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8 Mile Film Review

Advantages: Rap Battles
Disadvantages: Uninteresting plot and characters

...create the rags-to-riches Hip-Hop musical 8 Mile to exhaust all mainstream possibilities and tell the world how great the white rapper is. I don't really hate Eminem: Admittedly, I did enjoy some of the tracks on The Marshall Mathers LP (which I regard as the height of his career as a music artist). It's just that anything he has done since then seems like an excuse to make Hip-Hop more acceptable to a commercial audience. Gone are the days of him ...
...needs street cred? Primarily, 8 Mile is a film that the middle-class white youth, who feel rather rebellious after listening to the rapper extraordinaire, will lap up. The story is concerned with Jimmy Smith Jr., an aspiring rap artist who attempts to participate in live emcee battles, but chokes when it's his turn to freestyle. Winning these battles will get him noticed, which will hopefully then land him a record deal. There's a heated feud with ...

andycarrington 20.08.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of 8 Mile (DVD)

In Her Shoes for a girls night in.

Advantages: It's easy to watch and doesn't take a lot of concentration on the viewers part
Disadvantages: Storyline isn't that original and is directed mainly at a female audience

...first time and have continued to do so as i've watched it again and again. The storyline also means it attracts quite a wide audience in my opinion, as women will enjoy it but it's also not too girlie and therefore perfect for a couples to watch as well. ...

Alfie6891 29.10.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of In Her Shoes (DVD)

A comedy of errors

Advantages: Quirky, entertaining at times
Disadvantages: Forgettable

...a published author, once a wonder boy, but is now struggling to finish the book he has been writing for seven years. His editor, Terry Crabtree, arrives to chase him on the same day that his wife leaves him. And his affair with the married Dean of his college is coming to a head. Life is to get even more complicated when one of his students shoots the Dean's husband's dog at a party and a female student who is boarding with him comes on to him. Can ...
...his own career at the same time? Michael Douglas plays Grady Tripp, in a role which is pleasantly different from anything else I have seen him do. Tripp is scruffy, flirtatious, lazy and has a liking for the odd spliff, yet somehow manages to be extremely likeable. I don't suppose for a minute that it pushed Douglas very hard, but I found his performance far more natural than many of his others and certainly a lot less pretentious. I also loved ...

sunmeilan 17.10.2008 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Wonder Boys (DVD)

Unlucky Us

Advantages: A good performance from Robert Duvall.
Disadvantages: Pedestrrian direction, poor writing and disappointing lead performances.

Huck Cheever is a professional poker player living in world gambling capital Las Vegas. The poker World Series is on the horizon and he has his eyes on the prize. He thinks he has the odds figured in the rest of his life too; never allowing himself to get too involved or letting things develop in case they get complicated. But then he meets unlucky-in-love singer Billie, who opens his eyes to a new way of living. Then he comes face to face with his ...
...where to place his bets. I have no idea why this film has been marketed as a romantic comedy. There isn't enough sweet to temper the bitter and there are absolutely no laughs to be found here. It feels like some Hollywood executive has been looking for the latest craze to build a film around and has settled on poker. But it is virtually impossible to make a bunch of grown-ups sitting around a table with a hand of cards look interesting, let alone ...

afy9mab 29.08.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Lucky You (DVD)

As I walk through the valley of Coolio's shadow of death

Advantages: Powerful and emotional film
Disadvantages: Similarity to other films

...John N Smith's 1995 film Dangerous Minds is no different. Set in an inner city school, it features an ex-marine (Michelle Pfeiffer) who comes into a school and is determined to help the pupils she is faced with, even if it means breaking the rules. Throughout the film, we see the dangers of teachers often left alone with volatile groups, but also the strong bonds that can be forged between individuals with the right help and guidance. What the ...
...to break away from the dangerous world outside of it. The characters all around her are convincing as well, and it's the sort of film where you have to concentrate quite hard to start with to work out who is who. Further into the film, the individuals become clearer. The often dark nature of the film makes it all the more powerful. Strong visuals, that don't often shirk away from the harsh reality the film is portraying, mean that the film's power ...

pmcds 04.12.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Dangerous Minds (DVD)