Al F.'s Reviews

Jim Kelly is a true martial artist! In this movie he does some excellent moves and all the fight scenes were designed by him. Why he was not in more movies is a mystery to me. In this movie Jim Kelley is hired to rescue his former love from the capture of a devilish god. This movie is worth a watch for the actions scenes alone. Go get some popcorn, a pickle and a Coke and enjoy!
Review Date: 11/16/2013

I just got off the phone and now I am having time to watch many old movies. (really I just became unemployed)Surprisingly, this is not a bad movie but a decent movie with African American actors and not killing or shooting takes places. I was surprised at this being that its about street balling. Cruise played by Jonathan Wesley (who I thought was Nick Cannon) did a magnificent job in portraying his character. This story of friendship is one that shows how loyal and dedicated "brothers" are to one another in the hood. Wayne Brady was okay in the movie but its just hard not to see him as a funny man. He can not play rough and mean. This movie is worth a watch because it is not over run with sex scenes and very few profane words. Get some popcorn and a Coke and ENJOY!
Review Date: 1/13/2012

Powerful! This is an untold story of Don King. While the credits states the sources for this production are books, articles and public records; it is a wonderful account of the man of the way in which he thinks. Seeing so many actors acting as themselves in this movie is a real treat. Also seeing some other lesser known black figures in the movie such as Lou Rawls is also a treat. My only wish for this movie is that at the end when Don King is speaking it should have faded to a photo of the real Don King. However, Ving Rhames does a wonderful job!
Review Date: 12/23/2011

Not being an animal lover, I still found this movie entertaining and well worth the time to view it. The scenes in the movie are breathtaking and the director did a great job of making the viewer believe this was truly filmed in Antarctica. This is a moving tale of a dogs' survival skills and the devotion one can have for their pets. It was a dog e dog weekend for me for I also watched Firehouse Dog, another great movie about a dog.
Review Date: 10/11/2014

The Express is a wonderful movie. The writers and directors did a magnificent job of portraying factual events and creating the mood of the time period. The writers were able to show how the South operated during the late 50's and early 60's with single lines from the actors. The writers captured well the Spirit of the coach and the attitude of Ernie Davis' team players.
Review Date: 12/21/2011

Although the previews were the best shots in this movie, I still say this is a good movie because it has a good story line. A young boy is made to care for a lost dog because of his mis-behavior. An in turn the boy develops a relationship with the dog and the dog saves him on many levels. It's a wonderful kid movie.
Review Date: 10/11/2014

For those that enjoy learning, seeing and reviewing history, this is a great DVD. The enactments and costumes are well done for each time period. This DVD also clears up some misunderstood facts of history and provides extra details about unknown facts of history. This is also great for the classroom of any age! I gave it four stars because I wanted to see more of the real scenes and footage.
Review Date: 8/9/2012

This old African American film from the 1970's is set in Los Angeles 1948. Jimmie Walker plays the role of Morris Bird, a high school athlete with great basketball skills who finds out after scoring a winning basket that he has leukemia. His girlfriend played by Debbie Allen is a supporting actress and the female that played in "Good Times" as the one who robbed the Evans family plays Morris' sister. (I don't know her name and I wish it were in the credits) James Earl Jones plays the aloof father of Morris. By today's standards this movie is slow, however I enjoyed the movie because the props were real. African American really did dress as the actors did in those days and the rooms were decorated to represent the times. There is one scene where the actors are in this is awful mint green room and back in those days rooms really were that color. Surprisingly many in the cast went on to have great careers and a few others did not. This movie is worth a watch if you want to reminisce.
Review Date: 8/9/2012

Superb Movie on how the impossible is often times POSSIBLE! Great football action scenes and fine acting by some first time unknown actors.
Review Date: 12/17/2012

As a fan of Warren Beatty I just had to see this movie again and was excited to see it posted on this site. It's an excellent movie about a football player at the height of his career being taken too soon. My favorite part is when he does not realize he is dead and is about to aboard his flight to heaven. It's then that he decides "Heaven can wait". When he looks at his watch and it keeps flashing the same time over and over he just assumes its broken. Warren Beatty is a fine actor and I feel in love with him on his first movie "Splendor in the Grass" with Natalie Wood. This was a great step back in time when movie producers cared about the story line and what the viewers saw more than the $$$.
Review Date: 6/27/2013

Hazardously, I came across this DVD. There are 4 wonderful Christmas themed stories on one disc. The stories are not typical and are not simply re-told Christmas stories. These are fresh stories of Christmas in modern times. The music is truly an added bonus. It's refreshing to view movies without violence and greed and without profanity.
Review Date: 12/16/2012

