"Just Wright" Movie Trailer & NY Daily News Review

"Just Wright" Movie Review


Hollywood often relegates its most interesting actresses to genre films or supporting roles, and Queen Latifah's been no exception. But she should be a leading lady, and she knows it: That's why she produced "Just Wright" herself.

As it turns out, director Sanaa Hamri depends a little too much on her charismatic star in the hopes that Latifah can elevate average material. And to an impressive degree, she does. But ultimately, this one-of-a-kind woman deserves more than a one-size-fits-all romance.

The title refers to Leslie Wright (Latifah), a physical therapist living in New Jersey with marriage-obsessed parents (James Pickens Jr., Pam Grier) and a social-climbing best friend, Morgan (Paula Patton). Though Leslie's the die-hard Nets fan, it's beautiful Morgan who snares an NBA fiance, All-Star player Scott McKnight (rapper Common).

When Scott shreds his knee, and his prospects, Morgan swiftly moves out of his Manhattan mansion. Meanwhile, Leslie moves in, as a full-time therapist and psychological cheerleader.

What should happen next is that Leslie and Scott strike unmistakable sparks and fall madly in love. What actually happens is that Common and Latifah build a beautiful friendship, while awkwardly fulfilling a story line that pushes them together in the most obvious ways.

The chemistry between the leads is more cozy than sexy, but the biggest issue is Latifah's noticeable - and admirable - discomfort with the rom-com clichés found throughout Michael Elliot's screenplay. When characters plot to snag a husband, for example, or she's required to swan down the stairs like Cinderella, this icon of individuality looks distinctly uncomfortable.

On the other hand, when she gets to banter with Scott's mom (a delightful Phylicia Rashad), or cheer on the Nets - suspend your skepticism at their success - she relaxes and has a genuinely good time. In those moments, so do we.

Latifah has talent and personality to spare, so it would be great to see her taking on more romantic roles. But to sell herself short in the process? Clearly, even she knows that's just wrong.


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Sources: Fox Search Light, NY Daily News, Twitter, Youtube, Google Maps

2 Men Linked To Najibullah Zazi Arrested In NYC

Adis Medunjanin, Zarein Ahmedzay, Tied To Zazi Bomb-Plot Terror Probe, To Be Arraigned Friday


Two Queens men are expected to be arraigned Friday in connection with an Al Qaeda terror plot to bomb New York City.

Adis Medunjanin and Zarein Ahmedzay were busted as part of an FBI task force investigation into a suspected Al Qaeda cell, Special Agent Richard Kolko said.

Medunjanin, 25, was taken into custody Thursday afternoon after he crashed his car on the Whitestone Expressway while the feds tailed him, sources said.

Ahmedzay, a 24-year-old cabbie, was grabbed in Greenwich Village about 10 p.m. Thursday, the sources said.

Both men are believed to have ties to Najibullah Zazi, 24,, a Colorado airport driver the feds say is the mastermind of an Al Qaeda plot to attack New York.

All three men attended Flushing High School in Queens.

Ahmedzay and Zazi are natives of Afghanistan; Medunjanin's parents are from Bosnia. Asked if Medunjanin and Ahmedzay posed a serious threat, a law enforcement source told the Daily News,

"You don't put that kind of surveillance on small pieces of the puzzle." Zazi has pleaded not guilty to charges of getting Al Qaeda training to build homemade bombs to attack city targets.

Investigators raided Medunjanin's apartment earlier Thursday and had a warrant to seize his passport as part of an investigation into a conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, the suspect's attorney, Robert Gottlieb, said.

Medunjanin handed over the passport and was allowed to leave, sources said.

But he soon realized he was being followed and called 911. "He's driving erratically, then he speeds up and rams into a car in front of him," the law enforcement source said.

Medunjanin was treated for minor bumps and bruises at New York Hospital Queens in Flushing before he was taken into custody by the FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force.

The feds were also following Ahmedzay and waited for him to be free of fares before they pounced, sources said. His mystified mother, who declined to give her name, said she doesn't understand why the feds are holding him.

"He's a good man," she said. "He's innocent. I don't know where he is."

Both men have been watched by the feds since September, when investigators arrested Zazi and raided his friends' apartments in Queens - including Medunjanin's pad.

Those raids turned up bomb-making equipment, and Zazi was charged with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction.

Medunjanin graduated last year from Queens College with a degree in economics. He and Ahmedzay are believed to have accompanied Zazi to an Al Qaeda training camp in Pakistan in 2008, sources said.

Zazi told the FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force after he was arrested that he had received Al Qaeda training in weapons and explosives in Pakistan but denied any plot to bomb New York.



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Sources: NY Daily News, NY Post, MSNBC, Youtube, Google Maps