Movie Review: First Sunday

First Sunday (2008) 

Directed by David E. Talbert 

Written by David E. Talbert

Starring Ice Cube, Katt Williams, Keith David, Regina Hall, Chi McBride

Release Date January 11th, 2008

Published January 11th, 2008

I guess it was bound to happen. Success always leads to lame copies of that success. Now that Tyler Perry is a huge moneymaker with his series of soft headed, soft hearted, well intentioned comedies, it had to happen that someone would rip him off. Enter the good folks behind the new Ice Cube-Tracey Morgan comedy First Sunday.

This lame comedy about bumbling thieves trying to rob a church but finding god instead has a premise that Perry likely would not have touched but a simpleminded message about community and family that he damn near has a patent on.

Durrell (Ice Cube) has been the victim of his pal LeeJohn's (Tracey Morgan) follies since they were kids. Thus, it isn't much of a surprise when LeeJohn gets them both fired from a good job, repairing televisions. Caught trying to steal a TV, the two are sent to court where a helpful judge and prosecutor give us the character snapshots we need, you know the kind a better movie need not deliver with such an obvious device. Apparently, Durrell was the smartest kid in his graduating class but has failed his potential. LeeJohn was a forster kid, repeatedly abused. Sympathetic, the judge forgoes jail in favor of 5000 hours of community service.

This makes getting a job a pretty tough proposition. Durrell needs money bad because his baby mama (the movies words, not mine, sigh) is leaving soon and taking their son to her family in Atlanta. She'll stay if he can pay the 17 grand in rent for her beauty shop. LeeJohn meanwhile crosses some Jamaican gang members and now needs money to keep himself from being killed. The solution? They decide to rob a church. Stumbling on a church meeting where the elders are deciding whether to move the church from this bad neighborhood, our erstwhile heroes now have a hostage situation on their hands while their well meaning captives bicker and pray.

First Sunday is a tuneless mess of a movie. One moment Durrell and LeeJohn are bumbling stooges and the next Ice Cube is wielding a weapon as if flashing back to his Boyz In the Hood days. The lapses of tone are one of many problems for this misguided comedy. There is also a whole lot of casual homophobia and a vapid subplot about a church deacon, Michael Beach, stealing the money from the church before Durrell and LeeJohn ever get the chance. Naturally, among the church hostages there is the proper mix of sassy attitude, beatific certitude and sage wisdom. Oh, and of course, a token love interest.

As I am trashing this movie I should mention one nice thing about it. Comedian Katt Williams, whose concert DVD American Hustle is insanely hot at the moment, takes on the Wanda Sykes role here and does her proud. For the uninitiated, directors often hire Ms. Sykes to offer humorous commentary in the form of sassy one liners that only she can hear.

Watch Evan Almighty or Monster In Law for perfect examples of the Wanda Sykes role. The movies aren't funny but her one liners often fool one into thinking they are. Williams nearly pulls the same neat trick with his perfectly timed jibes and fey cowardice. I must give him credit, he made me laugh repeatedly even as I was bored to death with the rest of the movie.

With it's faux good intentions and religious underpinnings, it's clear that First Sunday wants to ape the pious good intentions of Tyler Perry but lack the understanding and care that Perry brings to even his cheapest efforts. Perry's good intentions are why he makes movies, he truly wants to change the world and see's movies as his avenue to creating social change.

First Sunday simply wants to make money off those good intentions. It plays at being good for you, pretends at a do the right thing attitude but the greedy nature of it all is obvious from the lack of care taken in crafting the feel good messages.

Tyler Perry may not be a great filmmaker but atleast he is honest in his good intentions and with his last film, Why Did I Get Married, he even showed improvement in his artistic side. First Sunday is merely a cynical attempt to make money off the formula that Perry created. How sad.

Movie Review Princess and the Frog

Princess and the Frog (2009) 

Directed by John Musker, Ron Clements

Written by Rob Edwards 

Starring Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Keith David, Jennifer Lewis, Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard, John Goodman

Release Date December 11th, 2009 

Published December 10th, 2009

Many of you are of the classic tale of The Princess and the Frog. For the uninitiated, it's about a Princess who meets a frog. They kiss, he magically transforms into a handsome prince and they live happily ever after. Disney's take on this story transfers the settings to early 1900's New Orleans, and instead of having the frog turn into a prince, they turn a prince into a frog and then the princess as well.

