Reviews
Akeelah and the Bee (2006)
Emotional, Engaging and Unforgettable
Saw AKEELAH & THE BEE Saturday night. It's a about an underachieving 11 year-old girl named Akeelah who, it's found out that she has a talent for spelling. Initially wary of displaying/showcasing her talent (for fear of being ostracized by her schoolmates) for spelling; she's forced to enter her school's spelling bee competition to amazing results. She does well and...kick-starts a chain-reaction of events that does EVERYONE well (herself, our community, the world).
I went in to the theater thinking the movie would be corny, priggish, weak and very TV movie of the week-ish. To my surprise, it was an entertaining, engaging, emotional, dramatic, empowering and a whole lotta FUN. The theater I was in (I saw it on 42nd Street in Times Square, NYC) was a small screening room but was packed. On a casual glance--I'd say it was 85%-90% full and I was at the 8:05pm show. To say the audience was appreciative was a understatement--lots of applause, oooohs and ahhhhs (there are some AMAZING moments) and foot stomping. It was a kick to see the audience (parents, teachers?, black/latino teenagers/pre-adolescent children) respond to this movie.
Folks, I really enjoyed this movie and I'm giving it a very hearty endorsement. See it if you can. I spent most of Sunday telling everyone I know about this movie. I suspect anyone with any direct involvement with children (parents, teachers, counselors, etc...) will get a kick out of it. It really gets at the heart of what really matters--challenging a child to make the most of their potential and go for it.
Brotherly Love (2003)
Yuck!
Another straight to movie DVD/VHS that's shot with a camcorder. This one looks better than most camcorder movies but the story is still a mess. There's an jokey opening sequence that pays homage to the Amadou Diallo tragedy and it has nothing to do with the story. If it does, someone please explain it to me.
Unfunny characterizations. Acting barely there. The filmmakers tried, but they really have to go back to the lab. Not the worst I have seen, but it could have used a little more effort.
yes, the story involves two brothers. One a promising businessman and the other a good for nothing one who constantly gets into trouble. I just wish I cared more for the particular jam they all get into. overall, it doesn't matter by the end. And again, the above-mentioned homage to the NYC Amadou Diallo tragedy is unfunny, tasteless, has nothing to do with the story and I still scratch my head trying to figure out what it has to do with the movie.
Creepin' (2001)
Don't Waste Your Time.
First off, this movie was shot with a camcorder, and not a high quality one at that. Second, this movie goes off on soooooooooooooo many tangents that it is IMPOSSIBLE to follow. I had been looking forward to seeing this movie for many years--simply based on it's concept. One I found funny and full of potential. To say this movie is a major disappointment is a severe understatement. Although I shouldn't be as so many of those black, straight-to-video DVDs are simply movies that don't respect the intelligence and worth of it's potential audience. When you see the logo of York or Maverick Entertainment (and a couple of others) RUN! Hardly any laughs, lots of unfunny characterizations (including homosexual) which come out of nowhere. The acting (including one psudeo-comedian who takes 3 roles!!!) is bizarre, and the whole movie is a series of unfunny sketches that don't move the bare thread of a plot along and just doesn't make sense. It looks like the work of a film student (the movie takes place mostly in Philadelphia so perhaps it's a TEMPLE student?) who quickly needed something 2 submit in his class. Lots of chessy public-access type efx/transitions also.
Don't waste your time. Consider yourself warned.