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SHAFT (2000) review
When you have to make a movie that is sure to rock
every ass in the house accept no substitute. Hehehehe
That should’ve been the tagline on this badass friggin
movie. HOLY CHRIST this film rocked from start to
finish for me tonight.
Alright, here we go....
As a reward for 4 damn fine reports filed, I decided to
swing by Sister Satan’s house to take her out to see
SHAFT tonight.
I had very reserved expectations walking into the
theater. I had heard fairly mixed reactions to the film
thus far... however, the closer the film got... the better
the word. Singleton was rumored to be doing
reshoots. And with each test the film was scoring
better.
Then earlier this week Darth Siskel wrote an absolute
flying RAVE of the film. Now... I’ve disagreed in the
past with a couple of his reviews (though mostly I
agree), so I wasn’t quite sure what I would think
walking in.
I was telling my sister and Father Geek that I felt that
Sam would carry the film for me and that the rest of
the film is probably pretty weak. And I did a lot of
shit and pissing about what a shitty summer lot of
films we have thus far... and how the hell anyone
could make a crappy SHAFT movie with Sam
Jackson would be beyond me.
THEN I WATCHED THE FILM....
This is the type of film that when you walk out of the
theater after the film, you feel that you are actually
moving cooler than you were when you walked in.
John Singleton has made a completely different
feeling hardcore action film that feels like some sort
of American Urban Black John Woo Hong Kong
Bullet Ballet that just starts kicking your ass and just
does not stop.
I absolutely unreservedly love, with every fiber of my
being, this movie. This is that type of bullet in the
head, badass violent as hell, cool as all getup
character film that made Woo famous.
First off... the number one reason this movie
completely busted the shit out of my face and left me
stunned.... JEFFREY WRIGHT! Bet you expected
me to say Sam Jackson didn’t you?
Don’t get me wrong... Sam is the fucking man in this
movie... But we all knew that walking into this deal.
What 99% of everyone is not even expecting is that
they will see an absolutely unforgettable performance
out of Jeffrey Wright as Peoples Hernandez. He is
frigging INVISIBLE in the film. Not for ONE
SINGLE SECOND did I realize that Peoples was
actually one of my favorite unheralded black actors.
Back about 4 or 5 years, I became a big fan of Jeffrey
Wright after his fantastic performance as Basquiat.
Then in last year’s turd of a western, Jeffrey played a
slave fighting on the side of the South. He was the
single greatest thing about RIDE WITH THE
DEVIL, and if you go back and check my review,
you’d see that I was raving about the guy.
HOWEVER, nothing prepared me for his AMAZING
performance as Peoples Hernandez. One... his
make-up was amazing. I mean... Dear God... I never
thought for a second that Peoples was played by
anyone other than a full blood Puerto Rican or some
great unknown Latino. The vocal patterns, the body
language, the under the breath Spanish phrases...
100%... PERFECT.
Now, what makes Peoples Hernandez great is that he
is without a doubt a perfectly developed Bad Guy.
For one... He doesn’t think he’s the bad guy. He’s
just providing a living for himself and his familia.
He’s just a neighborhood drug lord. Nothing big...
nothing flashy. He’s the sort of thug that would hang
chandeliers all over the place because it’s classy. He
carries an icepick with him.
He’s a machismo mean mutherfucker. He doesn’t
want no piece of the law. He just wants to sell his
smack and live in peace... But when the shit hits the
fan... He will not hesitate to kill everyone in his way.
Now... I’m gonna leave that at that. Trust me.
Jeffrey Wright delivers a character that will be one of
those roles that we’ll carry with us for a couple of
years. And the way he uses that fucking icepick...
dear God. Just... damn... Just do not screw with this
guy. I mean... jesus.
Now.... basically this is a simple... Crime is
committed. Bad guy caught dead to rights. Witness
runs. Search for witness. Beat bad guys to witness
and protect the witness type of story.
And at the beginning... I thought... HMMM... Sam
Jackson vs Christian Bale eh? Hmmmmm...
Christian Bale is sooooo gonna get his ass kicked.
But then... This Jeffrey Wright character starts getting
involved... and then there’s all sorts of corruption...
and then the body count begins.
Now this isn’t no fucking pussy out bullet ballet like
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2. Here... Without really
ape-ing Woo... Singleton and his editors and dp have
created spectacular hard core violence. I mean...
Blood just flies every which way. Heavy duty head
shots, blood sprays and... man... it just gets hard as
hell.
BUT SEE... THIS ISN’T ALL THAT THIS FILM IS
ABOUT.
In the very best of the Hong Kong epics, Shaft has
pathos and motivations. The bad guys are all
motivated as all hell. Everyone moves cool, every
gun shot reverbs through your chest.
There is a point where this film turns a corner, and
man... it flies.
Now... before that corner, the film is
ENTERTAINING AS HELL! Why? Because Sam
‘the man’ Jackson is literally the coolest man walking
the earth.
And in this film... HE HAS NEVER BEEN
COOLER! Why? Because...
David Arnold has written a completely divine score
based completely upon the sound created in Isaac
Hayes brilliant SHAFT theme. He plays it just like
John Williams JAWS theme. Every moment that
Sam is set to just let loose on some poor deserving
fucker... all of a sudden it’s all...
‘bump da bum da bump da bump!”
And you are sitting there in your seat just thinking....
“Man, Shaft is gonna fuck your shit up!!!
hahahahha!!! Oh yeah... Take that!!! Oh yeah...
hahahahahaha Fucking A!!!!”
As soon as that badge comes off him... He’s turned a
corner. Suddenly he is liable to pistol whip every last
tooth out of a guy while screaming, “What’s my
fucking name?!?!?!!?”
Now... as for Christian Bale... he’s perfect in that...
oh... Remember the guy trying to score with Holly in
DIE HARD... the sleazy rich coke snorting dweeb
who negotiates tougher deals before breakfast? I
think his character was named Ellis... In fact yeah,
that’s exactly what it was. Well Bale is like a bigger
meaner more weaselly version of him. In a way, he’s
still Patrick Bateman... but amazingly because it’s not
just his schtick for 2 hours, and he is supported with a
brilliant selection of cool ass people and terrific
action, thrills, sounds and motions... He works
perfectly. But he is nowhere near the driving force I
thought he was made out to be by the pre-hype on the
film.
This film firmly belongs to Jeffrey Wright and Sam
Jackson.
For all of us Hong Kong geeks that have been
wondering what the translation to America would be.
Remember when Robert Rodriguez was talking about
when he was thinking of making EL MARIACHI and
he was talking about how he wanted to make
Mexicans as cool as Chow Yun Fat?
Well just think... Singleton is starting off with SAM
JACKSON. Already one of the coolest beings ever
seen on the planet. Well, John has created the
ultimate Black Superhero here. I mean, Sam’s
SHAFT is a complete bad mofo.
Sure... there isn’t any real sex in the film for Shaft...
but you know what... this isn’t the original Shaft.
This movie kicks that film’s ass. I like the original
Shaft, but always thought it paled next to
SUPERFLY....
Actually... the movie that this MOST reminds me off
is DIRTY HARRY. But completely different in all
aspects EXCEPT that Sam Jackson is everybit as
good as SHAFT as Eastwood was as Harry. And...
Jeffrey Wright is everybit as good as Peoples as
Andrew Robinson was as Scorpio.
And you know what’s weird. The original SHAFT
came out the same year as DIRTY HARRY... and
both of them came out the same year that I did. 1971.
FINALLY... After a month of subpar flicks, I have
my badass summer film. See, as much as I like
GLADIATOR.... This just has that funky as hell
sound that will be driving me to take multiple friends
over and over to this one.
Somebody... tell Jeffrey and Sam.... Way to fucking
go Man! Now... Singleton... Let’s see this as a
trilogy of badass films. Each one even tougher and
meaner than the one before... till you get to that last
film.... and you release it as a ultrahard NC-17
God-fearing epic of coolness. heheheh...
