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Name: Drop_Squad

Comment: Another edition of "Porch Monkey Theatre"??? Movie Spolier: When Tyrese needs to call in the really big guns he calls up his old buddy Terrence Howard, an ex-pimp turned rapper, to save the day. (Boogedy-Boogedy)

Name: B00TANEB00TUS

Comment: Hmmmmm...His son is kidnapped by Meat...He's just released from prison..He hooks up with a hustler-babe named Coco...There's gang vs gang...One cat is torn between gang and family...Ok, ok,...I vaugely remember seeing this movie before...Are you sure this is a "new" movie?....Izzit gonna have a rap soundtrack?...Dumbazz me, of course it's gonna have a rap soundtrack...

Name: khufu

Comment: man...where do I begin? I am so tired of folks making Black films perpetuating the same ole BS and then using the same ole justifications...yes, I do want to see better stories but damn change the same ole ole premises!!!!! This is a fooken gang movie...this is Boyz in Da Hood....it's the same ole sheet...HOWEVER, AGAIN, if he would have made a film like an Eve's Bayou....folks wouldnt go see it.......so he IS giving folks what they want to see..I would love to see Larenz Tate get a role that really is a vehicle for him to show his sheet 'cause the young brother is an excellent actor

Name: McNasty

Comment: Well *said like the church choir* I'm glad they think it isn't our typical hood movie - it just means these younguns have an imagination - it's in heavy use right now!lol This isn't a movie I would pay at the box office to see any more than I did baby boy - it will be on cable soon enough. Now when there is a movie about a single father that has a decent relationship with the people around him, he's working, going to school and taking care of his son - with an all black cast of the sistahs and brothers from all these hood movies - then I'll pay to see that - this is a rehashed rerun of everyday life in some areas!

Name: McNasty

Comment: Khufu don't stop at Eve's Bayou - how about Down in the Delta. With just those two movies we know it can be done - now there's a premise they can follow - no guns, no real violence - an actual plot and realistic storyline for more than just those that live in the middle of the hood! As for Larenz Tate - he's played in damn near every hood movie there is but from his role as Frankie Lyman you know he has skillz - boy is playing it too close to his chest and should be encouraged to stretch his wings more often. Terrence Howard speaks like a punk and I don't particularly care what role he plays!

Name: YLawdY

Comment: Is it me or does it sound like they're justifying this movie?

Name: bigchassie

Comment: BOOT>man, you crack me upp!!!lol! i just love your remarks! But yeah, Larenze Tate is a wonderful actor. he just hasn't found "the role" yet. in a good actors career, he or she may stumble on a role that they can put their mark on. but it's a long journey but soon they will encounter it then, boom! they are the hottest thing in hollyweird.

Name: dport

Comment: I hope this movie does not end up being #1 during opening weekend. Not because I don't want Black films to be recognize but I don't want the typical hood films as well as those stupid azz comedies to be thought of as what draws us to the theatre. Thunnie, finish those scripts get them to Broadway and then to Hollywood....FAST. Can we/you not see what's happening!!

Name: deepbrownsista

Comment: Is this our destiny?

Name: Dovelyone

Comment: Ok... I got it. entertainment is a business...and so films are made that people will go so... and the movie-going pattern of Black folk is to see ghetto-fide, shoot-em ups with a buff brother and a cute female with drop tops and a slamming soundtrack. It's a formula that works. Is this type of film supposed to be ok when Black folks make it? I say not. I'd prefer my movie dollars to go elsewhere. I'll catch it on DVD from my local library: FREE!

Name: iclaudius

Comment: B00TANE>you are a plumb fool! LMBAO! No one says it quite like you! You do have a good point and I agree that that movie has been made so many times before.

Name: AquaBoogie

Comment: >khufu: Ironically, the director's wife Kasi Lemmons did "Eve's Bayou" -- one of the finest Black movies EVER. This sounds like run-of-the-mill hood movie. But I got a thang for the Game, so who knows.

Name: whynotme

Comment: well when movies are made of substance black people don't go and see them and that's a fact.....someone mentioned frankie lymon's movie which was good but it did terrible at the box office....black people complain when there are shoot 'em up movies and they find reasons on why they didn't see a decent movie by claiming the previews didn't interest them.....you can't have it both ways.

Name: blackdiamondleo

Comment: This movie sounds like it will be on the theme of DMX's where he deals with the kidnappers of his daughter. I forget the name. I liked it though.

Name: rayne

Comment: I had no idea that Vondie Curtis-Hall had a hand in making this. I have no plans of seeing it, perhaps I'll wait for the DVD.

