Reviews: Hairspray, Hannibal Rising, Heading South, The Hitcher, Home of the Brave, Hostel, Hostel: Part II, Idlewild, Inside Man, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, An Inconvenient Truth, The Invasion, I Think I Love My Wife, Jackass: Number Two, Jet's Li Fearless, Kickin' It Old School, Killa Season, Knocked Up, Lady In The Water, Last Holiday, The Last King of Scotland, Let's Go to Prison, Letters From Iwo Jima, License to Wed, Little Man, Miami Vice, Mission Impossible 3, A Mighty Heart, Monster House, Mr. Brooks, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Nacho Libre, The Namesake, Next, Night At The Museum, Norbit, Notes On A Scandal, The Number 23, Ocean's Thirteen, Perfect Stranger, Phat Girlz, The Pink Panther, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Preaching to the Choir, Premonition, The Prestige, Pride, Primeval, The Pursuit of Happyness

Hairspray

Category: Musical/Performing Arts, Adaptation and Remake Rating: PG for language, some suggestive content and momentarily teen smoking. Run Time: 1 hr. 55 min.

Starring: John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Amanda Bynes, Nicole Blonsky, Zac Efron

Directed by Adam Shankman

Produced by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Jennifer Gibgot

Written by Leslie Dixon (Screenplay), John Waters (Source Material from screenplay "Hairspray"), Mark O'Donnell (Source Material from musical "Hairspray"), Thomas Meehan (Source Material from musical "Hairspray")

Distributed by New Line Cinema

Release Date: June 20th, 2006

Synopsis: In Eastern Europe at the end of World War II, a young Hannibal watches as his parents violently die, leaving his young sister in his care. Alone and without any means of support, he is forced to live in a Soviet orphanage. He flees to Paris to find his uncle has died but his Japanese widow, Lady Murasaki (Gong Li) welcomes him. Even her kindness and love cannot soothe the nightmares and sorrows that plague him. Showing a cunning aptitude for science he is accepted into medical school, which serves to hone his skills and provide the tools to exact justice on the war criminals that haunt him day and night. This quest will ignite an insatiable lust within a serial killer who was not born, but made.

Review Courtesy of WWW.BANTHENWORD.ORG Says: Overall: N/A

We saw the Broadway version of the movie a few years ago and thought it was so-so, as we do this film. It is, however, good that the film touches on the “race” issue because it’s so big in this society. It does have the usual stereotypes of the detention class having mostly Blacks (who are portrayed as cool, hip, and, of course, dancing fools); there’s also the Blacks who want to “unite” after a little push and encouragement by one lone White teenage girl who wants to make the world better for all; and then you have all the happiness and cheers from mostly Whites when integration occurs. We all know that didn’t happen then as it doesn’t happen now. While it’s no longer officially called segregation, what we have today is known as White flight, gentrification, reverse discrimination claims, the media’s new and quick “race card” categorization for anyone who legitimately claims racism, and 21st Century separate but unequal qualitatively and quantitatively throughout education, housing, employment, and more that haven’t changed much since centuries past. Although this film touches on only a very small part of racism in America , it’s good that it makes an effort (you can even feel the discomfort from the audience) to discuss “race” because that’s America ’s biggest problem – facing up to its past and present demons on that issue. For the record, contrary to what this film portrays along with an educational system that grossly mis-educates, Blacks have done and can do much more than just entertain.

Hannibal Rising

Category: Suspense/Horror, Thriller, Adaptation and Sequel Rating: R for strong grisly violent content and some language/sexual references. Run Time: 1 hr. 57 min.

Starring: Gaspard Ulliel, Gong Li, Rhys Ifans, Ivan Marevich, Dominic West

Directed by Peter Webber

Produced by Tarak Ben Ammar, Dino de Laurentiis, Martha de Laurentiis

Written by Thomas Harris (screenplay), Thomas Harris (Source Material), Dino de Laurentiis (Source Material), Thomas Harris (Source Material from novel: "Behind the Mask")

Distributed by MGM Distribution Company, The Weinstein Company

Release Date: February 9th, 2006

Synopsis: In Eastern Europe at the end of World War II, a young Hannibal watches as his parents violently die, leaving his young sister in his care. Alone and without any means of support, he is forced to live in a Soviet orphanage. He flees to Paris to find his uncle has died but his Japanese widow, Lady Murasaki (Gong Li) welcomes him. Even her kindness and love cannot soothe the nightmares and sorrows that plague him. Showing a cunning aptitude for science he is accepted into medical school, which serves to hone his skills and provide the tools to exact justice on the war criminals that haunt him day and night. This quest will ignite an insatiable lust within a serial killer who was not born, but made.

Ooh Papi Says: Overall: C

I decided I would check out this film since it was not technically a horror film, a genre which I try to avoid. We all know Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal Lecter is a popular film series. In fact the actor does realize this and says: "I was a bit hesitant because I knew that it's a very big popular series and a popular character. I knew that there would be a lot of expectations from the audience and the critics. I knew that it was a bit risky for me but it's such an amazing character and such a great role that I couldn't say no."

Anthony Hopkins played the Hannibal character in three movies and won an Oscar for portraying the brilliant-but-mad doctor in 1991. Now newcomer Gaspard Ulliel is trying to connect himself to Hopkins while creating his own spin on the cold-blooded murderer: He realized that audiences look up for similarities between his character and Anthony Hopkins. However he does his own thing. Instead he picks a few details in his performance and then mixes it to his own recipe to create Hannibal Lecter, and it works despite a very slow moving film that will be best appreciated by Lecter fans.

For some odd reason Lecter is not seen like a Jeffrey Dahmer and fans like him. Personally I always wanted Lecter caught despite his brilliance. Others may see Lecter simply as a very complex, very deep, very interesting character. The perverse killings and this very intelligent way of preparing all the crimes may be easier for them to watch without passing judgment. I cannot do the same but I can appreciate the story telling. This is a different Lecter as presented in early films, this lecter reserves his carnage for the truly deserving; that's a long way from the Lecter of Silence of the Lambs who kills and tortures innocent and guilty alike.

Hollywood now wants to humanize him even more and ties his horrid activity into his being scarred by Nazi’s. It begins in Lithuania, near the end of World War II, when a 9-year-old Lecter and his younger sister, Mischa, witness their parents killed in the crossfire between Nazi and Russian forces. We see young Hannibal Lecter and his little sister are orphaned in 1944 Lithuania and taken captive by Nazis. Food is scarce and Lecter's sister is served as the main course one desperate and devastating evening. Lecter survives the ordeal and years later lands at the Paris home of his uncle and Japanese wife. There he enrolls in medical school, is taught Asian culture, and fighting by his aunt who he has an incestuous type relationship with, and vows to avenge the deaths of his sister to her.

In the end this film lacks suspense but actually I’m more bothered by a particular scene noted by Sean O Conell “that's included for dramatic effect, even though it messes with Lecter's mythology. You might have seen the shot on the poster. It shows young Lecter wearing an Asian mask that places three recognizable bars over his mouth. The image is supposed to conjure memories of Lambs, as it resembles the protective guard authorities slapped on a straight jacketed Hopkins. And that's just it. Lecter never chose to wear that mask, as Rising suggests. It was forced on him. How pathetic that a movie claiming to honor Lecter's past can't even get his history straight.”

Heading South

Category: Drama and Romance Rating: N/A Run Time: 1 hr. 45 min.

Starring: Charlotte Rampling, Karen Young, Menothy Cesar, Lys Ambroise, Louise Portal

Directed by Eli Roth

Produced by Caroline Benjo, Carole Scotta, Simon Arnal (II)

Written by Laurent Cantet, Dany Laferriere (II)

Distributed by Shadow Distribution

Release Date: July 7th, 2006

Synopsis: On the sun drenched island of Haiti in the 70's, foreigners idle away their vacations in the palm-fringed paradise of the beach hotels. Brenda, Ellen and Sue, three North American women, converge on the island looking for flirtation, relaxation and respite from their colorless jobs and marriages. They find what they are looking for in Legba an enigmatic local adonis whose beauty and passion has them enthralled. It is this passion that will lead them away from the guilded cage of tourism and will open their eyes to the poverty stricken and dangerous world of Haiti at the end of "Baby Doc" Duvalier's notoriously violent regime.

Eyecalone Says: Overall: C

Set in 1970's Haiti, Heading South, deals with a real issue that is rarely touched upon directly in cinema, Sex Tourism. The phenomena is probably best described as the practice of middle-aged and old, relatively, well-to-do Americans and Europeans traveling to poor countries to purchase sex directly or indirectly from the local men and women, but often boys and girls that would be considered underage in their own country. Heading South approaches the issue from a somewhat different angle as the "buyers" are middle-aged White women from the United States and Europe. Unable to find affection in their home countries due to age, weight, or some other perceived defect Brenda, Ellen, and Sue use there vacation time to travel to different warm weather countries, often islands in the Caribbean where their relative wealth puts them in a position to "buy" the affection of local men. It's a sometimes veiled form of prostitution where the services one is too embarrassed to pay for directly are often purchased in gifts, trinkets, and privileges. For instance one local Adonis, Legba who becomes a central figure in the story as two of the previously mentioned women vie for his affection, is unable to eat at the hotel/resort or use any of the services unless he is with his female sponsors, and even when he is with them it is against policy for him to be allowed to eat in the resort restaurant. The story takes place in Haiti during the end of the brutal and repressive, US-backed "Baby Doc" Duvalier regime, but it really could be many of the islands of the Caribbean or even much of Africa as the money-race-power relations have not changed in many of these places. Take for instance someplace like Jamaica, a hot-spot for American tourism but few of us, Black or White, dare leave our resort accommodations once we get there. Though it's rarely dealt with directly the idea that the tourist women and native population live in very different worlds is always right below the surface. Heading South tries to paint a somewhat sympathetic picture of these female exploiters, at one point allowing each of the three main middle-aged female characters to look directly into the character and explain why they do what they do but at times it's still hard to feel completely sorry for them because deep down many of them are not really nice people. Although some apparently do develop certain attachments emotionally as well as physically to their temporary vacation "boy toys" the weaker parts of their character show up as soon as they are forced to deal with the locals as equals. For all that's going on around them, the women seem somewhat oblivious to and ultimately uninterested in the real lives of the average Haitian, and all the violence, repression, and exploitation they likely experience. A reality perhaps best expressed when a police investigator, looking into the apparent murder of a local responds to the expressed safety concerns of the female tourist by remarking, "tourist never die" - a subtle remark that, like this film, could hold so much more truth if it just dug a little deeper below the surface.   

