Roots
Night 4
Directed by Bruce Beresford
Written by Lawrence Konner
Based on the novel by Alex Haley
Starring Laurence Fishburne, Regé-Jean Page, Anika Noni Rose, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Mekhi Phifer, T.I., Erica Tazel, Anna Paquin, Sedale Threatt Jr., and Malachi Kirby
The History Channel | A&E | Lifetime
Air Date: Thursday, June 2nd, 2016, 9:00pm

The past 3 nights, A&E, The History Channel, and Lifetime have simultaneously aired the first 3 parts of the “Groundbreaking Series Reimagined” – Roots, based on Alex Haley’s 1976 novel. The original 1977 series starring Levar Burton and John Amos as warrior turned slave (but a warrior forever in his heart), Kunta Kinte, followed him and his generations of family through the brutal history of America. This week we cried and cringed and laughed and raged with these strong characters and brilliant actors. On Night 1, we met Kunta Kinte (Malachi Kirby) ripped away from his happy life in Africa, to be whipped and chained as a slave in America, always trying to escape. On Night 2, Kunta loses half a foot for running, and settles down with his wife Belle (Emayatzy Corinealdi) and his daughter Kizzy (E’myri Lee Crutchfield), teaching her the ways of a warrior. Kizzy is sold to another, ripped from her parents loving arms. Night 3 was the story of Kizzy (Anika Noni Rose) and her son George (Regé-Jean Page), product from a rape by her new owner, Tom Lea (Jonathan Rhys Myers). As much as George tried to gain Tom’s approval and love, in the end Tom sold him for a debt, and George was ripped away from his wife, babies, and mother.

Spoilers below.

Roots, the epic tale of slave Kunta Kinte’s struggle, and the struggle of his family after him, will premiere on Memorial Day, Monday, May 30th, airing for four consecutive nights. The series will be simulcast on The History Channel, Lifetime, and A&E.

Watch the official trailer below.

A new trailer has been released for Pandemic, yet another zombie flick added to the ocean of them that already exist. But if you’re like me and never really tire of the zombie sub-genre, it might be one worth checking out. This is especially true for fellow gamers, as the movie is presented mostly from the first-person perspective.

Basically the movie looks like that other first-person movie we’ve seen, Hardcore, with a zombie twist to it. You can read more about Pandemic and check out the trailer for the movie below.

Having ran out of remakes, reboots, and sequels to cover (for the week), the gang at Screen Junkies pull a totally random Honest Trailer out today with 8 Mile, the Curtis Hanson directed 2002 semi-biopic of Eminem starring the rapper himself, Mekhi Phifer, the late Brittany Murphy and Oscar winner, Kim Basinger. Narrator Jon Bailey immediately pokes fun at the “true story” nature by saying that since Rabbit has brown hair, it’s totally different. One thing for sure, no one expected Eminem of all people to make the successful music star – actor transition especially after critical and box office flops like Mariah’s Glitter, and Brittney’s Crossroads.

Watch the Honest trailer below.

Adaptation of YA Novels are a dime a dozen. So few of the ones that do launch find their way on the path of a sequel. How City of Bones did it is beyond me. But Summit Entertainment hopes that the adaptation of Veronica Roth‘s Divergent series is one of those to join the ranks of Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Hunger Games.

The film is set in a futuristic Chicago where all of its citizens are separated into classes based on their personality. Shailene Woodley plays Tris, a special breed of human who cannot be identified by her personality, therefore she is seen as a threat to society by the government. Hit the jump to see both the trailer and the poster.