Name: clotel

Comment: I too am sick of these 'hood' movies and would like to see the day in which we pick up an Academy Award for quality material. 'Ray' was one of those movies but the subject matter was something that easily crossed over too. I do feel that fathers need their props but not in this type of movie as I think it is insulting to any REAL man who does what he is suppose to do anyway. Another thug movie is not a proper example of the true quality of a responsible brotha.........

Name: DOne

Comment: “I really wanted to make a movie that first of all had a black father and his son, showing father/son love, because you don’t really see that in our movies,” says Curtis-Hall. “The father’s always missing, or he’s a crackhead and shows up every now and then at the door scratching." He left out the part about how black fathers are always in jail or ex-cons, but wait a minute. That is this movie. lol.

Name: EdnaMae

Comment: I just read a review of this "movie" in my morning paper, they said it wasn't even a ONE STAR movie, and is so fuill of negative sterotypes, that it should stayed in the writers head. Oh well, just another way to put blacks in a bad light, and to think, this trash is being sent around the world by blacks. This hood-rat uneducated mentality that is so pervasive in the media is just disgusting.

Name: McNasty

Comment: Too true Clotel - why glorify ex con, non working, single fatherhood drawn back to crime. While I truly dig Vondie Curtis-Hall, with as long as he's been around and with his body of work I'm just not feeling him doing a hood movie although he is one helluva an actor and director. I loved him on Chicago Hope and especially fell in love with his character when the ugly becky pushed up on him and he said 'I don't date white women' - you'd have thought he slapped her - her neck snapped back - priceless episode!

Name: Gemami

Comment: This film bothers me on many levels... I'm shocked that reasonably talented actors would be associated with this film. Larenz Tate is talented enough not to resort to co-staring roles in these gangster/hoodlum movies. What makes Curtis Hall believe people would buy into the “endearing” aspects of an ex-con who returns to a life robbery and violence to get his kidnapped son? And I have a problem with the whole “hustler” thing? Why couldn’t she be his wife or girlfriend who saw no way out – who was so desperate to get her son she resorted to a life of crime? It bothers me that there seems to be no redeeming qualities in the characters of this film. Lastly, we do have films that portray Black men in loving family roles, off the top of my head, I’m thinking Barbershop and Enemy of the State – so for me this film is a sad cope-out – as AP said it’s just rehashing tired stereotypes.

Name: McNasty

Comment: Eewwww AquaBoogie - I'll try not to hold that against you!LMBAO Game looks as if his face was put together with old almost dried out clay.lmao

Name: Mr_NotGuilty

Comment: How about this one: http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/Praise/challe nge/tpoint205 Send this to you nearest executive producer...

Name: Bertie

Comment: This is basically an extended music video with brief interruptions of dialogue--you've got the thugged out muscled up brotha--the female eye candy--cars, guns,and a thin plot line so the brotha can flex his muscles, have sex with the eye candy, shoot the guns, have a car chase, and hopefully live to make a sequel. The mini-versions of this movie have been playing on BET/MTV for years now--just check out any 50 cent video.

Name: Gurlfrand

Comment: Too bad. Black people won't go see movies like Akeelah and the Bee or any of the other good quality movies that a poster mentioned earlier. Akeelah should have been seen by scores of people, but, it wasn't. No nudity or banging in it, so, it won't do well at the box office. So many other great movies that come out and our people just will not go to the theaters and support them. It's a mystery!!

Name: Bertie

Comment: Gurlfrand--thats true we didn't support Akeelah--but that seemed like a kids movie and I can see where the movie wouldn't appeal to folks who aren't parents. Action movies sell, and I, and everybody I know likes a good action flick. but why does our action always have to be gang/drug-dealer/pimp/hood related. Why couldn't Tyreses be a regular dude pushed to incredible means to help his son (like Denzel in John Q, or Will in Enemy of the State) Why can't the Die Hard/Speed/Terminator/Bourne Identity type ish happen to a black man? Wesley tried with passenger 54-but then he had to talk crazy about black women, and fell the hell off.

Name: Gurlfrand

Comment: >Bertie - the way I see it, our people don't like "family" movies. I wonder if the movie "Meet the Parents" with Ben Stiller and Robert Deniro, was an all black cast, if the movie would have went thru the roof like that one and it's sequel, Meet the Parents did. Same dialogue and everything, except with all people of color.

Name: TesticAl

Comment: I'm going to see this movie. I was sold when I seen my dreamgirl MEAGAN GOOD! I would do anything for this chick. I swear, I want to tongue kiss her passionately while I play with her erect nipples with my thumb and index finger. TA would be playing with the joints like he was turning a knob on a stereo. Ya DIG.