It's 1916 and Tiana dreams of living out the dreams of her late father. He wanted to open a restaurant and serve the best gumbo in Nawlins. Tiana has worked day and night for years and has saved enough to buy just the right space. When she is invited to cater her rich friend Charlotte's costume ball it should give Tiana all the money she needs to buy her restaurant.

Also attending the party will be the selfish, self involved Prince Naveen. All the Prince wants is to dance, play jazz and meet pretty girls. Unfortunately for Naveen, he's broke. His parents have cut him off and if he cannot charm Charlotte into marrying him, he may have to do the unthinkable: Get a job.

Before the Prince can get to the party he and his squirrelly assistant Lawrence are accosted by a voodoo witch doctor called Doctor Facilier. It is Facilier who places the frog curse on Naveen while replacing him with Lawrence in his guise. Naturally, Prince Naveen and Tiana's paths will cross and in trying to reenact the fairy tale, Naveen passes along his curse to her.

What follows is a trip deep into the Louisiana bayou, an encounter with a friendly, trumpet playing crocodile, a brave Creole firefly and a visit to Mama Odie, a powerful voodoo priestess who may be able to reverse the curse. More important on this journey are a series of jazzy tunes courtesy of the legendary Randy Newman.

The Princess and the Frog marks a return by Disney to classic hand drawn animation, a genre they abandoned nearly a decade ago. The ascendance of Pixar and Shrek had rendered hand drawn animation a dinosaur and Disney was right to place its bet on Pixar, it may pay off with a Best Picture nomination for Up, but that doesn't mean there isn't a place for the classic style.

The Princess and the Frog makes a strong case for the warm, comforting lines and colors that hand drawn has always thrived on. Combined here in The Princess and the Frog with a welcoming story, wonderful characters and great tunes, we see the form revived.

Princess and the Frog doesn't compare to say any of the Pixar movies, it lacks the story sophistication of those remarkable films. As a film specifically aimed at kids, this is the kind of movie you want your kids to enjoy, if there isn't a Pixar movie to watch. The Princess and the Frog is sweet and funny with characters of conscience, bravery and loyalty. I take issue with the anti-feminist aspects of the story (why can't a woman be happy and accomplished without a man around?) but that stuff will go over the head of kids.

Race is another topic, on the fringe anyway, in The Princess and the Frog. The movie does not explicitly address race but it is notable that Tiana is the first African American Disney Princess. Beyond that, the film's main cultural ingredient is New Orleans with its unique mix of African American and French traditions.   

With great songs, terrific characters and some laughs, The Princess and the Frog is great family entertainment.

Movie Review The Chronicles of Riddick

The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) 

Directed by David Twohey

Written by David Twohey

Starring Vin Diesel, Karl Urban, Dame Judi Dench, Keith David, Thandie Newton, Colm Feore 

Release Date June 11th, 2004 

Published June 16th, 2004 

2000's Pitch Black was a surprise hit thanks to the combination of hardcore sci-fi fans and a low budget. The biggest thing to come from Pitch Black was not its grosses but it's star, the bald-headed muscleman Vin Diesel. Four years later, up the budget and the star power and the sequel The Chronicles Of Riddick has the look and feel of a blockbuster. In other words, the antithesis of it's origins. More proof that a bigger budget doesn't make a better movie.

Vin Diesel returns as the anti-hero Riddick. With his glowing eyes and muscled physique, Riddick is supposedly the most dangerous man in the universe. Since escaping from the last uninhabitable planet, Riddick has been leaping from one planet to the next, narrowly avoiding the Mercs, a group whose gig is like bounty hunters but with a different title.

A group of bounty hunters, err Mercs, led by Toombs (Nick Chinlund) have been hard on Riddick's trail for a while but with little success. After finally getting their hands on him, Riddick finds a way to escape and take over their ship. Crash landing on another planet, Riddick comes face to face with a rare man from his past who doesn't want to kill or capture him, Imam (Keith David). He’s a man whom Riddick saved four years ago, one of three holdovers from Pitch Black.

As luck would have it, Riddick has crashed right in the middle of an invasion by a “convert or die” warlord clan called Necromongers, led by a man called Lord Marshall (Colm Feore). Imam asks Riddick if he will help fight the Necromongers, who kill anyone who refuse to join them. Riddick isn't interested in fighting for a cause other than himself. It's only when the Necromongers threaten him that he fights back.

