davidmovies1080p This documentary actually surprised me. It was well done with actual real stories that happened. It was very educational seeing how the music industry work and her path to destruction. RIP Whitney, a true legend.

timjohnson-10201 As has been our practice over the past years, Diane and I went to the movie on Essex and left sometime later with the same opinion about this film; it was about a remarkable talent. I was not sure upon entering the cinema if my impression, Bobby Brown was responsible for the drug addiction that killed her was correct. We both thought that the film was fair; however, we both felt that the movie play ed too much on the negatives of her addiction. About mid-way through the film, the viewer was submerged by the negatives. I did, however, go from thinking that Brown should die for his actions in denying the world's greatest singer a continued life. Preferably, after the film, We saw that Whitney virtually suicided and Brown greased the slide because she did most of it herself from an age before she even knew him.Diane and I thought the movie was absorbing with a little too much emphasis on the downward towards the peak of her career. See it if you were a fan and who couldn't be a fan.

degaswilson I am one of the lucky few, who got to meet this amazing women. I met him one cold day back in the early part of her career.She was doing a video for her first album and I and a couple of my friends where filming for a show, if you remember, Spencer for Hire, we were filming a night club scene, whereas we were the dancers in the club. I and the other dancers were on a lunch break and we were in the cafeteria eating. All of sudden, this little thing walked in with all of these colors on and sat down to eat. Evidentially, it was Whitney Houston here filming her video "I want to dance with somebody". You know with all of the hair and the color. Well, there were about 6 of us at the table and no one was brave enough to talk to her, with the exception of me, of course. I was always the loudest and bravest out of the group. Anyway, I went up to her table and said would she mind some company (since she was alone, eating), she said sure, and I motion to the rest of the crew to come over. She was shocked, but got over it pretty quick when she found out we were filming next door and for what show. I tell you, that was the best lunch I ever had. We spent about an hour with her, just laughing and having the best time. Until we were called to the stage and had to say goodbye.That young women was the same person I saw every time she walked out on stage. Beautiful, polished and humble.I tell you what, the day she died.........I cried like I cried when I lost my mother......The pain will always be there......But whenever I hear her voice on the radio, I smile and remember that little woman I saw that day in the cafeteria. She was something else. And I will truly miss her.

Paul Allaer "Whitney" (2018 release; 120 min.) is a bio-documentary about the life and times of singer Whitney Houston. As the movie opens, we see news clips as her 1985 debut album is storming the charts and making her a mega-star. We then go back to Whitney's humble upbringing in Newark, NJ, and get to know her parents (remember that her mom Cissy Houston was a singer in her own right), and her 2 brothers. Music played a major role in Whitney's life from early on, particularly attending the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark. Her mom did not go easy on Whitney, simply wanting to prepare her for "legacy music", and when Whitney turns 18, she moves out. At this point we're 10 min. into the movie, and you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.Couple of comments: this is the latest movie from Scottish writer-director Kevin Macdonald, who's made several other music documentaries including "Marley" (on Bob Marley) and "Being Mick" (that would be Jagger). Here he brings, with full cooperation of the Houston estate, the life and times of amazing singer Whitney Houston. Because he has full access to footage, we get to see a number of home clips previously unseen (and at times very revealing). Macdonald interviews many people who knew Whitney well or were close to her (as, say, bodyguard). Comments someone: "A lot of people around her saw her like an ATM", wow. Yes, even no-good Bobby Brown gets screen time. When asked to comment on Whitney's drug use in the last years of her life, Brown, without the least of irony or regret, responds "I'm not answering that. Drugs have nothing to do with this documentary". Nice one! In fact the last hour of the documentary detail the sad (and drug-fueled) decline of Whitney. Some of those scenes are heartbreaking, frankly. The parallels between this documentary and the "Amy" documentary a few years ago on Amy Winehouse are pretty obvious: the use of the singer's first name for the documentary's title, the questionable role of the respective dads, the respective "bad" boyfriend/husband, the cringe-inducing last tour (for Whitney in 2009), etc. etc. "Whitney" is strong documentary, no question, but in my view "Amy" was a tad better (perhaps because I like Amy's music better). The talent that Whitney had was undeniable (that voice!), even though some of those 80s songs have not aged well. But the waste of that talent makes the passing of Whitney only sadder."Whitney" premiered at this year's Cannes film festival to great buzz, and opened this weekend in 4 or 5 screens in Greater Cincinnati. The Sunday early evening screening where I saw this at was attended nicely (and primarily by African-Americans I might add). If you are a fan of Whitney Houston, or music history in general, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.