Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-24 12:05:20

Family That Preys -Widescreen-by RevbearReview

This review is from: The Family That Preys (Widescreen Edition) (DVD) Excellent story of Southern drama, Mixed with the theme of living life until the end brings the Angel of death. Old fashioned southern backstabbing and cut throat business tactics in Action.

2012-05-24 00:37:23

Another Awesome Movie From Tyler Perry

*Please Note: There May be Spoilers in My Review*Tyler Perry has become one of my favorite actors / directors. He seems to, "get" what women feel / know and what we, as humans ahould always remember, that to treat strangers with respect as they may be angels in disguise. Charlotte ( Kathy Bates ) and Alice ( Alfre Woodard ) have been friends for over 30 years. Charlotte is a rich woman and Alice is a middle class woman, yet their friendship has thrived for so many years. I have to say that if Anyone is Blessed to have a friend as wonderful as Alice, God has Blessed them, cause not too many people come around like her that keep you grounded and love you no matter what. We meet Charlotte and Alice at the wedding of Alice's daughter Andrea. Charlotte is picking up the tab for the whole wedding, as Alice is her dear friend and Charlotte's own son decided to elope, so Charlotte can't do the whole Southern grand wedding thing for him. I didn't like Andrea ( Alice's daughter ) at all when I first was introduced to her. To me, she was a spoiled, spiteful woman who had major issues with Charlotte and why her mom was allowing Charlotte to pay for her wedding. She was still dislikable through almost all the movie to me. Charlotte's son, William Cartwright, played by, Cole Hauser, is a major leech, judging by the way his eyes undress Andrea, Sanaa Lathan, at her wedding. It's implied, then shown that William and Andrea become lovers, while their kind and supportive spouses know nothing about what is going on. Andrea's husband Chris, Rockmond Dunbar, and his brother-in-law Ben, Tyler Perry, want to start their own construction business, and Chris approaches William regarding a construction company and William can become a share holder in the new company. William does a usual ya-da ya-da, and a, "I will get back to your wife to get to you" jabber and then tells Andrea that he will fire her husband which she promptly agrees to. Meanwhile, Alice and Charlotte decide to do a spontaneous road trip west to see and do whatever they feel like seeing and doing. You can see the special bond between the two women and the love they share, as Alice puts up with a lot of Charlotte's wild ways and spontinaity, yet manages to keep her faith and get Charlotte Baptized in the whole journey. It is on this journey that Alice discoveres that Charlotte has early Alzheimer's and doesn't want Alice to tell anyone - especially her no good, power grubbing son. Charlotte butts heads with her son who wants to rule the company. She knows he isn't ready to rule, so she hires Robin Givens to help run her company, much to her son's dismay and anger. William plans a secret meeting to oust his mother as head of the company, but Charlotte intervenes , thanks to a forewarning by her not-so-favored daughter-in-law. This movie has a wonderful way of making a person thankful for those that love them, for enjoying the life one has been Blessed with, and making the most of kindness to others. This movie made me mad at Andrea and want to slap her upside the head and tell her she isn't gonna get her, "other man", and to listen to her mom and sister, cause they know better. Made me appreciate the gift of my best friend and the love of my husband and how Alice's faith in God helped her every day through all her life's trials. As with most Tyler Perry movies, I can not praise them enough for the messages and entertainment value he provides. You'll sit and watch this to enjoy a movie, but you will also feel your heart and conscience get bigger, just like the grinch in the Dr. Suess story did.