If you liked HARD BOILED, THE KILLER, DIRTY
HARRY, POINT BLANK, A BETTER
TOMORROW, KISS ME DEADLY, THE LIMEY, etc....
This is the movie to put that rhythm in your step
again. IT RULES!
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+ Expand All
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But then I was going to see this movie the first day anyway.
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Jun 09, 2000 6:26:49 AM CDT
*in best maxwell smart voice* guess not...missed it by that much
by lester_long
now i want lauryn hill to star in a remake of cleopatra jones
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This is what I like about HARRY'S reviews.
Can't wait for this. -
I know, I know, the trailer doesn't always represent the movie well (example: "Three Kings" - unfathomable trailer, great movie), but for *such* an un-cool trailer to produce a movie that Harry and company are raving about...it's hard to believe. I was certain I wasn't gonna see this "Shaft Jr.", but after that drool-fest of a review...I'll consider it. Gotta see more reviews to know the truth, though. Can't risk another "Armageddon".
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You almost had me Harry, but then you mentioned 'Payback'. I'm you liked Payback, you'll like this? Yeah, well, if you liked Payback, you'd like being hobbled, Kathy Bates style. If you like Lucy Lui, you can watch Ally McBeal. Therefore Payback is an unneccessary concept.
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Off topic, but... Anyone looking for a cool Quicktime movie, go to www.thejunkies.com, and watch the indie pilot for a sitcom that will surely never get made: it's "Friends on Smack", but British, and it's the funniest thing I've seen all year. The adventures of the 'three stupidest heroin addicts in the world'... too, too much :D
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I'm sold and pysched. After years of playing second bannana to wimpier people, Sam Jackson finally gets the asskicking role he deserves. I look forward to him filling guys full of lead while he shouts profanity laced epitaphs at their slumping corpses. As for Singleton, I'm glad to see that it finally looks like he has directed his first good movie since Boyz in the Hood.
Oh, and Harry, by the way, M:I 2
may not have been Woo's finest two hours and the PG-13 rating kinda sucks, but I would still take that over 99% of the John Woo
copy cat shit out there. Including
--God forgive me--The Matrix(a perfect example of a movie muddling it's story to hide how unoriginal it is) -
Alas, I am under the impression from that half assed trailer that we will not be treated to the immortal line 'I'm going to get laid...where the hell you going?'
(Cue Shaft laughing like a maniac).
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I watched it last night in a sneak peek here at town. It has got to be THE summer movie. I liked it better than Gladiator.
Sam was just a bad mofo, the whole movie had the nostalagic feel to it. To my surprise Richard Roundtree was in the movie for more than one scene.
I saw a sold out show and everybody loved it.
This really needs to be made into a series of movies.
Busta Rhymes was cool as shit too. He was one of Shaft's associates and became his chauffeur.
Everybody needs to go see this. -
Nice one Knowles, you've convinced me to see Shaft. The cast sound fucking great. Now all that remains is Stillwater....
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"I got to feelin' like a machine, baby..... and that ain't no way to feel." Of course, it's delivered by a stark naked Richard Roundtree to his woman, but what a line!
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I'm looking forward to seeing this slice of cool, almost as much as seeing your quote on the posters -
'Somebody... tell Jeffrey and Sam.... Way to fucking go Man!'
Superb -
Violence that doesn't quit. The movie must be great. Try taking maybe a class in criticism, Harry. Then maybe you'll develop the vocabulary and techniques that will help you express yourself in a better manner than "FUCKIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNN A!" What does this "ROCK" and "RULE" shit mean anyway? That you liked it? Well, we gleaned that from the first sentence. How is this giving us any new information? Answer : It is not. Just allowing another lazy slob to broadcast his opinion without really saying anything at all.
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Singleton is a fucking hack who makes movies with as much insight and entertainment value as a mock public service announcement made by an 8th grader for English class. I can
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Even the good Dirty Harry movie's had CLint gettin' some...a true "Shaft" should be rated R at least, and have Shaft getting what he deserves.
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Jun 09, 2000 9:30:50 AM CDT
I stopped reading after you said Ride With the Devil was a turd
by t. mifune
Is Harry living in some sort of Bizarro world? I was looking forward to Shaft until he said it was like a John Woo movie. That's all we need, another director ripping off Woo. I'm not saying John's not a good director, but that style is getting really tired. And no Harry, the last 45 minutes of MI:2 were the worst part. So lets see, you liked Godzilla, Shaft, and Viva Rock Vegas, but didn't like American Psycho or Ride With the Devil...poor soul.
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First of all, vergence: Harry is not a professional critic. All his reviews are written like this. He's a geek, he's a nerd, he gets all emotional and choked up and probably spits popcorn when he gives a big fucking belly laugh. So if you're looking for another Leonard Maltin, don't waste your time, he's not even Rex Reed. And as for you, toshiro-san, Ride With the Devil did indeed suck. Jewel's titties were nice, but the rest of it was purely average, like some bad Harlequin novel put to film. Ang Lee has done much better with "The Ice Storm" and "Eat Drink Man Woman". "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" will no doubt kick ass, but "Ride" was a waste of my time. And now for the big finish [[deep breath]]: STOP BASHING HARRY ON GODZILLA!! EVEN WITH BRODERICK'S SHITTY ACTING IT WAS STILL TWENTY TIMES BETTER THAN ANY MAN IN A RUBBER SUIT!!! MORE ACTION, MORE SCARES, AND HUMOR TOO! BETTER THAN ANY JAPANESE VERSION! ANYONE WHO DISAGREES CAN LINE UP AND LICK MY DWARF NARDS!!! That is all. Now fuck off while I load my rifle.
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He's a great, higely underrated director. Oh, and Higher Learning WAS a great film. Shit, just cause a film has flaws doesn' mean it sucks. Can't wait to see this next week.
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Way to go, Sam Jackson! You the man! Myself, Huggy Bear, and Cleopatra Jones all wish you best of luck!
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Been a long time since Sam's been cool. You know he was just waiting for the chance to get back to some Julius stylin'. I'm pretty sold now, Harry. I think that this is a better review than any pish-posh criticism. You captured in it the way the movie made you feel: cool.... Now relax, brothas, yeeeeyaaah. When a movie can make a 300 lb. pasty whitey stand up and shout: SAY IT LOUD! I'M BLACK AND I'M PROUD! And strut like a muthafuckin pimp out the multiplex, then it's done it's duty, pleasin' YO booty. Wordup, Harry. Keepin' it real, and I DIG that about you man...
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having subjected myself to every POS singleton has ever directed, I'm loathe to endure another one. I keep hearing '"no really, it's a great movie" and every time I get burned. Higher learning is one of those rare "the drama's funnier than the comedy" movies, shaft, man harry just sounds like a schill, he's taken the Hollywood schlong to THE HILT.
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Almost every scene in "Higher Learning" is a flaw. It's one big "freshman year of college" cliche. I would of walked out of the theater if it hadn't started to get funny after a while. Plus, I was waiting for some hot lesbo action.
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That was the one word message that closed the melodramatic debacle that was HIGHER LEARNING, and it seems to have been Singleton's guiding thought as he banged out the treatment-- er, screenplay. Unlearn everything about how students interact on a campus. Unlearn everything about how neo-nazi organizations recruit and operate. Unlearn how to develop three-dimensional characters, and substitute them with stick figures who serve only to further the plot. HIGHER LEARNING is an astonishing mess of a film that tries to cram every pertinent issue facing the youth of America into one two hour film, and manages to address them in a fashion owing more to "Beverly Hills 90210" than Spike Lee. I saw this movie while attending a racially diverse college (and, in fact, with a similarly diverse audience,) and would've been even more upset had the film not been met with derisive howls of laughter from all in attendsnce. At least no one was buying it. I appreciate John Signleton's good intentions, but one should be aware of their limitations as a storyteller before indulging in such a wrongheaded polemic. In the end, what we're left with is a film I dearly wish I could "unwatch."
