leonblackwood Review: This is another one of those movies which had a great trailer but it turned out to be pretty disappointing. I thought that it was going to be like the hit series, the Empire but it turned out to be about a worldwide, music superstar who is struggling to fame and all of the attention from the media. With her new album due to come out soon, Noni craves normality in her life but her mum and her record company end up pushing her to the edge, which leads to her trying to commit suicide. At that moment, the cop that was protecting her, Kaz, comes to her rescue and the news hits the tabloids which puts there relationship under the microscope. After a while, the pressure becomes a bit too much for the couple, so they escape to Mexico were they deeply fall in love with each other, against Kaz's dad and Noni's mums wishes. It isn't long before Noni is spotted in Mexico so she has to return to her demanding pop career. By this time, she has turned a corner in her personal life and she seeks more control in her music career. Her new boyfriend thinks it's a bad idea for her to return to that life because he saw how much it was destroying her. From there the movie seemed like it was going round and round in circles and I was hoping for a major twist or something interesting to happen. The main character, Noni, just seemed like a spoilt brat who needed some decent guidance. The cop also seemed quite dull and easily influenced by his father so the characters didn't help this predictable storyline. Basically, it reminded a lot of the Bodyguard which was a much better movie because Whitney was actually a true superstar. I liked the fact that the director was showing the life of a star through there eyes, but the storyline dried up after a while and it became quite boring. Watchable but nothing that amazing!Round-Up: I wasn't that impressed with Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who played Noni, because I failed to have an emotional connection to her character. Thats not totally to blame on her performance because she did try to make her character seem real but the film seemed to have skipped the important parts of her career, like her road to stardom. At 32, she has starred in movies like Jupiter Ascending, Odd Thomas, Straightheads and Larry Crowne but I doubt that people will remember her in any of those movies! She played the lead in Belle pretty well and she has a role in the upcoming Beauty and the Beast movie so she might hit her peak around then. Nate Parker has made about 20 movies in his career which started in 2005 in Cruel World. He has made appearances in Non-Stop, Pride, The Great Debaters, Red Tails, Arbitage and Ain't Them Bodies Saints and at 35 years old, I'm sure that were going to see him more on the big screen. The director, Gina Prince-Bythewood, also directed the Secret Life Of Bees, which I quite enjoyed, Love & Basketball and a couple of episodes of the Bernie Mac Show and Everybody Hates Chris so she hasn't had loads of experience behind the camera. She did do quite a good job with this movie but I did find the storyline sketchy and uninteresting after a while.Budget: $7million Worldwide Gross: $15millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their drama/romances about a music superstar who struggles with fame and media attention, until she falls in love with her bodyguard which changes her life. 4/10

Chuck Peacock Maybe I need to watch this movie again. Nice visuals decent acting from the leads but so formulaic in it's composition that it never grabbed me. Maybe it's just not my kind of movie, the best parts for me were the very beginning and end. The beginning gave me hope for more substance, but it jumped too fast to the future and the dialogue was clichéd and predictable. I was touched by her final song in which she was free to express her new found sense of self and freedom. Everything in between was eye candy and for me at least not a lot of chemistry between the leads. I can surprise myself when I'm at odds with the others who watched and found something different, but I trust my own judgment as my own vision. That's my 2 cents, nice movie but didn't elicit or bring out much in the way of feeling for me. Hey no one is right or wrong but I turned it off 20 minutes before the end, the predictability was embarrassing. Watched her final performance this morning and was worth it, but see above, as a whole just didn't work, "for me".

LadyAnn Graham-Gilreath This was a tremendous movie not only with the song lyrics but the making behind the movie. Gugu plays this to a tee and she is a fine upcoming actress I hope makes it in the movie world. But it is all about the meaning "between the lines"! You must pay attention to the very beginning and the dialogue to understand the rest. However, the meaning of life is showing who you are, and being proud of it...and if you are afraid of being the "real you" it may take the "love" and "compassion" of a stronger force to bring it out in you! This movie should appeal to both genders but I know every women globally would enjoy it! It brings tears of joy streaming down one's cheeks! Congrats Gugu and Nate for a brilliant performance by both of you! LadyAnn68

nakedmeatproductions For those who say it's a predictable movie, they need to ask themselves this, what romance movie doesn't have the fall in love ending?!?! The movie does an amazing job at showing the parallels in the lives of Kaz and Noni as they both are trapped in the lives of their parents. Also the script writer did an amazing job choosing the song "Blackbird" to represent the life of Noni and placing it as the first song Noni sang to show it's symbolic value. Noni who had no father and her mother lost value in their relationship, was a "Blackbird" who had no one who loved her. Then Kaz came along and helped her fly and find love, the ending shows it perfectly. Overall the symbolic value this movie has is impressive and the acting was amazing. Great Movie!