This movie should be a "must see" for all women. It tells the story of Women of any culture. Although the story is about women of China it resembles stories of women from any continent. It's a moving tale of how cultures are different yet alike in many ways. The treatment or mistreatment of women by their men, families, and sometimes children is portrayed in this movie. I suggest viewing this movie to gain a better understanding of family relationships and how it can impact your life.
Review Date: 8/31/2012

This movie does an excellent job of telling a story from two sides. A black females living in small town USA accidentally kills the white man that is holding her against her will for his own pleasures. Both are known alcoholics however, Lena Baker is brought to trail because it was simply against the law for a black female to stay in the house with a white male. The movie is ordinary until it comes to her execution. The producers and writers did an excellent job with the music and capturing the spirit of the movie.
Review Date: 8/10/2012

Maybe I watched this movie at the wrong time of the month or I'm just simply emotional either way, this is what I call a good movie. The middle son Luke (Jonathan Scarfe), also the cutest of the male children plays his part well in this movie. The family owns a trucking business and the hard nosed father leads in the Christian family. A simple task of being ordered to cut the grass and then being grounded lead to the death of 3 people in this movie. All the actors/actresses do a fine job of portraying their character. The brother that is not on trial for murder delivers a heart wrenching speech during the sentencing of his brother. This movie is worth a second watch!
Review Date: 6/30/2013

Excellent movie! A movie should tell a story and this one does. Sally Fields does an magnificent job of making the viewer feel the emotions of the character. Sally Field became Christine, the real life Norma Rae. Pat Hingle who plays Sally's father in the movie is a fine actor. This movie is worth the watch just to see how much things have changed since 1979. The people in the movie are the real towns people and it was a wonderful step back on time to see all the old things people used to do and wear. You will not be disappointed in this movie.
Review Date: 7/4/2012

Great story line and really a good movie to watch
Review Date: 7/9/2009

Having purchased this movie several years ago, I finally sat down to watch it last week. With so many technological advances in the film industry, I was slow to view this movie because I knew it would be slow. The plots of the stories are predictable and without much added to the lines the actors/actress do not lend much to the movie. What makes this movie good is seeing the all African American cast and knowing the efforts that must have gone into the producers to make the film. Because budgets were scare during this time period, I applaud the efforts of the cast.
Review Date: 1/22/2012

The relationship between father and son is special. The directors did an amazing job or portraying the story of two fathers that each have a dysfunctional relationship with their sons. The movie shown with sub-titles in English is spoken in the Japanese and Chinese languages. It starts where a son is ill and the father hears about it and decides after many years he will visit his son. When the father arrives for the visit the son refuses to see him. The father wants to build a good relationship with his son so he decides to complete a film his son was working on. As the father pursues the destiny of completing the film he encounters obstacles. The main star of the film has been imprisoned and the father must obtain permission to visit the star from the Japanese officials. Needless to say the relationship between officials and outsiders is strained. However the father is granted permission to visit the star yet when he is in place to complete the star singing on the film, the star is unable to sing. The star is unable to sing because of his broken heart due to his dysfunctional relationship with his son. There are many powerful scenes in this movie because it crosses and mixes the Japanese and Chinese cultures. The blending of the two cultures is evident in the film. It is definitely worthy your time to watch and be entertained and informed. Some of the most powerful scenes are when the fathers and sons meet.
Review Date: 11/25/2012

In the church circles there is a song titled "I told Jesus it would be alright if he changed my name". If I had to title this movie that would be my title. This is a wonderful Christian movie that provides drama and entertainment. The actors/actress are real and not rehearsed as in some Christian movies. The movie does well in delivering a message of hope and change in real life situations. This is fine family entertainment for all audiences.
Review Date: 10/7/2012

This remake film starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta is okay at best. The performance of John Travolta as a mysterious rider that hi-jacks the NY subway train Pelham 123 is excellent. I've never seen JT portrayed as a bad guy and he provided a stunning performance. It's almost unbelievable that its JT. The plot in this remake lacks a purpose. It never is clear why JT hi-jacked this particular train or what was JT's goal is obtaining control of the train.

In the original version starring Walter Matthau there is not much killing and it's evident how and why the hijacker took control of the train. I recommend seeing the original movie to gain an understanding of why this train.

As usual with movies of today, there has to been good chase, crash and killing scenes and of course this movie delivers on all of these aspects.

I did not give this movie high marks because of the ending. It is so Hollywood and unrealistic. There is no way a NYPD officer tells someone to put down a gun and the gunman fires the gun at another person and NYPD does not fire any shots. The ending is so disappointing. Its down right horrible and if were not for the performance of JT the entire movie would be a loss.
Review Date: 10/16/2012

This is a must see movie for all American Women. It shows that although we have different culture styles we often have the same value of family. The passion this mothers shows for her family and dedication she has for "better" is expressed throughout the movie. A child is a child no matter their language. The sub-titles are easy to read; the acting is genuine and the story is moving. It's worth your time to watch.
Review Date: 6/16/2012

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