Rated T&T: Ep. 26 - Rated T&T Recs (Black-Led Movies)

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]Welcome back to another episode of Rated TNT, the show where we talk about TV, movies, fandom, fanfic, and everything in between. I'm Tim. That's Taye.

[00:00:11]>> Hi.

[00:00:11]>> Thank you so much for being here. And today we are starting something new.

[00:00:19]>> Yes.

[00:00:19]>> Not quite a new segment, more so a new episode format.

[00:00:25]>> Yes.

[00:00:26]We talk a lot about, like we said, TV, movies, music, books, everything in between.

[00:00:34]>> And we felt like it would be really cool to give you some recommendations.

[00:00:41]>> Yes.

[00:00:41]>> For all of those things. So, if you for some reason trust our opinion on pop culture and media, we figured we would give you some recommendations for the TV shows, movies, books, albums, things that we generally enjoy.

[00:01:04]>> And we are going to call this segment rated TNT Rex.

[00:01:09]>> Yeah.

[00:01:10]And for this episode, we are focusing specifically on black movies.

[00:01:18]>> Yes.

[00:01:19]>> And we are defining black movies as movies that are led or co-led if it's some sort of ensemble project by a black actor or actress.

[00:01:35]>> Yes. We will each give you three recommendations and then as always, we'd love for you to give us yours as well in the comments.

[00:01:44]>> Yes.

[00:01:45]>> You want to kick it off?

[00:01:45]>> Kicking it off. Yeah. Um I I don't know if I've mentioned this on the show before. Um but my first recommendation is going to be Snowfall.

[00:01:57]It is an FX or was an FX show. I think it had about five seasons and it was the Oh. Wrong movies.

[00:02:07]>> Yeah.

[00:02:08]>> Well, let me start that over.

[00:02:09]>> I think >> Did you say movies?

[00:02:11]>> I don't know now. Now I'm second guessing.

[00:02:14]>> I think I did say movies.

[00:02:15]>> You think you did say movies?

[00:02:16]>> We should just keep We're going to keep all this in here.

[00:02:18]>> I'm pretty >> mind. We're filming several several episodes tonight.

[00:02:25]>> I'm pretty sure that I >> I'm pretty sure I said movies.

[00:02:28]>> You said movies.

[00:02:28]>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. If I didn't, this is about movies.

[00:02:33]>> Okay. So, pivoting. I'm sure I again I don't know if I've talked about this one on uh before on the show or not, but my first movie recommendation, Moonlight.

[00:02:48]Moonlight. I when I say or any movies that I've watched that have absolutely changed my life, Moonlight was one of them. Um it's basically just the coming like a coming of age story of Shyron and he is a black um boy in Miami I believe and it shows like three different parts of his life. You get to see him as a little kid and then when he's a little older like high school age and then um as a grown adult and you just watch the struggles of his identity, sexuality, all sorts of things. Um and it's just a beautifully written story and it has some really amazing actors in it. Trante Rose and Mahersa Ali. Um, when I say that like me and my best friend love this movie down, we have the screenplay book on our coffee table. That's how serious Moonlight runs in our household.

[00:03:37]So, um, yeah, I love it. Love it down.

[00:03:40]Love it down. So, I feel like if anybody who hasn't seen Moonlight, you should definitely you should definitely watch it.

[00:03:47]>> It is a beautiful movie.

[00:03:48]>> It is.

[00:03:50]>> All right. My first recommendation, if you have seen this show before, if you follow me on Tik Tok, if you've met me in person, I have talked about this movie. It is my favorite movie in the entire world, and that is Last Holiday.

[00:04:09]Just >> y'all know that mentioned me several times. Y >> just to uh warn everybody, all three of my movies are Queen Latifah films. They are Queen Latifah films. I I I don't make any apologies for that. But Last Holiday specifically is my favorite movie ever. I don't know what originally drew me to the movie. I don't know why I connected with it so bad, but I did and I have not been able to get off it. I've probably watched Last Holiday at minimum once a week for the last probably seven or eight years. I love that movie bad.

[00:04:41]>> And he's not lying, y'all.

[00:04:42]>> Yeah, I love that movie bad. I'm probably going to go watch it tonight before I go to bed. Um, if you have not seen it, I believe it came out in 201 10. That's a lie. Came out in 2008. Why Why am I acting like I don't know that?

[00:04:55]2008. Um, and it is about Georgia Bird who lives a very boring, unassuming life.

[00:05:05]>> Yeah.

[00:05:05]>> And then all of a sudden has an accident at work and it gets the news that she has three weeks to live.

