Juice

As much as the next person, I was such a fan of Boyz n the Hood from 1991. From showing us the cultural background, to how real it seemed and it's amazing cast and director John Singleton,  so many reasons can be found as to why this is a classic. An entire genre was created from it and you wouldn't have something like Juice from 1992 which came right after it. Juice is another hood drama now dealing with the rough streets of Harlem, New York City and following around teen characters.

Sure, it's a similar format for the characters. Quincy Powell (Omar Epps) is someone not into dealing with crime but he will do whatever it will take to survive. Eric Thurman (Jermaine Hopkins) is the common funny guy of the group who's your friend because he's off-putting in a good way. Raheem Porter (Khalil Kain) has a thick bone and must deal with also being a teenage father somehow. Roland Bishop (Tupac Shakur) is very menacing once he gets himself into the criminal life and goes through some very rich character development. These are characters though that we should care more about their actions and the way of life. It's not a norm to be something like a teen father while being involving in crimes. Every day you should not be worried with what's behind your shoulder. The actions of the characters are believable and it's even more so impressive when they are dealing with teens as it is.

As much as Boyz n the Hood was impressive in showing us the streets of South Central, Los Angeles, Juice is impressive in showing us the streets of Harlem, New York City. From the charm of a arcade owned by Trip (Samuel J. Jackson) to the apartments and alleyways, Juice gives a pretty accurate image of Harlem. You knew it wasn't a pretty place and this is a film that wants to show you that which makes the story more authentic.

This story can at times be lacking in plot. Still, the story is strong due little touches here and there that takes it to the top. I would take Boyz n the Hood over Juice any day but Juice is like your other not-quite-favorite cousin that you can still respect and enjoy. Juice is worth a watch again and especially today with issues like police brutality in the news. Some things never change and this makes Juice and many of the other hood dramas very relatable in 2015.

4/5          

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

It might have not came as a shock to others but the first Captain America movie of 2011 came out of nowhere for me. I found that the Captain American origin story in that movie to be one of the more interesting origin stories around and very much original. Steve Rogers was the slightly built soldier in World War Two who makes his way to the present day through a block of frozen ice. Captain America was a superhero that eventually brought the war, the Nazis, a cool villain and different time period to the Marvel universe in Captain's first ever film.

Now in 2014, Captain America is back with the sequel Captain America: The Winter Soldier directed by new directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo. After Nick Fury (Samuel J. Jackson) is gunned down by a villain named White Soldier, Steve Rogers is now is a fugitive on the run and who must get down to business and solve the S.H.I.E.L.D vs HYDRA espionage battle in the Nation's capital.

Like the first movie, this sequel has a nice cast. Nick Fury is given more to do in this movie and even though the character goes some predictable ways, he still should be the character you most look forward to in upcoming Marvel films. As he was in the first movie, Chris Evans is flawless as Captain America. He plays the character as a very likable Captain America and adds depth and chemistry to the role. Scarlett Johansson is back as the Black Widow who again brings sexuality through her tight outfits. The newest member of the cast, and a very impressive character indeed, is Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce. Redford's character can be described as unlikable and it is very impressive for an actor like Redford at the age of 77 to be doing high levels action scenes as he does here. The only character that is lacking is Falcon (Anthony Mackie) who really does nothing noteworthy or interesting but a character that maybe I could see some change or development for the next film. Last by not least is our great villain, the White Soldier who does come off as creepy and pretty cool twist comes to him yet again.

I do question the film's running time and structure. You have to question as to why this film is as long as there are many obvious places that it could have been cut down. The pacing is all over the place and the action often comes randomly. The action scenes are still very well done and do show off the  big budget of this film but they are all kind of the same. The settings are numerous and kind of all over the place and the movie does drag big time.

Of course, one thing this sequel is doing is setting itself up for another sequel that has already been announced for 2016. This one works fine for what it is but between the other recent Marvel movies including two Thor films, three Iron Man films, the Avengers and the first Captain America film, it really comes up lacking. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a disappointing sequel to say the least.

3.5/5

Coach Carter

In 1999, head basketball coach Ken Carter of Richmond High School in Richmond, California made national headlines for benching his undefeated team due to poor grades. This was a story that caused a great deal of dislike towards the coach but brought up the always important ideas of leadership, grades and that there is more to life than just basketball.  In 2005, the story of Ken Carter story turned into the movie "Coach Carter" starring Samuel L. Jackson and directed by Thomas Carter.

What this movie all boils down to is Samuel L. Jackson who is a great asset and who makes this film. He brings this attitude and temper of a hard guy but eventually a likable basketball coach that makes this film move and succeed. This is the type of character that people look up to because of the fact that he is trying to bring something positive to the life of teenagers even if he's a little hard on them during the process. Some might call it "tough love".

Another reason this story and film are so successful is due to the atmosphere of the setting of the movie, Richmond, California. Richmond is a rough area that nobody expects good basketball teams to come out of. People don't expect kids to get good grades with the graduation rate being so poor. Considering this, Ken Carter deserves even more credit for trying to accomplish something that would seem doubtful and highly unlikely.

As a person who loves basketball and has followed the NBA for years, I especially should have loved Coach Carter due to the basketball theme. Well the basketball scenes aren't bad and are set-up ok but they are generic and very unrealistic. We can see where most of these scenes are going as we go along. We also don't know much about the players or who they are which is common in sport films and the ending is predictable. If this film improved the basketball scenes and added something there, who knows how good this could have been.

Coach Carter works the motivation angle pretty well but falls off from there. In the end, this is a sports story which you should probably skip because you have seen all this before. This likely will  be one of the forgotten films of Samuel L. Jackson career and rightfully so.

3/5 

Lakeview Terrace

In many ways, Lakeview Terrance from 2008 is a dumb film. My uncle bashed it like no tomorrow. So did probably a lot of other people. Samuel Jackson can be easily questioned as to why he put himself in this movie and there appears to no market for a film like this. In spite of these issues, I liked this movie.

Interracial couple Chris (Patrick Wilson) and Lisa (Kerry Washington) move into an upscale neighborhood next to cop Abel (Jackson). Abel is a cop who is mean to his neighbors for no reason and takes any opportunity to be disagreeable. He also isn't so nice to his kids and won't really let them do anything. Abel is a cop who makes us look at police officers differently.

I think the cast does a fine job in this movie. New actor Patrick Wilson is really good and shows for one of the first times in his career what a great actor he is. Kerry Washington who will probably always be the in the little films with a small fan following, is also good. The kids played by Jaishon Fisher and Regine Nehy are ok for the child actors that they are. Samuel Jackson is a character who dominates every scene he is in and he drives this film. He is very uneasy to watch  but also does some ordinary things you might not expect. It really is quite daring for director Neil LaBute to cast Samuel Jackson this way.

Along with rather different Jackson character, the whole film has a lot of different stuff and the main idea is a fresh and original one. This movie does tackle the black and white racial issue, and how a cop could be the opposite from what he is supposed to be. California is the setting for this movie and this seems to add more drama and suspense to the story. That said, there are many holes and unrealistic parts to this movie.

This is a very strange film that has been forgotten and really has no following but in spite of it's flaws, I liked it.


3.5/5