Review: How woke is the new 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith'?



“Mr. and Mrs. Smith” is the legendary film from 2005 that featured Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie — but now it’s getting an entirely new look.

The characters have returned for an Amazon Prime show, featuring characters that look nothing like their old ones: Donald Glover in Brad Pitt’s place and Maya Erskine in Angelina Jolie’s place.

The show has gotten decent reviews, but Lauren Chen couldn’t help but wonder if the series was going to replicate what much of Hollywood does these days: spin an old, enjoyable story into pure, leftwing propaganda.

Chen was surprised by what she found, which begins with “a really cool premise.”

“I’m on board with the concept. It’s neat, it’s unique,” she says, as it’s different from the “Brangelina” film. “But, I really take issue here with them calling the show ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith.’”

“If you’re going to do a totally different premise, a totally different concept, then go with totally different branding. Stop trying to capitalize off older franchises even though you just want to do your own thing,” Chen says.

As for whether or not the show is woke, Chen doesn’t think so.

“I wouldn’t call this woke. Aside from you know, the diversity casting, which obviously did happen,” she says, adding, “but, overall, no, the show is not about deconstructing whiteness or hating on men or anything like that.”


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Joan Collins says Hollywood parties are 'dull' because of cancel culture, declares there are only 4 real stars in Tinseltown



Legendary actress Joan Collins says Hollywood parties are now boring because celebrities are afraid of cancel culture.

Collins told Best magazine this week, "The parties I go to now are kind of — dull. They are red carpet things in which everybody does behave. If you don’t behave now you are going to get cancelled."

Collins made similar comments in October 2021 when talking about why she doesn't use social media.

"I don't want to engage in any way, shape, or form with these morons," Collins told the New York Times.

"People can't say what they think, because they'll get canceled," she proclaimed. "Dredging up tweets from 15 years ago, about what somebody might have said when they were 14, I think that's sick."

Collins told the paper, "The thing is you can't say anything these days without being canceled. What am I allowed to say?"

The Emmy Award nominee also slammed the #MeToo movement for ruining men.

Collins stated, "Sadly, I think that now young men are suffering from being labeled toxically masculine because of this rise of anti-maleness."

"I believe that women are equal to men in every single way," she said. "Except physical strength. People say you didn’t burn your bra, you wear lipstick. So what? I’m very proud of being a woman."

Collins previously noted, "What's wrong with mother? What's wrong with woman? Girl? I don’t like having that word taken away."

In the most recent interview, the 90-year-old "Dynasty" actress declared that Hollywood lacks the star power of yesteryear. Collins – who has been in the entertainment industry for 70 years – said that there are only four real stars left in Hollywood: Brad Pitt, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, and Keanu Reeves.

"I think Nicole Kidman is fabulous and Margot Robbie is one of the great beauties," Collins said this week. "Particularly Brad, he is like one of the movie stars of the Golden Age."

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Movies featuring Keanu Reeves were removed from Chinese streaming platforms after the movie star appeared at a charity benefit for Tibet



One of Hollywood’s most lovable movie stars may now be backlisted from the world’s largest film market as Chinese streaming platforms remove movies and other video content featuring Keanu Reeves after the actor appeared at a fundraiser hosted by a nonprofit affiliated with the Dalai Lama.

In early March, according to the Los Angeles Times, the “John Wick” and “Matrix” star participated in a benefit concert hosted by the New York-based nonprofit Tibet House. Reeves’s presence and role in the benefit concert appears to have angered Chinese censors as one Chinese streaming platform, Tencent Video, has scrubbed nearly 20 movies featuring Reeves from its catalog.

Tibet House is a nonprofit that — according to its website — was founded “at the request of His Holiness the Dali Lama” and is “dedicated to preserving Tibet’s unique culture at a time when it is confronted with extinction on its own soil.”

The Chinese Communist Party rejects the notion of Tibetan independence and views the Dali Lama — a Nobel Prize laureate — as a dangerous “separatist” as he continues to advocate for the geopolitical independence of Tibet and an end to Chinese rule over the region.

Reeves’s role in the Tibet House fundraiser came to light shortly after his latest film “The Matrix: Resurrections” debuted in Chinese cinemas. Chinese nationalists, however, were enraged by Reeves’s participation in this fundraiser and vowed to boycott the film after taking to government-sanctioned social media sites to lob insults at the actor.

In response to what the Chinese government perceived as Reeves snubbing China, last Monday China’s major streaming companies removed the “vast majority” of his filmography from their catalogs and “wiped search results related to his name in Chinese.”

When users ran searches for “Keanu Reeves,” which in translates to “Jinu Liweisi” on the streaming platform iQiyi, users are told: “Sorry, no results related to ‘Keanu Reeves’ were found. Due to relevant laws, regulations and policies, some results are not shown.”