[00:05:13]>> Yeah. and she decides that in those three weeks she wants to live life to the fullest. She cashes out all of her money, her stocks and bonds and decides that she is going to just do everything that she has ever wanted to do in life.

[00:05:33]Um, and then of course twists and turns along the way, a little romance here and there, you know, lot of lot of fun to be had. And I think that's why I connect with the movie now. It's like the concept of living every day as if it is your last, as if you have three weeks to live, right? Because >> I think that is a thing that I hear from a lot of older people that like you always feel like you have more time, you know, than you actually do. And you know, it is very sad to get to the end of your life and looking back on all the things that you wanted to do, could have done, should have done that you never did.

[00:06:18]>> Um, and then that coupled with the fact that you never know what tomorrow holds for you. Um, >> so I just really love it. It is just a very like feel-good movie despite the premise of it, you know? I I think they did a really good job of making it feel fun and whimsical despite the diagnosis that she has. Like the, you know, you almost forget the the reason that she's experiencing all of these things because she thinks that she's going to die. And you sort of just get caught up in the fun of it. you know, like she's base jumping and she's snowboarding and, you know, eating at these expensive restaurants and staying at $3,000 a night hotel, like all of these really really great things and you kind of just get caught up in that. So, >> very fun.

[00:07:10]>> Very much. It's It's a really good movie. Um, I even got to go back to my list. My second pick, I constantly constantly tell people to watch this movie. I run into a lot of people that have never seen it and it always blows my mind. And the movie is Soulman. Um I also think it came out in 2008 because it came out uh Bernie M stars in it and so did Samuel Jackson. Um, I think it came out not too long after he passed because both him and Isaac Hayes had passed at the time that the movie came out. And at the end of it, you get to the end and they they're doing all the little tributes of the movie and it takes me down to through there. But >> if you've never seen So, it's probably one of the funniest movies I have ever seen in life. If you need a good laugh, I would always tell you to ceue it up.

[00:08:03]It follows the story of um I can't remember their names. I know Floyd Henderson is one of them. That's Freddy Max's characters, but they each or it just follows the story of these two guys who used to be in a trio, a music group, and they broke up years ago, but one of the third the third member ends up passing. And so, um, they are on a road trip to play at the funeral or go sing at the funeral. So, along the way, they're doing all of these side gigs because they're trying to get back into the groove of um, performing. But the two remaining um guys in the group had beef about a woman >> um as they always do.

[00:08:42]>> As they always do, Odessa, they have beef about about a woman and um then it brings into play that woman's daughter.

[00:08:50]She comes into the story and like it's a whole lot of whole lot of but there are so many funny points in the story. It also I loved it because it they go to Memphis and you know that's that's my city runaway. But um >> it's just it's very funny. It's also it's it's a feel-good one too. They have a lot of arguments. If y'all know Samuel Jackson Bernie Mack, y'all know they be cussing. They be a whole lot a whole lot of me and my brother love the movie down. We can quote it. Quote a lot of them. I believe my brother's Instagram tag was Floyd Michael Henderson for a while actually. Um, but it is a feel good movie. It does end on a happy note. Um, and it's just it's one of my favorites if it's if you want something that um makes you laugh. Uh, but also at the end you kind of get like the whole found family loving feeling.

[00:09:46]Um, because they obviously do make up uh but they beef through the whole movie and it's it's quite it's quite a time.

[00:09:55]Um, it's also star-studded cast. There are a lot of people that make cameos appearances in it. Um, and it's just a good time beginning to end.

[00:10:06]>> Cool. I remember watching it with my family and >> I I didn't even clearly we talked before we started filming this and I remember you saying that and it did not register in my mind. I was like, "Oh, yeah. I I never heard of that." And when you were describing it, it literally unfolded in my brain. Like I could see this movie as clear as day watching it with my family.

[00:10:30]Um, and I remember the reaction cuz it was around the time that he had passed away and they were like >> going through it.

[00:10:39]>> Oh, no. But I I I hate to watch to the end of it. When they get to doing it, I'd be like, "Oh, I can't." Uh, cuz you know, Love Bernac grew up watching his show. My folks loved him down. Yeah.

[00:10:51]>> Um, so obviously I grew up loving him too. So it was it was very hard but and I also to for it to be one of my favorite movies to queue up it um sucks to watch it but it also makes me happy to watch it. So yeah, if y'all ain't seen Soul Man, please please go watch it.

[00:11:12]>> All right.

[00:11:13]>> Uh my second pick, second recommendation is Beauty Shop.