The Hitcher

Category: Suspense/Horror, Thriller and Remake Rating: R for strong bloody violence, terror and language. Run Time: 1 hr. 30 min.

Starring: Sean Bean, Sophia Bush, Zachary Knighton, Kyle Davis, Neal McDonough

Directed by Dave Meyers

Produced by Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Brad Fuller

Written by Eli Roth

Distributed by Rogue Pictures (Focus)

Release Date: January 19th, 2007

Synopsis: Grace Andrews and Jim Halsey are a collegiate couple who are tormented by the mysterious hitchhiker John Ryder, a.k.a. The Hitcher. The young couple hit the road in a 1970 Oldsmobile 442, en route to spring break. But their pleasure trip soon turns into a waking nightmare. The initial encounters with Ryder are increasingly off-putting for Grace and Jim, and they bravely fight back when he ambushes them. But they are truly blindsided when he implicates them in a horrific slaying and continues to shadow them. The open road becomes a suspenseful, action-packed battleground of blood and metal as, in trying to elude not only Ryder but also New Mexico State Police Lieutenant Esteridge's officers, Grace and Jim must fight for their lives and face their fears head-on.

Ooh Papi Says: Overall: F

For one of the first times, I was able to enjoy a movie without my family. I dashed in here without paying, after ditching the family (sister in law, cousin, aunt, etc) as we had all just  watching the animated global warming film Happy Feet. It’s too bad I wasted good free time watching the 2007 version of The Hitcher. The movie doesn't make a lick of sense, and is highly improbable. There are enough shocks to keep it going but all thoughts of originality also perish on the side of the road like many of the Hitcher's victims. In short (because this is not worth the time or effort) the plot's just a campfire story, a guy picks up a hitchhiker who turns out to be a serial killer and maybe something more ghastly like somebody returning from Iraq and can’t find work. The object here doesn't have a whole lot to do with the structures of storytelling. It's a typically superficial take on the formula to bring young adults into the theatre and, once they are seated, satisfy their appetite for gore and their short attention spans. Forget character development or storytelling. Just keep the amps, the shocks and the mph up.

It’s also annoyingly “White”, in that many people will say “only White people do that”. In truth the film would have ended very early if the 2 main characters were African-American or Latino. I found myself yelling at the scream often because of obvious ways to end the movie an hour early. Most people would have killed the hitcher after he tried to kill them the first time and they defeated him and he was unconscious on the road. For some reason they let him live instead of running him over. Why? Why ? Why?

The young couple are generic as the cookie-cutter rock on the soundtrack: They bicker, they're boring as hell, and then are country people with no city smarts. Ultimately, this is a bit of trash that will most comfortably line the cages of those who have no memory or attachment to the original 1986 film called The Hitcher. This in itself is an idea more terrifying than anything portrayed in The Hitcher of 2007.

The first challenge to that premise is his arch villain wiping people out like insects on a windshield for no reason at all. Yes, there's no explanation even suggested for the mass mayhem, just the enjoyment of the kill and the proof of the killer's uncanny and totally unbelievable success at being in the wrong place at the wrong time for his victims. The man doesn't only have timing that would put an atomic clock to shame, but he's able to bring down a small fleet of cop cars on a highway and cap it off by taking a police chase helicopter out of the sky. With a handgun at around 60. It’s a totally ridiculous plot that make the police in Texas and New Mexico seem incompetent and had me praying that I never have to rely on them for safety. In short do not waste your money , there is a good reason they did not let the critics screen this waste of 35mm.

Home of the Brave

Category: Drama and War Rating: R for war violence and language. Run Time: 1 hr. 45 min.

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Biel, Christina Ricci, 50 Cent, Brian Presley

Directed by Irwin Winkler

Produced by Randall Emmett, John Thompson (IV), Boaz Davidson

Written by Mark Friedman (II), Irwin Winkler

Distributed by Nu Image/Millennium Films, Freedom Films, Winkler Films

Release Date: December 15th, 2006 (Limited)

Synopsis: In Southeastern Iraq, a war-wearied National Guard unit has just received the exhilarating news that they are about to be "demobilized"--finally sent back home to the safety of Spokane. But when they head out on one final humanitarian mission in the nearby town of Al Hayy, things go terribly wrong. Ensnared by insurgents, a ferocious and chaotic firefight ensues--from which none of the group will escape unscathed. Back in Spokane, the soldiers find themselves still reeling from the ambush's lasting effects--haunted by their own personal demons and feeling a deep disconnect between themselves and those leading everyday American lives around them. The heroic medic Will Marsh saved countless lives in Iraq, but when he tries to go back to being a regular dad, husband and doctor again, he finds he's unraveling inside. The once ultra-confident Vanessa Price, fresh out of rehab, faces the toughest challenge of her young life: learning to be a single mom with a single hand. Meanwhile, Private Tommy Yates returns with his best friend Jordan and Jamal Aiken discovers that a split-second, deadly shooting during the Al Hayy battle has sent his life at home spiraling into mayhem. Both heartbreak and heroism emerge as the four each find their own way--whether tragic or triumphant--to a reckoning with that fateful day in Iraq.

Bruce Banter Says: Overall: B+

I can see why Hollywood studios only released this film in small random distribution. This film has been constantly delayed due to its current political content. Most don’t even know it hit theatres. Although the film tries to balance both sides of the war debate, its sentiment is still anti – Iraq war in an even handed portrayal. This is not some hokey Iraq war movie like "Jarhead". This film looks at Iraq War veterans and the effect the war had on four soldiers as their lives all intersect in Spokane, Washington using a "Crash" sort of storytelling technique. "Fonzie" (director Irwin Winkler) has created a cerebral drama of veterans and the problems they face returning home in 2007.

Home of the Brave focuses on four American soldiers two weeks away from the end of their tours of duty in Iraq . Shortly after learning their unit will soon return home, they are sent on a humanitarian run and the experience changes their lives and outlook on the war. Jessica Biel, Samuel L Jackson, 50 Cent and Brian Presley comprise the 4 characters this film revolves around. All have problems adjusting to society on return. Samuel L. Jackson is an army doctor who turns alcoholic while his family life unravels. Jessica Biel must readjust as a single mom with a missing hand who tries to work in a sporting capacity at a high school. Brian Presley putters around in a dead-end job as a movie usher and has to deal with a dad who can’t understand why he just can’t adjust after returning home from war. Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson is haunted by memories of shooting an innocent old lady in Iraq .

All four characters have trouble adjusting but only the 2 with the last named Jackson get so distraught as to either try to harm themselves or loved ones. This could be coincidence or maybe "Fonzie" is hinting that mentally African Americans handle stress with violence. When compared to the other two main characters this contrast is glaring.

There is irony with 50 Cent's character Jamal who looks very awkward in this film handling a M16 and gets killed back in the states by the police with one bullet in a non-vital area, after holding a girl and her friends hostage. Not much acting here and besides 50’s normal articulation is bad and thus he struggles in his non-aggressive conversation.

Samuel L Jackson is quite the confused dad pretending to be ok but admits that amputating 6 arms and legs in 4 hours of four kids under 20 years old, while watching 20 others die has taken a toll on him. To make matters worse he has to come home to a son who hates him for supporting Bush’s imperial war for oil. His teenage son has more political acumen than most Americans twice his age but his style is very abrasive to his dad. Surprisingly enough Jackson character war position is in flux throughout the film and at no time is this better displayed when he is called to school because his son is suspended for wearing a "Busk Fush" shirt and Jackson tears into the principal for his censorship of his son.

Jessica Biel is mad after losing a hand but still feeling lucky to be alive. She watches army recruits on her school campus recruit with slight disdain but her real anger is for anybody trying to show her sympathy over the lost hand and the average Americans who don’t really care what is going on in Iraq . Her struggle is to get on with life. Last but not least Brain Presley narrates the ending of the movie and serves as the unlikely voice of them all in the ends as he re-enlist in the army and attempts to explain to audiences why he is going back despite all he has endured. The film ends with the Machiavelli quote “Wars begin where you will but they do not end where you please"  - Nothing could be more true. - Nuff said

Hostel

Category: Suspense/Horror Rating: R for brutal scenes of torture and violence, strong sexual content, language and drug use. Run Time: 1 hr. 35 min.

Starring: Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, Eythor Gudjonsson, Jan Vlasák, Barbara Nedeljáková

Directed by Eli Roth

Produced by Boaz Yakin, Scott Spiegel, Quentin Tarantino

Written by Eli Roth

Distributed by Lions Gate Releasing

Release Date: January 6th, 2006

Synopsis: Two adventurous American college buddies, Paxton and Josh, backpack through Europe eager to make quintessentially hazy travel memories with new friend Oli, an Icelander they've met along the way. Paxton and Josh are eventually lured by a fellow traveler to what's described as a nirvana for American backpackers--a particular hostel in an out-of-the-way Slovakian town stocked with Eastern European women as desperate as they are gorgeous. The two friends arrive and soon easily pair off with exotic beauties Natalya and Svetlana. In fact, too easily. Initially distracted by the good time they're having, the two Americans quickly find themselves trapped in an increasingly sinister situation that they will discover is as wide and as deep as the darkest, sickest recess of human nature itself--if they survive.

Ooh Papi Says: Overall: B-

This was the number one movie in the county this week, which is proof that Americans are sick. This movie is the sick tale of "Ugly Americans" and their Icelandic pal who are traveling across Europe seeking thrills, but become the victims of someone else’s twisted idea of fun. “Hostel” is extremely effective in achieving its goal: to make you squirm in your seat, heart pounding, fingers splayed across your eyes, in sheer amazement at the intensity of the images on the screen. Eli Roth won’t just show you a close-up of a chain saw severing the fingers of a hapless backpacker who’s been chained to a chair and tortured. He’ll also show you the bloody stumps falling onto the dark stone floor, as well as the partial paw that remains.