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Who's the black private dick that's a sex machine to all the chicks? (Shaft!) You're damn right. Who is the man that would risk his neck for his brother man? (Shaft!) Can ya dig it? Who's the cat that won't cop out when there's danger all about? (Shaft!) Right on. You see this cat Shaft is a bad mother--(shut your mouth!) But I'm talkin' bout Shaft. (Then we dig it.) He's a complicated man, but no one understands him but his woman. John Shaft.
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Jun 09, 2000 11:14:41 AM CDT
Harry's got an advantage over most of the other critics...
by all thumbs
He can write a "Shaft" review with just the right amount of the use of the f-word. In fact, I believe one CAN'T write a decent review of "Shaft" without being able to say he's one bad motherfucker and you can't go through an entire review without saying "Fucking A!" at least once. Not only is this SHAFT, this is Samuel Fucking-L. Jackson. It's more of an insult to the production if you DON'T cuss in your review, I'm sure. This is the stuff they don't teach you in criticism class, folks. And the world is that less cool without it. Oh, yeah...and I'm going to go see the movie.
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The trailer for this film GUARANTEES it will suck as bad or worse than any other film this summer. Shaft walking towards us in leather pants ... is he the sheriff of West Hollywood or what? And ... is Shaft focusing on helping White folks? Is that supposed to make this film play to a broader audience? We all love Sam Jackson but he's turned in watered down versions of his Pulp Fiction character Jules for years. That and the crackhead from Jungle Fever are the two great things he's done. And Singleton has shown his storytelling limitations thrice. In fact, the only interesting thing about this production was how Sam and producer Scott Rudin had to stop Singleton from schtupping extras in his trailer long enough to come out and direct a scene. Shaft will bomb miserably.
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Jun 09, 2000 11:25:31 AM CDT
He's a complicated man and no one understands him but his woman
by razorfist
Sam Jackson - He's one bad muthafukka
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There was no trace of Jules in EVE'S BAYOU, where Sam played the father who can't seem to stay faithful to his wife. The film itself is actually quite good, and certainly worth a look; although, you should try not to let Roger Ebert's quote on the box ("Best Film of the Year") raise your expectations too high.
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i knew this film was gonna be the shit! i'll see for myself next friday night at Chinese Theatre (if it's playing there.)
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it's not a remake. it's a sequel...sort of. so don't go looking for old Shaft lines when you see this one. i repeat...IT'S NOT A REMAKE...IT'S A SEQUEL.
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but the problem was the story. there were a couple of things that i thought about after i saw the movie. yeah, it hit my expectations of what i thought it would be.. hard, fast action & smooth one-liners, (btw Harry, the sex was in the montage at the beginning of the film) but it missed on a couple of things it brings up. this time, i'm going to spoil away because i want to know what you (and other people who saw it so far think) lets start here: SPOILER #1 whydoyouhaveshaftdoallofthesethingsandthennotevengettobringwadetotrial? itwasunnecessarytogothroughitallifthemotherwasgoingtoshootwadedeadattheend. andshaftsreactionwaslike,'yougogirl.cuziaintgoingthruthisshitifhejumpsbailathirdtime.' i bring this up because even clint's dirty harry follows the law. SPOILER #2 whybuildracialtensionupbetweenshaftandhiscommanderifitsnotgoingtogoanywhere? singletonbringsituptwicebetweenshaftandthecommanderbutthatsit.whywasthereconflictthere? and i ask this because in the overall tone of is racially motivated. which, i assume, is why shaft has been waiting for wade to return from his bail jump. as far as the HK style action, i think it's ok. it's not woo-worthy.. more fuqua-ish at best. but i do agree that sam makes a fine badass, hey, i'm not knocking the film, i enjoyed myself and as i said, it hit my expectations, but those two things aren't why i can't move into the 'I LOVE THIS FILM' catagory of Hard Boiled and Iron Giant.
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Can't believe you didn't mention that Sam Jackson is not John Shaft. He's the nephew of John Shaft. And seeing how he doesn't have a threesome with Toni Colette and Vanessa Williams, I can only say that the nephew of Shaft is a cheap imitation of his badass uncle. Nice that John Singleton has two VCRs so he can shot by shot rip off Woo.
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Sho' nuff you right, AllThumbs. When the movie makes a muthafucka feel like a BAD muthafucka, a brotha cain't help but say muthafucka! MrBeaks--saw Eve's Bayou, fantastic flick. Loved it. Even though Sam wasn't really a bad muthafucka per se, he was still a pimp on the porch. A player of understated pimposity. Lisa Nicole Carson was damn fine lookin, too. An ass well worthy of some hefty tappin'.
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So the new Shaft is a must-see,eh?Sounds good to me!Lord knows Sammy must be excited,what with his hat proudly trumpeting the movie for all to see.ANYWAY,maybe they should make a sequel to a bunch of movies that were made twenty years ago.Y'know,only with the main character's nephew.Might I suggest....The Blues Bros.Jrs?Maybe they could get it right this time.Get Singleton!!!This has been a Rainy Day Book of Hastily Written Moments with User ID Indeed!Did you guys know Roseanne is gonna be in Playboy?Tis true.Man,that ravioli tasted somuch better going down than coming up.
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they're both named John Shaft... and both are in the movie... and they make that reference in the film. and the original STILL gets better looking women than his nephew...
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Good or bad, I'm still not going to see this. That trailer sucked ass. Especially when Shaft flings his badge towards the judge and it sticks in the wall behind him. Give me a break. "Don't jive me!"
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Since I live in Washington Heights (where the Peoples character lived)and I just happen to be Dominican (like the Peoples Hernandez character)I should know a thing or 2 about how Dominican Drugdealers talk. His performance was funny. That's it. But his accent was terrible. I think John Leguizamo could've done a much better job.
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mrbeaks is damn right about saying Jackson's perf in "Eve's Bayou" kicked ass, but for those of you who might still want to play detractor - see "The Red Violin." The character Jackson plays is a smaller role (there are no main characters in the film, save the violin), but it is one of the more three-dimensional ones he's ever gotten his hands around. On top of that, it's just a damn good pic.
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some wacky Pez, man
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Jun 09, 2000 1:39:16 PM CDT
If I read the words "ballet" and "John Woo" one more time in the
by mully4ever
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Why the Hell do they think it he was called Shaft, for Chrissakes? It was hardly subtle...
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Sorry...
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Now that was a movie! Not so much for Jim Kelly but for the character of "Pinky". "Pinky" made that movie. My only fear is that I'll wear out my VHS copy over time....WARNER BROS.....REALEASE A BLACK BELT JONES DVD!!!!
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First off from the trailors this movie looks pretty lame.Just by harry mentioning woo turns me off comepletly.I'm a huge woo fan but will people stop imitating him already find your own style.And as far as a white guy playing a latino please stop it.If anything it'll just be tolerable.Why not just get a real latino to do the job hello OZ anyone.There's a bunch of good actors out there.I just hope no movie exect. is reading this review and saying "see we can use white people and get away with it".I'm sorry i'm just a pissed off puerto rican.
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Jun 09, 2000 2:49:42 PM CDT
For the full extent of Sam Jackson's acting,look no further than
by user id indeed!
Jurassic Park!Think about it!He was the only character without an action figure-that shows he wasn't mainstream.Y'know,in it for the acting,not the cash and fame.Second,he's the most memorable character.He saves the day!He figures out how to turn the power back on!He takes the reigns of the computers!He supplies a tasty distraction for the velociraptors!He was the most notable and beloved of them all in my opinion.Where's Sam Neill?Bicentennial Man.Where's Jeff Goldblum?Holy Man.Where are the kids?Star Kid,Angus.Where's Laura Dern?Novacaine.Where's Sam Jackson?SHAFT.End of story.This has been a Not Too Well Thought Out Opinion from User ID Indeed!
