STREAMING REVIEWS: Tech-mania and double identity

A scene from 'Blackberry'

The two films today are satires that work as strange, offbeat comedies. BlackBerry is based on the true story of the rise and fall of the mobile phone; while Tyrone is neo-blaxploitation, and loads of sci-fi fun.
BlackBerry (Amazon Prime on Demand) - Popular of late have been films that stand as origin stories of people, objects, and merchandise that captured the public’s fancy, and formed part of the zeitgeist of yesteryears. Air, which chronicled the rise of Air Jordan and Nike in the arena of basketball sneakers, and Tetris, which was about the video game, are just two examples of this growing genre. Now, coming from Canada, we are offered the meteoric rise and fall, of the BlackBerry mobile Business Phone. It’s both an origin story and cautionary tale, starting off in 1996, moving to the height of the popularity of the mobile device in 2003, and onwards. It’s smart in showing us the clash of the corporate world culture and that of the nerds and tech guys. Jay Baruchel plays Mike Lazaridis, one half of the geek team behind Research In Motion Limited. His partner was Doug Fregin (played by Director Matthew Johnson); and their Business partner was Jim Balsillie (Glenn Howerton). Jim was a corporate shark who drove the company to success, but never understood the culture and made Mike his ally, alienating Doug. Corporate pics about obsolete tech seem to be the rage, but let’s not forget that at one time, BlackBerry represented more than 20 percent of the global Smartphone market, but eventually lost out to Apple and touchscreens. Yes, for those who don’t remember, BlackBerry was all about texting with two thumbs. It’s a smartly made film, that knows how to sift the facts and keep it interesting.

A scene from 'They Cloned Tyrone'

They Cloned Tyrone (Netflix USA) - Director and writer Juel Taylor makes his directing debut with this sci-fi film that pops off our screens with gleeful abandon. Taylor wrote Creed 2, and with this one, takes on themes of science, black culture, and mystery, couched in the thriller genre. The first thing we’ll notice is how the film riffs on the Blaxploitation films of the 1970s with the colors, costume design, and hairstyles to match. It’s like we’ve been dropped into the world of Shaft and Cleopatra Jones, but taking it from the side of society’s underbelly, the wrong side of the tracks. Then it follows the Coen Brothers' formula of putting dimwits as our main protagonists, trying to solve a mystery that’s beyond their capabilities, but somehow, engaging us. Fontaine (John Boyega) is your lowlife neighborhood pusher, who likes to think he’s some crime boss. Boyega portrays him like a cross between Mike Tyson and Leon Spinks, and it’s refreshing to watch Boyega push this character. Then, there’s Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx) a shady, unscrupulous pimp with his star prostitute Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris). Foxx is the motormouth, the life and soul of this hilarious film, while Parris surprises by holding her own, with sass and verve that rivals that of Foxx. She’s nicknamed Yo-Yo because she keeps threatening to leave Slick, but keeps coming back. There are moments when the film tries to be too many things, and no story spoilers here, but just know this is some crazy premise. Spinks Tyson chemistry of the three.