2012-05-21 11:25:41

One of the best movies I have ever seen

This review is from: The Family That Preys (Full Screen Edition) (DVD) First of all if you are looking for some of that over the top comic that acting that Tyler Perry has it is not your movie. I admit I don't like that type of comedy.. Medea.. etc.. not for me. So it took me a while to find out that Tyler Perry is not all about the silly acting.I LOVED Why did I get married, and also This Christmas and Meet the Browns had its moments but this is the BEST hands down. its NOT a comedy but a serious film about family, ties, loyality and being betrayed... it is ONE of the best films I think I have ever seen... Perry has this reputation for these comic rolls and for some reason I can't understand everytime I see one of his movies I am one of the only white people in the theater.. his movies appeal to ALL types of people.. it is easy to relate too and the acting and writing are first rate.. try this.. you won't regret.. if you don't believe me.. rent it, after that you you will want a copy of your own... FANTASTIC FILM

2012-05-21 00:32:39

The Family That Preys

This review is from: The Family That Preys (Full Screen Edition) (DVD) Tyler Perry has created another great movie in the Family that Preys. All star cast that is wonderfully acted and a story that is so deep with a lot of everyday emotions that some of go through.

2012-05-14 05:57:22

Family That Preys

This review is from: The Family That Preys (Widescreen Edition) (DVD) The movie was just fine, there were no problems with the product and the movie quality was just fine.

Kristine 2012-05-13 12:41:32

Seriously good, watch it before you rate it, please

I had the opportunity to see The Family that Preys this weekend, thisis my second Tyler Perry movie, to be honest from what I've seen, Ithink I may check out his other movies, because I do like what I'veseen so far. The Family that Preys is seriously one of the better filmsI've seen so far in September, it's an honest drama that keeps yourattention, it was also very touching. In some ways this was the femaleversion of The Bucket List, even as it was hard to watch, it was stillan incredibly moving movie. The chemistry between Kathy Bates and AlfreWoodard was just dead on and you really believed in their friendship. Ialso loved the side story between the two sisters and their husbands,one sister who is rich and spoiled with a good husband who is in majordenial about what his wife really is, the other sister who wishes forher husband to keep his head up and live his dream. Tyler Perry pullsin a good family story that will have you smiling at the end.Alice and Charlotte are best friends, Charlotte is a rich businesswoman who's son wants to take over her company, she's rooting for adifferent C.O.O. that she hand picks, Abby, who is a strong woman whois working her way to the top. Alice is a struggling woman whoCharlotte asks if they can go on a road trip together, she agrees, theygo across country enjoying the last bits of life. But what they don'trealize is that at home Alice's daughter, Andrea, is sleeping her wayto the top behind her loving husband's back, her other daughter isbegging for her husband to live his dreams, and Charlotte's son is justa sleaze who will step on anyone to get to the top.The Family that Preys is seriously a very good movie, it will notdisappoint you. I'm really disappointed in a lot of these ratings. Ibelieve there are some users lately who don't even see the movie, theyjust rate it a low number just because they don't like who's the staror whoever is making the film, please, you have to trust me on thisfilm, it's a little treasure and a very strong film that will remindyou to not take life for granted, stay strong, and remain proud of whoyou are. The script had extremely well written lines and I loved therepresentation of the hardship of being a woman trying to compete in aman's working world, not to sound horrible, but I imagine that's evenharder for an African American woman and this movie just inspires youthat it is possible to stay strong and work hard, keep the faith, andgood things will come to you. This is a fantastic movie, I highlyrecommend it.8/10

2012-05-05 16:17:30

SCANDAL IN THE FAMILY

TYLER PERRY DELIVERS ANOTHER OF HIS DELICIOUSLY SOAPY TALES OF LOYALTY , BETRAYAL, PASSION, AND REDEMPTION. THIS FILM IS CENTERED ON A PAIR OF ATLANTA FAMILIES, WHO STAND TO BE RIPPED APART BY GREED & SCANDAL. STARS ALFRE WOODARD AND KATHY BATES.

2012-05-05 09:04:55

great movie!

This review is from: The Family That Preys (Full Screen Edition) (DVD) I really liked this movie. I saw it at the movie theater first, and knew that I wanted to buy it for my own right away. I love the acting in it, and the storyline was the best Tyler Perry I had seen so far. I like all his movies, but a few of his movies are a little too predictable for me. This one had several themes, one of which was just the unlikely friendship between women through time. The other themes about greed, jealousy and relationships was good also, but the friendship theme overrode and was the best of the whole movie. Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard are great, and so are the rest of the actors. I think the most intereting thing is that the subject of race, interracial relationships or anything of the like is never mentioned in the movie, and that is why this movie is so good. Its not overdone. Its just right.

