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The best ghetto film of all time.
26 July 2004
Boyz N The Hood Directed by: John Singleton Country: USA Year: 1991 Running time: 107 minutes Starring: Laurence Fishburne and Cuba Gooding Jr.

"I watched the news this morning. Either they don't know, don't show, or don't care about what's going on in the hood. They had all this foreign sh-t. They didn't have sh-t on my brother, man."

The mother of Tre Styles (Cuba Gooding Jr.) decides to send her son to live with his father, Furious Styles (Laurence Fishburne), after he gets into a fight at school. Furious, who lives in the heart of South Central LA, is a man that knows the values of how to respect and how to earn it. He's strict, but he's fair. Furious works as a mortgage broker.

We watch Tre mature from a young boy to his senior year in high school taking the SAT's. His two best friends are brothers. Ricky (Morris Chestnut) is a great athlete and is getting into college to support his girlfriend and infant son. The other brother, Doughboy (Ice Cube), is headed down a totally opposite path of guns, drugs, gangs, and violence. He's in and out of prison each year.

Furious knows that his son could get killed easily, as he was once involved with the gang scene himself. He wants Tre to graduate college and be good in whatever his profession may be.

As the story goes more in depth, we see that even if you aren't involved in a gang, you could still be a target. Whether it's your brother, cousin, sister, or other family member that is thee one involved with the violence, the main target could be the person in the family who stays away from the dangers of the street.

Tre and his friends are in a world where being violent is sometimes the way to live. Helicopters are heard searching for murderers every night. The police are so busy, that sometimes a 9-1-1 call could mean waiting for the police to arrive. There is even one Black-cop, who uses his power to try and intimidate young Blacks who he thinks might be involved in the gangs and violence.

This is the ultimate ghetto film, which will never be topped. All of the direction and screenplay is brilliant. Singleton doesn't use cheap scenes that get the viewer off-topic and the audience, as a whole, is always into the movie. Come into a world that most of us haven't been in. Follow the life of one boy who turns into a man as he has to not only goes through personal struggles, but has to worry about whether he'll be killed at any moment. -Pat

10/10
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"F-ckin' Chuck Norris." -Ben Stiller as 'White Goodman'
21 July 2004
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004/Marshall Thurber)

As I went to see this tonight, the first thought that came to my mind was, "What could I have done with the 8 dollars I am about to waste?" After the movie, I was pretty happy I had seen it. It's one of those movies that you have to laugh at just because the idea is so bizarre.

The story is about a man named Peter La Fleur (Vince Vaughn), who owns a beat down gym right across the street from one of the best gyms in the US, which is run by White Goodman (Ben Stiller). When Peter finds out that he must earn $50,000 to keep control of his gym from Goodman, he organizes a bunch of his friends to think of an idea to get the money.

After thinking about it, they find an ad to win the money in a dodgeball tournament in Las Vegas. When Goodman finds out about this, he organizes his own team of built and strong players to compete. Which team will come out on top?

I actually learned a lot more about dodgeball from this film too. It actually is a pretty interesting sport. This is probably the best comedy to come out since 'Bad Santa' in 2003.

This was a surprisingly funny movie about a surprisingly interesting topic. -Pat

7/10
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Halloween II (1981)
Better then most sequels.
21 July 2004
Warning: Spoilers
Halloween II (1981) Directed by: Rick Rosenthal Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis Donald Pleasence Length: 92 minutes Rating: R

!!SPOILERS!!

Halloween II starts off right where its' original left off. Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) goes to the hospital and Michael Myers is still on the loose. Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) is still looking for him, but it seems that Dr. Loomis hadn't learned of one thing: It seems that Laurie Strode is Michael Myers sister.

He realizes that the whole reason Michael came back to Haddonfield was to kill his other sister. Michael goes through the town killing people in his way and also kills the employees at the hospital to get to Strode.

What I love about the Halloween sequels is that they aren't as bad as other horror movie sequels. Only 2 bad sequels came out of the Halloween series, and they aren't even bad compared to other sequels released for other movies.

Halloween III came out and everyone expected to see Michael Myers back. Instead, the whole Michael Myers thing was over and the plot was totally different. The Michael Myers character didn't return until the heavily under rated Halloween IV. The other horrible sequel that recently came out was Halloween Resurrection, which was just so bad I won't even go in depth. People go into the old Myers' house to be on TV, but Michael comes home.

