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United Shades of America (2016)
If ur not mixed race or a racial minority, this will be too "woke" to you.
Originally rated it a 9 due to the CRAZY IN-DEPTH coverage & storytelling Kamau gets to do with minority groups, but after seeing all the WHITE CONSERVATIVE HATE here in the reviews, I bumped it up to 10.
There's some AMAZING moments & artful storytelling here. As someone of mixed race who has faced racism for BOTH of my races (Haole/Japanese), I've long been into these stories of our humanity.
Not every episode is for everybody & I'm not particularly drawn to EVERY episode, but the one's I have seen have affected me deeply.
I'm also a documentary videographer on behalf of Native Hawaiians & aim to tell stories in a similar quick-paced/artsy cinematography/made for short-attention span audiences technique....so I'm also JEALOUS of Kamau & his team.
Cant wait for the "Hawai'i for Hawaiians" episode...MANY OF US HERE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO IT!!! ALOHA!!
Criminal Minds (2005)
Psych profilers kicking in doors, getting into shootouts, flying in private jets??! U fans are dumb!
I'm just waiting for the episode where one of them flies an F-22 through downtown Manhattan (between skyscrapers), defuses a nuclear weapon, or builds a rocket to fly to outer space. Has anyone fired a bazooka yet, or drove an M1 Abrams through a building to help capture an "unsub"? WHY NOT???!
Believability is important to me...not just "entertainment value". It's a bit of a slap in the face for real criminologists and psychological profilers--this kind of over-dramatization. I can only imagine that they sigh, wonder "as if" for a moment, and then change the channel.
For those of you that get sucked into this drama, please pull your head out of your ass and wake up--I feel sorry for you. It's sad that so many Americans need our cookie-cutter heroes during evening television to cure the daily minutiae....right?
The Boondock Saints (1999)
Did a high school or middle school kid write this??!
I guess I'm "one of those" that was told about this movie again and again and again and let the anticipation and expectations build.
I could tell within the first 5 minutes that there was something wrong with this movie. When Dafoe's character (not even gonna spend time researching this homosexual acting detective's name..honestly this was the first Dafoe character I COULD NOT WATCH- I was surprised to see him stoop to this level) hands his coat off to the other detective the shot jumps awkwardly (amateur editing). When the Russian mobsters hits the drinks from the 2 main character's hands, they don't even actually show it....like WTF??
Why didn't they find the remnants of a broken toilet in the alleyway btw?
Why couldn't they shoot the old assassin with 6 guns when he was standing right in the middle of the road if they're so good at what they do??! Didn't they just expertly execute 9 mobsters while hanging upside from a tangled rope (that was very neatly wound and coiled just 2 secs before btw)?
I found the dialogue loud and obnoxious. I'm sure it was meant to be that way and some people that it was "awesome" but I just kept turning the volume down, waiting for a reason to continue spending my time watching this. What's with the stupid detective dialogue?? Is it all supposed to make Dafoe look like a genius? How stupid can u be and still become a detective? Again, probably funny to some people...completely obnoxious to me. I have enough respect for great crime movies to know that the detectives and police shouldn't be made to look like total fools unless its slapstick.
The prayer they say in unision before they execute the head Russian guy, I'm sure, made tons of people cheer and holler with glee! I laughed at the ridiculousness and cheesiness of it.
The music/soundtrack sucked MOST of the time.
I wanted to like this movie...but I just felt like I would have to dumb myself down to being a middle school kid giggling and cheering at the "over-the-top-ness" to do so. I couldn't even finish the movie.
Above the Rim (1994)
Vibrant movie...
To be honest I think one of the reasons this movie gets a bad rap is bcz of its lead character, Leon as "Shep". While I know he's supposed to be the quiet, brooding, self-loathing type I don't think he plays it VERY WELL. I like when he gets kinda nutz and rude sometimes but he doesn't play the quiet weird type very well (its a hard emotion to portray visually I think). There's times when it just seems fake...I'm not really feelin the pain and hurt that he's felt since Nutso died.
That bein sed, every other character and actor around him is on- point and vibrant and bleeds off the screen. Kyle AND his mom, coach, Bobby,OF COURSE Tupac, Motaw (I'm a soldier.....a SOLDIER!!), Bugaloo (u need a role model...), and TOTALLY UNSUNG in the movie is Bernie Mac as Flip (daffy duck with his beak blown off). Though Bernie's only in two scenes, its deadly accurate as that sad/strong/confident/weak homeless dude.
Some ppl say that this movie is predictable and cliché but I'd have to say that, while certain parts are (Shep's joining the shootout, Bombers winning) I TOTALLY did not expect Mo to do what he did..and then for Bugaloo to do what he did in the end. When Mo pulled the gun I thought it was gonna end like Menace II Society and Kyle was gonna get it. Then I thought Shep wouldn't make it...I was wrong on both accounts.
Anyways great movie...I like Leon, I just think maybe he's too confident himself as a person to play someone who's supposed to be WEAK (at first at least).
The Genius Club (2006)
OMG u people that cried must love horrible acting!
I didn't know that movies this bad were still being made. I actually chewed out my neighbor a little for renting and bringing this movie over to my place and suggesting we watch it.
I've worked with high IQ individuals in the past in the Los Angeles area and these annoying actors had no resemblance. Intelligent and brilliant individuals do not behave, act, or speak this way. They definitely couldn't sit through this movie...
Poor acting...poor script writing and "common sense" ideas portrayed as "deep thoughts"! I had to laugh...
How annoying and cliché....if u felt an emotional response to this film ur mind is miring somewhere in the mud of mental "mediocrity".