Tag: Taraji P. Henson

Straw

“Straw” is 2025 Netflix original thriller/drama directed by Tyler Perry. It stars Taraji P. Henson (Hidden Figures), Sherri Sheperd (One for the Money), Teyana Taylor (Coming 2 America), and Sinbad (Jingle All the Way).

A struggling single mom (Henson) is doing her best to get through life for her and her daughter. She ends up losing her job, her daughter, her home, and getting her car impounded all in the same day. With the stress becoming too much, she unwillingly gets caught up in a bank robbery, where the cops and the FBI thinks she’s the one who’s doing it.

Henson’s acting in this is terrific. She absolutely nails the role and makes the whole movie. Sheperd also does a great job but, outside of their chemistry, a lot of the acting and dialogue is on the cheesy side, but theirs is enough to make this a great movie. It has a twist that you don’t see coming that absolutely punches you in the gut, especially if you’re a parent. It is on the sad side, and heart wrenching, but it’s a fast-paced ride that’s worth it. I give it a 7/10.

Coffee and Kareem

‘Coffee and Kareem’ is an action/comedy Netflix original starring Ed Helms (The Office, The Hangover), Taraji P. Henson (Hidden Figures), Betty Gilpin (GLOW, Stuber), RonReaco Lee (The Shield), Andrew Bachelor (The Babysitter), Chance Hurstfield (Good Boys), and Terrence Little Gardenhigh.

Twelve year old Kareem (Gardenhigh) tries to hire a well know gangbanger, Orlando Johnson (Lee), to beat up his mom’s new boyfriend James Coffee (Helms). Things go south fast when Kareem witnesses Orlando and his crew murdering a cop. Now Kareem and Coffee must band together despite their differences to stay alive and get to the bottom of what’s going on.

This movie was different than what I was expecting. I like Ed Helms but outside ‘The Office’ and ‘The Hangover’ he doesn’t seem to be too good. Take ‘The Clapper’ and ‘Corporate Animals’, not the best and pretty forgettable films. ‘Coffee and Kareem’ is more vulgar than expected. The entire film is filled with F bombs and sexual jokes, which personally doesn’t bug me, but if you don’t like that sort of thing this film isn’t for you. It reminds me of ‘Good Boys’ in that aspect, a kid running around cussing the entire time. ‘Coffee and Kareem’ does have a lot of funny moments, but other than that it just flows along in predictability. It’s not bad, just okay. I give it a 6/10