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Reviews
Conflict and Chaos: Brooklyn's Finest (2010)
Rave: Brooklyn's Finest (2009)
" Brooklyn's Finest" truly has the finest of everything: great actors, superb director, strong writers, phenomenal suspense and action sequence, steamy sex scenes, etc.. I can go on an on. This movie is so mind blowing and flawless that it is easily the best movie of 2009 and, possibly, 2010.
Three brilliant cops. Three career paths. Tango is an undercover cop who wants the long-promised desk-job promotion but is forced into one more assignment. Sal is a corrupt cop who kills and steals to make up for the low police salary that keeps his family a tendril above poverty. Eddie is the oldest cop in the precinct who is days away from retirement.
Here, Director Antoine Fuqua uses the same multi-story technique as Crash but hightens the drama and the layers of social complexity. Fuqua takes no prisoners as every action has a consequence and every path converge into one explosive finale. And what a mind-bogging explosion! Don Cheadle is in rare form, his best acting to date, which may prove him to be the best actor in Hollywood. Don Cheadle is charismatic, gritty, mesmerizing and satisfying in this role. Ethan Hawke really delivers superb acting, grit and edge. Shannon Kane, as a prostitute, is a sexy treat. Richard Gere as a washed-out cop delivers snug acting. Wesley Snipes... It is refreshing to see him back on the big screen.
I had the pleasure to see it on big screen. Those who didn't, go rent this DVD tonight!
Låt den rätte komma in (2008)
Let the Right One In (2008) -- gory romance
Here is a literary masterpiece translated to screen. This movie is outstanding and probably the best acted and directed movie I have seen in the past five years! Swedish filmmaker Tomas Alfredson received over 30 awards an nomination on this movie alone. It is a must see romantic teenage vampire flick for those acquainted with foreign films. Otherwise, the understated nuances and stillness of this movie won't be appreciated.
Kåre Hedebrant plays a teenage boy named Oskar who becomes infatuated with Eli, his new neighbor, played by Lina Leandersson. Eli is only 12 years old but she has been 12 for over 200 years. Oskar shy boy who is constantly bullied in school. He is immediately taken with Eli, a strange girl whom he only sees at night. In Eli, Oskar finds safety, love and companionship.
There is a natural pace to this movie. It is gory romance!
Just Wright (2010)
Rave: Just Wright (2010)
It's a love triangle for a physical therapist who falls in love with a handsome basketball player, who is also being woed by her gold-digger best friend. Love eludes her when he marries her best friend but destiny boomerangs him back into her arms when he gets injured and she is the only one who can fix him.
This romantic comedy is a real treat. For someone who is not a fan of romantic movies, I was pleasantly surprised. I don't think that this movie got the credit and publicity it deserved.
Queen Latifah and Common have a nice on screen chemistry. Mind you, it's nothing over the top but it is sweet. Phylicia Rashad plays Common's mother. Pam Grier plays Queen Latifah's mother. This is sweet romance. I recommend it.
A Single Man (2009)
Rave: A Single Man (2009)
Contrary to popular belief, this is no Broke Back Mountain.
A Single Man is a wonderful theatrical piece with strong performances by Colin Firth (plays Jim Falconer, a gay English Professor) and Julianne Moore (plays Charley, his infatuated female friend). It is one of the rarest, most riveting and best written and directed movies ever made in America! Basically, Jim Falconer's sexual orientation makes him a pariah in the 1960's sexual revolution. He is a distinguished and extremely guarded professor whose only friend is a woman bent on rekindling their old romance.
When he learns of the death of his lover of 16 years, Jim is devastated and starts to plot suicide. Before he does, he begins to seek out the company of others, which leads him to bond with a Spanish male immigrant and one of his male students.
I highly recommend this movie for everyone. After seeing it once, I still want to see it again. It is that good.
Cover (2007)
Rave: Cover (2007)
Cover is a little known treat that is surprisingly suspenseful and enlightening. It tackles the highly pervasive yet equally controversial materials like homosexuality and "down-low" in the Black American community. Few movies have dared venture there and make a case for acceptance amongst Christians.
When her husband gets promoted, Valerie Mass's life begins to fall apart. Aunjanue Ellis plays Valerie Mass, an unassuming "God-fearing" church woman, who relocates to a new city with her husband. Razaaq Adoti is Dutch, Valerie's husband. Dutch's social life goes on the fast lane. He soon befriends Ryan Chambers (Leon from the movie Capers), a known womanizer, and starts acting more aloof. Neglected by her husband, Valerie turns to a church prayer group where she meets a sickly woman. The truth she will uncover is worse than anything she could have imagined. When Ryan turns up dead on New Year's Eve, she becomes the most likely suspect.
Aside for Vivica Fox and Leon, the cast is low on the mainstream acting radar. Nevertheless, it delivers decent performances. Black American movies are not without the religious idiosyncrasies but none of that detract from the serious subject matter or a solid plot.
Producers Bill Duke and Kenneth Dixon teamed up to create a complex tale of faith and redemption. The plot is quite simple but, somehow, they manage to keep a tight leash on it, keeping you guessing until the very end.
Leon delivers sex and edge without fail. Few actors in Hollywood command the screen the way this man can. Leon brings charisma and magneticism in every role he plays. Vivica Fox plays her "trademark hood" affectation, which I find annoying. Her role, essentially, brings nothing to this movie. This is a movie with a lot of twists. So, don't expect action.
This is a new recipe for Black films and I look forward to seeing more like it. I definitely recommending renting the DVD and watching it on a girls' night-in.