Name: whynotme

Comment: --->bertie actually akeekah and the bee was not a kid's movie it was a movie that anybody could go see.....maybe if we support movies like that regardless of what you think it might be it will show hollywood that we would like to see other stuff besides gang banger movies.....and i'm not trying to make anybody go see anything that doesn't seem to appeal to them it's just a suggestion....but apparently gang bang/shoot 'em up movies do appeal to a lot of people because they always do good at the movies theaters.

Name: MistaO

Comment: I must say, I have not seen this film however, I really don't have too much of a problem with the "hood" films as some have put it. And so long as none of the characters end up shucking and jivin' I'm straight. With regard to folks concerned about sterotypes, I can feel this if one is speaking of the potential impact on our younger folk, however, ultimately it is the parents responsibility to monitor and control what their children are exposed to. Sterotypes in terms of how the world sees "us"? Well let me tell ya, in my experience it does not matter how well ya dress or how nasal you talk, at the end of the day, most of these folks gonna view you through the prism of how they WANT to see you vs. reality anyway's. Additionally, movies that many Black folk revere like monsters ball and the color purple have had more of a negative overall impact on the Black family than any of these so called hood movies. Plus, why is it that folks will complain about these movies but have a Scarface poster on the wall? How many Gangster/Mafia movies have been made and continue to garner acclaim and accolades? These films represent just one aspect of Black life and true we could use more dramatic Black centered cinema, but an action film with brothers and sisters getting their grimy on? Ha I loves it!!

Name: whynotme

Comment: ---->TesticAl you are truly a special individual and i mean that in the best way possible!

Name: Gurlfrand

Comment: you better believe TA is special - 36-24-36 is his specialty!

Name: Renetta

Comment: To: deepbrownsista I loved your post ‘Is this our destiny’ that’s exactly what I said last night as I was mopping the floor and I heard the preview on tv. ‘Is this all that’s left for us?’ Why are our movies so devoid of hope or opportunity? Why do THEY get to be Supermen, Spidermen, secret agents and we get either kill each other, be hos, tricks, pimps, hustlers in other words LOSERS. Is that hollywoods vision of us. Well shyt I’m tired of being force-fed that bullshyt. Black men and women fall in love, raise families, pay rent, pay mortgages, go to family reunions, play bid-whiss etc. We have joy - so why isn’t that side ever shown in hollywood. Why does everything either have to be crime-ridden or serious and sad. Is that the vision they want us to have of ourselves because THEIR lives are so empty and depressing? Won’t get my money.

Name: bigchassie

Comment: OK YALL...HOW ABOUT IF WE CHANGED THE PLOT OF THIS MOVIE TO MAKE IT MORE INTERESTING: Tyrese will play this high-powered lawyer who is running for District Attorney. his son is suddenly kidnapped by a gang who is hired by a crooked lawyer who wants Tyreese out of the way. The FBI investigates the kidnapping and assigns Megan Good who plays an FBI agent and the mother of the son who tyreese thought to be presumed dead. after a lot of nail biting situations and tense moments in the rescue effort, the crooked lawyer is found out and arrested and Daddy, mom and son are reunited again. what do yall think? (just something that came off the top of my head)

Name: bigchassie

Comment: RENETTA> sweetie. that sounds like a Tyler Perry movie. interesting.

Name: oldsoul

Comment: See the movie first. It "looked" like the same ol sh*t but how would you know for sure without peepin' it? You wouldn't. I will say it was interesting that a low-budget (read: stereotypcial) plot held ad time during the NBA Fnals...long paper is obviously behind it. Why is that?

Name: lilhaley

Comment: I understand that when people complain about them doing the same type of movies, of course it gets old. However, when Harrison Ford went a gun slinging trying to rescue his family or when Mel Gibson went a gun slinging trying to rescue his son, it wasn't stereotype. If you put white actors an actresses in that movie then it's a great action film. I think that's where the stereotyping apply.

Name: Bertie

Comment: Hey whynot--I didn't see Akeelah so I can't argue if it was or wasn't a kid movie--but from the way it was promoted, thats what it appeared to be to me. And since I'm not a kid and don't have any, I wasn't that interested. Gurlfrand, I see your point-but in reverse-I know plenty of black people who supported Meet the Family, and the Fockers--so we do support those "family" movies. The real question is if the exact same movie had an all black cast, would white people support it--and thus make it a blockbuster in hollywood's eyes. Probably not--unless they added a man in drag or something

Name: Gurlfrand

Comment: Bertie - that's what i'm saying. A lot of black people went to see Meet the Parents, but, they won't go see a black family movie like that. If the "masses" are going to see a Meet the Parents type movie, our people will go join in on the support of those types of movies, but, black films made like that won't get the "mass" black support of our people. Forget about white people supporting our movies like that, cause we already know that historically, they do not. We will support theirs, but, they will not come out in masses to see a "black" film, even today, year 2006 - white amerikkka still do not look at us in fun, family oriented type movies, unless there are some other well know white people in the movie. Akeelah should have been supported by everyone even if you don't have kids - you don't have any cousins, nieces or nephews, or neighbor kids, who would have loved someone taking them to the movie as a treat? We got more excuses than O.J. Even at this time and date, we still have a loooong way to go.