2012-05-03 21:50:40

True to Life

This review is from: The Family That Preys (Full Screen Edition) (DVD) I first watched this movie on one of the FIOS channels, then I watched it again and again until that channel didn't show it anymore. Anyway, I decided that I wanted to own my own copy, so I purchased it from Amazon. This movie tells a story about the interwoven lives of two families, one rich in money, and the other rich in faith. It has all the elements that make life interesting (love, friendship, infidelity, redemption, devotion, greed and so on.) It is poignant, serious, funny, sweet, and sad at times, but overall emotionally uplifting.

2012-05-03 11:38:33

LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!!!

Every time I watch this movie I watch it twice. I love this movie. I guess it's because not many people can understand the trueness of a 30 yr friendship. I have a friend and we've been friends 20+ years; we have the same type of friendship. We are a part of each others families and family gatherings. We know each others family "secrets" and all the "dirt".There isn't anything I wouldn't do for her family and she for mine. Although we are not rich by any means, when I did come into some money, the first thing i did was help her pay her bills.Needless to say, I can appreciate this movie for the friendship alone.Now I think Rockmond Dunbar should have slapped the mess out of his wife, Sanaa Lathan. Now I do NOT condone violence: not in the least bit!! but once you see this movie and see the ways she treats and belittles her husband and keeps him in the dark financially, you'll understand why I say he should have whipped her butt.Buy this movie and keep it forever. I didn't like how Charlotte died but I do like how Charlotte pushes her son out of the company after he votes to out his own mother.

2012-05-02 06:36:15

The Family That Preys

This review is from: The Family That Preys (Full Screen Edition) (DVD) This was Tyler Perry's best movie. Kathy Bates and Alfrey Woodard were great !!

wisdombody7 2012-05-01 19:34:31

An eloquently outstanding movie

I don't tend to get very technical when it comes to judging or ratingmovies but rather rely on the emotions invoked in me while watching themovie.The Family That Preys is wonderfully written and is a rare treasure ina sea of high technology/excessively violent/obscenely sexual moviesbeing released today.Quite simply, this movie touches on varying emotions without going overthe top. The viewer is invited to feel the hurt of spousal betrayal,the love of family, the anger from blatant deceit and the unconditionallimitless boundaries of true friendship.Please don't let the majority of the poor ratings fool you, this movieis sophisticated and proves Tyler Perry, yet again, to be a class act.

BronzeKeilani26 2012-04-25 14:56:45

Man, that was a FUN ride!!!! Delightful!!

After reading a few of the first reviews here awhile back I didn'tthink The Family That Preys would be anything outstanding. A few daysago I overheard people talking about how good it was so I came back toread more reviews. Several were so hyped that it convinced me I may bewrong, and boy was I ever! This film did not get the press it deserved!Films like these help to dispel all the ghetto stereotypes thatHollywood tends to perpetuate. Yes it was refreshing to see middleclass black families intermingling w/ whites and the closeness betweenAlice and Charlotte. I'm so glad I didn't pass this movie up, I LOVEDIT!!!! The casting was perfect. All the acting was believable and thechemistry was intense. Alfre Woodard also played Sanaa Lathan's motherin Something New but this film was waaay more realistic and muchbetter! I could relate to the relationships in this movie. This is amature more sophisticated story on the ups and downs in marriage,family relationships and friendships. Oh don't get me wrong, it doesn'tstop there. There's a few "very interesting" sub-plots but I won't giveit away. If I wasn't crying (or laughing), I was smiling through outthe entire film. Kathy Bates as usual give a solid performance. Shecomes across as a very sweet, genuine woman and friend with a son whosea piece of work. I'm a huge fan of hers and Taraji Henson! Tarajishould be going home with an Oscar soon if she keeps going the wayshe's going. That's my girl and she's on a roll, lol! Dahm I lovewatching her act! Robyn Givens surprises us with a good, solidperformance also, a true professional, and her timing was on point!Everyone was so engrossed in movie and acting we couldn't take our eyesof the screen, lol. It's one of those movies you wish there wasn't anending to, seriously. Hurry up and go see it! It's a fun flick!