Such is the relentlessly graphic nature of “Hostel,” which surely must have been intended as a homophone for “hostile,” and is not for the faint of heart. (Reportedly not one but two ambulances were called to care for audience members who fell ill while watching the horror movie during last year’s Toronto Film Festival. Coincidence? Perhaps not.) A lot of horror movies come out every year but few of them are truly disturbing - this one is! The opening salvo is a thumb-twiddling mix of soft-core porn and character introduction, as Roth’s honey-trapped protagonists are too giddy with wine and women to recognize their peril. But Hostel’s gory, pulse-pounding second act is the reason to see this intense, oddly satisfying bloodbath. It’s horrifying, in the best sense of the word, with several contenders for Best Supporting Torture Implement and more than a few sights you’ll likely never forget–if you can keep your eyes open. This film is absolutely mad and for the depraved.

Hostel: Part II

Category: Suspense/Horror and Sequel Rating: R for sadistic scenes of torture and bloody violence, terror, nudity, sexual content, language and some drug content. Run Time: 1 hr. 35 min.

Starring: Lauren German, Heather Matarazzo, Bijou Phillips, Roger Bart, Richard Burgi

Directed by Eli Roth

Produced by Boaz Yakin, Scott Spiegel, Quentin Tarantino

Written by Eli Roth

Distributed by Lions Gate Releasing

Release Date: June 8th, 2007

Synopsis: Three young Americans studying in Rome set off for a weekend trip when they run into a beautiful model from one of their art classes. Also on her way to an exotic destination, the gorgeous European invites the coeds to come along, assuring them they will be able to relax and rejuvenate. Will the girls find the oasis they are looking for? Or are they poised to become victims for hire, pawns in the fantasies of the sick and privileged from around the world who secretly travel here to savor more grisly pursuits?

Ooh Papi Says: Overall: C-

In the first "Hostel" a group of young male backpackers took the train from Amsterdam to Slovakia, where they ran afoul of a charnel house charging customers up to $50,000 to mutilate, torture and murder innocent young Americans. Disturbing theme for those of us who travel even if you have never stayed in a hostel before. Anti-American sentiment is very high in the world, higher than it has ever been thanks to George Bush.

Three girls (Lauren German, Bijou Phillips, and Heather Matarazzo) are in Europe studying art. One of the models for the art course is a statuesque beauty (Vera Jordanova) who befriends the girls and starts a friendship with one girl that borders on lesbianism. Of course, the model gets them to go to a special hot springs and stay at a hostel. Shortly after arriving, the girls are drugged, dragged, and prepped for a slab or a death seat. I still do not even understand why the main character Beth is staying at a hostel (low budget way of accommodations while traveling) since she is richer than Jay Z, P-Diddy and 50-Cent put together in this film?

Director Roth, appears to like it rough, and the assumption is that we do, too. But where is the pleasure in seeing a buzz saw to the face? Or watching genitals and testicles being cut in one swift move and thrown to a pair of dogs -- even if the man who owned them deserves to be punished? Roth's aim is simple. He just wants to surpass the bounds of what a movie can show -- what he showed in the first "Hostel" -- and how long the camera can linger over it. The movie's moral center doesn't hold, which might be the point: Slaughter feels good, whether you're paying to kill or brutalizing your would-be killer. Now the message is that when you are super reach you can buy anything that you want including death, thus nothing you want is unattainable to you now and to top it off killing makes you a greater business man and gives you the extra "uumph" in your personality... utter bullshit that many people believe.

Oh! I almost forgot. This time we also get to know the killers involved. There's the superior sportsman (Richard Burgi) and his pseudo-homosexual family-man friend (Roger Bart) who win the right to torture two of the girls for a solid fifty grand. We are let into the process of preparation: a tattoo must be acquired, tools for your session must be selected, and cheap, hollow emotions must be administered. Then when it's time to get down to business, the film, as if knowledgeable about how deep its ditch is, puts the pedal-to-the-metal and rushes through its last third. It gets to the point I asked myself, why am I viewing this and what sort of audiences really like this?

Idlewild

Category: Drama and Musical/Performing Arts Rating: R for violence, sexuality, nudity and language . Run Time: 2 hr. 00 min.

Starring: Andre 'Andre 3000' Benjamin, Antwan 'Big Boi' Patton, Faizon Love, Paula Jai Parker, Paula Patton

Directed by Bryan Barber

Produced by Robin O'Hara, Scott Macaulay, William Green (II)

Written by Bryan Barber, Doug Stern

Distributed by Universal Pictures Distribution

Release Date: August 25th, 2006

Synopsis: Set against the backdrop of a 1930s southern speakeasy, Percival, a shy piano player, and Rooster, the club's showy lead performer and manager, struggle to keep their dreams alive.

Bruce Banter Says: Overall: B

This film was shot two years ago and has been sitting on the shelf while the studio, Universal, tried to figure out a way to market it. Why I ask - since this market has always been there. Black people are not monolithic and this 1930’s throwback film has an audience waiting. Universal Pictures’ musical drama “Idlewild,” stars hip hop personalities Andre Benjamin and Antwan A. Patton of OutKast, it premiered at No. 9 with $5.9 million, scoring the best per-theater numbers among new wide releases, averaging $6,064 in 973 cinemas, about one-third the locations for “Invincible,” which averaged $5,838 in 2,917 theaters, and “Beerfest,” which did $2,193 in 2,964 sites. Proof that this movie is a hot and the soundtrack fits what they are trying to do, despite rumors of a not so popular album release that coincides with the film. The songs are taken predominately from “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below,” they’re ones which fit with a musical. The duo released an “Idlewild” soundtrack album this week, but little of that new music is featured prominently in the production numbers.

There are some great child actors featured early on, in this film (young Big Boi especially) and most of the acting is decent. A familiar cast that includes Terrence Howard (”Crash,” “Hustle & Flow”), Ving Rhames (”Pulp Fiction,” “Mission: Impossible”), Faizon Love (”Elf,” “Friday”) and “Roots” veterans Ben Vereen (as Percival’s dad) and Cicely Tyson (in an all-too-brief cameo as a Dust Bowl refugee). Macy Gray is okay in her part but she plays the same role and same type of character time and time again. Film critic Wesley Morris captures the performance by Big Boi best when he says “Rooster (Big Boi ) is trying to keep a slick gangster (Terrence Howard) from taking the nightclub’s profits. Rooster is also trying to keep his fed-up wife (Malinda Williams) from taking their five kids and moving in with her momma. (Rooster, like all Roosters before him, drinks, cheats, and struts around in flashy suits)”.

Andre Benjamin on the other hand can’t really sing and his character is so depressed for 90% of the film it takes away from his charisma. The main problem however is that the film doesn’t pay attention to detail. For example the body tatoo’s that people take for granted as having now, were not common in the 1930’s and should have been airbrushed off of the film stars. The bullet blocking Bible is one of the many predictable events in this film. The N-word is used so much that you think that it is the only insult that people had back then. However, overall Idlewild is still a good time for movie goers. Starting with opening-credit sequence, in which we see Big Boi and Andre 3000 as young boys -who are like Hip-hops version of the little rascals. If you like musicals, you can’t really miss with this but if you are informed about black life in the 30’s some things might annoy you. Overall there is more that you will like than dislike. - Nuff said!

An Inconvenient Truth

Category: Documentary and Politics Rating: PG for mild thematic elements. Run Time: 1 hr. 40 min.

Starring: Al Gore

Directed by Davis Guggenheim

Produced by Jeff Skoll, Davis Guggenheim, Diane Weyermann

Written by N/A

Distributed by Paramount Vantage, United International Pictures

Release Date: May 24th, 2006

Synopsis: Al Gore has traveled the world delivering a presentation on the global climate change, proving that humankind must confront global warming now or face devastating consequences--this film captures his journey as a worldwide environmental champion.

Ooh Papi Says: Overall: A-

Please don’t think Al Gore was the first celebrity figure to talk about impending doom and the environment. Marvin Gaye first talked about global disaster on his song "Mercy Mercy Me" but he never warned us that we are all going to die.This is not a horror film but it might as well be and I believe every drop of what the film showed me. In the deeply scary documentary "An Inconvenient Truth", Gore shows more personality – and poses some even more devastating questions – than he did in his entire election campaign. The issue of global warming is clearly one that is close to Gore’s heart, as he took to the road after his failed presidential bid on an international lecture circuit to raise awareness and inspire action on the near-crisis levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the havoc they are already wreaking on the planet.

Conservatives love to bash the 1960s, but when you think about it, the ones who should really be distancing themselves from that activist decade are those who seek to warn us about the perils of global warming. Every day, they must wonder why more of America isn’t with them. Is it laziness? Denial? The pernicious influence of corporate propaganda? All of the above, perhaps, but there’s a deeper cultural reason. Global warming has its roots in ’60s environmentalism — or, as it was known then, ecology. For a lot of people, the topic still carries a liberal-left tree-hugger vibe, and a taint of conspiracy. The right-wing strategy, which has been to paint global warming as a lofty hypothetical — an alarmist scenario pushed by hippies — is a way of relegating it back to the era of ’60s paranoia. The challenge is how to clear those counterculture mists and claim the issue, forever, as a mainstream crisis.

Essentially a filming of Gore’s polished, straightforward, and compelling lecture, Truth is pretty much the slickest, best-produced classroom filmstrip you’ll see at the local movie theater. It’s at its most effective when director Davis Guggenheim does not try to be something more artsy than an educational tool and simply lets Gore’s pictures and staggering number of graphs of the assorted bar, line, and pie varieties do the razzle-dazzle for him.