Name: Dovelyone

Comment: lilhaley:<However, when Harrison Ford went a gun slinging trying to rescue his family or when Mel Gibson went a gun slinging trying to rescue his son, it wasn't stereotype.> So for two reasons, this movie has yet to show its potential: the storyline's been done, and the backstory on the main character i.e., BM in jail, has been done. Is it too much to as for a POSITIVE MOVIE ABOUT THE BLACK FAMILY? And when I say positive, I don't mean that they don't have tests and trials, but that they deal with them in healthy ways, like Akeelah and the Bee, Roll Bounce, Barbershop, etc.

Name: McNasty

Comment: As long as we have regular cable shows like the Wire - we don't need more films broken down to show the same aspects of hood life. Black folks out to get tired of re peat!

Name: ImJustAsking

Comment: I don't mind hood movies as long as they are good. It would be nice to see a black drama or action movie though. My problem is...it doens't matter how long Larenz Tate is in the business he still never gets top billing. That must suck!

Name: musbdherbs

Comment: When black people choose substance over style is the only..and I repeat ONLY time these types of movies will stop overwhelming the screen. They know wut sells. They give us what we apparently want. Therefore, be prepared for more of the "Get Rich's" and "Madea Lost Her Wig At The Church Picnic While Sippin On Some Sizzurp's."

Name: YLawdY

Comment: I think we do support black "family" movies...Barbershop, Big Mama's House, Are We Ther Yet, Johnson Family Vacation (I didn't say they were good)...We used to complain about the whyte man not writing good roles for us. When given the opportunity are we writing good roles for ourselves? As far as Akeelah and the Bee...it sounded like a kiddie movie that I didn't want to spend $$$ to see. Bottom line..black or whyte, the movie still has to make you want to see it.

Name: BigBlackRod

Comment: I had no plan to see this, but, I wanna see more of us on the big screen, so I might stop in. Eve's Bayou, Akeelah and the Bee, Down In The Delta, are all female-centric movies, and are depressing to boot; guys seldom want to see that. I was cootawhooped into paying good coin to see "Beloved", and that was three hours of my life I could have used better...PEACE.

Name: YLawdY

Comment: Another thought: How good would some of these "actors" be in mainstream, non hood movies? It's hard to connect with concepts you have no experience with. In hood movies a lot of them aren't really acting. They're just reading scripted words to their life experience.

Name: YLawdY

Comment: And one more thing...Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, Will Smith, Ice Cube...they all make movies you can take your whole family to see and the roles are not necessarily stereotypical, depressing or femalecentric and they make long paper at the box offie from black and whyte. Shyt, we got our very own action hero in Ice Cube as XXX. *tongue in cheek* Substance over style as someone said.

Name: Priceless

Comment: okay I have yet another point of view .. white films are done over and over again also ... and every generation will have it's hood movies that they identify with ... this current generation will have this film, plus fiddy's film and hustel and flow ... before anybody responds I do get all of the points previously made *pointing north*

Name: Gurlfrand

Comment: I really felt bad for Angela Bazzett and Lawrence Fishburne, cause they are top actors in the industry, but, they receive little support from the black movie fans when they drop a film with 90% of the cast being black.

Name: Dovelyone

Comment: Hey, YLawdY: I saw Akeeleh and the Bee the first weekend for several reasons: 1) I wanted my money to support during the first weekend a positive movie about Black people. 2) I was a speller in school (Ha!) 3) Glad to see two real actors (Angela B%*$ett and Laurence Fishburne) in a movie together since What's Love.... And the point about men not wanting to see that movie: I would kindly and gently say that we should sacrifice our entertainment for our families. We all have children, neices, nephews, godchildren, etc. who deserve a Friday night or Saturday afternoon to take them to see a positive movie.

Name: ZYDECODIVA

Comment: John Q...excellent example, IMO. Personally, I feel that was the movie that Denzel should have been awarded for.

Name: whynotme

Comment: --->Dovelyone akeelah and the bee could have had the same concept and everything and if they would have stuck one half naked woman or gun scene in the previews i bet more black people would have went to see it....face it, black people support violent thug movies and not inspirational stories so we might as well just get used to these kinds of movies.