[00:11:19]>> Yeah. Uh, once again starring the queen of never having a bad hair day, Queen Latifah. Uh, she starts off working in this salon. Um, and things sort of go downhill very fast and she decides that it's time for her to live her own dream. Again, another recurring theme of following your dreams wherever they may lead you. Um, and she opens her own beauty salon. And so it sort of takes you through the ups and downs of entrepreneurship and, you know, it shows us like all the wins, but also the not so great moments.

[00:12:04]>> Um, her sort of building this team and >> it just gives a very warm family kind of feeling, found family. Um or actually I'll take that back. It's kind of both because her actual family is also a big part of the shop and you know they help her and you know sort of keep her grounded through all of this but it is also very much like found family you know and bringing all of these >> random people together you know to do a job but like you actually grow to love them and learn about them and like they become your people. Um, I also think that for black people, specifically, black women, like the hair salon is a place of comfort. You know, and that feeling runs throughout the entire movie. You know, the way that they talk to each other, the things that they talk about, the experiences that they have, like all very much rooted in like the black culture of hair salons. And you can tell that it was an authentic experience that she had had, >> of course, >> like e like even the the minor instances the the little minuscule things that they would do and say like very much rooted in like I grew up in this you know clearly she ain't never had a bad hair day so she knows the salon very well >> every time she knows it she knows it very well like low key I I'm honestly surprised she don't have like a hair care line I feel like it would sell out instantly >> it would because I'd be the first one in line with every single thing >> yeah but it's crazy like that she now has this reputation of like couldn't have a bad hair day if she tried. This is like one of her earlier movies that she had done. I'm pretty sure she was on like, and I know this because I just had to write that article about she was on like a crazy run of movies through like >> it was like >> 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010. Like crazy run of like >> comedies and movies back toback. And this is one of the ones that uh fell in there.

[00:14:27]>> Yeah.

[00:14:27]>> So, if you're a fan of Queen Latifah like I am, I don't know how you may not have seen the movie, but it is a really really good one.

[00:14:34]>> It's a great movie and it's it's like growing up in in a beauty shop cuz obviously spent a lot of time there. If you see my hair now, it wasn't it wasn't bleached blonde not too long ago. I spent a lot of time in beauty shops and like watching that movie. Beauty Shop's like a it's a comfort movie for sure. uh very um true to the experience, very true to the experience of um being black in a beauty shop and it's just like it's a staple of I think our community. So >> love that we have a new movie that represents it and honestly love that it was cool by >> Yeah. one of the first DVDs I ever had.

[00:15:15]really >> honestly I probably still have the like burned DVD somewhere >> and you know yeah I have a whole b they at my mama house but like have a whole little thing in the closet of all the CDs that we >> we used to be mad about that we used to have a he don't do it no more but we had somebody in our hometown my hometown named cheese and he had a whole little shop and we go he would he had burn cities and I remember when Pretty Weekly Job um what is it on the Hotline I think was that the name of the album? Don't know. It came out I was in sixth grade. Took my 10 idols up there burn cheese is a cannon event.

[00:16:00]>> Cheese cheese is a part of the the fabric of of black culture. Everybody had a cheese, you know. Shout out to cheese wherever you are, you know, in their community. Cuz I definitely had one, too. And he was making it shape with them CDs.

[00:16:13]My family had all of them. A full folder of all.

[00:16:17]>> Yes. I had a little folio. Little pet folio.

[00:16:20]>> Yes. Oh, that takes me back. That takes me back. Sitting back. Sit in the backseat of my little Ultima flipping through it trying to get her to see what she want.

[00:16:27]>> Yeah.

[00:16:28]>> Yeah. Okay. That just took me back. Um, my third Oh, why did I pull this up? I know what my third movie is. Um, The Four Brothers.

[00:16:41]I love that movie down. Still love it to this day. Um, if you've never seen the poor brother, I don't remember what year it came out. It was mid 2000s for sure.

[00:16:52]Um, but it starred um Andre 3000, Mark Wahberg, um, Garrett Hedland, and um, baby boy, what's his name? Tyrese Gibson. There we go. Um, and it basically told the story of these four adopted brothers whose mom recently was murdered and then they go on um a quest to find out what happened to her. Um, and it's um it's just a it's a nice little story. I'm not going to lie to you. I just loved it growing up. I think also it did its numbers in our community.

[00:17:28]>> It did.

