Sparkle (2012)

This movie is a awesome drama movie with a music twist to it and i promise you !YOU WILL NOT BE BORED and boy Whitney gives t her all and best and boy she shines and so do all the other cast I was very surprise that I didn't think of them meaning all the actors and actresses as singers but as real actors and actress and boy this movie is way more then just the music it's a bout a single mom who fights to save her children from the dangers of abusive men and the blood hoods of the music world so get up and get dress and come out and sparkle ,Wow is all I can say about sparkle and the performance of the people who has a role in the movie all of these guys did and awesome and wonderful job and put some work in this full no offense to Tyler perry but this is not a Tyler perry film instead it's a drama twist with this one and Whitney earns her spot in history with her role she played and her acting ,I am so stunned at the reviews on her for his movie and can not understand why do people who have not even seen the movie other to take time to leave some of the most crazy reviews ,don't listen people this movie is awesome.

Fmovies: With so many recent remakes, it was very refreshing to see an update that was better than the original. Sparkle (Jordin Sparks) is the story of a talented young song writer who lacks the confidence to pursue a musical career on her own and is struggling to please her mother Emma (Whitney Houston) while continuing to chase her dream. I thought the line delivered by Emma in the trailer about her life being a cautionary tale was so interesting, and not to mention ironic, and it seemed that much of the story took a dramatic turn after that. There was some lighthearted humor especially Rev Bryce's (Michael Beach) dinner prayer and some surface romance but the story did not start out with any depth. In fact it was that lack of depth that had me questioning if the film was worthwhile. But when things got real, the film got real good. I know that the story was about Sparkle and her coming of age story, but being a Mocha child myself I found that I was most fascinated by Dee (Tika Sumpter) she was the most pragmatic and I was consistently nodding agreement to every line that she delivered. She is a very talented actress. She was very convincing in The Game as an addict and now is seen on the other side of the coin doling out tough love to a troubled Sister/Tammy (Carmen Ejogo). Ms. Ejogo is yet another English export who can speak American with a natural ease, she was a definite standout in this story. This film had no special effects worth mentioning, well other than Sparkle riding on the back of Stix's (Derek Luke) motorcycle and nary a hair out of place. But seriously, the story was very well written and had an exceptional cast proving that with that type of combination the special effects don't really matter. This is the first time that I have seen Mike Epps (Satin Struthers) take a turn at such a sinister character and he pulled it off. It cannot be an easy feat for a comedian to reinvent themselves as a dramatic actor, but he is making it happen on the big screen. I am glad the Bishop T.D. Jakes had a hand in the film, making it classy and classic which is exactly what should be associated with Ms. Houston's final performance. I give it a green light.

I have to say that I liked this version of Sparkle better than the original and I am definitely glad that they changed the story up a bit. This film is very predictable, but I did not care. I think that the cast that was assembled for this film did an excellent job. I have to admit that my main reason for going to see this film was because I wanted to see Whitney Houston in her swan song performance. Whitney (Emma) did an outstanding job in this film and I have to admit that when she sang I got a little (okay, a lot) choked up. Not just because she was singing but because I realized how much I missed her. Jordan Sparks (Sparkle) was made for this role. With this being her film debut, I am sure that we will be seeing a lot more of Jordan on screen. Carmen Ejogo (Sister) almost stole the show along with Mike Epps (Satin). Both were captivating and although you knew from the start where this relationship was heading, it did not matter because you wanted to see it play out. When Michael Beach (Rev. Bryce) hit the screen, I was looking at him and I knew that I had seen him on screen before, but I just could not place him. Whoever did his make-up did a darn good job. Tika Sumpter (Dolores) has come a long way since her days on the television soap One Life to Live. She is the "grounded" sister of the bunch and demonstrates that by having clear goals set and a strong sense of self. Derek Luke (Stix) is the group's manager and Sparkle's love interest who is just trying to do the right thing. I do have to say that there were some faux pas in the film. There were times that the group was singing without mikes and the half-naked dress would have never been acceptable during that time (I don't think). By the way, there was a women sitting in my row that was singing along with all the songs that she remembered (I was cracking up). Do I think that this will be the film of the year? No, but I do think that Director Salim Akil did a good enough job to warrant the price of a ticket. One last thing, I also got choked up again when Jordan sang at the conclusion of the film. I will be downloading that one. I give this film green light.