Name: YLawdY

Comment: Dovelyone ...go on with yo spellin self! LOL Yes, we should at times sacrifice our entertainment to our families or at the very least separate them. I've seen enough kiddie movies for two lifetimes and don't begrudge one minute of the time spent with the kiddies, but as far as my personal entertainment, Akeelah won't it. And I don't have any nieces or nephews cause my siblings are slack azzes and my only child is 17 and stuck on dance, skate cheerleading movies. LOL I'll gladly borrow one of yours cause I wanna see Cars.

Name: YLawdY

Comment: Hey bigchassie...I like your movie idea. whynotme ...Would that have been more black men? Cause personally I aint excited by a half naked female black or white. Guns don't do it for me either. Now a nice naked LL, Shemar chest on the other hand....

Name: Dovelyone

Comment: whynotme:yeah, yeah, I know, but I ain't gotta like it and I don't want to get used to it! (Rolling my eyes! LOL!) I shall continue to direct my educational and economic capital toward those films and other entertainment providers that show quality filmmaking AND Black folks in a positive light!

Name: whynotme

Comment: --->YLawdY whether it be a naked man or woman, a sex scene, a shoot out whatever, more black people would have went to see it....don't get me wrong i like looking at a fine naked man but it's not all i want to see all the time in a movie....i would like to see other stuff in between the nakedness.

Name: Dovelyone

Comment: YLawdY: Look, just go buy your ticket and see Cars! LOL! I would not even be mad at ya! I saw Shrek 2 by myself (on a study break) and I had a great time! I laughed and laughed! The crowd was filled with all kinds of grown-ups and children.

Name: whynotme

Comment: --->Dovelyone ok, ok don't cut me! i'm in agreement with you i was just stating a sad but true fact.

Name: Gurlfrand

Comment: >Dove - I agree with you. We have to come out of our "selfish" mode and think of others. There are so many kids who should have been taken to the movie to see Akeelah and the Bee, but, because it's not something that appeals to the adult, they won't take them. If Akeelah had been an all white movie, it would have already grossed $100 million dollars at the box office - guaranteed! Thats the kind of support that white people give their movies. If they do a movie about a champion chess player, I bet it becomes a big hit, cause they would come out for that, even if they don't have kids to take to the movies. Senior citizens, adults, single people, they would go and see that movie, cause that appeals to them. Education movies don't always appeal to us..........

Name: Dovelyone

Comment: Comment: --->whynotme: Hahahahahah!!!! I'm just saying! And you're just saying, too!

Name: YLawdY

Comment: We left out Queen Latifah. Her movies are good and even though Set It Off had violence, it was in no way the stereotypical "hood" movie.

Name: whynotme

Comment: --->Dovelyone...LMAO!!

Name: Dovelyone

Comment: Gurlfrand> See, why you trying to start something! LOL! There WAS a movie about a real (white) chess player! It was called "Searching for Bobby Fisher" AND Laurence Fishburne was in the movie!!!! Go figure! I don't know how much money it made at the box office, but this says that there are a lot more positive stories to be told about us that need to be made.

Name: ImJustAsking

Comment: I for one do not give a f*ck what kids want to see. Who says movies should be for kids? Do they have money to pay for them? Entertainment should be for the people who can afford it. Tell those kids to go outside and play.

Name: Dovelyone

Comment: YLawdY> You're so right about Queen Latifah. I just saw "Last Holiday" the other day (with that FIONE it doesn't even matter that he might have had plastic surgery LL COOL J!) and it was a nice movie with a nice lesson about living life to the fullest in a positive way.

Name: YLawdY

Comment: ImJustAsking ....you's just an ignant azz! Left out play in front of the car!

Name: Dovelyone

Comment: ImJustAsking> Well my my my.... LOL! Um... ok... In the song voice of Yolanda Adams, I humbly ask: "What About the Children?"

Name: Angel

Comment: Musb - That's hilarious. I caught "The Cookout" on cable the other day and it turned my stomach. Everyone involved in that movie (even the caterer) should be rounded up and shot. LOL

Name: YLawdY

Comment: Dovelyone ....IJA would have the kids playing in the street during the middle of rush hour traffic.

Name: whynotme

Comment: --->Angel i saw the cookout on cable as well and it had to be one of the worst movies i have ever seen in my life!

Name: ImJustAsking

Comment: YlawdY and Dovelyone< I don't care where the kids play. The more dangerous the location the better if you ask me! I think people forget that we are not all kid lovers. My opinion may change when I pop one out at 32 or 33 but for right now a kid can kiss my azz. I wanna see somebody get shot up or done right in the movie theater lol. Wait wait, on the movie screen, not IN the actual theater. lol Although if you go to the movies in Philly or DC you may see both in real time.