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Anybody notice how S. L. Jackson looks like Avery Brooks in "Spencer, For Hire." For my money, there never has been a badder ass then his character Hawk. I think you can pretty much attribute the bald, goateed black-man thing to him.
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Jun 09, 2000 3:10:41 PM CDT
ARE YOU PEOPLE FORGETTING THE EXCELLENT FILM "BOYZ IN THE HOOD"?
by moto
You think Singleton sucks???!! Well sure, HIGHER LEARNING wasn't a masterpiece, but it still had a message.
However, what about Singleton's BOYZ N THE HOOD??? It was a travesty when it wasn't nominated. What a remarkable debut from the then 22 or 23 year old director! That film should have been nominated, Cuba should have been nominated, and the director (maybe he was) should have been nominated!! -
That is soooo true! Everyone uses the word "ballet" when reviewing Woo. That's like using the word "poetry" to review a porn film.
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Jun 09, 2000 3:51:14 PM CDT
Excuse me, but you guys seemed to be forgetting Singleton's grea
by riccardo take 2
...it kicked ass in every way possible. Plus, Jon Voight was in it. Then again, Jon Voight was in MOST WANTED too, oh well.
"I can take anything you can dish out (Tightens cheeks and projects a stern look). I am twice the man you are." -
...is black. Not that a black man playing a Hispanic is any better (me beeing a Hispanic actor definitely agrees there are plenty of them out there). Singleton hasn't done shit since BITH, let's hope Harry is right about this one. I'll be there...
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Someone mentioned BOYZ N THE HOOD, saying that it was a travesty that it was not nominated. Excuse me? Have you seen this film lately? It's SO TV-movie-of-the-week it's not even funny. Everyone keeps saying that BITH was Singleton's best, when if you ask me it's ROSEWOOD that's getting the "Shaft". That was Singletons best film, and no one saw it. Anyway, I'm going to be there opening day for SHAFT just to see Jules Winfield beat the crap out of Patrick Bateman. I don't care if the trailer sucks, 'cause I've seen many great trailers that led to sucky movies. On the other hand, one of the worst trailers I've ever seen was for THE USUAL SUSPECTS and I thought that film was killer. Oh well, I'm still waiting for someone to remake Truck Turner. Love that Mack Truck line. I'm sure Uncapie will remind us what that line is ;)
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I am there. That's all I've gotta fukkin' say. I am THERE. I downloaded the trailer at work (purely for research purposes!) and YEAH, homes. That's MY idea of a superhero movie. Fuck, let ME write the next BATMAN flick, I'll put together a BATMAN/SHAFT crossover with more guns, babes cussin,' and explosions then PULP FICTION, RESERVOIR DOGS and NEW JACK CITY combined. 'Course it'll be R-rated but, like, so the fuck what?! After that last one Bats needs it worse then the Bond series. Only problem will be finding a bad guy tough enough to last more then five seconds against them. Yo, where's my muththafukkin' CD player?! Throw on soma that ol' school Ice-T shit. Awww, yeah, baby. Anyway, great review, Harry--short and to the point. I am THERE.
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is the best thing this flick's got going for it, no matter what Sam Jackson says. HARRY AND MORIARTY (aka Drew McWeeny) don't want you to read the following article-- http://www.filmthreat.com/Features.asp?File=FeaturesTop20.asp-- Cut and paste the address before their nazi-asses delete it (they've done it twice already)
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This has a really good cast.
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I cannot stand so many of you F'ing people! Vergence...GO DIE! I'm sorry to be begin such an obvious flame war here, but JESUS! What an asshole! As One Angry Dwarf said, Harry's not a proffesional critic, you moron. If you don't like the reviews on this site, GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. Why do people come here, read the reviews, and then feel the need to insult the reviewer, especially Harry!? Harry, I hate to join the rest of the sycophants I'm sure sing your praises every day, but keep up thew fucking good work, man. You do a film geek's heart proud.
Vergence...Have a heart attack. Have two, you crumb bum. -
Shaft is back!!! Can you dig it? Who's the man??? Samuel L. Jackson's the man!!!
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The actor who played Ellis in Die Hard is named Hart Bochner, and if you want to see a really weird cool movie check out Apartment Zero. Oh....and I must see this movie. I've been geared to see a good movie the last few weeks, and everytime one comes out they get slammed by the critics. Was going to see MI:2, it sucks, was going to take my 5 year old to see Dinosaur, and it has violent scenes that may be too much for her. Frankly, I can't see what all the fuss is about with the trailer, it actually got me excited to see it. Wungolioth the Wanderer
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Put it this way: Harry (or Moriarty or Rogogeek) have been giving paid trips to premiers (or rough cut screenings) of:
Godzilla
End of Days
Armageddon
Detroit Rock City
Mystery Men
The Faculty (in which he had a cameo)
The Mummy
And guess what! Harry gave positive reviews to all these films. Coincedence? I can understand someone liking one or two films on that list, but he liked them all, and that's just ridiculous.
Added to that, there's a few films that have yet to be released that Harry's gotten to see, and has given, surprise! surprise! overwhelmingly positive reviews for. Such as:
Me, Myself and Irene
The Hollow Man
The Grinch (incidentally Ron Howard asked Harry to view the film for "feedback" and had him agree not to disclose his opinion about the film, but when Harry said his review would be positive, they gave him permission. How much do you wanna bet Ron Howard and co. knew this was exactly how it was gonna turn out all along?)
Shadow of the Vampire
Now I'm sure they all could be good or great, but all of them? Is it a coincidence that all Harry's rough cut and/or premier reviews, paid for by studios and/or the filmmaker's themselves are all positive? Not one negative review in all the prerelease films he's viewed. Frankly, that proves 100% he's a sell-out working for the studios.
So was Shaft seen under these same circumstances?
Or was it just another embaressing review like the rave for praising Episode I (Meesa luv Jar Jar), praising The Haunting and saying it was better than Episode I, crying during Armageddon, praising Viva Rock Vegas. Etc.
I'm sure Harry could debate me on this, but he'll probably just ban me, and prove I'm right in the process since that would mean this is a post Harry and co. does not want you to see. I mean I doubt it would be panned just purely because I offended him. After all, some guy who calls himself Harry Is Fat hasn't got banned yet.
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People who hate the trailer don't seem to understand how tongue-in-cheek it is. Especially the teaser was really funny and clever. The storyline seems to be too generic, but the film probably has plenty of style to compensate that.
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Why? All the white folks trying to sound tough and black, that's why.****As for the people who criticize Harry's reviews, remember one thing: any movie that has lots of violence, explosions, and special effects always earns Harry's praise.
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I agree that Rosewood is underrated, but so are all of Singleton's post-Boyz films. Oh, and to MrBeaks, when I saw HL in the theater, with a very mixed audience, there was about as much applause at the end as I've ever seen, or would it be heard? NO laughs. The people who you saw it with were obviously p-holes.
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Jun 10, 2000 1:52:33 AM CDT
Man...I LIKED the trailer! My girl and I said, "That's gonna be
by mil mascaras
Um...dang...I guess I covered it all in the subject box...oh well.
OH! Cool animation Harry! -
. . .how do you know who's Black and who's not on this thing? I sure can't tell, and I'M Black! Oh, and way stylin' Harry-head there, sir. I must now add my voice to those calling for a Harry-head archive page so we can collect them all! They be cool. Oh, and have I mentioned recently how very *THERE* I am for this new Shaft flick? Daaaaam right. Where's my fuckin' Brand Nubian? No, screw that; let me bump my Busta Rhymes loud enough to annoy the neighbors. Hehehehehe! All in all, movies kick ass.
