Recently in Movie Reviews Category

I was lucky enough to score free passes to two new films before their release, Assault On Precinct 13 and Are We There Yet?. I also recently viewed Open Water, here is my review....

A-F Rating System

F being the worst A being excellent.

The Scale:

F This ain't shit, don't waste ya time!
D This ain't much better, has one two good parts.
C Aiight! Glad I didn't pay to see it in the theatre!
B Pretty good! I enjoyed it, worth watching.
A Loved it! excellent movie, highly recommend!

Recent Viewings:

Assault on Precinct 13 (2005) (R)

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, Maria Bello, Brian Dennehy

Synopsis:
This action-packed remake of the John Carpenter classic tells the tale of an under-manned Detroit police precinct on its last day of operation that finds itself under siege by a ruthless force that will not stop. This time, a notorious cop-killer and mobster Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne) is unexpectedly brought into the precinct during a blizzard on New Year's Eve, much to the dismay of police captain Jake Roenick (Ethan Hawke). By nightfall, the remaining cops and prisoners find themselves fighting for their lives against a group of rogue cops intent on taking down Bishop before he testifies against them in the courtroom. Now it's up to the officers, secretaries, and inmates on the inside to band together just to survive this one night.

Grade A
I didn't have high hopes for this one, however I was PLEASANTLY surprise! I'm a huge Fishburne fan due to the Matrix Triology and I have to admit in this movie he sounded a lot like Morpheus - I love his voice! Even Ja Rule had a good performance as "Smiley". John Leguizamo playing a wanna be lawyer/crack head, also had an awesome performance. There was a sista in the movie who was also a prisoner, at first glance she looked like a dude, let me tell ya talk about *taking no prisoners* she was tough as hell. Go see it!

Are We There Yet? (2005) (PG)

Starring: Ice Cube, Aleisha Allen, Philip Daniel Bolden, Nia Long

Synopsis:
Nick (Ice Cube), a smooth operator, is trying to land a date with Suzanne (Nia Long). Problem is Suzanne, a divorcee, is stuck working in Vancouver and miserable because she misses her kids. Seizing the opportunity, Nick gallantly offers to make her wish come true -- and his own in the process -- by bringing seven-year-old Kevin (Philip Bolden) and eleven-year-old Lindsey (Aleisha Allen) to see her.

Grade D
Disappointing, unrealistic! First off, this couldn't be black folks dealing with these bad ass kids! Bebe's Kids! Most black folks would of slapped the little smart mouth big lipped girl right in the mouth. She infuriated me, one thing I can't stand is a wise ass kid. I wanted to throw my hot wings at the screen. I thought through out the movie *you little bitch! you need your ass kicked!* The boy was cute, but influenced by the girl. I didn't see any humor in their behavior and how they destroyed Ice Cube's brand new Lincoln Navigator. I told "C" the minute that little boy slammed my door against the yellow post in the parking lot at the airport I would of turned their bad asses around and took them back to the babysitter, called the mother and said "look, I ain't go be able to do it!"

Nia Long was cute as usual, showing age in her face a bit, but I didn't like how she treated him after he arrived with her horrible ass kids! And you can't tell me she didn't know those little fuckers were so damn bad!

Sorry, but I didn't like this one!

I'm a african american mother myself and I just don't think this movie was representative of how we raise our kids.

Open Water (2004) (R)

Starring: A bunch a no-names Blanchard Ryan, Daniel Travis

Synopsis:
Based on actual events, this ‘Blair Witch’-style thriller devoid of special effects tells the harrowing story of two scuba divers (Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis) abandoned by a tour boat and left
afloat in shark-infested waters for over 24 hours.

Grade D
Lackluster. It started out OK, had some funny spots in the first few hours in the water after they had been left - when they thought the boat was coming back for them. The main reason for the "D" is because of the ending. It left me thinking *what?* The movie was based on a true story, since they were the only two there no one knows how they really died other than by the sharks, but I mean the conversations they had and whatnot. Needed a better ending.

I watched a few movies over the holiday, here is my review....

A-F Rating System

F being the worst A being excellent.

The Scale:

F This ain't shit, don't waste ya time!
D This ain't much better, has one two good parts.
C Aiight! Glad I didn't pay to see it in the theatre!
B Pretty good! I enjoyed it, worth watching.
A Loved it! excellent movie, highly recommend!

Recent Viewings:

Day Without a Mexican (2004)

C This was an interesting concept. Done tastefully, with humor. Imagine a day when all people of Mexican decent vanish. They showed lawnmowers and blowers moving solo after the operator (a mexican) vanishes, maids vanished, fast food workers, Mexicans in government, TV anchor people..... all vanished. The movie in my opinion displayed the value Mexican people contribute to our society.
Again, original concept, however the movie was slow and got a little stupid. Now picture this.... a day without nigs :unsure

Honey [WS] (2003)

C Predictable, I had a hard time "believing" J.essica A.lba as a hip-hop dancer. I can't stand womanizing M.ekhi P.hifer, with all them damn extra teef in his head after I read an interview on M.elinda W.illiams and she talked about how he cheated on her while they were married and was laid up with another woman and didn't even come to the hospital for the birth of their son - bastard! He had the nerve to respond to her comments in an interview he had in a magazine saying she forced him into marraige -bullshit! She divorced his ass too! Good riddance to bad rubbage, I digress. The little boy that played L.il R.omeo's baby brother was soooo cute! I want him for my own :smile.