Name: Dovelyone

Comment: But YLawdY, I'm just saying, if they gotta play in the street, can we still make it a learning opportunity? LOL! I mean, the babies can still practice their colors, shapes, numbers, motor skills (dodging the cars), you know? So at least they will be able to function in society at some level.

Name: Angel

Comment: whynotme - I don't even know how it ended. When the chick showed up with all the kids calling everybody daddy, I had to change the channel. When I turned back, I saw Ja Rule robbin folks or somethin like that. I gave up at that point and watched Star Wars Episode III. LOL

Name: BigBlackRod

Comment: YLawdY: I went to see "Cars" by myself, and I got nieces I coulda took. I wanted to be able to pay attention to the movie without all that "Quit! Stop! Behave!" PEACE.

Name: Dovelyone

Comment: Ok, ImJustAsking: I'm gonna say something nice about you since you've been so honest here (LOL!) I'm glad to hear that you haven't popped one out just yet 'cause you ain't trying to be bothered right now. I ain't mad at ya! I'm waiting to pop mine out as well 'cause I'm building up to send mine to private school unless these public schools get better.... Oh wait, they could be better if we took them to see "Akeelah and the Bee" instead of "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" but that's another convo!

Name: Bertie

Comment: The whole Akeelah argument is beside the point (not everybody has kids, neices, lil cousins, etc. to take to a movie clearly marketed to a young audience)--why can't we have grown folks movies that are entertaining but not stereotypical--yeah Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson pick up guns in their movies but they're not ex-felons and gang members, they're spys, cops, government officials, soldiers. whereas we're always drug dealers, ex-cons being pulled back into the game, pimps, etc. But Gurlfrand I think you have a point, in that we are hard consumers to market to--what we say we want, we don't always support. I think hollywood is just confused and cannot think outside the box of the "south central" and "soulplane" type movies marketed to blacks.

Name: musbdherbs

Comment: Angel...the premise of the Cookout was a good one...but the acting, production, direction was AWFUL. Actually, Megan was the funniest one. At least she played a good golddiger. I have NO idea who the Star of that movie was. Who is he? Ja Rule...*vomiting*...Of course I went to c it at the theater. It was as bad as a Color Me Badd Album. As AL would say TRASH, just scraight TRASH!

Name: musbdherbs

Comment: BTW...I did not go and see Akeelah. No philosophical, black pride reason.. I just didn't.

Name: ImJustAsking

Comment: Dovely< I am in a very me me me stage right now, my only priority is saving to buy a home, making 6 figures by the time I'm 32, and getting my motorcycle next year. Besides that, I got no husband and no bf. If I were to get married next year, I would still want to spend at least 4 years with my hubby before having a kid...which would make me at least 29 before getting pregnant. I got a LONG time to think about children. I say take them to see NEITHER movie. Tell them to read a book, the book is better anyway and will help them with their cognitive learning and comprehension.

Name: Angel

Comment: Musb - You're right. It was some scraight ghetto TRASH. It wasn't even straight to DVD worthy. When they finished that movie, it should've gone scraight to bonfire. The lead guy is one of Queen Latifah's Flavor Unit peeps named Storm P. I looked him up after I watched the movie because I wanted to make sure I boycotted any of his future projects. LOL

Name: Angel

Comment: And Musb - Dayum, you actually paid to see that shat?!? LOL I would have demanded an apology, refund and the home phone number to Queen Latifah so I could cuss her azz out.

Name: Priceless

Comment: CTFU@Angel

Name: McNasty

Comment: BBR now that's one helluva word cootawhooped!!LMBAO Hope it was good to you and for you. I read the book and knew a lot of the nuances of the story would not translate to the big screen plus it was a devastatingly depressing read so I had no intentions of seeing the movie.

Name: khufu

Comment: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/

Name: khufu

Comment: I have some bad news folks....the Black films being made commercially and with big buck bagging are going to get worse as the REALLY qualified people are not the ones (filmmakers and actors) getting the op to do the films...for instance, hate to say it folks: Tyler Perry and MOST of his crew.....of course Ruben Cannon aside...the TV show HOUSE OF PAYNE is a damn insult

Name: whynotme

Comment: --->Angel i actually only saw about 30 minutes of the movie and concluded just by that little time that it was one of the worst movies i had ever seen......i could not believe that danny glover wasted his time in this movie, he must have been really desperate or didn't have anything else better to do!

Name: khufu

Comment: also Hollywood right now is in a damn slump period because these damn MBA's and non-filmmaking have no damn clue.......