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singleton hasn't made a solid film since boyz.
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Show more good scenes and less of the stupid Shaft music and non-movie shots of Sam Jackson just looking at the camera.
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At least he can rest assured that if this AICN gig falls through, he's practically being groomed by the studios for a long career as a "quote whore". These are the jackholes who have those mono-syllable quotes on the ads for films like: "...it was a gas!!" (Although, it's possible the real quote might have been: "...this director belongs in the gas chamber.")
These shameless people agree to plush accomodations and various fringe benefits from studio execs in exchange for positive reviews. It appears that Harry is treading dangerously close to this territory. -
I believe the audience was merely educated. HIGHER LEARNING is an insult to any kind of serious dialogue about race relations. It misrepresents positions across the board, and has no basis in reality. Unlearn what this film has taught you, and pick up a book. Seek out Cornell West for a truly enlightening voice.
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In your post you acted as if the subject of Harry selling out had never been touched upon before...you acted as if you had discovered that Harry gives positive reviews to shitty movies that the studios pay for him to see...Harry may very well be a sellout (I am not accusing him) but with this whole ethics debate that just came and went and Harry addressing that whole sellout image people see him as-your post was very inept. Sorry folks, I got a little carried away there.
"I can take anything you can dish out (Tightens cheeks and projects a stern look). I am twice the man you are." -
The Limey is fuckinest, trip looey skoovie you ever laid your gd-damd g'byes on. So what gives with the Larry Scary not givin' tha words and the blessin's on it b'fore?
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... that really is gives the shaft. Check it out at www.filmthreat.com, looks like HArry is Ethically Challenged
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okay i didn't mean to yell but i am so tired of everyone saying that harry is a sell out. so for everyone who thinks that harry was "paid" to review this movie and say it was good, PISS OFF. Can't a man watch a movie, enjoy it and laugh and have good time and not get paid to write a good review? okay that's my piece. i've said it and i'm happy now. by the way i loved this movie also, and i don't always agree with harry but Peoples was amazing. when this boy get's pissed off, damn watch out. it had a great mix of action and great actors. Vanessa Williams was too under played but it really was sam's movie.
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It's "Anticipation"! Can't wait for this one.
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I don't know one way or the other about the issues brought up in that editorial (and neither do any of you; none of us - with few exceptions - now these people personally), but the thing is one of the worst-written editorials I've seen. Even if your points are good, you can't insert little personal jabs in your debate and expect people to take you seriously; they undermine the legitimacy of your point, regardless of whether or not the rest is accurate. If I was running Filmthreat, I'd be ashamed to have it up on my site, merely because it unnecessarily colours how people percieve the operation of the site.
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HL is one of my all time favorite films, but gee, your arguments are so strong that I've decded to burn my VHS copy of it. Yeah, riiiiiight.And anyone who would laugh at the film,ESPECIALLY the last 20 or 30 minutes, is basically on the same level of worth as the skinhead characters. UNLEARN your negativity about the film
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The editorial didn't have personal jabs. I think these things need to be brought in into the light. I was an early enthusiastic supporter of Aintitcoolnes.com, and i don't like the turn that it took. the film threat article isn't even done yet, why not wait till you read it all before you make some half-assed attempt and putting it down.
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While my critique of HIGHER LEARNING was meant to be more of an informative airing of commonly held grievances against the film, rather than a case of proselytizing for your benefit, I believe you would be well served in burning that videotape, and, instead, viewing a more honest meditation on race relations (e.g., and off the top of my head, the also-flawed, but much more realistic DO THE RIGHT THING, ONE FALSE MOVE, or TNT's recent FREEDOM SONG.) Your continued adherence to Singleton's misconceived campus drama is, quite frankly, bordering on fanaticism. As for why people laughed throughout HIGHER LEARNING, it was, again, due to the shamelessly presented stereotypes, and Singleton's unrealistic view of college life. Nobody connected with a single character; ergo, the drama was rendered ineffective. Furthermore, I sat in on a Black Media class a year later where the film was mentioned in a discussion, and then unanimously dismissed by a class of nearly 200 students. One final question: have you attended college? I find it hard to believe that anyone who's experienced the complex dynamic of interracial campus life would find much to like about HIGHER LEARNING.
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1.I also am a big fan of Do The Right Thing. I'd put it right behind HL. 2. Why must I be insulted and called a "fanatic" for defending a film I like very much? Haven't you ever encountered someone who disliked something you liked and then you proceeded to defend it? Er, maybe you haven't. It sounds like you live amongst people who agree on everything. 3.Yes, I'm actually still in college, having just completed my 3rd year there. I never said that the HL college life mirrored my own and thus I could relate. I'm just defending it as a well made film that I liked. I know damn well its not a film that everybody loved. But I did. Oh, and just to re-etablish that this talkback is for Shaft: CAN'T WAIT TO SEE IT!
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NO REALLY HE DID!!!
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I've seen harry bubble like a drunk cheerleader over total crap. think i'll wait for another review before i decide whether i'll see it
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One doesn't come here for scintillating movie reviews. One comes here to talk shit about movies. Plain and simple. They're entertaining and make me laugh, therefore, everyone here at AICN is doing their job. Just be cool.
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Maybe when it began, this was all about "talking shit about movies". Howvever, AICN began trying to be a legitamate journalistic entity, responsibilities come into the game, and those have not been played with. As a web site that attracts so many hits in one day, don't you think the people reading should read the truth, and nothing else? Again, www.filmthreat.com to understand what I am saying.
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What I don't get is all the chumps on this site talking so much smack about a film they haven't seen yet. ANYway, Harry's actually RIGHT on this one. Saw 'Shaft' last night here in D.C. and was very entertained. It was campy when it needed to be and a major crowd pleaser. I couldn't even make out half the damn dialogue because of all of the yelling and laughing (and at all the right moments, unlike that wack M:I-2). Sam does a fine job, but Mr. Wright indeed did steal the show. And this is the same guy who was 'Basquiat'? Christ! What a transformation! The movie had solid action and decent acting overall. The direction was crisp and the pacing was fine. In addition to Wright and Jackson, Christian Bale is a standout as well. Pretty menacing as Mr. American Psycho "Ritchie Rich". The funky-ass 70's vibe cannot be denied, either. This one's a keeper.
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I'm glad I didn't listen to Harry's abysmal review of Mary Harron's "American Psycho." It was one of the best and most finely crafted films of the year. It is right up there with Coppola's "The Virgin Suicides," and Hanson's "Wonder Boys." Too bad Lion's Gate doesn't have enough power to give it a rerelease like "Wonder Boys." It could've nabbed Christian Bale some more kudos for his unbelievably intense portrayal of everybody's favorite 1980s yuppie-by-day/serial killer-by-night.
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Hey I was just saying that there weren't any good movies out. Thank God for Shaft.
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Higher Learning isn't a great film. In fact, most films released in a year aren't great. Considering the number of hands that touch a film it's no wonder why so many fail to any real buisness until they hit video. But, Higher Learning DOES have some kernel of truth to it.
As an ex Georgia Tech student, I can remember how alot of Black Students felt that that film, at points, nailed the experience of a Black Student on a majority White Campus. Georgia Tech is a notoriously conservative campus. Students from Morehouse and Spelman didn't get the film and a few minor debates popped up on it's reality factor. They couldn't believe that even a tenth of that could be true. Yet, quite a few GT students felt the Morehouse/Spelman were being a bit naive.
Does this (the fact that some people could relate to this film) mean it's great film making no. Great film making takes a moment and projects it out and makes it universal. Which, as my example points out, it didn't.
The great fault of that film was trying to say too much AND be profound at the same time. It's kind of hard to tell the history of the world in two hundred pages, then as a bonus, reveal the meaning of life in one sentence.