Honestly, most of the plot is rather lost on me. Somehow, Riddick is the only man who can fight the Necromongers, something about his nearly destroyed race called the Furions. Anyway before Riddick can get down to pounding Necromongers he is recaptured by the Mercs and taken to yet another ridiculously, uninhabitable planet. It's a prison camp where he finds Kyra, or Jack or both. She was Jack in Pitch Black but played by a younger actress, now she's Kyra and played by Alexa Davalos. (See the original to make more sense of that)

Where to begin with this film’s problems? How about Dame Judi Dench who while radiant and always credible as an actress, can't make the film’s idiotic, nonsensical dialogue sound plausible. Poor Thandie Newton has an even harder time with her sub-Lady Macbeth role as Lady Vaako, the wife of the Necromongers’ second in command Lord Vaako played far more credibly by Karl Urban.

Worst of all though is Colm Feore who is so badly miscast. Colm Feore is a believable actor playing a conniving lawyer or maybe an Enron executive but as a bad guy tough enough to beat up Vin Diesel, I wasn't buying it. If this guy could take Riddick then why are we watching this movie? Give me an actor of some bulk or at least a Rutger Hauer type who could bellow Riddick to death. That I could believe.

Look, Riddick is entirely, stupidly contrived sci-fi, low on the sci, high on the fi. This is a big dumb loud action movie that claims the title sci-fi only for its space setting. Regardless of that, the big dumb loud action is well staged, well shot and a whole heck of a lot of fun.

Vin Diesel does what Vin Diesel does, kicks ass with an occasional bit of dark humor. The fight scenes are badass and the effects are pretty good, especially the burning hot sun on the prison planet that melts people, very cool gory effect.

Did I like Chronicles Of Riddick? Kind of. Take it for what is and don't expect much else and you can be viscerally entertained. I prefer my sci-fi with a little more intellect but occasionally a big dumb loud action adventure, if it's technically proficient, can work on me. Some of Chronicles of Riddick work. What doesn't, really doesn't.

Movie Review Hollywood Homicide

Hollywood Homicide (2003) 

Directed by Ron Shelton

Written by Ron Shelton

Starring Harrison Ford, Josh Hartnett, Master P, Lena Olin, Bruce Greenwood, Isaiah Washington, Keith David, Dwight Yoakam, Martin Landau

Release Date June 13th, 2003 

Published June 12th, 2003 

Every time I complain about a film’s marketing campaign I get emails asking me why I complain about something that has nothing to do with the film. I politely disagree with that sentiment. A film’s marketing shapes your perception and the movie Hollywood Homicide is an excellent example of my feelings. The ad campaign of the film is accompanied by a rap soundtrack that is not only misleading, it's misguided. That aside, and despite his aging demographic, Ford shows in Hollywood Homicide that he's still got that magical IT quality that makes a superstar.

In Hollywood Homicide Harrison Ford is Joe Gavilan, real estate agent by day, Hollywood homicide cop at night. His young partner is KC Calden (Josh Hartnett), who is also a part-time yoga instructor and wannabe actor. The two are brought in to investigate the murder of an up and coming rap group in a LA nightclub owned by Julius (Master P). In one of the film’s funniest moments, Joe takes time out from the investigation to pitch Julius about a house he has for sale. The murder sets the plot in motion but there is something else going on in this film.

In most cop movies, we would track from the evidence that implies the rap groups record company owner killed them for trying to break their contract. Isaiah Washington fills that vaguely Suge Knightish role. However at some point in the making of Hollywood Homicide, director Ron Shelton forgot about this by-the-numbers plot and fell in love with his quirky characters. Lucky for him, these are great characters and even better actors playing them.

As the murder plot becomes merely a subplot, it's the weird friendship between Ford and Hartnett that takes center stage and the two actors show an excellent chemistry. Ford also has a subplot with the wife of one of his fellow LAPD detectives, who also happens to be working for the bad guys. Lena Olin fills the role of Ford's love interest and brings a mature sexuality to what could have been a throwaway role. There are a couple of strands of plot also working throughout Hollywood Homicide, such as Dwight Yoakam as a dirty former cop working for Isaiah Washington and his connection to the murder of Hartnett's father. Yet again, such plot machinations are merely background for the actors.