Between these indulgent interludes and the sheer volume of the graphs and data. Gore isn’t preaching to the converted. He’s reaching out to the skeptics, pitching his lecture to those who believe that there might, sort of, kind of, be something to all this but are wired, in their guts, to suspect otherwise. Early on, Gore debunks the conservative myth that global warming may be happening (slightly), but that it’s merely cyclical. Unfortunately what he doesn’t do is offer enough of what that can be done about it. The only politicking Gore does is when asked what we should do about it, and he gives a great call to action, but he doesn’t give an answer. There is some hope offered in the form of existing technology that can reduce our carbon output, but frankly, this is a guy who was VP of the United States, and he wasn’t able to affect change. Now he’s telling me to fix it by… recycling?

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry

Category: Comedy Rating: PG-13 for crude sexual content throughout, nudity, language and drug references. Run Time: 1 hr. 50 min.

Starring: : Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Jessica Biel, Steve Buscemi, Dan Aykroyd

Directed by Dennis Dugan

Produced by Lew Gallo, Barry Bernardi, Ryan Kavanaugh

Written by Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor, Barry Fanaro

Distributed by Universal Pictures Distribution, Universal Pictures International

Release Date: July 20th, 2007

Synopsis: Chuck Levine and Larry Valentine are the pride of their fire station: two guy's guys always side-by-side and willing to do anything for each other. Grateful Chuck owes Larry for saving his life in a fire, and Larry calls in that favor big time when civic red tape prevents him from naming his own two kids as his life insurance beneficiaries. But when an overzealous, spot-checking bureaucrat becomes suspicious, the new couple's arrangement becomes a citywide issue and goes from confidential to front-page news. Forced to improvise as love-struck newlyweds, Chuck and Larry must now fumble through a hilarious charade of domestic bliss under one roof. After surviving their mandatory honeymoon and dodging the threat of exposure, the well-intentioned con men discover that sticking together in your time of need is what truly makes a family.

Ooh Papi Says: Overall: C-

Thia movie isn't insulting to homosexuals but to comedy. I could not make up my mind in trying to figure out if this movie was more anti-gay with its stereotypes or pro-gay with its topical advancement. So confusing is it that I figure Isaiah Washington must have been a set consultant. Viewers are subjected to Adam Sandler inundating us with gay jokes then turning around and condemning intolerance is a bit too much to swallow. What ultimately causes the film to collapse on itself besides the excruciating 2 hour 20 minute running time is the simple fact that it has no direction or integrity. Director Dugan has attempted to push homosexual life into the most American (read heterosexual) of film genres: the romantic comedy. That it's an uncomfortable fit comes as no surprise, but that it misses the target so widely in both laughs and context designates it as a purebred disaster of a film even with its box office success.

No freaking way should this film have a PG13 rating; this is an R rated film with an adult theme! With a tacked-on PC message and leaden attempts at humor, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry is a movie that gives marriage, homosexuality, friendship, firefighters, children and nearly everything else a bad name. Sandler plays a firefighting wiseguy named Chuck. He's Mr. February in the fire department's calendar of hunks. This is where the movie first takes flight from reality. One can imagine many more worthy specimens for such a compendium than Sandler in a cheesecake pose. I may not have a "six pack" but I am sexier than Sandler. Sandler's character is so promiscuous, he would make P-Diddy blush. This dubious ploy is obviously a contradiction to what heterosexuals claim to despise about homosexuals.

The conceit of falsifying themselves as a gay couple plays out in a sophomoric fashion full of predictable gags. Make no mistake this is not a clever pro-gay film along the lines of award winning cinema like Philadelphia or Brokeback Mountain ("no homo" - yeah my wife made me watch it). Fear of a gay planet fuels plenty of American movies; it’s as de rigueur in comedy as in macho action. But what’s mildly different about “Chuck & Larry” is how sincerely it tries to have its rainbow cake and eat it too. The movie resembles a game of Mother May I, in that for every tiny step it takes forward in the name of enlightenment it takes three giant steps back, often by piling on more jokes about gay exuded. Did I add in the Asian racism factor is very high? Rob Schneider might as well be doing yellow face.

I would be wrong not to mention and highlight Ving Rhames. If he plays another pillow biting closeted character the rumors will start. I use the term "pillow biter" because if you can stomach that sort of adjective as a critique you might be able to sit through this. It’s a surprise this film is so lazy since the power brokers in Hollywood do have an obvious gay agenda in my opinion. It is cliché with the gay mailman who "would be happy to come in through the back door" and a guy who drops the soap in a group shower. Just to make it extra funny, a second guy then drops his soap....homie we need better writers.

It's the equivalent of that old Jerry Seinfeld bit where he mentions someone is gay but quickly adds, "Not that there's anything wrong with that". Some of it is just so silly that no gays could have been serving on this project. The city sends a prissy fraud inspector in Steve Buscemi to inspect their honeymoon pad and rifle through garbage to determine whether it's "gay enough"? I was barely getting over 300, and now this. One thing that I did notice was this odd role of kids like the little boy actor who throughout the film shows gay tendencies, well actually he is supposed to be gay at like 7 years old and this tomboy daughter who is about 9 but really understands domestic partnerships and gay sex. This week the rumor that rap preacher Mase was caught with another transsexual in his car spread through Atlanta radio but it was not real tabloid news, (even if it had any validity at all) because most people don't really care about this stuff unless it is examined from a serious perspective and since Chuck and Larry is a not serious I guess I should not have expected it to advance the debate. Chuck and Larry will do about as much good for the homosexual debate as Crash did for racial issues. That is to say, both take their issue at face-value and do nothing to investigate or comment on it really.

Inside Man

Category: Drama, Thriller and Crime/Gangster Rating: R for language and some violent images. Run Time: 2hr. 08 min.

Starring: Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Willem Dafoe, Chiwetel Ejiofor

Directed by Spike Lee

Produced by Daniel Rosenberg, Brian Grazer

Written by Russell Gewirtz

Distributed by Lions Gates Films

Release Date: March 24th, 2006

Synopsis: Four people dressed in painters' outfits march into the busy lobby of Manhattan Trust, a cornerstone Wall Street Branch of a worldwide financial institution. Within seconds, the costumed robbers place the bank under a surgically planned siege, and the 50 patrons and staff become unwitting pawns in an airtight heist. NYPD hostage negotiators Detectives Keith Frazier and Bill Mitchell are dispatched to the scene with orders to establish contact with the heist's ringleader, Dalton Russell, and ensure safe release of the hostages. Working alongside Emergency Services Unit (ESU) Captain John Darius, all are hopeful that the situation can be peacefully diffused and that control of the bank and release of those inside can be secured in short order. But Russell proves an unexpectedly canny opponent--clever, calm and totally in command--a puppet master with a meticulous plan to disorient and confuse not only the hostages, but also the authorities. Outside, the crowd of New Yorkers grows as the situation becomes increasingly intense tense, with Frazier's superiors becoming more concerned about his ability to keep the standoff from spiraling out of control. The robbers appear to consistently be one step ahead of the police, outwitting Frazier and Mitchell at every turn. Frazier's suspicions that more is at work than anyone perceives are justified with the entry of Madeline White, a power player with shadowy objectives, who requests a private meeting with Russell. The chairman of the bank's board of directors, controlling entrepreneur Arthur Case, is also uniquely interested in the moment-to-moment happenings inside the branch. But just what are the robbers after? Why has nothing worked to alleviate the standoff, which stretches on hour after hour? Frazier is convinced that invisible strings are being pulled and secret negotiations are taking place as the powder keg situation grows more unstable by the moment.

Bruce Banter Says: Overall: B+

I anticipate that I am not the only on who thinks this film is a hit. If I had to guess I would say that V for Vendetta will be the second highest grossing movie this week and judging by the lines and the applause in the theater Inside Man is going to be number 1. As in V for Vendetta you have a situation where the bad guy is the sentimental favorite because some of or all of his activity is based in righteousness even if a few "innocent' people have to get inconvenienced in the process.

Since I really did enjoy this film so much, let me tell you what I didn't like about it first or rather what was really a stretch in the script. I will be sure not to give away any points. First the ending didn't tie up neatly. Second the one size fits all Uniform - you have to wonder how the crooks knew how many smalls, mediums and extra large uniforms to bring. Critics have raised the casting question about Christopher Plummer who is too young for this role as the Nazi sympathizer. The role was designed for somebody twenty years his senior, if he was a brotha' I would say "ok black don't crack" (lol) Consider critic Roger Ebert who said "if a man was old enough in the early 1940s to play an important wartime role, how old would he be now? Ninety-five? He might still be chairman of the bank he founded, but would he look like that young?" Possible not probable. Denzel's cop girlfriend the beautiful Cassandra Freeman is another example of Spike using sisters to take on these loutish roles, he is aware of the on going criticism of him when it comes to females, he should try to use his pen or lense in a more inspiring way.

Ok now here is why I liked it and you probably will also. This movie is vintage Spike Lee, an official Spike Lee Joint even without him making a cameo. The techniques he uses, with the moving or spinning backgrounds are reserved for Clive and Denzel the rival heroes on screen. The racially charged humor from a Black perspective. The ethnic and racial tensions in the plot are serious yet comfortably funny if that's possible. There is a scene where A Sikh is accused of being an Arab terrorist, and the dialogue which ensues shows that this country is so xenophobic, racist and they can't even see it unless we show them so Spike lets the character say his stuff and then Denzel lets him know that despite all of that shit you just said, its not as bad as being Black cause you can still get a cab in NYC. It's a punch-line that doesn't take away from the Sikh's points and even the movie goers are thinking I know he's not a terrorist but "the cops are correct". Eventually people might understand that a guy with a turban can be a Sikh - Not an Arab. As multi-ethnic as NY claims to be Spike shows how typically ignorant people are of each other's cultures. The episode where the hostage-takers use a foreign language that has to be identified by a construction worker and then translated by his ex-wife speaks volumes of people. It's not trying to tell a story but it's actually a identifiable point for many New Yorkers who see Europeans as all the same Albanian, Armenian, Yugoslavia, Bosnian etc it's another tidbit that stands by itself. It has an international outreach without being political and will make it a hit overseas.