However, it was nice to see, for once, some people on screen that have some kind of experence I can relate to.
P.S. Moment Singleton blew in HL: The is she, isn't she pan into "It's the guy," lesban scene, that's got to be some of the most subtle/unsutble homophobic moment I've seen on film. -
This movie was fucking stupid.
Yes, Sam jackson has proven himself to be the chillest of the chill, and Jeffrey Wright was absolutely electric as Peoples. There was a big problem though.
This movie was fucking stupid.
After hearing Sam deliver Quentin's dialogue, which is actually good, lines like "Its my duty to please that booty" make me want to throw shit at the screen. And the action sequences were NOT good, for one reason. He NEVER MISSED! Bad guys with automatic wepaons are spraying lead all over a tiny apartment, in yard wide alleys and hitting nothing, Shaft sticks his gun around the corner and hits 2 guys square in the chest.
This movie was fucking stupid.
And the plot was ridiculous. A rich white boy kills a black guy in a bar fight. Does he A) get Daddy to hire Johnny Cochran and get exonerated by an all white jury or B) make buddies with a Dominican druglord and pay him to commit Premeditated Murder One on a waitress, when he has already bought that waitress off?
This movie was fucking stupid.
And for someone as racially political as John Singleton, all I can say is what the fuck are you thinking? Do you REALLY want cops (or better, EX cops) roaming the streets, beating the shit out of black men with no warrant, shooting black men at will with no supervision and no accountability? Is it somehow ok for a black ex cop to violate every civil right in the book short of sodomizing a brother, because its "in house"?
This movie was fucking stupid.
Psasha -
Yes, the combo of Singleton and Jackson lived up to its promise. This is the best cop movie in a LONG time, and it is I think inisputably better than the original film. Jackson is at his best, while everyone else is the best I've ever seen them(and Busta Rhymes is hilarious), which shows how good Singleton is at getting the best fro his actors. Singleton gave the film a real smooth and cool style too. It proves he can make not just great message films, but also great entertainment films. I really hope its a hit.
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Much like Hollywood Harry's review, this film is a jumbled mess. Do me a favor, big man: next time you talk to Roger Ebert, ask him for some pointers on how to write a literate, thoughtful review. To call the new "Shaft" a racist, laughable, amateurish, derevitive train wreck would be charitable. Perhaps Singleton was too busy fucking the extras to demand the re-writes this junk so desperately needed. Or maybe that time was spent in screaming matches with producer Scott Rudin. Christian Bale- a fine actor whose performance was rendered useless by being so crimnally underwritten. What was his motivation for murder? Oh yeah, he's a rich white character in a Singleton movie. What was the backstory with his mother and his stepmom? Who knows. Toni Collette was done a great diservice coming off of superb work in "The Sixth Sense". Here she plays a criminally underwritten character who is so stupid she hides out from Shaft at her mother's house and is thankfully given a pointless flashback to narrate- as if we hadn't already guess the circustances surrounding the murder. Brilliant. Jeff Wright's accent was incomprehensible, not to metion how awfully stereotyped his character was (as all Latinos were); this whole film smacks of racism so loudly that my ears hurt. The racial attitudes held by the film are outdated by 30 years; black is beautiful, but white is ugly, ugly, ugly. And corrupt, stupid, petty. Pay close attention to those two walking Italain stereotypes of brothers poor Toni is saddled with. If you intend to make a film that plays with racial themes, take care- obviously JS didn't. The "please that booty" line prompted hisses from the crowd; I threw my cup at the screen. Busta Rhymes isn't the Shogun of Harlem- he's a overacting fool, a minstrel figure. Sure, Sam Jackson is fun, but he looks absurd in that leather coat, like a super hero all posing and wind-blown in the obnoxious title sequence. And what about the other blonde witness in the bar? She saw them argue. Isn't that- and the dead man's blood- enough to go to trial? And the fate of poor, poor Christian Bale, good god- that in itself is a textbook of absurd, unmotivated action. In short- skip it, unless you are a white fan boy who always dreamed of being black when you grow up- if you grow up, that is.
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Harry this movie was half as good as you said it was. What's the deal? You cream your pants at this mediocre film at best, then gush over Center Stage, trash M:I2. You really should quit writing reviews. You can't have any credibility when people are paying you to say this crap.
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Points I agree with Harry -- the score is great and Sam Jackson's a badass mofo...otherwise this film is a very uneasy mix of fantasy and reality. Singleton should have made this either an out and out black superhero fantasy, or a gritty, urban crime drama. The friction between these two elements of the story threw the film off balance for me. I would've prefered the black superhero flick myself. I thought the first ten minutes were great, moody and filled with attitude, but the film after that was hit and miss. While I don't think the movie is shamefully racist (and I'm Dominican, so I should be offended above anyone), I thought it unwise by Singleton to deal with complex racial themes in a film that otherwise portrays a very black and white moral universe. Those themes deserve a more complex investigation than the way they're handled here. Another glaring problem with this film is the way the Christian Bale plotline is resoved, which is incredibly cheap and unsatifying. Peoples Hernandez is not the true villain of the movie. He's ultimately just someone (okay, a scumbag drug dealer) looking out for his own self interest. There wasn't much dramatic interest in me seeing him get "the Shaft". Bale's character however was truly evil, someone who goes out of his way to hurt people for hateful reasons. Because of the way the film is structured, I wanted to see Shaft take that mofo down in the end, but was cheated out of that by a lame "Jennifer 8" style ending. They should've kept that fist fight they originally had but scrapped. Sure, Christian is no match for Sam Jackson, but it would've been great to see him beat that cracker's ass.
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Harry, I just want to say that you are so right about this movie! It is just plain fucking awesome! From the minute I heard the theme music I thought that I was going to need surgery to remove the smile from my face that I had throughout this movie.
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Oh man, did this movie suck some serious ass. I'm almost never as bored watching a movie as I was with this one. The action was practically non-existent, and when it was there, it was poorly done and uninteresting. Sam Jackson wasn't one-tenth the badass he was in Pulp Fiction, and I think he actually succeeding in turning the character of Shaft into a dullard (lovely how they offhandedly tossed in that one waitress who needed to get laid so Shaft couldn't be construed as a homosexual).
And the dialogue...oh man. If Sam Jackson wants to bitch about not reading lines written by a white man, then he'd better find some better black writers. He didn't have one decent line in the film.
Then there's the main villain, who's name I can't recall right now. I saw the guy on Conan O'Brien the other night and was almost put to sleep everytime he opened his mouth. His performance in the film was no better. He may have had some cool lines, but I'll be damned if I could make them out. I think that may be the first time I needed subtitles for someone speaking English. Word on the street was that he almost stole the film from Sam Jackson. Truth be told, that probably wouldn't have been particularly difficult, but he couldn't even manage it.
What else can I say. Christian Bale was the most likeable person in the film (in terms of bad-assnes, which is why this film was made, albeit for someone else's bad-ass abilties) and he was a rotten racist putz. Doesn't say much for the director, I guess. -
man, wouldn't that be a good idea!having john woo direct a sequel to shaft,perhaps. ya know, and add those white doves that he always does.
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Harry, what in D-Hell are you thinking? Christ...this movie was AWFUL from start to finish. Can you tell me one GREAT line from it? Oh, uh, "I deliver ten times out of ten." Incredible! And, is it me, or is the world still as Racist as it appears in this movie? I mean, I know there is lots of racism around, but EVERY CHARACTER? And, at least give the racists something clever and evil to say..."Oh...uh...cornbread." Very Clever Mr. Price and Mr. Singleton. Very clever indeed. Harry, you are a sucker.