Sparkle fmovies. I get skeptic on watching movies that revolve around singing groups in the 50s-80s because I feel like they are all the same. However, I absolutely enjoyed and would love to see this movie again. Let me just say Carmen Ejogo is an absolutely AMAZING actress. She practically had me in tears throughout the whole movie because she betrayed her character so well! Im not familiar with Carmens work but she sold it. Shes stunningly beautiful, and I cant wait to see her in other upcoming films. Jordan Sparks off course is an amazing singer, and for being her first film she did a good job. I think with time shell be better actress. I think this movie was a great last goodbye for Whitney Houston. Im glad I was able to hear her sing one last time. (: This is definitely a must see, and I will for surely be recommending this movie to everyone I see.

There's an indisputable star of this synthetically watchable 2012 melodrama, and it's neither the late Whitney Houston in her last role nor Season 6 "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks. It's relatively unknown British actress Carmen Ejogo (Maya Rudolph's sister in "Away We Go") who explodes off the screen in the meaty, scene-stealing role of Sister, the hell-raising eldest of a trio of daughters to Emma Anderson, an uptight, church-going woman who raised them on her own. Emma is Houston's supporting role, and while she proves she had the makings of a solid character actress, there is an unfortunate shroud of irony in her presence given her own tragic, tabloid-saturated life was itself a cautionary tale about the lure of drugs in show business. This time in the part Lonette McKee played superbly in the 1976 original, Ejogo inhabits the character living out the nightmare of drug addiction and spousal abuse.

The rest of the movie is mostly by the numbers. It opens in 1968, a decade later than the original movie's story, with Sister and her little sister Sparkle sneaking out to a nightclub headlined by a period- costumed Cee Lo Green in a cameo appearance. Sister vamps her way through an original song by Sparkle, which attracts the attention of an aspiring record producer named Stix. He encourages them to shoot for the big time, so they convince level-headed sister Dee to make it a trio decked out sequins, wigs and false eyelashes in order to become the next Supremes. What struck me is how eerily the three women look like the original Supremes line-up with Sparks resembling Florence Ballard and Ejogo looking like a sultry cross between Diana Ross and Beyoncé. Of course, their newfound success comes with heartache, as Sister takes up with a smooth albeit vicious stand-up comic named Satin, and Sparkle struggles between family devotion and her burgeoning love for Stix.

Naturally Emma is constantly worried that her girls will repeat the same mistakes she made when she tried to make it as a singer only to be spit out by the music industry. That means Houston spends most of her limited screen time either fretting about her family or being self-righteous about her religious convictions. The dinner table scene between her and Ejogo is the movie's best scene laying bare the deep-seeded resentment Sister has for her mother and providing a flash of grief over a line that reminds you how Houston died. The melodrama is laid on pretty thick, especially during Sister's downward spiral, but director Salim Akil ("Jumping the Broom") and his wife, screenwriter Mara Brock Akil, balance it with just enough lighter moments. The songs, of course, are what matters the most, and smartly, Curtis Mayfield's original compositions have been retained with the standouts being "Hooked on Your Love", "Look into Your Heart" and especially "Something He Can Feel" which Ejogo performs with sultry conviction.

The new songs by R. Kelly are not nearly as memorable since they sound too contemporary for the period. Sadly, Houston sings only once in character, the spiritual stand-by, "His Eye Is on the Sparrow", and limited to her lower register, her coarsened voice, while emotionally impactful, is vocally a mere shadow of her once-beautiful pipes. Sparks gets to sing a lot more with a predictably booming voice, and she delivers an unaffected turn in the title role. Mike Epps gives a strong performance as Satin, and his scenes with Ejogo echo si

I thoroughly enjoyed this film!!! Jordin Sparks carried her own in the movie and when she sings "One Wing" is her ultimate shining moment in "Sparkle". Mike Epps as "Satin" is the best role of his career and kudos to the casting agent for giving him a chance w/ this role. I pray he receives a Oscar nomination.Carmen Ejogo as "Sister" was mesmerizing,radiant&stunning..A STAR IS BORN!!!! she also deserves a Oscar nomination..she was brilliant.Whitney Houston this woman can do no wrong.what an amazing woman!!.I LOVED her in this film,she played the role with such incredible poise & control..she was excellent!!! her scene singing "His Eyes Are On The Sparrow" was a tearjerker for sure everyone in the audience was crying and cheering at the same time.truly my favorite scene in the film!!!! I give this movie a solid A