No tidbit is quite as outstanding as Spike's not so subtle attack on Curtis Jackson aka "Fiddy Cent". There is a scene involving a little boy playing the new 50-Cent game and his perspective is an eloquent smack in the face and wake up call concerning the rise of the Black-male gangster particularly the philosophy and opinions which say "get rich or die trying". The actual video shots of the little boy's video game, show a shoot-'em-up sequence followed by a 9-year old rationalization so embarrassing that even Clive Owens's seemingly nasty bank robber character takes offense. Spike's in total control throughout and still focused on the main story unlike the ten stories he tried to tell in "She Hate me". Lee's filmmaking is playful yet intense and calm.

All the main characters you will either understand or like. Jodie Foster character is not wasted either, we see her in a way physically we have never seen her before , she is dressed in sexy tight business suits, sporting muscular legs with tight skin and finally tanned, she has never looked more expensive and Madison avenue. She is also playing the type of character we have never seen her play although she has been in over 70 films. Without giving away any substance to this great film Spike title is genius in the conclusion since most people will be thinking its an "inside job" and it suggest collusion to the bank robbery - Nuff Said.

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The Invasion

Category: Science Fiction/Fantasy, Suspense/Horror and Remake Rating: PG-13 for violence, disturbing images and terror. Run Time: 1 hr. 36 min.

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam, Jeffrey Wright, Jackson Bond

Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel

Produced by Roy Lee, Doug Davison, Susan Downey

Written by Dave Kajganich (Screenplay), Jack Finney (Source Material serial story: "Invasion of the Body Snatchers")

Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution

Release Date: August 17th, 2007

Synopsis: The mysterious crash of the space shuttle leads to the terrifying discovery that there is something alien within the wreckage. Those who come in contact with it are changing in ominous and inexplicable ways. Soon Washington, DC psychiatrist Carol Bennell and her friend, Dr. Ben Driscoll, learn the shocking truth about the growing extraterrestrial epidemic: it attacks its victims while they sleep, leaving them physically unchanged but strangely unfeeling and inhuman. As the infection spreads, more and more people are altered and it becomes impossible to know who can be trusted. Now Carol's only hope is to stay awake long enough to find her young son, who may hold the key to stopping the devastating invasion.

Ooh Papi Says: Overall: B-

The Invasion is the fourth of the movies made from Jack Finney's classic science fiction novel "The Body Snatchers", which I probably saw about 25 times. This film is updated to be stylish and smart but it cannot replace the original. It is an effective action thriller that only hints at the psychological complexity the film might have wanted to move toward. It does not try to do too much but it’s a moderately compelling sci-fi action movie with a handful of scary scenes and a few funny ones. You will find it an easier sell than its micro idea which is that Nicole Kidman is sexy in lingerie.

The film doesn't waste any time with foreplay giving us some back-story: It opens with a space shuttle exploding and killing a few astronauts and spreading a swath of debris from Texas to Washington, D.C. Before long, people aren't acting like themselves. They're emotionless, logical, glassy-eyed, whisper in closed groups and, for some reason become great at enunciating their words.  

What many might not like about the film that I did like is that the new body-snatchers are educated political theorists who sermonize about the war in Iraq and peace on earth. It’s like the spores were studying human civilization. In essence it’s not so bad to be like them but you have to sacrifice your personality and individuality. Psychiatrist Carol Bennell (Kidman) and her plutonic boyfriend doctor Ben Driscoll (Craig a.k.a. new James Bond) quickly figure out that the shuttle crash spread alien spores throughout the nation, and those people who become infected turn into lobotomized drones after one good night's sleep even if they don’t have a "Sealy Posturpedic" mattress. It’s a flu like epidemic hitting the globe, but for some reason it’s spreading faster in Europe than America although the spores hit the USA? Somebody dropped the ball with that logic.

We seem doomed if we show emotion but some people are immune to the spores and if we can get a cure from their bodies, we can save us all. However we are left to ponder the idea of what the aliens want for us which is a "we are the world", war free world whereby we share the resources of the planet, or do we want our uniqueness? Somehow I think the aliens are not really the bad guys here.

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I Think I Love My Wife

Category: Comedy and Remake Rating: R for pervasive language and some sexual content. Run Time: 1 hr. 34 min.

Starring: Chris Rock, Kerry Washington, Gina Torres, Eliza Coupe, Cassandra Freeman

Directed by Chris Rock

Produced by Adam Brightman, Ronnie Screwvala, Lisa Stewart

Written by Chris Rock, Louis C.K., Eric Rohmer (Source Material from screenplay: "Chole in the Afternoon")

Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures

Release Date: March 16th, 2007

Synopsis: Richard Cooper has it all. His wife, Brenda, is beautiful, intelligent and a fantastic mother to his children--but there's just one little problem: he's bored out of his suburban businessman's mind. Richard can't help but fantasize about having nearly every woman he sees. Still, it's only fantasy. Then, one fateful day, an alluring, free-spirited, not to mention stunning, old friend, Nikki, suddenly appears at his office door, putting him to the ultimate test. Just how much is Richard Cooper willing to risk when temptation comes after him? After all, he really does love his wife--at least he thinks he does.

Ooh Papi Says: Overall: C-

I Think I Love My Wife is loosely based on "Chloé in the Afternoon," the last of Eric Rohmer's Six Moral Tales but this has edge, probably too much edge but I will get to that later. I was surprised it opened with an unimpressive $5.7 million despite heavy advertising. Maybe that is because there is no real chemistry between Rock and either of his female co-leads. Enter the increasingly sexy Kerry Washington as Nikki, who shows up at Chris Rock’s office one day smoking a cigarette like an actress who has just learned to smoke for a movie role. (She smokes throughout the movie and I'm not sure why, other than to make us think, "I wish she would stop smoking in places where they don't allow smoking anymore.") As for Rock's performance, it's probably the closest he's come to playing a believable, three-dimensional human being with some of the traits of the real Chris Rock.

As noted by the website http://www.banthenword.org, “Chris Rock and other lead characters use the N-word in nearly every possible way – when describing himself in reference to a sandwich while arguing with his wife; when playing with his child; when having dinner with another presumed-to-be sophisticated! Black couple; when having the seemingly mandatory scene of a semi-violent altercation with another Black man who happens to be a two-time felon (he ends up shooting two cops, so it’s now three strikes and you know what that implies); the Gina Torres character tries to counter the word’s use only to end up calling Rock’s character by that word at the end of the film; the Kerry Washington character even uses “nigger ears” to describe a music selection; wanna-be Black and White rappers using it in an elevator with headphones while singing along to a hip-hop song; and after all this unnecessary N-word usage and describing himself as such numerous times, Rock then turns around and states he’s not one. Talk about a duality of confusion! Way to go

Chris, Gina, and Kerry! All we can ask is – would it have been in any way problematic NOT to use the word, especially if it’s not used to reference its historical origins? It’s hard to believe that supposedly anti-N-word Oprah had Rock and his real-life family on her show for a half hour promoting this film. Since she’s so supportive of Rock and other proud N-word users such as Jamie Foxx and Fantasia Barrino, why bother interrogating Chris “Ludacris” Bridges or criticizing other rappers for using the word? There’s also a stereotypical reference made to having no side kids (i.e., only one mother), Rock’s character’s response to that is how “very White of me.” Overall I am no longer annoyed this film did not do well as was pointed out on the Hataboard this guy is just no good in a lead role.

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Jackass: Number Two

Category: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Documentary, Adaptation and Sequel Rating: R for extremely crude and dangerous stunts throughout, sexual content, nudity and language. Run Time: 1 hr. 32 min.

Starring: Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Ryan Dunn, Stephen Glover, Jason Acuna

Directed by Jeff Tremaine

Produced by David Gale, Trip Taylor, John Miller (V)

Written by Sean Cliver, Preston Lacy

Distributed by Paramount Pictures

Release Date: September 22nd, 2006

Synopsis: After smearing the world with all sorts of ridiculous crap, the original creators and cast of the MTV series are back at it again: significantly raising the stakes and lowering the bar, this installment in the "jackass" and "jackass the movie" series unleashes a spirited mess of absurdity as the cast and crew gets even more ugly around the globe.

Ooh Papi Says: Overall: B

The title “Jackass 2" seems like some sort of pun on those of us who went to see this film. Look, it's either you are extremely offended by such a violent and stupid film or you think it’s the funniest, most silly, most absurd and juvenile thing you have ever seen. It really depends on you, but one thing is for sure this is the most homo erotic comedy to come along in some time - no surprise since it’s produced by MTV. There are instances of men laying naked on men as humor, men putting each others penis hairs to the face mouth and lips of other actors and other sexually related pranks you have to be blind to miss it. 

Hopefully not many people are stupid enough to perform any of the stunts. "Jackass 2" features Johnny Knoxville, and his friends Steve-O, Bam Margera, Chris Pontius, Preston Lacy, Jason Acuña (Wee Man), Ryan Dunn, and the rest. The guys are daredevils. They spend their time performing dangerous, and idiotic stunts. The best adjustment made for this film was to move away from the pranks on-people-not-in-on-the-joke, because in urban America that stuff will get you beat down, although they stay away from urban America. Spike Jonze does mess with ordinary people in a funny recurring skit as an old woman whose boobs are constantly falling out of her blouse. For one of the stunts, Ryan Dunn branded (like they do to a cow) one of the other guys. The guy goes home and shows his mom. The brand looked infected. His mom was furious and took her anger out on Ryan. “WHY? Why would you do that to him?” She screamed. “Because…” Ryan said, “It’s funny.”

I read that during the movie, two of the guys came close to their own death or at least losing limbs. Steve-O, almost got his foot bitten off, when swimming with sharks. Johnny Knoxville had an even closer near-death experience. His rocket had a malfunction, and, if Johnny had been holding on to a different spot, a metal rod would have gone into him and he would have died. I enjoyed the outrageousness of "Jackass 2" and found the stunts were stupid and dangerous. I laughed but had anybody been killed during the making of the film I would not have shed a tear. These guys are what Jimi Izrael calls "habitual line steppers".

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Jet Li's Fearless

Category: Action/Adventure, Art/Foreign and Biopic Rating: PG-13 for violence and martial arts action throughout. Run Time: 1 hr. 43 min.