The Halloween series is the best of the best, people! Halloween 9 is set to come out this year, and I can't wait. Michael Myers is and will forever be the best horror movie killer ever. The movie wasn't ruined by all of its' sequels and the music themes are some of the best in cinema. The Halloween themes are absolutely incredible. They honestly touch me each time I hear them. It's hard to describe, but they get the viewer so into the movie.

While most horror movies glorify violence these days, the Halloween series didn't start to become as violent as other films until the 4th or 5th sequel. The 2nd has more blood in it then the first, but it's done in such a genious way, that you don't actually see someone being stabbed and ripped open. It's just a great sequel to the best horror movie in cinema history. -Pat

8/10
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Halloween (1978)
Halloween is a masterpiece for the horror genre.
21 July 2004
Halloween (1978) Directed by: John Carpenter Starring: Donald Pleasence Jamie Lee Curtis Length: 91 minutes Rating: R

Halloween is not only one of my favorite movies, but it also is the best horror movie ever created. Made in 1978, this movie was criticized for too much violence. I laughed when I heard that comment. The first question that came to my head was: "What violence?" Unlike most horror movies and horror movie sequels today, this movie had only 1 scene where you even saw any blood.

The movie was directed by John Carpenter. He is a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock and some of Hitchcock's techniques are used in this movie.

The movie is about a man or 'monster' named Michael Myers. After killing his sister on Halloween when he was only a child, he escapes from an institution where he was to remain for the rest of his life. He comes back to his childhood town of Haddonfield, Illinois after 15 years of being confined to the institution.

Dr. Samuel Loomis (Donald Pleasence) is in charge of finding Michael and bringing him back to the institution. Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is a teenager in Haddonfield and is in high school. She also babysits as a job. The night is Halloween. Michael Myers has returned. Who will stand in his path? -Pat

10/10 **** out of ****
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7/10
"This place doesn't make you a man."
11 April 2004
Warning: Spoilers
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Lynn Whitfield, CCH Pounder, Brenden Richard Jefferson

TV movie: FX

The year was 1971. It was the year that 17-year-old Stanly "Tookie" Williams started the Crips street gang in South Central Los Angeles. His intent was not to have a violent gang, but to have a gang for which him and his friends could stand up for themselves and their community in a non-violent way.

The gang turns violent after more gangs are created and they can't bond together and unite as a whole. Thousands of lives are lost and thousands of lives are put into rival gangs.

Tookie is convicted of several murders as a young man and is sentenced to death. Barbara Becnel is a journalist with a son in college who she is worried about turning into a gangsta. She becomes one of Tookie's best friends while he's on Death Row and helps him get a book deal for children's books.

Tookie has been nominated for 3 Nobel Peace prizes and continues to tell children to stay out of gangs and not to follow his route through his writing. He is still on Death Row at San Quentin to this date.

This is not the average gangsta movie. It was made for TV and doesn't have the usual amount of swearing and violence as you may see in other movies of its' type. There's lots of dialogue and reminiscing, so it's important that the viewer watches at all times. It would probably pass as PG-13 if it were released into theatres. -Pat

7.5/10
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A good horror flick for teens..
11 April 2004
Warning: Spoilers
Cast: Jessica Biel, R. Lee Ermey, Eric Balfour, Andrew Bryniarski

Rating: R

:::SPOILER WARNING:::

This 'remake' of the 1974 classic is anything but a remake. I found this film to be much better then the original because it had something that the first didn't: Gore. All horror flicks nowadays need to be packed with violence and this movie doesn't fall short.

The way this movie was made was very interesting too. It started and ended in black and white like it was a documentary. It starts by showing police officers in Travis County, Texas examining the Hewitt resident's. Anyone who has no background on this film immediately believes that what was about to be seen was all a true story.

Thomas Hewitt, or 'Leatherface,' had a rare skin disease as a boy and it caused the skin on this face to literally 'fall off.' When he killed his victims, he'd slice off their face and sew it so that he could wear it. His family were a bunch of whackos too; as were the other few people who lived in Travis County.

Five teenage friends were driving through a deserted part of Texas on their way to Dallas to see a Skynard concert. On their way, they picked up a hitchhiker who had already been through what these five teenagers were about to go through. She shot herself when she realized that the teenagers were heading back towards the Hewitt's gas station.