The film’s ending is a car wreck, literally and figuratively. The figurative car wreck is the number of unresolved plot points that are simply thrown away or disregarded. Bruce Greenwood in particular gets the short shrift as his character arc is resolved with little notice to the audience as to why or how. Not that it made any difference to the plot but it didn't fit any kind of logic. You can tell a lot of this subplot was left on the cutting room floor. In fact, from the messy narrative that is on display, I would bet the director’s cut must have been just over three hours just to explain the extraneous plot points..

You can speculate for hours as to what happened during the filming of Hollywood Homicide that brought it to it's current state. Despite my praise of the film’s leads and its humor, the film is a real mess from a plot standpoint. One could wonder if the obvious allusions to Suge Knight in Isaiah Washington's character caused that character to be cut back a good deal. You can see many of the cop movie cliches fighting to surface and Shelton seemed to make a very pronounced effort to downplay those cliches. He leaves the film’s big action movie moments until the end of the film and focuses on the films strengths, it's actors and the humor they generate from their interaction.

That doesn't make the film feel any less messy but it makes it far more tolerable than it might have been. -

Movie Review: Barbershop

Barbershop (2002) 

Directed by Tim Story 

Written by Don D. Scott 

Starring Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Troy Garity, Eve, Keith David, Anthony Anderson

Release Date September 13th, 2002 

Published September 12th, 2002 

Recently the question was asked what rapper was the best actor. The answer? Ice Cube, and he deserves the accolade. Cube proved he had something with his debut in Boyz In The Hood. But it was Friday that showed Ice Cube was going to be around for a while. Now with Barbershop, Cube may finally shake the rapper actor label altogether and just be seen as an actor.

In Barbershop, Cube is Calvin, owner of a Chicago barbershop once owned by his grandfather and his father. Calvin, however, isn't satisfied running the family business, he would like to run his own record company from his basement. As the day unfolds Calvin decides to sell the shop to a local hustler played by Keith David. 

Meanwhile we get to know Calvin's employees. There is the grizzled vet Eddie (Cedric The Entertainer), the college kid Jimmy (Sean Patrick Thomas), African immigrant Dinka (Leonard Howze), former gangbanger Ricky (Michael Early), the lone white guy Isaac (Troy Garity) and the girl Terri (EVE). Each has their own problems, Ricky is a two time felon who if he gets in trouble again will spend the rest of his life in jail. 

His trouble is compounded by his no good cousin JD (Anthony Anderson) who uses Ricky's truck to steal a newly installed ATM machine from a market just down the street from the barbershop. Terri has a no-good boyfriend who she can't seem to shake, while Dinka is nursing a serious crush on her. Isaac, because he's white, can't get any customers, and is feuding with Jimmy who thinks he knows everything because he went to college. Then there is Eddie. Eddie is the ringleader, he begins the conversations and says everything on his mind no matter what anyone thinks. As Eddie, Cedric The Entertainer delivers the film's funniest performance.

For me though the movie was about Ice Cube. As we watch Barbershop we watch as Ice Cube the actor becomes more mature and relaxed. Cube is in command playing an older wiser character, a guy with dreams that have passed him by who is just now seeing what is real and important. The character of Calvin holds the movie together while observing it from the outside. Calvin is hardly ever involved in the barbershop conversations but he is always watching and his perspective is the audience's perspective. As he realizes how important his shop is to the neighborhood, we in the audience do as well. It is a marvelous performance.

Barbershop does have its flaws, particularly Anthony Anderson as JD. Anderson is becoming a cliché, playing the same character over and over. In Barbershop his constant mugging is tiresome and unnecessary. The film could have done without his entire subplot. Still, Barbershop is a very good movie. For me the most important thing in comedy is consistency. Most films take too long setting up jokes that aren't funny enough to justify the time taken to set them up. In Barbershop, laughs come early and often, making for one of the funniest movies of 2002.

