Annapolis

James Franco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tyrese Gibson
Jordana Brewster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Donnie Wahlberg
Vicellous Reon Shannon . . . . . . . . . Chi McBride

PG13 105min 2006

Annapolis is a story of a ship welder (Franco) from the other side of the tracks dreams of going to the Annapolis Navy Academy and his dream coming true and him becoming a better man through the adversities he faces.

It uses the academies boxing program as the center of his triumph. It’s basically the same story told. Boy from wrong side faces adversity on his way to becoming a better man and finding love. This is a good movie even despite the plot. It’s entertaining and dramatic. The ending might leave you disappointed but I found it fitting conclusion to the story set before it.

The acting was solid but sometimes the glaring was over the top. The time flow of the movie is a problem; time between scenes may fill like the next day but actually days and even weeks sometime have past. It felt that a lot of stuff was edited out for time.

Its An Officer and A Gentleman meets Million Dollar Baby minus the award caliber performances. Although it’s an entertaining drama you can wait to see it on video.

3/5 Gs

The Cave

Cole Hauser. . . . . . . . . . . Morris Chestnut
Eddie Cibrian. . . . . . . . . .Rick Ravanello
Marcel Iures . . . . . . . . . . .Kieran Darcy-Smith
Daniel Dae Kim . . . . . . . .Lena Headey
Piper Perabo

PG13 97min 2005

The world’s best cave diving crew is trapped in an underwater cave being hunted by undocumented creatures.

The Cave is an OK action, horror, and sci-fi film. There are a lot of inconsistencies and some implausible scenes.
There were some cool death scenes and notable stars in the movie. The ending implies a sequel that may never get made but might be more interesting to watch.

It’s under whelming but better than Alone in the Dark. This one can be waited on unless you gone through everything else and need a new rental to watch.

2/5 Gs

Underclassman

Nick Cannon . . . . . . . . Roselyn Sanchez
Cheech Marin . . . . . . . .Shawn Ashmore
Kelly Hu . . . . . . . . . . . .Ian Gomez

PG13 95min 2005

Underclassman is about a young cop must prove himself by going undercover in a private high school to investigate the death of a student. Along the way his investigation leads to a more nefarious crime.

It's Beverly Hills Cop meets Kindergarden Cop or 21 Jump Street Lite. This is a recycled movie With the usual plot and predictable one liners but in a new package and what a wonder set of packages. Kelly Hu and Roselyn Sanchez keep you interested in this movie. Nick Cannon’s performance is all-comedic and no drama when there needed to be but it did lend itself to the character.

Wait for it to hit the cheap section of the rental store or if you really needed a Nick Cannon fix then rent it.

1/5 Gs

National Lampoon's Barely Legal

Erik von Detten. . . . . . . . .Tony Denman
Daniel Farber. . . . . . . . . . .Sarah-Jane Potts
Amy Smart. . . . . . . . . . . . .Tom Arnold
Horatio Sanz. . . . . . . . . . . Vince Vieluf

R 90min 2003

When three friends can get porn anymore they decide to make it themselves.

National Lampoon’s Barely Legal was not one of the better National Lampoon’s but stayed in the vein of Lampoon. It was released on video for a reason but it is still funny. Not the best acting, and the best production but it still has Amy Smart.

Horatio Sanz over the top caricature of Ron Jeremy is funny and is the highlight of this film. This is definitely a dollar rental. If you’re looking for a better NL rent National Lampoon’s Van Wilder.

1/5 Gs

Two For the Money

Al Pacino. . . . . . . . . .Matthew McConaughey
Rene Russo . . . . . . . .Armand Assante
Jeremy Piven . . . . . . Jaime King

R 122min 2005

A former division I quarterback (McConaughey) sidelined by injury becomes a gambling advisor landing the big clients for a renowned bookie (Pacino).

At first I was skeptical of Two for the Money, but I gave it a shot. Based on a true story I do not know how much is real and how much is fiction but this movie is a cautionary tale. It is a tale of squandering your gift for personal gain and the highs and lows that it will lead you.

