Hip hop loves movies, not only do you have groups like Wu-Tang having their styles influenced by kung fu flicks, but you've got rappers like Will Smith, Ice Cube, and LL Cool J developing full fledge movie careers. But even if Common or T.I. isn't making an appearance in the movie, HipHopDX will still be there to tell you whether or not to spend your hard earned money on it or just cop the 30 new Lil' Wayne mixtapes that just dropped.

Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins February 11th, 2008 - DeMarco Williams | Theatre Release | Comments: 4

The biggest roadblock in Malcolm D. Lee’s prodigal son comedy is, well, Malcolm D. Lee. What the usually-sharp director (The Best Man, Roll Bounce) begins as a decent laugher about talk show host R.J. Stevens (Martin Lawrence) reluctantly coming home for his parents’ 50th wedding anniversary celebration, still trips into the same slapstick-heavy silliness of Norbit. That didn’t have to be the case. Truthfully, R.J.’s awkward-child-turned-big-time-star story was funny enough. He’s milking this black Dr. Phil thing to perfection. He’s got a smart, loving son and he’s engaged to a reality show stunner (Joy Bryant) that’s higher maintenance than the Biltmore Estate. Lawrence is plenty talented to make it

There Will Be Blood February 4th, 2008 - Matt Goldberg | Theatre Release | Comments: 3

Paul Thomas Anderson left us in 2002 with Punch-Drunk Love, a film notable for reminiscing about Jerry Lewis, utilizing Adam Sandler’s familiar shy/explosive persona to dramatic effect, and the most volatile use of the phrase “Shut up,” in cinematic history. It’s a good film, but nowhere near as good as Boogie Nights or Magnolia. However, all these films feature a gimmick of some sort. The films are well made if not in need of an editor and though they may employ falling frogs or random piano, they’re products of a man who knows what he wants and is always conscious of his choices.

Vantage Point February 28th, 2008 - B. Love | Theatre Release | Comments: 3

Gimmickry usually gets a bad rap, but sometimes it serves its purpose. Take this edge-of-your-seat thriller from little known British director Pete Travis, for example. In the hands of lesser talents, the story of an assassination attempt on United States President Ashton (William Hurt) during an appearance at a landmark summit in Spain on the global war on terror would likely be B-grade fare featuring Steven Seagal and Rutger Hauer rather than Lost star Matthew Fox and Dennis Quaid. But the gimmick provided by first-time screenwriter Barry L. Levy, whose script examines the same event from eight different perspectives, affords Travis an opportunity to prove himself the UK’s best

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