Movie Review: Transporter 2

Transporter 2 (2005) 

Directed by Louis Letterier

Written by Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen 

Starring Jason Statham, Amber Valletta, Keith David, Matthew Modine, Jason Flemying 

Release Date September 2nd, 2005 

Published September 2nd, 2005 

The first Transporter movie was a rather innocuous exercise in combining American style action movies with Asian style violence and European locales. Memorable only for its rising star Jason Statham, The Transporter made little box office noise before being shuffled off to DVD. It is in this fast growing market that a small cult formed. For some reason people started buying the DVD and an underground of Frank Martin fans managed to turn the DVD into a big enough hit that a sequel was necessary. Four years after the original made its minor box office impact, Transporter 2 hits the screen with a fury that box office hits are made of.

Jason Statham returns as Frank Martin, a character he created for a stylish car commercial some four years ago. That lead to The Transporter in which ace getaway driver Frank Martin is hired to deliver a package that he finds out is actually a human being, a really sexy Asian woman to be precise. Violating his rules of non-involvement in his clients' business Frank set about releasing the girl and protecting her from his thug clients.

Four years later, the sexy Asian woman is a memory as is Frank's dangerous past. Now living in Florida, Frank has taken a gig as driver and bodyguard for the 8 year old son of a high profile government executive named Billings (Matthew Modine). Frank was hired at the behest of Mrs. Billings (Amber Valleta) who was concerned that her son might be the target of kidnappers because of her husband's high profile job.

Oh how right she was. On a routine trip to a doctor's office Frank and the boy are attacked by a group of thugs lead by the super sexy and psychotic Lola (model, Kate Nauta). After a massive action sequence culminating as they often do in this film with a giant fireball, the boy is eventually taken and only Frank Martin can save him.

The plot is far more complicated then that however.  Eventually it involves a hired hitman played by Alessandro Gassman, and a deadly virus spread through breathing that has only a limited amount of antidote. The plot is dopey and convoluted but who cares.  The action surrounding the goofy plot is what makes Transporter 2 the kind of enjoyable action junk not seen since the heyday of Jean Claude Van Damme.

Jason Statham, auditioning for the James Bond gig, has his stone-faced intensity and agile fighting stance in full effect in Transporter 2. Even in the film's most outrageous contrivances Statham's taciturn charisma and dangerous demeanor draws you in and helps you forget about the number of times he outruns giant, physics defying fireballs and survives ridiculous explosions, car wrecks and a plane crash.

Even more durable than Statham is his 2006 Lexus which is scratch proof, bullet proof and nearly bomb proof. The driving stunts are, as they were in the first film, exciting and well executed but really nothing more than a commercial for the car itself. In fairness, it's a gorgeous vehicle and the makers of Transporter 2 do a wonderful job of showing it off. It's basically Statham's top supporting cast member and as silly as that sounds, it works for this ultimately silly action movie. 

Director Louis Leterrier is no stranger to popcorn action junk. Earlier this year he delivered the awesomely entertaining actioner Unleashed with Jet Li. In Transporter 2 he brings that same sense of action and fun. Fight scenes choreographed by Cory Yuen, who performed the same task in the first film, have the feel of Jackie Chan's comedic approach to combat, combined with Jet Li's power. Watch out for a scene in which Frank employs a fire hose ala Jackie Chan and an awesomely coordinated scene with a pair of handcuffs similar to a scene in Jet Li's The One.

That is not to say that Transporter 2 is derivative but that it's a movie with keen awareness of its influences. Leterrier, a French Director and protégée of Luc Besson (who wrote both Transporter films), is developing a reputation for his love for and emulation of Asian style action and acrobatics. His love for this material showed greatly in Unleashed and continues remarkably well here.

Another well-acknowledged influence is American style action junk ala Van Damme or Seagal. Transporter 2 lifts heavily from the conventions and clichés of 80's and 90's action movies but with a slightly more stylish execution and a sly knowing wink to break the spell of earnestness that makes so many of those oh-so -serious action vehicles so campy in retrospect.

Transporter 2 is just wall to wall goofiness grounded, somewhat, by the sly but serious performance of star Jason Statham. Regardless of how outlandish the film's stunts and plot are you cannot help but enjoy watching Statham walk through it all with stoic dignity. This is the kind of movie star presence that made Mel Gibson a superstar in Lethal Weapon or at the very least made Steven Seagal a lot of money in a short period of time.

Whether this will be enough to land Statham his dream role as 007 is questionable but the producers would be smart to take a long look at both Statham and director Louis Leterrier, both of whom could bring some lively action to the moribund spy series.