keiichi73 2012-04-25 08:18:58

Typical Perry

Tyler Perry's back to his old tricks with The Family That Preys - Afilm that is just as manipulative and as ham-fisted of a melodrama assome of his earlier work. The only saving grace are a pair ofperformances at the center.Those performances come from Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard. They playthe matriarchs of two very different families who have been friends forthe past 30 years. Their characters come from very different worlds.Bates plays Charlotte Cartwright, a wealthy tycoon who is in danger oflosing control of her company as her greedy son William (Cole Hauser)plots to slowly get rid of her influence and power in the business.Woodard plays Alice Pratt, a God-fearing middle class woman who runs alocal diner, and likes to help the homeless on the side. The twoactresses have great chemistry together during their subplot, whichconcerns them leaving their troubles behind for a little while, andgoing on a cross country road trip. Their performances are almostenough to make us forget just how poorly they've been written inPerry's screenplay. Take for example the fact that Charlotte seems tosuffer from a split personality. Usually when she's around Alice, she'sa fun and spirited woman. But whenever she's alone, she comes across asa cold and unfeeling millionaire right out of an 80s prime time soapopera like Dallas. Unfortunately, this won't be the last time I use theword soap opera in this review.That's because The Family That Preys isn't really about the two women Ijust mentioned, it's about their intertwined family, and the numerousbetrayals, affairs, and other ludicrous overstuffed plots that would beright at home in any afternoon soap. Let's just see how many plotsthere are. The first concerns Alice's daughter, Andrea (Sanaa Lathan)having an affair with Charlotte's previously mentioned son, William.Andrea's husband, Chris (Rockmond Dunbar), works as a constructionworker for William's company, and has no idea about their bedroommeetings behind his back, even though it's painfully obvious toeveryone else. Poor Chris comes across as the slowest guy in the world,as he frequently stares the obvious in the face, and chooses to lookthe other way until the screenplay decides to finally give him a clue.Chris and his best friend on the construction crew, Ben (Tyler Perry),want to start their own construction company, but Ben doesn't know ifthey should take the chance, despite the urgings of his wife, Pam(Taraji P. Henson), who just happens to be Alice's other daughter.Meanwhile, William's wife, Jillian (KaDee Strickland) is a bit more onthe ball than Chris is, and suspects her husband's affair. Not onlythat, there's another woman worked into the story named Abby (RobinGivens) who has just been hired to the company by Charlotte, much tothe anger of William, since he wanted the position and is upset thathis mom didn't give it to him.All this, and I still haven't mentioned the mysterious homeless person(Sebastian Siegel) whom Alice helps out, and eventually ends up playinga part in the plot. There's also friction between Charlotte andWilliam's wife, because Charlotte never approved of her, although themovie doesn't go very deep into this. And yes, there's also thatpreviously mentioned road trip between Charlotte and Alice as they goon a trip of self discovery, while stopping at various cowboy bars andmale strip joints along the way. (Because this is a Tyler Perry movie,Charlotte also stops to get baptized at one point.) Watching thismovie, you can almost picture Tyler Perry writing this screenplay aftera marathon viewing of his daytime TV soaps. The writing, direction, andstorytelling is all on the same level here. He does his best to jugglethe film's various plots, but they never come together. It's jarringthe way the movie constantly jumps between its numerous characters andplots. It seems that Perry had a hard time squeezing them all in, assome get more attention than others. The whole affair situation betweenWilliam and Andrea gets the most attention, but even that never seemsto truly build anywhere. The characters just keep on going through thesame motions over and over, while Andrea's husband Chris begins toresemble an unintentional running gag with how clueless he is abouteverything.The only aspect of the film that does work are the scenes between Batesand Woodard, and that's more due to their screen presence than thematerial the film gives them. If the movie had trimmed away alllamebrained corporate backstabbing and affairs and just centered onthem, I may have been able to forgive the sometimes dopey dialoguebetween them, and the last minute revelation about Bates' characterthat cries out of desperation. The Family That Preys obviously wants totackle some heavy issues, but everything's been written in Perry'strademark over the top style. This makes it hard to identify with justabout anyone who walks into the frame of the camera. The only characterwho does come across as a genuine human is the one Perry has writtenfor himself, and unfortunately, he plays a minor role in everything.Given his somewhat genuine performance here, it's hard to believe thatthis is the same guy who dresses in drag and a fat suit for his mostfamous portrayal. Perry fans will be glad to know that his Madeacharacter will be back in his next film, Madea Goes to Jail. Everyoneelse has been warned.