Beloved movies like “The Matrix” trilogy and “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” as well as some of Keanu’s romantic movies like “Something’s Gotta Give” and “The Lake House” have been removed from Chinese streaming platforms.

Alex Yu, a researcher at the U.S.-based China Digital Times, said, “It’s a curious case that’s worth following. We tend to think of the censorship machine in China as this really coordinated monster, but the fact that we’re seeing these conflicting signals [between the online and theatrical markets] suggest that some of these measures come from different places.”

He added, “Why all of a sudden did they decide to take this measure at this exact moment?”

Reeves un-personing by Chinese censors adds him to the ever-growing list of celebrities who are unwelcome in China after expressing support for Tibet. This list includes Richard Gere, Selena Gomez, Lady Gaga, and, until recently, Brad Pitt.

FACT CHECK: Did Brad Pitt Wear A ‘Keep America Trumpless’ Shirt?

The image is digitally altered

Report: Brad Pitt’s ‘Make It Right’ campaign built more than 100 ‘sustainable’ houses after Hurricane Katrina. Now, most are ‘in shambles,' with mold, termites, and rotting wood.



After Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans in 2005, destroying large sections of the city and displacing thousands of residents, award-winning movie star Brad Pitt decided to take action to help suffering residents. He launched an organization called “Make it Right” and set off on a mission to build more than 100 environmentally conscious, sustainable homes in the city's impoverished Lower Ninth Ward, one of the neighborhoods hit hardest by the storm.

But now, several years later, the vast majority of Make It Right's homes are in shambles and are suffering from catastrophic structural defects, according to Judith Keller, an international research scholar in geography at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Meanwhile, Pitt's organization has apparently folded under the weight of numerous lawsuits.

What are the details?

Writing for he Conversation, Keller reported that only six of the homes remain in reasonably good shape. Several have been demolished, at least another six have been boarded up and abandoned, and countless others are "riddled with construction-related problems that have led to mold, termites, rotting wood, flooding, and other woes." Many residents have reportedly filed lawsuits against the organization that are still pending.

"A nonprofit that built houses with input from Frank Gehry and other prominent architects amid much fanfare for survivors of one disaster then ushered in another disaster," Keller assessed. "Make It Right, despite what its name might suggest, has not resolved these issues and has stopped assisting residents. Instead, the movie star-led nonprofit has apparently become defunct."

The urban geographer added that the homes were built using a green, sustainable philosophy that advocates for the use of safe and reusable materials, clean water, and renewable energy. However, for all their promise, many of the homes lacked basic features "such as rain gutters, overhangs, waterproof painting, or covered beams."

The situation really began to unravel in 2018, when residents filed a class-action lawsuit against Make It Right, alleging the organization sold them "defectively and improperly constructed homes" and "fraudulently deprived homeowners of their right to pursue legal actions under Louisiana's New Home Warranty Act."

At that time, Pitt, who has always served as the face of the organization, was reportedly still listed as one of its board members. The actor has since tried to distance himself from the charity's problems, though a judge ruled in 2019 that he must remain a defendant in litigation because of his role as the charity's founder and primary fundraiser.

What else?

Residents described their plight in greater detail to Keller upon her recent visit.

"They kind of got a second chance to make it wrong, not make it right again," one resident told Keller. "They made it wrong twice."

Another resident said that just eight months after she moved in, her home "was completely in shambles." She noted that her flat roof was unable to withstand the heavy rains of New Orleans and that massive water intrusion led to termite infestation and mold.

Others described feeling like they have been "taken advantage of on the biggest scale," suggesting that after causing the problem, Make It Right fled from the worsening situation.

"Something that’s been an incredible disappointment is the lack, the retreat, of Make It Right from any form of responsibility," still another resident added.

Keller suggested that the hazardous situation in the Lower Ninth Ward is an unfortunate result, but not necessarily a surprising one.

"While nonprofit housing developers can play a vital role in creating affordable housing, many questions remain regarding their accountability," she said.

TheBlaze reached out to Make it Right for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Another Brad Pitt Make it Right home demolished in the Lower 9th Ward www.youtube.com

Here Are The 4 Most Woke Films Nominated For The 2021 Golden Globes This Sunday

Here Are The 4 Most Woke Films Nominated For The 2021 Golden Globes This Sunday

2020 wasn't the greatest year in film, but it turned out to be a Godsend in light of the leftist propagandizing films nominated for The Golden Globes in 2021.

Watch These Nontraditional Horror Movies For A Spooky Halloween

There are a plethora of traditional monster, slasher, and gore films, but what about options for those less interested in traditional genre offerings?