Spiderman 3 Review - Awful

Critic’s reviews laud the brilliance of the third installation of the Spiderman franchise and I can’t help but wonder, did they seem the same movie that I did? I thought it was awful ... a signal pointing toward the demise of the franchise. I especially loathe Tobey Maguire’s portrayal of a blithering, socially inept, borderline effeminate Peter Parker. In my opinion Sam Raimi has categorically castrated Peter Parker throughout his vision of this flagship Marvel franchise.

I have to admit, the special effects have been more than impressive and Spiderman 3 continues to impress in that regard. To see Spiderman swinging through skyscrapers, web slinging, and fighting villains has been worth the ride, but special effects alone do not a great film make. And why does every filmmaker feel they need to put their personal thumbprint on each of these Superhero film adaptations? Noone wants to see how cleverly you can destroy our childhood heros. How you convolute the essence of their being to fuel your rapidly expanding egos. How you humanize them and dissect their character flaws like armchair psycho-therapists. It's annoying! I want to see one superhero film that follows the original material - I have high hopes for the Batman Reboot.

What I found most infuriating about the movie, is that in this day and age of excessive political correctness, I am even expected to feel pity for the super villain of the movie. From Sam Raimi’s convoluted perspective, the Sandman becomes a super villain with a heart of gold, who steals money and commits crimes to save his daughter from an unexplained medical condition that threatens her life. Are you kidding me! Am I to shed a tear for this misunderstood Frankenstein monster? The super villain of the movie??!! What an awful waste of two and an half hours and $260 million, I anxiously await another director taking over the reigns or the Hollywood reboot of this series a decade from now.

Blood Diamond Review - A Must See

Blood Diamonds is one movie that really opened my eyes. A sobering, very real look at civil unrest in Western Africa, an area that has not gained the media expose it’s due. This movie shines a spotlight on the plight of the African people who are forced to live their lives amidst a very brutal civil war. The value of human life is clearly lost in the race for power and money, as throughout the movie men and women are brutally gunned down without much reason.

Blood Diamond follows the story of a South African mercenary involved in the diamond trade as he attempts to retrieve a rare pink diamond hidden by a local fisherman within a militia stronghold in Sierra Leone. Leonardo DiCaprio is fantastic, flanked by the buxom Jennifer Connelly and Dijmon Hounsou. The script is phenomenal and the visuals memorable. It was shocking to me to actually watch as young boys were transformed into killers by military rebels running what amounted to a heavily armed Boy Scout troop. To see human lives treated with such cold disregard, gave me that gut check on how precious life really is. I keep seeing those young boys clenching their eyelids closed as they pull the trigger ... the recoil of the gun causing shots to fly in all directions, and splattering the lives of so many all over the ground. Shocking ...

The Pursuit of Happyness Review - Excellent

Fantastic! What more can one say about Wil Smith. Here is a young man that we've watched grow and mature into a superstar. Many remember Wil as half of the duo that brought hip hop music to mainstream america. We then marveled as he pioneered his way into the homes of millions through the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air TV show. Fans of the show watched as Wil began to develop serious acting chops, which led to his start on the silver screen, first as an action hero and more recently, with movies like this, into a Hollywood A-Lister.

In the Pursuit of Happyness, Will plays Chris Gardner, a father forced to reinvent himself in the job market in order to support his young son and provide a better life for both of them. This movie follows his journey through tough times as the homeless Chris participates in a non-paid internship with the improbable goal of winning a single positon at a prestigious stock brokerage firm amoung 60 other interns. The movie is well written and Wil Smith is brilliant. His young son Jaden is equally impressive. A great movie for parents and their children with a strong message. Highly recommended.

Stomp the Yard Review - Decent Entertainment

This isn't "Step Up" or "Save the Last Dance", this is a serious look at urban "battles" which have moved to the college campus to influence Black Greek-Letter Organization step shows. Stepping is derived from traditional African dance. Part tradition, part miltary boot camp, black greek stepshows have long been a staple on college campuses. Each organization has signature universal moves which appear in "Stomp the Yard" as a salute to the "Divine Nine". These organizations provided an opportunity for african americans enrolled in universities at the turn of the century to gather together in an organized venue when most organizations refused african american membership.

Stomp the Yard is part "School Daze", part "The Program". Like many movies of its kind it follows an unoriginal format set to a new wrinkle. In this case stepping, rather than college football or track. I found it to be worth the price of admission. In "Stomp the Yard", we follow the story of a young man from Los Angeles with a checkered past who arrives on a college campus in Atlanta Georgia. In order to attract the attention of a female, he joins a fraternity and begins to understand the true meaning of brotherhood ... to replace the sibling he recently lost. Formulaic, yes ... entertainment, yes. I would definitely advise people to see this one.

Apocalypto Review - Don't waste your money

You know how there are some movies that just should not be made? Unfortunately, Apocalypto by Mel Gibson happens to fall into that category. Apocalypto is billed as the story of the Mayan empire at the time of the Spaniards arrival in the new world. It is filmed in the native language of the Mayan people (translation: I have to read in order to keep up) and is supposed to be an epic story of a tribe of native peoples who face extermination by the more powerful ruling Mayan tribe.

In reality, Apocalypto is a very nauseatingly boring slice of native life that the audience is forced to endure without any real plot line or story to follow. There's lots of violence, genocide, and nakedness ... much of it less than gratuitous. Our story opens in a native jungle village as we follow native life - the hunt, celebrations, and native impotence. Mayan warriors come to town to enslave the villagers who are captured and tied to bamboo rods in preparation for the long walk to the Mayan city (the walk seems to take forever). Once there they're sold into slavery and sentenced to death. One escapes and gets back to the village to save his family. Oh and at the end of the movie the Spaniards arrive. End of story, waste of my money. I did not feel any connection with the main characters or find any type of interesting plotline to peak my interest. In the end, I felt like a voyeur, spying on these people for a couple of days.