Starring: Jet Li, Betty Sun, Dong Yong, Shido Nakamura, Collin Chou

Directed by Ronnie Yu

Produced by Bill Kong, Jet Li, Ronnie Yu

Written by Christine To, Chris Chow (II), Wang Bin, Li Feng

Distributed by Rogue Pictures (Focus)

Release Date: September 22nd, 2006

Synopsis: The son of a great fighter who did not wish for his child to follow in his footsteps, the bullied Huo Yuanjia resolves to teach himself how to fight--and win. Years of training enable him to ace match after match in his home region of Tianjin. But as his fame as a martial arts master grows, so does his pride. After an ill-advised fight leads to another master's death, members of Huo's family are slain in revenge. Grieving and ashamed, Huo wanders the country in shock. Near death, he is rescued by women from an idyllic village, and is offered simple kindness and generosity that help him heal and regain his equilibrium over a period of several years. Huo realizes that the future of martial arts lies in sportsmanship and not brutality, and he rejoins society to apply what he has learned. Returning to Tianjin, Huo takes steps to come to terms with his past and restore his family's name. His evolving, graceful Mizong (Missing) Fist method of fighting brings Huo renewed success, and he forms the progressive Jingwu Sports Federation. Taking note, duplicitous members of the Foreign Chamber of Commerce engineer a Shanghai tournament pitting Huo against four fighters, each representing the major foreign powers in China. Huo commits to the bout and faces off against, respectively, a British boxer, a Spanish swordsman, a Belgian soldier and a Japanese martial artist. What happened that day in 1910 has never been, and will never be, forgotten in China.

Bruce Banter Says: Overall: A

In his fair well film it's time for Jet Li to get his damn props! First let me say there is no bigger Bruce Lee fan than yours truly, but when it comes to using weapons I would have to say that Li has surpassed even Bruce in that endeavor (but not with usage of the noon chucks). At forty-plus years Li has been doing it as long as anybody and doing it well. In case you have not noticed Jet Li has a naturally hardened, tough guy face. His short stocky frame does not mislead anybody into thinking they can take him lightly. Set at the turn of the last century the story is channeled through a actual historical figure, Huo Yuanjia , a genuine legend, who lived from 1868-1910 (according to Google [smile]). Huo was the creator of the "Missing Fist" style of martial arts and founder of the progressive Jingwu Sports Federation.

Huo, and his exploits as a master of wushu (the general Chinese term for martial arts) raised Chinese pride and the country’s morale during the period when beleaguered China was derided as “The Sick Man of the East.” Huo went from an apolitical pop culture figure in his country to a quiet political representative of Chinese manhood. In fact this is the greatest Chinese Nationalism film I have ever seen. It’s based on true events and the final Shanghai tournament, where Huo takes on four international champs, one by one. He fights 3 big Europeans, a huge British boxer, a Belgian soldier, and a Spaniard swordsman – whipping them all with honor and humility. The fourth fighter is a wise Japanese samurai sword master Shido Nakamura” who is being manipulated by a low self-esteemed Asian capitalist. Once Shido steps into the ring, the film goes 30 years into the past, to the beginning of our story. We go from a small pre-adolescent asthmatic Huo with a over protective father to young man Huo, who is a cocky success with a tendency to drink a lot of alcohol and hit first, explain later. He hangs out with more "yes men" than 50-Cent. This combination leads to sinister tragedy, as the film turns darker in its second act. Events that estrange him from his lifelong best friend, business man Nong Jinsun, and sending him into self-exile to the countryside. We never get sidetracked with romantic or family love scenarios which only serve as a sidebar. This film is focused as Jet Li and there is no doubt that the audiences will want more, and cheer for this little known hero. - Nuff Said.

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Kickin' It Old School

Category: Comedy Rating: PG-13 for crude and sexual content and language. Run Time: 1 hr. 47 min.

Starring: Jamie Kennedy, Maria Menounos, Christopher McDonald, Miguel A. Nunez Jr, Bobby Lee

Directed by Harvey Glazer (II)

Produced by Jeff Cooper (II), Stuart Stone (II), Josh Etting

Written by Trace Slobotkin (II), Josh Siegal, Dylan Morgan

Distributed by Yari Film Group

Release Date: April 27th, 2007

Synopsis: In 1985, 12-year old Justin Schumacher was hoping killer moves could help him dance into his dream girl's heart. So when Justin and his break dance posse--the Funky Fresh Boyz -- were challenged to a battle in the school talent show, Justin knew what he had to do. But after starting with a coffee grind, into a head spin and a freeze, Justin decided to go for a back flip that sent him flying off stage. One freak break dancing accident later, Justin is in a coma; leaving Jennifer, the Funky Fresh Boyz, and the world as he knows behind for 20 years. Awakening a thirty-something with a child's mind when '80s music hits his ears, Justin might have suddenly regained consciousness, but his world has changed. His parents are drowning in debt from medical costs, his boyz grew up and went lame, and his dream girl Jennifer is now engaged to current scumbag and former grade school nemesis Kip Unger. Lost in a high-tech time warp, the former break dancing phenom is determined to prove that old skool can still keep it real. And Justin's chance at redemption arrives in the form of a $100,000.00 dance competition hosted by his rival Kip. Getting his now older crew back together isn't easy but Can the Funky Fresh Boyz rise to the challenge, win the contest and put the groove back in their lives?

Ooh Papi Says: Overall: C-

Please do not waste your money or time to go see Kickin' It Old School. It is an unfunny "Hip-hop exploitation" comedy that should have been shipped straight to video, if not recycled as a Viacom reality TV parody. If you know Jamie Kennedy's work then you know what to expect. If it’s not hidden camera Kennedy it’s just not funny. Poor script and jokes never stopped Hollywood from exploiting break dancers. The tired jokes run out of steam early.

The movie is based on Jamie Kennedy’s character Justin Schumacher who hopes his dope moves could help him dance into his dream girl's heart. Unfortunately he was injured trying to bust a Jorge "Fabel" Pabon dance move and ended up injured and in a coma; leaving Jennifer, and his crew the Funky Fresh Boyz, and the world as he knows behind for 2 decades. Awakening as thirty-two year old with a child's mind. He soon realizes his world has changed. We see decent B-boy dance moves but the climax set at the dancing competition drags on so long one wonders if the film wasn't originally meant to be a miniseries event. Kennedy's character is so determined to prove that old school can still keep it real but he embarrasses the concept of an old school artist. It’s so obvious that some probably hoped he didn’t get his now older crew back together. Jamie Kennedy is one of those arrogant comics who believe every move of his is funny, he expects us to laugh regardless, and it’s not enough to keep an audience in stitches simply by falling down or looking confused. Each lame-duck gag hits the screen with an audible thud before the director decides to point his camera at something even less amusing.

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Killa Season

Category: N/A Rating: R. N/A Run Time: N/A

Starring: Camron, Juelz Santana

Directed by N/A

Produced by N/A

Written by N/A

Distributed by N/A

Release Date: April 28th, 2006

Synopsis: Cameron Giles (also known as Cam'ron) takes on the grim realities of street violence with this urban thriller. Inspired by gang and drug-related bloodshed in the director's hometown of Harlem, KILLA SEASON stars rap artist Juelz Santana alongside Cam'ron himself.

Bruce Banter Says: Overall: F

I have heard lots of people in the hood lay the smack down on Camron’s movie Killa Season recently. Camron's directorial debut may not be of "Hood Classic" status but it’s not the worst ever as some claim. It didn’t deserve to hit theatres either and after about 10 scheduled screenings it was obvious that these guys knew no distributors were going to take a chance on this film. I probably would not even be reviewing this film if Cam had not gotten shot in D.C. (joking). Even Blockbuster is probably going belly up on this, I paid 3 dollars to my bootleg connect and I can assure you that the best part of the film is in the trailer shown here.

I should mention that I am annoyed with the Dipset self promotion and urban aggrandizement, and always have been, but what allows me to still rate this film without too much bias is the fact that I am friends with a person who worked to get this project delivered. Friendships aside, I've got to stay true to what I do. My aim is to view the DVD film as a separate entity from the mother goose nursery rhyme, "Cat In The Hat" lyrics that Cam lays out on his albums. In other words just because he sucks as an emcee does not mean his film has to be wack. Killa Season is when State Property meets Bamboozled. Camron builds his dialogue and story off of stereotypes and punch lines not character development or true effective story telling. It’s like a movie for thug Wannabee’s with ADD (attention deficit disorder). Usually people from the rough areas of Harlem that Camron Giles grew in up can give out more accurate assessments of life in the hood. Unfortunately, Killa Season is counterfeit, a perfect example of somebody trying too hard. Although the story does have a Harlem feel, the problem is that its told through the mindset of somebody trying to exploit the worst of Harlem, and expects all else to stay quiet as he tries. Outside of the shock value this film offers very little entertainment value. Cam might have had a little momentum after trying to come for the head of Jay-Z on records which increased his blip on the radar, while probably causing some overall fan resentment, but after such a lackluster and much hyped DVD failure, Killa Cam needs to go back to the drawing board.

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Knocked Up

Category: Universal Pictures Distribution Rating: R for sexual content, drug use and language. Run Time: 2 hr. 09 min.

Starring: Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Katherine Heigl, Jason Segel

Directed by Judd Apatow

Produced by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Shauna Robertson

Written by Judd Apatow (Screenplay pitch)

Distributed by Shadow Distribution

Release Date: June 1st, 2007

Synopsis: Allison Scott is an up-and-coming entertainment journalist whose 24-year-old life is on the fast track. But it gets seriously derailed when a drunken one-nighter with slacker Ben Stone results in an unwanted pregnancy. Faced with the prospect of going it alone or getting to know the baby's father, Allison decides to give the lovable doof a chance.

Eyecalone Says: Overall: A-

"The 40-Year-Old Virgin" was an instant comedy classic and writer-director Judd Apatow’s latest release, "Knocked Up", appears headed down that same path. “Knocked Up” will make you laugh, cringe, laugh even harder, and somewhere in between make even make a few people cry. The humor is sometimes crude, but often hilarious and always sharp, witty, and influenced heavily by current pop culture. I don’t recall any punchlines in the film that missed their mark though there were a couple I might have missed due to people in the theater still laughing at the last joke. To be clear “Knocked Up” is not a slapstick, joke-after-joke, inane film. At over 2 hours it’s somehow manages to retain it’s humor throughout but underneath that humor is a very smart and relevant movie that manages to capture the confusion and conflict of today’s (and yesterday’s) social mores. 