Manchurian Candidate [WS] (2004)

A I've never seen the orginal Manchurian Candidate, wasn't even familiar with the story so I can make no comparisons. However, I thought this movie was great! The suspense retained my attention the entire length of the film. I liked the military, sci- fi, suspense/drama mix.

The Manchurian Candidate, an examination of political conspiracy and psychological reconditioning. Major Bennett Marco (Denzel Washington) and Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber) are two soldiers who served in the same company during Operation Desert Storm, but their paths following their tours of duty have been very different. Shaw, the son of powerful congresswoman Eleanor Shaw (Meryl Streep), has used his reputation as a war hero to quickly scale the ladder of American politics, and with the help of his mother earns the Vice Presidential nomination. Marco, on the other hand, has been troubled with mental illness, and is convinced that something strange happened to him and his fellow soldiers during the war. As Marco struggles to find the truth behind his nightmares and emotional torment, he unearths some disturbing facts about how his mind and body have been reworked by scientific organization, as well as those of his fellow soldiers, including Raymond Shaw.

The twist is that Shaw's own freaky ass mother is in kahoots with the scientist because they have provided financial backing for her and her son's presidential campaign.

I joined Bl.ockbuster On.line about a month ago. How it works is that for $17 bucks a month you can get up to three movies at a time(although they have sent me four movies more than once). You add titles to your "queue", when you send one back, they send you a movie from your list.

I've decide to play DVD critic :) and rate the movies I have recently viewed. Nothing elaborate, just one or two sentences on my thoughts about the movie. A simple A-F rating system, F being the worst A being excellent. Feel free to comment with your thoughts about the movies I've rated. But remember, it's my damn blog and my opinion is really the only one that matters :) Just kidding!

The Scale:

F This ain't shit, don't waste ya time!
D This ain't much better, has one two good parts.
C Aiight! Glad I didn't pay to see it in the theatre!
B Pretty good! I enjoyed it, worth watching.
A Loved it! excellent movie, highly recommend!

Recent Viewings:

Matrix Revolutions [WS] (2003)

C This actually wasn't as good as the first two installations of the Matrix. I think it was kinda thrown together, probably because they filmed two and three at the same time. Gotta love Keanu though, he is "The One"!

Breakin' All the Rules [Special Edition] (2004)

B Only cause Gabrielle is so damn cute!

Soul Plane [Unrated] (2004)

D This is some straight up ghetto shit!

Walking Tall (2004)

C The Rock's fine ass is the only reason why I viewed this one. It's an OK movie.

Never Die Alone (2004)

B I didn't have high expectations for this one. However, I was pleasantly surprised! DMX was great in this one. It was a good story, very original.

Day After Tomorrow [WS] (2004)

C A little far fetched, but pretty good!

Along Came Polly [WS] (2004)

C I'm a Ben Stiller fan but this was lack luster. It was funny tho.

Envy (2004)

F Another Ben Stiller flick. This was long and very stupid, come on Ben!

Collateral [WS] (2004)

D I don't know what all the hype is about on this one. I was truly disappointed! Jamie was ugly in this movie, Jada looked hard and Tom Cruise with the white hair - NO. The entire movie was shot in the dark. I went and took a dump (I know TMI) while it was on. Hated it!

Terminal [WS] (2004)

C This was OK.... Tom Hanks worked that accent! The movie was extremely slow and also displayed how Americans lack compassion and can be so rude to people we don't understand.

Bourne Supremacy [WS] (2004)

D I LOVE Matt Damon! But I did not love this one. Jason Bourne sucked! This movie was rather dark and creeped at a snail's pace, nothing like the first one. I hope this it for the Bourne trilogies.

Human Stain (2003)

B This was great! A must see!

Hero (2002)

F HATED IT!!! Another hyped up movie that I can't understand why? The subtitles flew by, if you blinked you miss two frames. It ain't no Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon!

Duplex (2003

B Ben Stiller again! But this one was funny as hell! Drew Barrymore was funny in this one too. Twist ending, if you want a good laugh check this one out.

Watermelon Woman (1996)

D This is interesting, and not good!

Something's Gotta Give (2003)

B Jack Nicholson and Diane Keeton. I enjoyed this one! Oh and Keanu is in this one! This is a good one to check out.

Man on Fire (2004)

D Not Denzel's best work. The cinematography in this one was interesting - I didn't like it!