2/5 Gs

Underworld: Evolution

Kate Beckinsale. . . . . . . . . . . Scott Speedman
Tony Curran. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Derek Jacobi
Bill Nighy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Michael Sheen
Steven Mackintosh . . . . . . . .Shane Brolly

R 105min 2006

Underworld: Evolution takes place immediately following the events in the first. Everyone’s goal is to awaken Marcus and plead their case, not realizing that Marcus has already awakened with his own agenda. After Marcus awakens, Michael and Selene are on run unraveling the mystery and deceit that Victor has been hiding for so many centuries. Not all the things you may have thought true are and the things you discover may shock you.

Rarely does a sequel entertain better that the original. Underworld: Evolution does it completely. The story gives a lot of information that is easy assimilated. It is much gorier than the first film but also more action. The pace of the film is quicker as you are familiar with the majority of the character, and easily brought up to speed on the new ones.

The ending is opened just as the first, paving the way for another sequel. If not for the production cost I think this one set “Underworld” up as a very good television show. It leaves you with so many possibilities, far more than the first did, and far more than can be completely addressed in 90 minutes.

If you liked the first you will definitely like the second. In front of the movie, there were trailers for Silent Hill, Stay Alive and Ultraviolet.

5/5 Gs

Mindhunters

James Todd Smith . . . . . . . . . . . .Jonny Lee Miller
Kathryn Morris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clifton Collins Jr.
Eion Bailey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Patricia Velasquez
Will Kemp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christian Slater
Val Kilmer

R 106min 2004

Trainees in the FBI’s Profiler program are left on an island to profile a killer when the start to become the victims.

Mindhunters, I found it entertaining. It kept me guess and looking forward to the next death. Some of the death not realistic but they gave you the suspense you be looking for from a suspense thriller. A question I wonder was how seven profilers really did not figure out who it was.

LL Cool J stepped it up in this film. He really proved that he could be an action star. Kathryn Morris did a great job; it was a more active character than the one she plays on ‘Cold Case’. The rest of the cast held their own in there parts.

It is not as good as 'Seven' but it is better than most out there in this genre.

3/5 Gs

Jessica

Happy Birthday, Lil Sis. Have fun in your celebration. I Luv Ya.

Stealth

Josh Lucas . . . . . . . . . . .Jessica Biel
Jamie Foxx . . . . . . . . . . .Sam Shepard
Joe Morton . . . . . . . . . . .Richard Roxburgh

PG13 121min 2005

In the near future, an elite 3-man squadron of Navy fighters gets a new digital wingman. When it is struck by lightening, it systems go rogue its up to the rest of the squadron to bring it in.

My first glimpse of Stealth was at my cousin house, where I only saw about 15 min of it. It brought to mind that it’s the child of Top Gun and the Fast and the Furious. After looking it up I realize why I thought that, Rob Cohen. After watching it I can see why it flopped at the theater. It was not bad but it was not spectacular either. The highlight of this movies is that it does give you the feeling of speed and being in the cockpit. It is a solid action movie.

3/5 Gs

Transporter 2

Jason Statham . . . . . . . . . Alessandro Gassman
Amber Valletta . . . . . . . . . Kate Nauta
Matthew Modine . . . . . . . .Jason Flemyng
Keith David . . . . . . . . . . . .Hunter Clary
Shannon Briggs . . . . . . . . .Francois Berleand

PG13 87min 2005

When Frank Martin (Statham) takes a job as a favor for a friend, it turns from transporting a kid to stopping a kidnapping plot to stopping an international conspiracy.

Transporter 2 is better than the original and it gives you action from start to finish. It gives you some of the most outrageous fight scene that you expect from the Transporter. It your standard boilerplate action plot wise. It has had an almost direct to video flow. Toward the end of the movie, it fell flat. No, doubt the probably another one in the works.

2/5 Gs

Wedding Crashers (Uncorked Edition)

Owen Wilson . . . . . . . . . . . Vince Vaughn
Christopher Walken . . . . . Rachel McAdams
Isla Fisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jane Seymour

R(Unrated) 128min 2005

John Beckwith (Wilson) and Jeremy Grey (Vaughn) are best friends guided by a set of rules crash wedding to pick up chick. When they crash the wedding of the century, both their lives are changed.

