New Movie Releases: ‘Alex Cross,’ ‘Paranormal Activity 4’

The Takeaway

Every Friday we talk about new movie releases on the Takeaway. “Alex Cross” stars Tyler Perry in his first non-Tyler Perry role, and “Paranormal Activity 4,” supposedly brings the low budget horror franchise to a close.
Our Movie Date team,  Rafer Guzman  and  Kristen Meinzer  are here, as usual.  In addition to hosting the podcast, Rafer  is film critic for Newsday and Kristen is culture producer for the Takeaway.
“It’s exactly what you expect,” Kristen says of  Paranormal Activity 4.  “There are very little special effects in these movies at all, that’s kind of their whole schtick,” Rafer says. “To their credit, it mostly works – they get a lot of mileage out of some very low-budget thrills.”   
Meanwhile in “Alex Cross,” we see Tyler Perry in a very different part from that of  Medea, reprising the role that Morgan Freeman played in “Along Came a Spider” and “Kiss the Girls.”  
“Tyler Perry is no Morgan Freeman,” Rafer says. “Perry just blunders his way through this film. He doesn’t come off as smart.”
Kristen disagrees about “Alex Cross” though. “You don’t go in there because you want some sort of genius,” she says. “It’s just good fun.”  
For more of Rafer Guzman and Kristen Meinzer, subscribe to the Movie Date podcast at  their Facebook page.

Invest in independent global news

The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. Will you support The World with a gift today? Donations made between now and Dec. 31 will be matched 1:1. Thanks for investing in our work!