[00:17:28]>> It did its one that I remember watching over and >> over and over again. We for sure had it on DVD burned and the actual DVD. Um it did numbers, but I thought I think it was a really good story. It also had a lot of well-known black um characters in it because the bad guy also I can't remember what his name is. Um but he starred in 12 Years a Slave. He did a good job too in it. Um but they go through a lot um to find out who killed their mom. It was funny at times.

[00:18:00]Obviously, they showed a real brotherhood between them, and I think I really adored that because they all were adopted. Um, and while they grew up with each other, but like these aren't blood brothers, but the way they were sitting there, the scene of them throwing the u things at each other and fighting, arguing, I said, "Oh, >> this is me and my siblings." Cuz my jaw, it's a lot of me. It's a lot of us. It's a lot of us. Um, so it very much gave the sibling um siblingesque of um it the family um aspect of it. The movie was really really good. I also thought that it was very sad with the mom and how she passed and like them trying to >> basically avenge her. Um but it's a really good movie. Ends on a really good note. It also had Daraji in it. I forgot about that. We had a lot. It was a a lot of our people that were in it that we recognized. So, it definitely did numbers in our community. But it was a really good movie. I loved all the people that played in it. Um, and yeah, I just for anybody who ain't seen it, I just feel like you have to you can't go another day without seeing this. Okay?

[00:19:15]And I mean that. I mean that. It was it was a great great movie.

[00:19:21]>> Yeah, we love found family here.

[00:19:23]>> We really do.

[00:19:24]>> Seems to be like a common theme >> because like um you know the family that you're that you're born into, love them down. Don't get me wrong cuz I love my family, love my folks. But there's something said about like meeting people throughout life and like choosing them and them choosing you >> and like embracing you >> and they don't have to and they don't have to. And yeah, like I love that because all of the friends that I've made um in various areas of my life have chose to embrace me the same with them and they've become family. Like I tell my friends I love them all the time. Some people be finding it weird.

[00:20:05]>> I I don't I don't I don't know cuz I just I love people. I that's just my thing. It's easy for me to be like, "Oh, I love you." Um Because like I view you all as family. It's it's >> I view you all as family. And my family does the same thing to you cuz my mom would be like, "You at Tim House, girl."

[00:20:26]>> Girl. Okay. My business.

[00:20:28]>> Tell her we're not friends. We're co-workers. All right.

[00:20:31]>> My third movie.

[00:20:34]>> Yes.

[00:20:35]>> I actually don't know. I I said I was going to choose. I said I was going to choose.

[00:20:41]And I don't want to deviate because like if we're saying we're doing three, I we can't we got to stick to three. I can't do four.

[00:20:47]>> I know because you can always put it on the next one that we do. Run it back.

[00:20:51]>> I know.

[00:20:52]Okay. My third movie is Just Right.

[00:21:00]>> Okay.

[00:21:00]>> Now, I will say I don't love everything that happened in that movie.

[00:21:07]>> Okay.

[00:21:08]>> But I do love the movie. I I love the way that it unfolded. So, just right is also before I get into that, another common theme between Queen Latifah projects, she going to keep a fine man >> and is >> and and no matter what she does, >> no matter what, >> she going to keep a fine man >> cuz in last holiday it was uh yeah, fine man. Um what was the second one you did?

[00:21:36]>> Beauty Shop.

[00:21:36]>> Beauty Shop.

[00:21:37]>> What's that man's name? Damn, I don't know that man name, but that man is fine.

[00:21:41]>> Tunday. Was that his name in the movie?

[00:21:45]>> Let's see. Let's see. Let's see. Cuz I'm >> No, I I literally just made that up.

[00:21:49]What am I? Who's Toon Day?

[00:21:51]>> Oh, Toon Day is from Why is that movie not on? Okay. I was thinking >> that's uh Yes. Yes. Yes. That's Fat Girls. And I do love that [ __ ] movie, too. Why was that not on my list? I I was sticking to uh Queen Latifa.

[00:22:06]>> Me too.

[00:22:07]>> Sticking to Queen Latifa. But yes, if you have not >> Joe. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

[00:22:12]>> I don't know how to pronounce that man name and I don't want to butcher it.

[00:22:15]>> Yeah.

[00:22:16]>> But he he's well known.

[00:22:17]>> Yeah.

[00:22:17]>> And fine.