Ben, played by Seth Rogen (TV's "Undeclared" and "Freaks and Geeks", both short-lived TV shows also created Apatow) who also played one of main character, Steve Carell’s best buddies in “The 40-year Old Virgin” is an chubby, average looking, 23-year old slacker. He and his 4 cohorts literally do nothing all day but smoke marijuana, play games, crack jokes at each other, and nominally work on a website whose claim to fame will be it can tell you when you favorite female celebrities will show their private parts in a film. The entire group’s existence seems dedicated wallowing in a life of no responsibilities and extending their teenage years indefinitely. Katherine Heigl (TV's "Grey's Anatomy") plays Alison, an attractive, twenty-something rising star at the E! channel who, while celebrating a job promotion at a bar, meets Ben. They get really drunk, have sex, and an unexpected pregnancy occurs. Of course neither initially realizes Alison’s character is pregnant, that takes about 8 week, but by the following morning’s post-one night stand breakfast conversion, Alison has fully realized how completely wrong these two are for each other.

Further adding to the friction and awkwardness of their relationship is the domineering presence of Alison’s older sister, Debbie (Leslie Mann) and her husband Pete (Paul Rudd), who verbally spar like the best TV sitcom couples. Minus the circumstance of Alison’s pregnancy Debbie and Pete’s antagonistic, dry, and love-hate relationship appears to be where Ben and Alison are inevitably headed, though it becomes so apparent to Alison’s character that she struggles with the prospect that she might be better off raising the child alone. Somewhere in all the newfound responsibility Ben’s character is compelled to get his life together though it’s a very gradual process and doesn’t quite involve him totally giving up old habits or friendships. Ben wants to “make an honest woman” out of Alison’s character though they only begin to get to know each other during her pregnancy and it does really seem they have any hope of making it work.

Through all the ups and downs of their relationship “Knocked Up” manages to churn out a great movie, full of humor that is natural and “natural” as there are no shortage of gynecology-related jokes or humorous situations in the film. Although “Knocked Up” is a really enjoyable movie and doesn’t come across as unrealistic we hardly live in a time, where a man and woman might feel compelled to get married or begin a serious relationship because a child was conceived during a one-night stand. People can argue until they’re blue in the face about whether that is right or wrong, but one thing is for sure, enjoy this movie but don’t try this at home.

 

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Lady In The Water

Category: Science Fiction/Fantasy and Thriller Rating: PG-13 for some frightening sequences. Run Time: 1 hr. 50 min.

Starring: Paul Giamatti, Bryce Dallas Howard, Freddy Rodriguez, Jeffrey Wright, Bob Balaban

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

Produced by Samuel L. Mercer, M. Night Shyamalan, John Rusk

Written by Peter Seaman, Jeffrey Price Screenplay, J. B. Priesty, Tim Korn, Callie Khouri (rewrite), Marc Hyman (rewrite), Martin Starger, J.B. Priestley (Source)

Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution

Release Date: July 21st, 2006

Synopsis: Cleveland Heep, a modest building manager, rescues a mysterious young woman from danger and discovers she is actually a narf--a character from a bedtime story who is trying to make the treacherous journey from our world back to hers. Cleveland and his fellow tenants start to realize that they are also characters in this bedtime story. As Cleveland falls deeper and deeper in love with the woman, he works together with the tenants to protect his new fragile friend from the deadly creatures that reside in this fable and are determined to prevent her from returning home.

Eyecalone Says: Overall: D

M. Night Shyamalan's burst on to the scene with the classic film "The Sixth Sense". That film alone earned him a legion of followers, but it also set the bar pretty high for him with his subsequent films. Since that first film his movies have been received with mixed reviews as his cult following as a director-producer has been fractured into camps that either love his films or hate them. After sitting through a rather uneventful 110 minutes of Lady In The Water, there may be reason for a few more people to join that "Hate" camp as Lady In The Water caused me to leave the theater wishing she would just go ahead and drown, because this film clearly needed to be put out of it's misery. Lady In The Water is about as pointless and uneventful as movies come. I kept watching and waiting for that dramatic and suspense filled ending that would make the 90 minutes I watched prior, worth the sacrifice but alas it never came is it just meandered aimlessly through movie film. As usual Shyamalan employs the Spike Lee technique of working himself into the film as a character, whether it's a speaking part of just an extra but he probably would have done better to obscure his face in this stinker. Coming on the heels of "The Village", another Shyamalan film that received rather poor reviews it may be time for the director-producer to take a step away and re-evaluate some things; probably his worst film to date Lady In The Water would probably be a good place to start.

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Last Holiday

Category: Comedy and Drama Rating: PG-13 for some sexual references Run Time: 1 hr. 52 min.

Starring: Queen Latifah, Alicia Witt, LL Cool J , Giancarlo Esposito, Gerard Depardieu

Directed by Wayne Wang

Produced by Robert Zemeckis, Steve Starkey, Richard Vane

Written by Peter Seaman, Jeffrey Price Screenplay, J. B. Priesty, Tim Korn, Callie Khouri (rewrite), Marc Hyman (rewrite), Martin Starger, J.B. Priestley (Source)

Distributed by PG-13 for some sexual references

Release Date: January 13th, 2006

Synopsis: After being diagnosed with a fatal disease, a shy sales clerk goes on a European vacation to live out the rest of her life. With nothing to lose--or so she thinks--her behavior becomes more irreverent and outrageous each day, only to find out later she was misdiagnosed.

Ooh Papi Says: Overall: C+

This film might as well have been an ad for the Cooking Channel and The European Tourism Bureau. There are countless chef appearances and significant cooking channel scenes. Personalities that we only learn of through from the cooking channel make their Hollywood debut here as if the channel partially subsidized this film. The other part must have been subsidized by the Tourism board for the Czech Republic because significant time was devoted to making the audience want to visit the Czech Republic. The audience may even think they can afford it, if they really want it after all Queen Latifah’s character did and her salary was a very modest 29,000 per year.

I must say although predictable, the film has a big heart never mind that it's a remake of the 1950 comedy starring Sir Alec Guinness. Last Holiday gets new life breathed into it by a respectable toned down performance from Latifah. She’s finally soft, bold and very appealing, infusing this otherwise predictable movie with a contagious charm. It was such a relief to see her in this very respectable role instead of that tiresome “bringing down the house humor”. Now she plays the shy, dutiful Georgia Byrd. Latifah is miles away from that tiring “brassy broad” persona, a departure that allows real sadness and sweetness to play across her expressive face.

Georgia, who is the unsung star salesperson at Kragen’s, a down-on-its-luck New Orleans department store, works hard and doesn’t do much else. She cooks great meals (accompanied by Emeril’s televised instructions), but feeds them to a young neighbor, limiting herself to frozen diet entrees. She is quietly but desperately infatuated with Sean (LL Cool J) even pasting his face over magazine wedding photos she has assembled in her “Book of Possibilities,” ( “Things or people she wants to “Do.”) .

Then, one day, everything changes when she is misdiagnosed with a terminal disease and told she has 3 weeks to live. Unfortunately she never does the obvious and gets a second opinion, and thus she begins her journey, after quitting her job at her awfully managed company. However we all can fairly assume from the TV commercials that she is not going to die.

All sorts of delights follow, including Georgia’s response to the indignities of coach class travel, her arrival at the Grandhotel Pupp (a real hotel set amid the Czech mountains), her various gastronomical adventures (Chef Didier, one of her heroes, is played with great comic verve by Gérard Depardieu), her base-jumping adventure. Other guests arrive, including the devious Matthew Kragen (of the department store, played by Timothy Hutton, ) and his haughty mistress (Alicia Witt ). Also in attendance: a crooked senator (Giancarlo Esposito) and a creepy, Mrs. Danvers-style valet (Susan Kellermann) who raises her pointy eyebrow at each of Georgia’s enthusiastic outbursts. The Czech backdrop is magical, starting with the effect of the snow and the glittering chandeliers and the plush decor is overwhelming: We feel like we’re taking part in Georgia’s fairy tale. While this is not exactly a profound film, and the message (”live every day as if it’s your last”) is hardly new; it’s testament to this movie’s joyous energy that it doesn’t matter in the least. All but the most peevish audience members will find it impossible to complain.

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The Last King of Scotland

Category: Art/Foreign, Drama, Adaptation and Politics/Religion Rating: R for some strong violence and gruesome images, sexual content and language. Run Time: 2 hrs. 01 min.

Starring: Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson, Simon McBurney

Directed by Kevin MacDonald

Produced by Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, Tessa Ross

Written by Jeremy Brock (screenplay), Peter Morgan (III) (screenplay), Joe Penhall (adaptation), Giles Foden (source material from novel: "The Last King of Scotland")

Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures

Release Date: September 27th, 2006 (Limited)

Synopsis: A Scottish doctor on a Ugandan medical mission becomes irreversibly entangled with one of the world’s most barbaric figures: Idi Amin. Impressed by Dr. Garrigan’s brazen attitude in a moment of crisis, the newly self-appointed Ugandan President Amin hand picks him as his personal physician and closest confidante. Though Garrigan is at first flattered and fascinated by his new position, he soon awakens to Amin’s savagery--and his own complicity in it. Horror and betrayal ensue as Garrigan tries to right his wrongs and escape Uganda alive.

Eyecalone Says: Overall: B+

If nothing else Forest Whitaker is different; if it's not apparent in his acting credentials it should be apparent in some of the unique movies he's been responsible for, i.e. "The Crying Game" and "Ghost Dog". It's almost as if Whitaker is always searching for challenges in his own acting as well as movie making itself. Few roles could offer the challenge of playing the former Ugandan dictator and strongman, Idi Amin, and even fewer actors would be up to the challenge. Whitaker is commanding, charming, and thoroughly believable as Amin, while at the same time his character is unstable, menacing, paranoid, and borderline schizophrenic. Whitaker as Amin is a kaleidoscopic of moods and emotions. About the least believable thing in Whitaker's portrayal of Amin is the makeup, reminiscent of cake batter, that Whitaker wears in attempt to make his complexion look darker. It's no surprise this role has begun generating a small Oscar nomination buzz for Whitaker.

