D.,
and attorneys Jermaine
Harris, Brian Gordon
and Shanese Johnson.
Perhaps most poignant
are the words of profes-
sor Joel Austin and phy-
sician Ralph Smith. The
former describes what it
was like to be handcuffed
and shackled in front
of his kids by sheriffs
who arrived at 5 in the
morning to arrest him.
Meanwhile, the latter is
inconsolable about being
estranged from his son
solely because of his ex-
wife’s vindictiveness.
A must-see exposé
suggesting justice ain’t
blind, but rather inclined
to dispense a color-coded
brand of justice when it
comes to child support.
Excellent HHHH
Unrated