You can tell that “House Party 3” is pretty much where Kid and Play are on the way out, pop culture wise. It seems while New Line Cinema funded their first two films, they drastically cut the budget for this third entry in to the series. And it shows big time. It looks dated. Even more dated than the first one. The photography is hazy, the camera work is amateur, there is an obscene amount of close ups on character faces, and the comedy is nowhere to be found. There isn’t a single laugh to be had here. And the slapstick escapist tone is all but missing.
Tag Archives: Dancing
House Party (1990)
Kid n Play originally began their careers as rap rivals, and you can sense a lot of that rivalry in their performances as Kid and Play in “House Party.” Much of that interplay of two rappers pitted against each other is carried over, even though the film establishes them as best friends. Very often “House Party” involves Kid and Play making a move on the same girl, and competing for attention not only for their friends, but from pretty much everyone they come across. Because of that “House Party” is a bonafide party film that is quite the entertaining guilty pleasure, if you’re willing to re-visit the early nineties. Born from the remnants of the eighties, “House Party” is a film that’s awfully dated but still very fun and equally funny to sit through.
Black Swan (2010)
Director Darren Aronofsky has always had a talent for delving in to the human psyche and offering us deeper more complex looks in to our souls and perceptions of reality. “Requiem for a Dream” was a film constantly teetering between a life of misery and woe distorted by our own desires for something better, while “The Fountain” destroyed all of our notions of time and infinity in a world not bound by simple quantities of hours and days. His master opus is a work of art that transforms the world of Nina Sayers in to something of a personal hell where she is incapable of escaping and is seeking a perfection that she may never be able to obtain. “Black Swan” is a masterpiece, a classic trail of perceived normality in to madness, a world of light consumed by shadows, and our very own minds becoming the key to our unraveling of consciousness and reality.
The Contrabulous Fabtraption of "Step Up 3D"
“People dance because dance can change things. One move, can bring people together. One move, can make you believe like there’s something more. One move, can set a whole generation free.”
It’s pretty surprising how anyone attempting to be considered a legitimate movie critic can somehow sully all credibility with his quasi-positive review of a dance movie set to 3D. What with 3D now shown as nothing but a cheap gimmick, injected in to a movie series that was nothing but a gimmick in the first place, I can understand why people would detest anything with “Step Up” attached. I mean with a quote you see at the beginning of this article, I can’t blame anyone for being remotely aggressive at the sight of this film or a remotely positive grading. But, as is the requisite, I’m in the minority when I say while “Step Up 3D” is a bad movie, it’s not the worst movie in theaters right now. This year brought without a doubt the worst movie in the last five year as directed by Kevin Smith, and we were force fed a “comedy” spoofing “Twilight.” Beyond that we also had a really awful “Nightmare on Elm Street” remake, Brendan Fraser battling animals, and a large Hawaiian wrestler dressed in a tutu and tights, but somehow people are convinced “Step Up 3D” is a plague on the box office.
Step Up 3D (2010)
In spite of the best efforts from the writers to give their most passionate story, one thing they do achieve is making the character of Moose something of a more dignified and empathic underdog hero. In a film series filled with pretty people, it’s refreshing to see the screenwriters working toward making Adam G Sevani something of an entertaining and complex individual. Here instead of making us laugh, he’s given much more dramatic material however cliche it may be. Continue reading
Hairspray (1988)
Though it’s true I’ve never been much of a John Waters fan, the prospect of the upcoming remake has entertained me some. Not only is the prospect of seeing John Travolta in drag a hilarious option for movie viewing, but, yes, I think it looks entertaining in spite of the serious possibility it will be completely watered down, and void of any of the civil rights commentary posed. Before that, though, I thought I’d see “Hairspray” for the first time to see what the big deal is. Like all of Waters’ films, it’s a cult classic, and one that’s an acquired taste.
Not Until You Dance (2005)
Being a best man is hard enough, but having to subdue to the duties required of you be they tedious or ridiculous is the part of the job that really makes it an unappealing aspect. Bored by his best friends wedding, a young dog is told he can’t leave the wedding until he can dance.