Name: McNasty

Comment: Because of the way they marketed the cookout when it left the theatre before I had chance to see it I felt like I missed something. A few weeks ago I caught it and couldn't believe what I watched - that had nothing to do with what I know as a cookout! I can't tell who was the anything in that movie but straight stupid and that was all of them and it!

Name: musbdherbs

Comment: lol...well yeah it was. Storm P NEVER and I repeat NEVER needs to star in another movie again. UNLESS he is mute AND invisible. I pay to see corny movies like that just to get a laugh. Unfortunately, nothing was redeeming about it...nothing. ON THE OTHER HAND, Soul Plane was FUNH-UNH-NEE! Just STOOPID!

Name: McNasty

Comment: Whynotme Danny got the opportunity to toke a spliff and just couldn't turn it down.lmao

Name: khufu

Comment: I meant to say that these MBA's and other strictly dollar driven non filmmkaing people dont have a damn clue......

Name: whynotme

Comment: --->musbdherbs you sound like my brother, him and his friends go to movies they know will be stupid just to cut up in it.....i will admit, against my better judgement, i saw soul plane on dvd (let my brother in law talk me into it) and the story line was ridiculous but it did have some funny parts.

Name: Angel

Comment: Musb - I finally saw Soul Plane after all the bickering on here about it and it was 10 times better than "The Cookout". The only way I'd see another movie with Storm P is if he gets shot to death and then mauled by dogs in the first 5 minutes. LOL

Name: musbdherbs

Comment: lololololololol...I was trying to tell people that it was stupid funny. Nothing thought provoking. Hell it was a spoof of sorts. Kinda like "Don't Be Menace In South Central While Drinking A 40 In The Hood"..........Grandma smoking a spliff.... HILARIOUS!!!

Name: bigchassie

Comment: *running in after drinking several glasses of sip-sip* ANNOUNCEMENT...THE BEST BLACK MOVIE OF THE CENTRY IS...POOTIETANG!!! *takes another sip-sip and runs out* lol!

Name: bigchassie

Comment: yall want to know what i ordered from Netflix...SWEET SWEETBACK BADDDASSSED SONG.

Name: dsgirl

Comment: Ok, if this is NOT your kind of movie then ONE should not see it and if enough people feel this way, Hollywood will stop making these kinds of movies (they did it in the late 70s). And if you feel you can create a better movie, go to film school, write a screenplay, hustle that screenplay; if YT says no then look for ways to finance your film and get it promoted and all that good stuff. I say this because there seems to be a big debate as to what's a sterotype and what is real life for a lot of us. If you saw the "Chop-Up" recently, you'll see that Terence Howard and others diss the whole Tyler Perry franchise. While people I know (of all races) can relate more to Madea than the Shakespeare thing that was supposedly the "superior" product in this episode, Malik Yoba made a hella good point - it put a lot of people to work. For those of you that have TV One, Cotton Comes to Harlem, Truck Turner and Blacula are coming on this weekend. :)

Name: Lovely

Comment: Can anyone think of any romantic comedies that don't star Gabrielle Union/LL/Jamie Foxx? I'm wracking my brain and for the life of me, nothing is coming to mind. HELP

Name: QueenNefertina

Comment: This is about conditioning through exposure. There have always been and will always be a variety of movies made about white people. Many of these movies are box office flops and that has never stopped them from being made. It is the lack of variety in filmmaking for us that is our undoing. Our community has been conditioned to movies about us that are comedy or violence/sex driven. The majority of us don't know what to do with movies about our history ex.(Once Upon A Time When We Were Colored). It is about believability, we don't believe our history is valuable or that we can truly love one another(romances) but we do believe we can be violent and oversexed(hood movies) or funny(madea/big momma's house). It is our condtioning and the only way to break it is to have a variety of movies that are not comedies or violence driven. But then there is the box office hoax excuse to overcome. Don't believe the hype, it's not just about box office receipts. Our movies never cost that much to make in the first place, so there is always opportunity to recoup money from foreign sales, cable and dvd sales. Really it's about cultural oppression and domination. Just like our true stories aren't told in the history books, they aren't told on the big screen either for reasons much deeper than box office receipts.