Taken from a novel by Giles Foden, "The Last King of Scotland", centers on a fictional Scottish protagonist, a unworldly young doctor (James McAvoy) Nicholas Garrigan who arrives in Uganda in 1971 just as Gen. Idi Amin is coming to power via military coup. McAvoy's character at times is quite annoying with his naiveté and often reckless sexual behavior, but it's rendered somewhat believable by the chance circumstances by which Dr. Garrigan finds himself in Uganda, and his apparent youth. Though Dr. Garrigan is a fictitious character Idi Amin was a real political figure who rose to power in Uganda in 1971 before eventually being deposed in 1979. During his rule Uganda was beset by sectarian violence, religious and ethnic persecution, and political repression primarily driven by Gen Amin as it's estimated he was responsible for more than 300,000 deaths during his rule. The film only alludes to it, but Amin who would later fall out of favor with "the West" (Western European, U.S. corporate and government interest) was very much a product of "The West's" meddling in Africa as he was supported and helped into power to be a counterbalance to what was thought to be Soviet, (Communist, Socialist) influence in East Africa, in neighboring countries like Kenya and Tanzania. During his rise and rule the real Amin employed numerous ploys and different flavors of rhetoric from the populist, to the African Nationalist, to Anti-Imperialists, to that of expressing kinship with the Muslim world, he himself being a Muslim. But as is born out in Whitaker's portrayal in the film, Amin turned out to be a quite unpredictable and hard to control for better or worse, though usually for worse. Most of his rhetoric was born of opportunism and a lack of political clarity or sincerity, as the record on his bloody and brutal regime would become clear near it's end. His erratic behavior and rhetoric eventually lead to the loss of sponsorship from the imperialist powers of the time, limiting the length of his tenure to the good fortune of the Ugandan people. 

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Let's Go To Prison

Category: Comedy and Adaptation Rating: R for language, sexual content, some violence and drug material. Run Time: 1 hr. 24 min.

Starring: Dax Shepard, Will Arnett, David Koechner, Chi McBride, Dylan Baker

Directed by Bob Odenkirk

Produced by Marcy Carsey, Caryn Mandabach, Tom Werner

Written by Michael Patrick Jann, Thomas Lennon (adaptation), Robert Ben Garant, James Hogshire (Source Material from novel: "You Are Going to Prison")

Distributed by Universal Picture Distribution

Release Date: November 17th, 2006

Synopsis: Felon John Lyshitski has figured out the best way to get revenge on the now-dead judge who sent him to jail: watch the official's obnoxious son, Nelson Biederman IV, survive the clink. John strikes gold when Nelson is wrongly convicted of a crime and sent to the pen he used to call home. He gleefully gets sent back to become Nelson's cellmate and to ensure that his new buddy gets the "full treatment." Let the games begin. Lesson #1: the joint's a scary place, so you better make friends fast. Right away, Nelson offends the wrong cons and is sold--by John--to Barry for prison snuggling. But just as revenge starts tasting sweet, Nelson becomes Big Man in the Big House and turns the tables on John--changing the rules of his insane game.

Bruce Banter Says: Overall: F

Let's Go To Prison is another one of those pseudo comedies that perpetuates the myth that Whites are supposed to be afraid of prison life, but that Black guys are tough and accept it with no fear, as if it’s a “cultural norm”. Statistics show Whites own, manage and maintain all the prisons in America, yet somehow we are led to perpetuate this stereotype that its Whites who fear for their safety the most and are in the most danger in prison. Violence is downplayed, justice is downplayed and homosexuality is overplayed. Interestingly enough there are a number of prisons related statistics offered in the first 5 minutes of the film, that are nonchalantly tossed out but don’t add any depth to this shallow film. Mix this in with a prison is no big deal sort of attitude and it’s the sort of film, which I would personally label as dangerous if it were targeted toward urban youth as opposed to the MTV generation. Chi McBride plays a homosexual, whom makes wine in the toilet and is infatuated with the prospect of getting some “White Boy Booty”. This homoerotic theme is constant throughout the film though much of it is through innuendo or indirect as the only actual homosexual contact we see is McBride and Will Arnett (who plays his love interest Nelson Biederman an obnoxious and spoiled rich adult) doing some “Eskimo kissing” (rubbing noses). There are very few laughs but the laughable parts are funny, too bad there are only three of them. - Nuff said

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Letters From Iwo Jima

Category: Drama, Adaptation and War Rating: R for graphic war violence. Run Time: 2 hr. 21 min.

Starring: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase, Shido Nakamura

Directed by Clint Eastwood

Produced by Redmond Morris, Scott Rudin, Robert Fox

Written by Iris Yamashita Screenplay (adaptation), Paul Haggis (story), Iris Yamashita (story)

Distributed by Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures International, Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution

Release Date: December 20th, 2006

Synopsis: The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of two good friends serving in the Japanese forces, who watch helplessly throughout various battles as their comrades are killed.

Keith Johnson a.k.a. Tsarbernard Says: Overall: A

A soldier deserts in the night to surrender to the enemy, but is shot before he can escape. An officer, disgusted at his men’s cowardice, goes off alone on a glorious suicide mission. Convinced they’re defeated, several soldiers give defiant shouts before blowing themselves up. An officer of honor tries to hold the line against impossible odds. Throughout it all, men write letters: letters of love, letters of remembrance, letters of final goodbyes: letters from Iwo Jima.

Clint Eastwood’s companion piece to “Flags of Our Fathers” is the story of the Japanese soldiers defending Iwo Jima against the Americans. While “Flags” contained battle scenes, its primary focus was the war at home, and how the American “heroes” were used as propaganda tools. “Letters”, however, is all about the battle itself, told from the Japanese point of view.

As the movie begins we see a new leader take charge of the Japanese forces on the island, General Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe). Kuribayashi immediately upsets many of his officers. He berates them for their poor defenses and harsh treatment of the soldiers, who are often worked without breaks and even beaten. But they also distrust him because he spent time in America, a country he respects in many ways. Some feel he might be too enamored of the Americans to fight them. “He belongs behind a desk, not running this battle”, one grouses.

Kuribayashi saves a soldier from a beating by his commanding officer. The soldier, Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya) is a reluctant--and in truth not very good—soldier. Saigo just wants to be with his wife and the baby girl he’s never seen, working in his bakery. It is primarily through these two men—the officer and the baker—that the movie is told, and through them that it gets its emotional heart. Though separated by rank, they are united in wanting to go home, but having to do their duty.

For Kuribayashi, duty means preparing to meet a huge American invasion force despite an awful truth: the main Japanese naval fleet in the area has been destroyed. No reinforcements will be coming. He has to motivate his men to fight what will in all likelihood be their last battle, only offering the dubious reward of dying for the Empire as payment. Kuribayashi cares about his men, but there’s little he can do to save them. Struggling with his duty and his heart, he writes letters to his family, talking of happier times, telling them how much he loves them. Watanabe does a masterful job in conveying this honorable, conflicted man.

Baker too is dealing with grief: the grief of being separated from his wife in a forced draft, of knowing that he’ll soon die for a cause he never really embraced. He too writes letters to his family—letters they may never read, but which still make him feel connected. In Saigo, Ninomiya gives us the soldier as innocent, the man we really feel sorry for, he’s so out of place. His performance too is impressive.

Clint Eastwood is one of the best directors in the biz at conveying powerful emotion in a subtle manner. Much of the early going deals with the mundane aspects of a soldiers’ life: digging ditches in deadly heat, joking around during breaks, complaining about officers and the lousy food, worrying about family. It’s in this slow, methodical setup that Eastwood humanizes the Japanese. Rather than portray the evil American-hating attackers of Pearl Harbor, he shows grunts doing what grunts do. Sure, there are sides in this war, but the soldiers aren’t always true believers.

We can’t help but be drawn into the suffering of these young men when the attack comes. The battle is intense: Relentless bombing of the caves where the Japanese hide, attack after attack by planes and men. As the battle progresses and the Japanese grow more desperate, so too does the feeling of impending doom. Running through caves shaking with explosions, staying one step ahead of the relentless attack, being forced to eat worms to survive, the Japanese soon give in to despair. Brutal acts are committed on both sides. On the battlefield, Eastwood shows, all men become animals, and morality is a casualty. Are the Japanese any worse? We fight to remember that these are the evil people allied with Nazi Germany, but onscreen all we see are scared men killing to survive, trying their best to die with honor. It’s a sobering look. And there are those letters, further connecting us to the soldiers’ humanity.

I intentionally avoided doing any historical research on the Battle of Iwo Jima before seeing this movie. I didn’t want to ruin my immersion into the story with a lot of “That’s not how it happened!” objections. When it’s all said and done, war isn’t really about who’s right and who’s wrong, who started it, or even why they fought. It really boils down to the fact that despite the cause, men die—men who would rather be working in the factory. Plowing their fields. Baking.

“War is hell”, the saying goes, and Letters from Iwo Jima supports that sentiment. But it also shows something else: as long as one man feels justified in picking up a weapon to kill another in the name of a cause or country, war is also stupid, wasteful, and just plain tragic--no matter which side you’re on. It’s a hard message to ignore.

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License To Wed

Category: Comedy Rating: PG-13 for sexual humor and language. Run Time: 1 hr. 40 min.

Starring: Robin Williams, Mandy Moore, John Krasinski, Christine Taylor, Roxanne Hart

Directed by Ken Kwapis

Produced by Bradley Fischer, David Thwaites, Kim Zubick (II)

Written by Kim Barker (Screenplay), Vince Di Meglio (II) (Screenplay), Tim Rasmussen (II) (Screenplay), Elizabeth Chandler, Dan Fogelman, Kim Barker (Story By), Wayne Lloyd (Story By)