AD&AM Go to the Movies: He Got Game

Movie: He Got Game

Starring: Ray Allen (yes, the basketball player), Denzel Washington, Rosario Dawson (young version, but still FINE), Jim Brown (yes, the football player) "Radio" from "Do the Right Thing," Milla Jovovich

Plot: Jesus Shuttlesworth (Allen) is the top high school basketball player in the country, but with the deadline to sign with a college less than a week away, Jesus has yet to choose one. Meanwhile, everyone, his family, coach, friend, and girlfriend, has an opinion of what he should do. If that wasn't enough, Jesus's dad, Jake (Washington), who is in prison for the accidental murder of his wife (Jesus's mom) is temporarily released from jail on a "work-release" program. Turns out, the governor happens to be a big college basketball fan and wants Jesus to attend his alma mater, the fictional Big State University. Jake has a week to persuade his son to attend Big State, if he does, he will reduce Jake's sentence substantially.

Reaction: I saw this movie in the theater when it first came out, but watching it some 10 years later, gives me a different perspective on it. The movie deals with three main themes, basketball, celebrity, and the relationship between a father and son. Though the movie revolves around basketball, there's not a lot of it in the movie, save for a pickup game, and the climactic scene between Jake and Jesus. Every kid dreams of one day making it big in sports, and Jesus is on the verge, but that glamooruous life doesn't look as appealing. Everybody wants something from Jesus, even if it's just to rub elbows with him, and it's hard for Jesus to weed out who's really there for him, and who just wants things from him. Denzel is terrific as Jake, but it was hard for me to get past the fact that it was Ray Allen the basketball player, acting, even though the basketball scenes are that much better because he's an actual professional basketball player. The subplot of Jake courting a prostitue (Jovovich) is also unnecessary.

Rating: Though the move can drag at times, the climactic basketball game scene with Jake ands Jesus, as well as Jesus's recruting visit with friends Jill and Chasey make this movie worht it alone. good times. Weird subplot and Ray Allen dock it though. "He Got Game" gets 3 quarters and a nickel, for 80 cents.

I Saw This Movie The 1st Time When It Was Called "Disturbia"

Anthony

AD&AN Go to the Movies: Slumdog Millionaire

Movie: Slumdog Millionaire

Starring: A bunch of Indian people

Plot: The story is told in real-time and in flashback. In real-time, Jamal Malik, form the slums of Mumbai, India, is a contestant on the Indian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" The flashbacks show how Jamal knows the answers to the questions asked on the show, through the experiences of his eventful, yet troubled childhood with his older brother, Salim, and a childhood friend, Latika.

Reaciton: Just an amzaing movie. An incredible story that the viewer gets sucked into and emotionally invested in. Even though there are flashbacks it's easy to keep up with the movie. Some of the scenes with the kids and the ghetto are hard to stomach, and some of the movie's dialogue is in Hindu, so it's a pain with the subtitles, but other than that it was an incredible movie. Worthy of every award it won.

Rating: 3 quarters and 2 dimes, "Slumdog Millionaire" gets 95 cents.

The 15-cent crew...

AD&AN Go to the Movies: I Love You, Man

Movie: I Love You, Man

Starring: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, "Karen Fillipelli" from "The Office," Andy Samberg, "Jameson" from "Spider-Man," Jon Favreau, Lou Ferrigno, "Dangle" from "Reno: 911," "Jamie Pressly

Plot: Peter (Rudd) and Zooey (Karen) are engaged to be married. Peter overhears Zooey and her multitude of friends talking one night about how his lack of friends will make for one bad bridal party, and how he'll be a clingy husband. In an effort to prove Zooey and her friends wrong, Peter is set-up on a series of "man dates" to find friends.

Reaction: It's a really, REALLY good premise. A reverse love story, a guy searching for love...from another man. A guy just trying to find platonic love from another man, "homey-hunting." Although there are a handful of laugh at loud moments, something seems to be missing from the movie. Lou Ferrigno playing himself is a nice touch, and the rest of the supporting cast does a good job as well, but the premise isn't as well executed as it could've been. The dialogue is still good, as is expected from these movies, and there are great quotes, as evidenced by a few of the "Slappin' da bass, maan" on people's Facebook statuses. The movie's funny, but not as funny as previous movies that these guys have been in like "Knocked Up," "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," and "Role Models."

Rating: This movie gets 2 quarters and 2 dimes. $0.70

A Dime & A Nickel Go to the Movies

Here @ AD&AN we're starting a new segment where we review movies, new, old, theater, DVD, whatever, that we've seen. We're calling it, "A Dime & A Nickel Go to the Movies."

Movie: "Rounders."

Starring: Matt Damon, Edward Norton, John Malkovich, John Tuturro, Martin Landau

Plot: Mike McD (Damon) is a law student who's in love with poker, until he loses all his money in one hand against Russian mob boss, Teddy KGB (Malkovich). Mike decides to quit cold turkey and gets hooked up at a day-job by his poker mentor, Knish (Turturro). But Mike gets the bug back when his childhood friend and fellow poker shark, Worm (Norton), gets out of jail. Though Mike is excited to be with his friend again, Worm does more harm than good, even when he doesn't intend to.

Reaction: "Rounders" seems a little ahead of it's time. It wasn't until high school when I noticed kids playing Texas Hold 'Em in the hall for push-ups, and the World Series of Poker on ESPN. The movie came out in 1998. Damon, Norton, Malkovich, Turturo, and Martin Landau (who plays Mike's teacher at law school) are all favorites of mine and do a great job acting (Plus, who doesn't want to see John Malkovich doing a Russian accent?). Norton isn't featured as much as he should, but Damon does a great job carrying the movie. I hesitate to call Poker a sport, but "Rounders" feels like a sports movie, and a good one at that.

Rating: "Rounders" gets 2 quarters and 3 dimes, a total of $0.80.