“Barbershop” is a smart, clever, and well-written piece of filmmaking that stars an ensemble cast of predominant African American actors, all talented. Ice Cube is Calvin Palmer, the son of a beloved barber who inherits his father’s old barbershop and takes it for granted mostly running the shop for his father’s sake, viewing it as a waste of time and money. But when he has aspirations of starting a record company, he secretly sells it to local neighborhood loan shark Lester Wallace and slowly begins moving everything out from under the employees who have a bond, and function as a family. I was surprised with this film, because of the screenplay which invokes a large array of truly hilarious and likable characters.
Tag Archives: Romance
The Last Samurai (2003)
This elegant love letter to the samurai and to the old world Japanese culture takes place in the late 1800’s, the civil war era, an ex-confederate soldier Captain Nathan Algren, a drunken has been is tortured by his past after being forced to slaughter an Indian village during Custer’s last stand is now a has been who advertises guns for the Winchester company until he’s approached by friend Zebulon Grant played very poignantly by Billy Connolly who makes an offer to Algren to re-claim his respect as a soldier and take a job from the Japanese government to modernize their army to fight against the rebels, an army of Samurai’s, a dying breed from the old world, who are being led by a mysterious leader known as Katsumoto.
A Guy Thing (2003)
Jason Lee is a prime example of a very talented actor who has the chops to make primo movies yet consistently star in cinematic fecal matter such as “A Guy Thing”. Lee continues starring in half-baked terrible films like “Dreamcatcher” and “Stealing Harvard” and continues to waste the talents he presents in his past films. “A Guy Thing” has the plot of a sitcom with a storyline done to death and is inevitably doomed to the fate of posing as an hour and a half long big screen commercial sitcom and is just as bland. Lee has shown promise in films like “Chasing Amy”, “Dogma” and the excellent “Almost Famous” in which he managed to steal most of the scenes he was in, but Lee has proved that though he’s excellent as a supporting actor, he just can’t hack it as a leading man yet.
The Shape Of Things (2003)
Adam is an out of shape, meek, and nerdy security guard for the local college museum and sticks out like a sore thumb until he comes across Evelyn who is taking pictures of a sculpture. After the requisite reluctant warnings and arguments he grudgingly asks her out and she accepts taking a keen interest in him. Their relationship soon begins to blossom and Evelyn begins taking an eager and somewhat odd fascination with Adam. But as they’re relationship grows more, his friends begin noticing his increasing change in appearance and soon is forced to decide between Evelyn or his best friends. Neil Labute (who penned the original play, wrote the script, and directed) is best known for his cynical works in films like “Your Friends and Neighbors” and “In the Company of Men”, but I’d never seen a film of his before.
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)
I’m not a fan of romantic comedies, and these days they all seem to have something in common and it’s something that was never present in the classic romantic comedies: these days romantic comedies are incredibly bland. As bland as bland can be, so it was no surprise I entered this film with lower than low expectations. But I managed to actually be surprised at how entertaining and enjoyable this was to watch in its first half. First off, I’m in love with Kate Hudson, so it wasn’t a completely difficult time watching her in this film, and I actually laughed here and there. Hudson and McConaughey pull in two hilarious performances as two people who are attempting to outdo each other.
Before Sunrise (1995)
Two people from different parts of the world meet on a train and decide to tour Vienna for one night and witness everything the city has to offer while they bond with one another and fall in love, but as the night ends and the two become closer, will they separate come morning, or will they stay together? I’m officially considering myself a fan of Richard Linklater; this director/writer creates some of the most thought provoking films ever made, it’s hard to believe his films aren’t being released into the mainstream.
The Guys (2002)
Where were you on 9/11? Everyone who was somehow connected with the horrible tragedy of September 11th asks that; especially people who were living in New York at the time. Where were you on 9/11? What were you doing at the time? I’ve been asked that ever since. Being a born and raised New Yorker, it’d be only natural the topic of 9/11 would pop up sooner or later, and instantly the conversation and everyone involved in it would shift into a sort of sad slumped shoulder mode and gaze down in sadness. 9/11 had a profound effect on everyone, especially people who lived in New York during that tumultuous summer. Since then, there’s been countless films, television specials, documentaries, books, memoirs, and even comic books and trading cards chronicling the tragedy (for a lack of a better word).