Adam Camp 2012-04-19 14:10:23

Much better than I expected, given the low rating here

OK, I've read all the other reviews, to date, and I have to agree withthose who had a positive experience. I'm a 62 year old gay white male,and I gave this movie an 8/10. I am not an unreserved fan of TylerPerry, and think some of the Madea sub-plots are pretty ugly. Thatsaid, I have watched nearly everything he's done, enjoyed most, andfeel that this one is the best I've seen. The plot(s) were notdifficult to follow, or swallow, and the entire cast was perfect, not abad actor among them. As expected, Alfre Woodard and Kathy Bates weretruly excellent in their roles. These gals have been doing this, anddoing it well, for a long time, and are perfect together. If theyaren't long time friends off-camera, they surely fooled me.

2012-04-19 07:32:21

The family that prays

This is one of my favorite movies! There are moments were i was like in tears because this movie is filled with so many twist and turns. Sanaa lathuns charactor is horrible, she is so dramatic but she did a great job in this role. Tyler perry picked a really great caste for this movie, so if like his other movies the you'll love this one.It is a funny movie but it is also sad and there are times it will make you mad, but at the end everything comes together.

2012-04-17 02:22:36

the family that preys together

This review is from: The Family That Preys (Full Screen Edition) (DVD) Well worth seeing one of Tyler Perrys best movies!!! I would reccommened this movie to any one that is a Tyler Peerry fan.

Claudio Carvalho 2012-04-16 22:18:28

A Reasonable Soap-Opera with an Absurd Plot Point

The hard worker and religious Alice Pratt (Alfre Woodard) raised hertwo daughters managing a simple bar of her own. Her snobbish andarrogant daughter Andrea (Sanaa Lathan) is graduated in EconomicScience and works in a construction corporation while her sister Pam(Taraji Henson) stayed with Alice working in the bar. Andrea is marriedwith the construction worker Chris (Rockmond Dunbar), who works in thesame corporation of his wife and dreams on initiating his own business.However she is betraying him with their boss William Cartwright (ColeHauser). William is the son of Alice's best friend, the wealthyCharlotte Cartwright (Kathy Bates). While Alice travels with Charlottein a road trip without destiny, the ambition and infidelity of Williamtrigger a series of events that will affect relationships in bothfamilies."The Family That Preys" is a reasonable soap-opera and my firstimpression is that it is underrated in IMDb. However, the plot point inthe meeting of the board of Charlotte's company is so absurd andincoherent that spoils the story and might be the reason for such badrating. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): Not Available

2012-04-12 05:14:39

AWSOME!

I think that this movie was very good and that it represents what is going on these days. I would absolutly recamend it to friends. BYE!Family That Preys (Widescreen Edition)

2012-04-12 02:06:45

a good film

truly a uplifting film and a important film from Tyler Perry. the Brother truly taps into the heart of the matter and he is a one of a kind film-maker. his vision is never limited. he brings the goods in this film that deals with Race, Sex, Class,and money.strong acting and good pacing in this film that speaks about what truly matters and the many various relationships. a must see very good film.