Name: AlexG159

Comment: I saw Waist Deep last night at one of those radio promotional screenings and it's just basically a minor exploatation B movie. Back in the 50's or 60's it would have played the second bill on a double feature. But considering that most of the black films today that make money are films in which black men are castrated or emasculated in some way (i.e. Big Momma's House, White Chicks, those godawful Meada movies, the soon-to-be released Little Man which I'm sure is going to be huge at the box office UNFORTUNATELY) at least here's a black film where the lead black male doesn't wear a dress. Which makes me question why do black audiences and in particular black women, come out in huge support for a film in which black men are degraded? I agree with EUR's columnist Darryl James who a few months ago wrote a column which I thought hit the nail on the head. The reason why films like those Medea films are so popular with black women is because of their internal hatred of black men. As he said, maybe they're still mad at the father who wasn't there to raise them or the abusive, always unemployed, loser boyfriend, they get a thrill seeing a black men debased on the screen. It's a sort of payback. No wonder Akeelah died so horribly at the box office. One of the major characters was a strong, dedicated, responsible, intellectual black man. That was a film doomed for failure.

Name: QueenNefertina

Comment: AlexG159 --The reason madea films/plays are popular with black women are because they are or were church oriented which the black church congregation is largely female. The plays always featured gospel music and heavy church themes. They also speak to the abuse and misuse some women experience from some men. Then they always end with a happy ending with a black women getting a 'good' black man who treats her right. Add to that the 'crazy smack talkin, gun toting grandma' character that everyone knows in their family or someone elses and you have a crowd pleaser. It is a simple formula that hits a target market who is largely ignored by hollywood, that is why it is successful, not because black women hate and want to see black men debased in drag. The Nutty Professor was highly successful because of the variety of characters that Eddie Murphy played some men, some women. Madea is no different. I persnally am not excited by seeing black men in drag as Wesley Snipes did and Dave Chappelle refused to do which is one of the reasons he left comedy central. Are you blaming black women for the lack of good black films? There are black males going out to support the films you named as well, do you blame them too? Teenagers are the biggest demographic that goes to see films period and that is who hollywood caters to, so that is more of the reason for the lowering of the bar than anything else. If Madea proves we hate black men, doesn Gangsta Rap prove black men hate black women? Black Men and Women need to come together and find the things we love about one another and stop falling victim to the 'divide and rule' doctrine. Check your history, both past and present and I guarantee you there are more examples of our love for black men and the lengths we will and have gone to protect black people period.

Name: AlexG159

Comment: Queen There used to be a time not that long ago when black men were MEN. But they have defintitely lost their way. For example, though I realize most people readers will think this extreme, I absolutely cannot stand seeing black men wearing earrings. (If white men want to wear earrings by all means let them, but not black men) When exactly did this start happeneing? WOMEN wear earrings, not men. This creeping feminization of black men troubles me very much. And let's be clear, I am in no way advocating some sort of outdated, caveman "women belong barefoot and pregnant" idea. Gansta rap is a rather desparate attempt, as it were, of black trying to "overcompensate" what they feel they are lacking.

Name: Bhoney

Comment: Has anyone seen Vondie Curtis Hall's track record? If you had you would have known to expect nothing but trash from him. http://www.cocoalounge.org African American Forum

Name: Bhoney

Comment: @ AlexG159 Earrings bother you? Well nothing and I mean nothing bothers me more than grown men with braids in their hair. http://blackhoney.net/grown-%*$-men-with-braids-in-the ir-hair/

Name: Fivepages

Comment: i've seen great movies, asunder, eve's bayou, down in the delta, love and action in chicago, some other i can't remember. i truly feel if we make enough "good" black movies, people will start to take a different look at our movies and support them (well at least i would like to think this way). i'm tired of the same ole movies myself. i would like to see "real" love between black man/black woman, black man/child (son or daughter), black families. good drama and good comedy. we can do it. i hope someone is listening.

Name: QueenNefertina

Comment: Fivepages, I hear you loud and clear and please know that there are many of us out here trying to do just that. It is however a uphill battle that can wear you out or take you out. Hollywood and Society in general is against the types of films most of us here want to see. I think about the 'five heartbeats' or 'the inkwell' and even Bluehill Avenue(which was about four friends and the effect the drug trade had on their lives/community), all of those films were will written,acted and directed. It is hard on African American writers and filmmakers who go against the 'formula' for black films. It would be nice if there was a consortium of our people who have made it in business and hollywood, who came together with a commitment to make a variety of Black Cinema that shows the 'full' spectrum of our humanity and didn't continue the trend of the oversexed thug, trash talking half dressed hoodrat or clownish buffoon. These images are damaging our children and our community. These images being broadcasted internationally are damaging period. We need balance desperately.

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: To the person who said Wesley Snipes wouldn't EVER do a drag scene obviously never saw the movie "To Wong Foo..." He was in drag and played a character named "Noxema"... So much for THAT argument.

Name: soulsis

Comment: I'm 30 y.o. female, no kids, no nieces, no nephews. I saw Akeelah & the Bee to support a positive black movie. It was one of the best films I've seen in the past 5 years. Funny how I was the only black in the audience, though.

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