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the movie ain't perfect. Yes, it is a VERY good movie, but it pales in comparison to the Original Shaft. THANK GOD, this movie doesn't have as much action as Harry wants it to have. I mean, did you guys see the same movie, there wasn't any real action in the movie until the part Jr. (yes thats who HE is, NOT Shaft) grabs the witness, then we see some kick-ass action in the next half an hour or so. This is good, it keeps in more line with the original Shaft and does not really try to become a John Woo film. By the way, do not even try to compare Singleton to John Woo. Even though there is blood in this movie (not alot though), the action is in noway balletic like in MI2. Just watch those fights or standoffs and watch the scenes here. Sorry, Singleton does not have the WOO. I just like the original Shaft series better because they were not trying to be cool. This new one tries way too hard. Shaft was not about the armani or the cool glasses. By the way, may I ask whats the deal with Mr. Singleton ?? Why is every one of his movie race related ??? Why does he have to play the race card in MOST of his movies (especially Rosewood, and of course, Higher Learning)? Ok Shaft, in the 70s, had to fight racism but in the 90s??? I know racism is still a big thing (check out American History X which is the best race-related film ever) but I don't think it has INCREASED since the 70s. Anyway, rant's over, and Jackson is a pretty good Shaft but he aint Richard Roundtree.
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I would just like to start out by saying Harry is chock full of shit.
Harry's review is about as right as sex with my sister. Sure it may feel good, but she's my sister for godsakes. First of all there is no "Bullet Ballet", it's more like a Bullet Square Dance. The action in this film is flat and sparse. Singleton has no sense of style. Not even close to "Hard Boiled". THIS IS NOT AN ACTION FILM! Do Not Be Fooled. -
John Singleton has done a nice job of reviving SHAFT. He dosen't merely do a remake, which can be disastrous. He instead does a modern-day upgrade with a vibe all its own.SHAFT is all about attitude,which is what Richard Roundtree had in spades.Who better to play the new SHAFT (in this case, his nephew)than Samuel L. Jackson?He plays a NYC cop who quits after a rich white kid gets off on a murder rap(this boy is a racist who kills a black kid).The cast is good overall-Christian Bale re-does his AMERICAN PSYCHO thang to great effect-and Roundtree pops up.Don't whine over the lack of sex scenes-this bitch still has plenty of kick!!!!
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Shaft was a very good action movie, much better than that pansy-assed Mission:Impossible 2 that had me bored halfway through. Geoffrey Wright was incredible as Peoples Hernandez and Christian Bale had his character down. Of course, the kind of Coolness, Sam Jackson, had all the best lines. I loved the little twist at the end. I don't see John Singleton as an action movie director, but he showed that he can do it with Shaft. I had a great time.
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you usually can't trust Hollywood with a good film update nowadays. but John Singleton definitely got it right w/ this flick. awesome! awesome! awesome! the only lame part was the ending, but that's a minor flaw in one bomb-ass mfing movie! i'll be going back a few more times. great great movie!
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What the fuck were you smokin', Harry?!? I was anticipating the so-called "Woo-style" action, for the entire movie. Instead, it turned into a jive ass, talking shit basketball game. I hear better comebacks during pick up games. I'll have to admit, the music was awesome, and the acting was pretty decent, but the 'racial' undertones? BULLSHIT. No white cop would ever call a black man, even a thug, a "cornbread" in front of black cops. Total bullshit. Of course, he'd say it in front of other white cops, at the local bar, but not in a predominantly black police station. The action totally sucked. It was all point and click style shootemup. You'd see the bad guy shoot a couple of rounds, and spread his legs, bracing for the bullet squib to go off. TOTALLY FUCKING LAME. It played out like a CHIPs episode. This movie gets a limp dick award for action. DOLEMITE had better action sequences.
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I've heard both sides of the argument regarding Harry's suspicious 'gushing' reviews about Shaft and other recent movies of dubious quality and have this to say :-
Firstly, if you read the talk back column in date order postings range from can't wait to see this movie at the beginning, to this movie 'rocks' in the middle and then this movie 'sucks' towards the end.
It seems to me that Talk Back should be renamed 'Hype and Reality'.
I saw Shaft on Friday - and I would have seen it at some point regardless of any good or bad review Harry gave it.
Personally, I enjoy the whole experience of seeing a movie with the popcorn, fizzy drinks and chocolate, loud music and huge screen and last but certainly not least an audience of living beings and then make my own mind up about a film.
I enjoy most films despite their flaws and accept them on face value as ENTERTAINMENT. If you really really wanted to pull any film apart you could.
My ultimate point here is that Movie companies are among the best in the World at product promotion and will (it seems) do anything to get their movie at No.1 in the box office ratings on opening week. After the film is released then word of mouth takes over as you are more than likely to trust the judgement of someone you know who has seen the film than some overweight ginger tosser (no offence) who has been used as a puppet/pawn by people much cleverer than he (I'm giving Harry the benefit of the doubt here as he is claiming poverty and is possibly not aware of the full extent of what is happening to him).
The promotion of the movie is better than the actual movie in most cases - take the Phantom Menace as a prime example of hype - and a prime example of a huge decline in box office receipts after the film has been out more than two weeks.
At the end of the day - the movie companies have got us all tied up - because if you don't see it at the Movies you'll probably rent it at Blockbuster - if you don't rent it there you'll see it on Pay per View, if not there HBO, if not there cable.
By the time it gets round to TV the chance is somewhere between slim and none of anybody between the golden age of 15 to 35 not having seen it. By then of course, you will have forgotten about any reviews good or bad and be simply desperate for anything of merchantable quality to view.
And just in case anybody has missed the point here completely - Ain't-it-cool-news.com is a site totally based on hype. I wouldn't be surprised if 75% of the good reviews for Shaft came from industry insiders posing as Joe Public with bogus email addresses set up at Yahoo or any other free pseudo anonymous email account.
So please, make your own mind up if you think a movie will be 'your bag' trust your own instincts or the judgement of your best friends and co-workers not some bloke called stevo420 or Ninja17 who may have caught a 'sneek peek' at a 'rough cut' of the movie and loved every minute of it. Sure they did - they got a free T-Shirt out of it or perhaps a trip to LA or even better than that - the percieved coolness and one upmanship value of having seen a movie first.
Don't believe the hype.
And Harry, the only way to get your credibility back now is to come clean and admit to your fans (whom are numerous) that you've been played by the big boys and lured by the fame and fortune of the big city lights.
I honestly like your reviews and by the way, you'll still get all the free trips and still have all the popularity if you stand up for what is right.
You know you want to.
M.
P.S. My review of shaft ... it's a bunch of arse !!! -
Because no one wants to wade through all of this shit to get to what I have to say. But anyway, do you people realize where you are? You are in a talkback for SHAFT. Not a "Sam Jackson is the best actor ever" talkback or a "Why wasn't Peoples real latino" or an "I don't like the way John Singleton directs" talkback, we are in a SHAFT talkback so KEEP ON THE FUCKING SUBJECT YOU FUCKING RETARDS!
That being said Shaft was great. It didn't need sex, anyone going to a theater to get hard on softcore so they can rub themselves through there jeans should sit at home... fucking perverts. It was supposed to be updated. If you had gotten the same Shaft made in '71 you'd still be complaining. In fact I doubt many of you have even seen the original Shaft. You just know it had sex in it and there isn't any (onscreen) sex in this one. QUIT BITCHING YOU PIG FUCKING BASTARDS!
Let's give praise for what we have, a kick ass Summer movie.
I shall return. (Oh by the way, white people, STOP USING BROKEN ENGLISH, it comes across as making fun of black people, and you don't want to piss me off). -
It was fun. I could have lived without Busta Rhymes and the TV cop show ending where everyone pats each other on the back and exchanges remarkably unfunny `funny' dialogue, but apart from that and being cheated out of that last fistfight between Peoples and Shaft, I was most definitely entertained. I was real worried going in, seeing as I am still recovering from the shitfestival that was MI2, but I think that summer 2000 is slowly working its way up. I am now going to plague talkbacks with block capital urgings to go and check out Jesus' Son, which has been criminally absent from this site. JESUS'SON IS THE BEST MOVIE OF 2000 SO FAR. It reminded me of how great movies can be, after being burned too many times at the blockbuster barbecue.