[00:22:18]>> Uh Just Right stars Queen Latifah and Common. Um she is she plays Leslie Wright who is a uh physical therapist very very good at her job. Uh, Common is a basketball player, the Nets. Um, and he hurts himself in one of the games and Leslie ends up being hired to help him recover. Um, and she has sort of built this reputation as the best physical therapist in the area. You know, she gets people up and rehabilitated quickly, and that's what he's looking for. he is a little older. He's worried about being cut and you know career is about to be over all these things. And she basically assures him like >> we we can make this shake for you. You know I can make it work for you. Um typical romcom without the typical romcom pattern. You know, from that description alone, it sounds like, oh, physical therapist, client, y'all y'all about to be together. You know, not quite the the path that it takes. You know, there's some other players involved. Um, which leads into why I didn't love it, the part about it that I didn't necessarily love. Of course, it is a romcom, so they do end up together in the end. Mhm.

[00:23:46]>> Um, I just don't like that. I feel like in this instance, it would have been >> perfectly reasonable for Queen Latifah, for Leslie to be like, "Actually, no. I I don't think this is going to work."

[00:24:00]Thank you, though. Appreciate it. Um, you know, just some stuff happens and they they do get together and then they don't get together for a very stupid reason. And then the way things happened, it didn't necessarily give happy ending to me. You know, I didn't love that. It seemed like one person, Leslie, had to compromise what they wanted out of life, you know, to be with common.

[00:24:33]>> Yeah.

[00:24:34]>> Um, but it was a good movie. It and it's one of those that like ran heavy in my household. Low key, I think that's probably why I love Queen Elizabeth so much because her movies were always on in my house. Like always on. Um, so yeah, I would recommend it. Like I said, I didn't love the ending, but I still would recommend it and it's one that I still watch all the time.

[00:25:00]>> I have the same reservations. There were just some things that I just felt like, no, she should have walked away. She never should have like gave him the time the day after that he could have kicked rocks and kicked them [ __ ] and hard with no socks and flipflops like Yeah.

[00:25:16]No. Um but I do say like I thought it was a cute movie. I do think it is a good movie. I would recommend it to people especially because it's Queen Latifa, >> right?

[00:25:25]>> And yeah, her movies ran rampant in my household too. So like I definitely get >> I definitely get it. Um but yeah. Yeah, keep moving. I do have my reservations though because if I was Leslie, I'd have been like, "Boy, you going to get the hell?"

[00:25:39]>> Yeah. The [ __ ] >> And she she should have got the [ __ ] on down the road. She should have.

[00:25:44]>> Yeah, I get why she didn't. You know, it was in the script.

[00:25:47]>> It was in the script, but >> she should have got the [ __ ] on down the road.

[00:25:51]>> [ __ ] ASAP.

[00:25:52]>> Yeah.

[00:25:53]>> But I do like a romcom that doesn't follow the >> typical romcom path, you know, and and this definitely didn't. you know, it was hard to, you know, even though you felt like you knew what was happening, you know, from the initial setup it and it did eventually happen, but not in the way that you would have thought it was going to.

[00:26:16]>> Um, >> but yeah, Richard Weber was in it if you're a Grace Anatomy fan, you know, it's >> it's >> it's so shocking to see any of them >> anywhere else, >> you know, cuz I'm like had they locked on, >> right? and they still going and and no end in sight, right? Like it's just so weird to see like them in >> other projects. So when I saw him in there, I was like, "Wow, come on, Richard."

[00:26:42]>> Playing kind of the same character if I'm being honest. But >> but yeah, it was a it was a good film.

[00:26:48]Very Yeah.

[00:26:49]>> James B.

[00:26:50]>> Yeah. Very like star-studded cast, you know, outside of Queen Latifah and Common, you know, James was in it. Uh Felicia Rashad was in it. Paula Patton, you know, very star and of course it's like about basketball, so they had to throw in a few like real NBA stars, you know, to to really sell it.

[00:27:12]>> Um, so yeah, very good feel-good kind of movie.

[00:27:19]>> Okay, >> cool.

[00:27:21]>> Yeah.

[00:27:22]>> Any other thoughts before we wrap this one up? No, I think that's it. Y'all watch these movies.

[00:27:30]>> Yeah.

[00:27:31]>> Let us know how you like them >> if you've seen them.

[00:27:34]>> Haven't seen them.

[00:27:34]>> Love to know your thoughts.

[00:27:36]>> Yeah.

[00:27:36]>> And what other movies would you recommend?

[00:27:40]>> Yes.

[00:27:42]>> Yeah. Cool. Well, thank you all for being here as always. We really appreciate it. This is, like we said, the first of our rated TNT Rex >> and we'll see what else comes out of these brains.

[00:27:55]>> Yeah.

[00:27:55]>> You know. Yeah, we'll see.

[00:28:00]>> But yes, thanks again for being here and uh we'll catch you on the next one.

[00:28:04]>> Love you.