What happens to these five teenagers? Well, you'll need to watch the film to find that out. The story ends in its' documentary form. The Travis County officers are now inside the Hewitt house when something odd happens. It seems that the crime scene wasn't secure... -Pat

7.5/10

NOTE: The police footage at the beginning and end of the movie leads you to believe this is all a true story. It's BASED on a true story, BUT there never really was a "Texas Chainsaw Massacre."
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You can't just leave the ghetto..
11 April 2004
Warning: Spoilers
:::SPOILER WARNING:::

One of the few ghetto films to be funny, sad, and violent all at the same time. Kevin 'O-Dog' [Larenz Tate] and Caine 'Kaydee' Lawson [Tyrin Turner] are 2 hustlers growing up in California. One day while going into a store for liquor, the Chinese owners start following them around like they're going to steal something. After buying the liquor, one of the Chinese owners makes a comment about O-Dog's mom. What's the price? Death. Both of the Chinese owners are killed by O-Dog and he takes the store tape so there was no proof. Kaydee was in shock.

Kaydee grew up around drugs. His father, Tat Lawson [Samuel L. Jackson], was a dealer. He saw his dad murder someone at the age of 10. His dad was later killed in a drug deal gone bad. Kaydee went to live with his grandparents.

Kaydee and his cousin Harold are out cruising one night and they're car jacked. Harold dies. O-Dog and Kaydee strike revenge on the killers by killing them at a burger joint. It was the first time Kaydee had murdered.

Kaydee falls in love with Ronnie [Jada Pinkett Smith]. She has a 5 year old son who reminds Kaydee of himself when he was young. Ronnie gets a job in Atlanta and he agrees to go with her. Pernell [Glenn Plummer] is the father. However, he is in jail for life with no chance of parole. Pernell was like a father figure to Kaydee when he was young. He told Kaydee to go to Atlanta with Ronnie and keep his son out of what they had become. But, before he found out about the Atlanta trip, Kaydee has sex with Llena [Erin Leshawn Wiley]. When she tells him she's pregnant, he says it's not his.

Kaydee and his friend Chauncy [Clifton Powell] get a in a fight and Kaydee beats him up pretty good because Chauncy was harassing Ronnie at a party. For revenge, Chauncy sends in the tape of the murder at the liquor store that O-Dog had been showing everyone.

When Llena's cousin [Samuel Monroe Jr], confronts Kaydee about Llena being pregnant, he beats him up saying it's not his. Just when Kaydee and Ronnie are getting ready to move, DRIVE BY! Kaydee is shot dead by Llena's cousin for revenge. O-Dog is sent to jail because of the tape.

This story shows you that "you can't just leave the ghetto." You can't ignore what's going around you. You need to be in a gang or affiliated with drugs to live. If you don't belong with anyone, they will all be after you. They aren't scum. They're trying to make a living so they can get out of the ghetto. But by the time Kaydee was ready to leave, it was too late. He had done to many things to turn around and fix, and he had done too many things to move on. -Pat

9/10
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Red Dawn (1984)
Great war film...
11 April 2004
Warning: Spoilers
:::SPOILER WARNING:::

Imagine yourself. You're in high school. You're in social studies class; taking notes. You see parachutes coming from the sky. Your teacher goes out to see if they landed off target. "Boom." Your teacher's dead. Gun shots are being fired directly into your class. You just see one of your friends shot to death. For what purpose? Who are these people? You were just in class; learning, laughing, and talking. Now there's a race to the door. Some of the older brothers/sisters and parents in this small town are already at the school to pick up their loved ones. Where to go?

Your homes are invaded by Soviets just like Nazi's invaded the homes of Jews in World War II. This is World War III. You get together some guns from one of your friend's father's. You gather up in the mountains; you watch the Soviets put your parents and your loved ones in concentration camps to die.

A group of high school football players, with the knowledge of many guns due to hunting, choose to fight for their home, freedom, and family against all odds instead of fleeing to safer territory. The only question is, can they all stay alive long enough to take care of it? This movie is the greatest patriotic anti-war movie ever to be made. It shows you how people can deal with loss, cope with death, and try to keep one another alive.

This is Charlie Sheen's war film. This movie was made 2 years before Platoon, and Sheen puts just as good a performance in "Red Dawn" as he did in "Platoon." Adding Patrick Swayze doesn't hurt either.

Watch this film and see how you can unite with people you never dreamed of uniting with. Fight for your freedom when the time is right. Save all around. Do what you have to do. -Pat

9/10
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