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This movie not only looks cool, but thanks to the prescense of Sam Jackson it should kick ass. Not to mention the aformetioned fineness [i know it's not a word] of Christian Bale.
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They've definately picked the right guy,Sam Jackson is just so fucking cool
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Shaft has got to be the best movie I have seen in a LONG time!!! Sam is the man!!! Busta was totally perfect for his character (I was laughing my a$$ off)! The Peoples character was really interesting as is this movie!!!! SHAFT RULES!!!!!!!
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the movie was OK. i don't know why harry was going off about it, it was completely, utterly mediocre.
What is REALLY needed is a prequel showing Peoples' rise to power. He was the essence of cool in this film, and superbly acted. 911 is a joke. -
people are catching on to the fact that Harry's reviews are tripe. I saw Shaft this past weekend, and I simply cannot believe that Harry can suck Singleton's dick with such ferocity. Wake up people! This site occasionaly has some good insider info (good luck finding it on that shitty homepage - Harry, brilliant idea - have one looooong column on the right and a really short on on the left!). But Harry's reviews are long, boring, and most of the time inaccurate. If you disagree it's only 'cause you pray every night for the same pseudo-fame Harry has so wrongfully achieved.
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nuff said...don't believe me, then get up off yer as and see it for yourself...nowadays people want everyone to do the work for them, take some initiative.
As for Dr.King who wants to take movies based on fictional characters to a PC level, which is utterly unneccesary, who the hell said shaft was a strickly "black" film?Sure it came about during the blaxploitation period, but so what? how many movies with caucasians as lead roles do we see? If your trying to make a point with shaft then your basically attcking every film ever made, why don't you stop trying so hard to be intelligent for once, because it only comes off as a cheap hussle. And as for any angry hispanics, there was an attempt to place latino actors in the movie, though none were able to step up to the plate. (read cinescape's article on the matter)..it's not their fault, they did make an effort... -
Just read the disturbing news that Samuel "I played Shaft and didn't even get laid doing it" Jackson has signed on to do two more SHAFT movies. Oh goody! Will the shitmeister himself, John Simpleton, be at the helm on those two as well? Maybe next time he'll actually tell the DP to focus the camera during the action scenes. Can't wait! Who will be the lucky Caucasian writer to be bad-mouthed by Jacks-off on the next one? Ernest Tidyman and Stirling Silliphant are dead and rolling over in their graves, so it'll have to be either William Goldman or Robert Towne. As for Richard Price ("that white man," according to Sam the Sham), he's a terrific novelist who probably wrote a screenplay that made sense, but Jacks-off was most likely too frustrated over playing Shaft instead of laying shaft that he couldn't see straight. What's this crap about Price not writing realistic "black" dialogue? Jacks-off never read "Clockers"? Or did he just settle for the putrid movie version by Spike Lee (another bigoted no-talent who had a bone to pick with Price's work, but decided to piss all over it instead of improve on it). And what kind of "black" dialogue wound up in the finished film? Just a whole lotta "muthafuckas," as far as I could tell. My girlfriend is black, and she doesn't say "muthafucka" every five seconds, Sam, so take your idea of "black" dialogue and shove it up your ass. The best scenes were the ones with Peoples anyway...a LATINO character! The rumor is that Simpleton and Jacks-off wanted Tarantino to do a dialogue polish. Yeah, right! Q.T. would have to do a full rewrite to give this SHAFT a friggin' clue. I love the Roundtree SHAFT movies, but this new SHAFT isn't a pimple on the ass of JACKIE BROWN. And Sammy J. even has the nerve to say that he wants Richard Roundtree to have a bigger part in the next two SHAFT films! Let me guess -- Roundtree will get to hang around the police station in THREE scenes instead of just two? He had more to do in THEODORE REX!! Kiss my ass, Sam. Roundtree's in it for the $$$ -- he stopped caring about the character 26 years ago, when he got tricked into doing that pathetic SHAFT t.v. series -- and I really can't blame him for taking the money and grinning all the way to the bank. Besides, his character is DEAD!!! It's amazing that nobody has mentioned that yet! He's alive at the end of SHAFT IN AFRICA (1973), and in a half-dozen terrible episodes of the T.V. series (1974), but am I the only one out there who's read all 7 of the books? JOHN SHAFT WAS KILLED IN 1975, AT THE END OF "THE LAST SHAFT" BY ERNEST TIDYMAN. Here it is...
"He stepped into the small, square lobby. He sensed instantly that he was not alone. There was a figure in the far corner. He could not make it out. But he saw the glint of metal reflecting light from the street. 'Stick up your fucking hands. I want your money.' 'Hey, man,' Shaft said with weariness and exasperation. 'What is this bullshit?' The glint of metal became a blossom of flame, a bouquet of orange and vermilion thunder flowers. But only for the shortest moment known to man, that moment before dying. THE END." -
In a summer where everyone's cheering about "Gladiator", to me "Shaft" was (finally) the first great summer movie of 2000! Sam Jackson was, of course, THE MAN! The twists and turns were cool...and yeah that one scene where Shaft says "shoot them!" and Venessa Williams does, was extremely satisfying! In every other film the good guys would try to bargain with the bad guys until one of them got shot accidentally. Nope! Just fuck 'em up and let's get back to business! And I'm not even going to talk about the ending! Yeah, Baby!!!
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From the first word uttered by Jeffrey Wright....he completely steals the movie from Jackson, Bale, etc. By far, the best character in this movie.
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John Singleton will be a powerful filmmaker in about fifteen more years. When he grows up just a little more and places the story and the camera first in the priority bucket. Where the hell were the dramatic entrances for Mr. Roundtree and Mr. Parks? They just sorta show up in that nightclub. And even though I'm not much on gratuitous love scenes, where the hell was Sam Jackson's? What was Vanessa Willams doing there? And why was Busta Bus'yelling all the time? It was cool in Higher Learning, but why here? Oh well, not my movie. This time.
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What an awful movie experience. Singleton shows himself off as a truly racist director. This movie is modern-day yet the racial stereotypes are offensively thrust in your face at every turn. Plot holes the size of mack trucks. Hate-filled, one-dimensional central characters. I felt like I had been whipped and beaten by the end of this movie. Whatever reason Singleton summoned us for 2+ hours was literally blown away by the end of the movie. But, hey, at least my friend got his movie admission back. Lucky him.
On the plus side, Sam Jackson was quite good, although he couldn't have redeemed the entire film. (I hope to God there aren't more sequels.) It was nice to have Isaac Hayes' music back also. (It was far too cool for this movie though.)
See at your own risk. -
Shaft is the best movie of the summer so far. This movie exudes attitude like no other action flick since Die Hard. Here's hoping for many more sequels.
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Samuel Jackson is the only one that could've done this. Anyone else would've been just plain wrong.
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Jul 27, 2000 9:20:23 PM CDT
Kiss Me Deadly and Shaft in the same sentence? I *so* don't thi
by epitone
The first 30-40 minutes of Shaft truly rock. And Peoples Hernandez is one of the coolest characters to hit the screen in a long time--he really deserves his own movie. But Shaft on the whole is really, really subpar. There's no plot; they just throw in some action and violence to delay what you already know is going to happen 15 minutes into the film. There are no twists and turns; you never say "holy crap, I sure didn't expect that," and for the most part there isn't even much action, except for one damn good foot chase near the beginning. David Arnold's score rocks, but the film most definitely does not. It's slightly above M:I-2 on the intelligence scale, but that's about it.
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