Wedding Crashers is the funniest, best friend comedy ever. This was magic in a bottle that once uncorked you want to drink it again. It not just about how far a guy will go to pick up a girl, its about how far friends will go for each other to stand by him, to be his best man.

If you have not seen Wedding Crasher Uncorked Edition then you are missing something special. Go out and get right now. Why are you still reading this? GO NOW.

5/5 Gs

The Constant Gardener

Ralph Fiennes . . . . . . . . . . . Rachel Weisz
Hubert Kounde . . . . . . . . . . Danny Huston
Daniele Harford . . . . . . . . . .Bill Nighy

R 129min 2005

A widowed British diplomat stops at nothing to find the secret that led to his wife’s death.

Rachel Weisz and Ralph Fiennes give awarding winning performances. The Constant Gardener touched and angered me at the same time. It gave me strong emotions about drug testing, governmental control over citizen and their liberties.

This movie is not to be missed if you have not seen it go out and see it. Be warned that if you have a heart you will be angered too. This movie was a risk that needed to be taken and should win the major awards.

5/5 Gs

Red Eye

Rachel McAdams . . . . . . . . . . Cillian Murphy
Brian Cox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jayma Mays

PG13 85min 2005

On a routine flight, a hotel manager is blackmailed, with the death of her father, into helping her captor kill a politician.

Rachel McAdams, breakout performer of 2004, brings a strong performance and counter-point to Cillian Murphy’s character. This was thriller, it kept you in suspend through out and you will be satisfied with the conclusion of the film. You believed that everything that happen could happen no over the top action sequences all though some special effects were used.

Red Eye is worthy of the rental and trust me you will not be disappointed.

3/5 Gs

The Gospel

Boris Kodjoe . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Idris Elba
Nona Gaye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clifton Powell
Aloma Wright . . . . . . . . . . . . .Donnie McClurkin
Omar Gooding . . . . . . . . . . . .Tamyra Gray
Keshia Knight Pulliam . . . . . Michael J. Pagan
Sean Nelson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hezekiah Walker

PG 105min 2005

The Gospel is a reinvention and modernization the prodigal son biblical tale. Boris Kodjoe is a famous R&B singer that comes home after finding out his bishop father, Clifton Powell, is sick. In his stay, home he finds his way back to the church and wholeness, he was missing after he left.

This movie is a great story, with excellent singer from some of Gospel music’s top performers. I think anyone can relate to this story. It is an independent film in the new emerging faith based movies market.


3/5 Gs

Bad News Bears (2005)

Billy Bob Thornton . . . . . . . . . . .Greg Kinnear
Marcia Gay Harden

PG13 113min 2005

Bad News Bears (2005)about a bunch of ragtag rejects placed together on a single team, being coach by a 5 min pro, skirt chasing, drunk exterminator.

Although the original is a classical I found this update monumental funnier. In the original, I thought the kids were just a bunch of misunderstood kids, but this updated bunch made you realize what the bad news meant. These kids are the one you know needs discipline at all cost.

This kept me laughing and from beginning to end. Billy Bob Thornton is cast perfectly as the coach and all the kids brought something original to the film. If you have a good sense of humor, this is the movie for you

3/5 Gs

War of the Worlds (2005)

Tom Cruise . . . . . . . . . Dakota Fanning
Miranda Otto . . . . . . . . Justin Chatwin
Tim Robbins

PG13 110min 2005

War of the Worlds by Steve Spielberg is based on the novel by H.G. Wells. I have never read the book, but I plan to now. This movie has dazing special effect. It is an anti-climatic movie. It entertains you until the end and that’s what is disappoints me about this film.

I found it unbelievable not because of the aliens but because of the children. After seeing what Ray Ferrier saw, all the questioning and disobedience would found me a one-way ticket to left behind. My mother loves me very much but I know in my heart she would have left me, and I do not fault her for it. The world is ending get in-line or you get left behind.

The deaths of the people were funny to me because they were so unrealistic. I never could grasp at this being reality. I saw it as wildly imaginative tale. The situation face in this movie seemed unrealistic. As I write this I think and if 150 foot tripod comes out of the ground tomorrow, I look foolish writing this; and with that said. I disappointed by the ending.

2/5 Gs


How do you think aliens will come to earth, peaceful or warring, do we have a chance or not?