Change Your Image
turningworm
Reviews
Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School (2005)
Worth forming your own opinion about
This movie was savaged by every critic on earth, which pretty much confirmed my opinion that critics are all stupid. Yeah, it was kinda' sappy, but I thought it worked for the film. Contrary to many reviews, I thought John Goodman's performance was excellent. The ensemble cast carried the movie well. It wasn't "Becket", but it was totally watchable. You have to pay pretty close attention. They don't whack you over the head with exposition the way some films do. The one thing I will say is that there are a few plot and character elements that just seem to be thrown in there for no apparent reason. If you can get past that, the movie makes it's points well and clearly, if not completely originally.
Dave Chappelle's Block Party (2005)
The actual party was probably better...
I REALLY wanted to like this movie, and I guess I'd have to say that I did like it, but not nearly as much as I thought I would. The first 30 minutes when he is in Ohio trying to get people to come to the show were the most entertaining parts. Then they spend an inordinate amount of time exploring the oddness of this old hippie couple who live in this weird house near the stage area. After that it was like watching a party that you wish you were at, because something clearly didn't translate to film. The musical performances were good, but not great. Mos Def delivers a solid performance, but gets 3x as much screen time as everyone else, which seemed odd. Lauryn Hill has this hugely anticipated Fugees reunion only to completely butcher "Killing Me Softly". Jill Scott is awesome, but is singing songs that don't showcase her voice well at all. John Legend barely even plays in the concert. Erykah Badu was fantastic, but... why the wig? Dead Prez did a great show, I wasn't very familiar with them before this. The Roots kick ass, as always. I would suggest renting this when you have some paperwork to do. It makes a good background movie.