Lil' JJ
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Late Night Last Night: Mark Wahlberg Talks Boston; Flexes His Muscles
April 17, 2013 9:51am ESTFor Boston native Mark Wahlberg, Monday's tragic marathon bombings hit too close to home. And on Tuesday night, the Pain & Gain star told Jimmy Kimmel that he is asking everyone to pray for the people in Boston and their families. "I justed wanted to rush home today and hug my kids," Wahlberg said. "It's a crazy world that we are living in." On a lighter note, Wahlberg took the late night opportunity to show off his gorgeous biceps. Check out the results of his "pain and gain" below! Follow Lindsey on Twitter @LDiMat. More:Mark Wahlberg Talks About the Boston Bombings Mark Wahlberg Nursing Injured Right Hand Mark Wahlberg Could Have Been in 'Star Trek' From Our PartnersJessica Alba Bikinis in St. Barts (Celebuzz)Which Game of Thrones Actor Looks Least Like His On-Screen Character? (Vulture)
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Crossover Review
September 01, 2006 6:27am ESTThe lawlessness of street basketball may be unknown to most audiences but it's the backdrop for Crossover telling the struggles of Detroit youth and how they yearn to break out into the mainstream world. Tech (Anthony Mackie) and his best friend Noah Cruise (Wesley Jonathan) are two extremely talented ball players who get pressured by a sleazy bookie and former sports agent (Wayne Brady) to go pro. Cruise wants to become a doctor and his basketball skills are going to get him to pre-med at UCLA on a scholarship. His more hot-tempered and less ambitious pal Tech only wants to pass his high-school equivalency test and beat the local thugs at their game in the underground street match championship. But before they head out to L.A. to pursue their dreams they fall for two local girls (Alecia Jai Fears and Eva Pigford) which changes everything. Mackie is one of the better actors around these days. He truly shines in the upcoming romance island drama Haven and is known as the guy who gets punched out by Morgan Freeman in Million Dollar Baby. But this over-the-top cliché-riddled You Got Served wannabe isn't his best showcase. He plays the role with exaggerated bravado. Also Brady--who's known for his hilarious improv skills on the show Whose Line Is It Anyway?--isn’t at all funny as a creepy self-interested hustler. Smaller vibrant cameos by Lil' J.J. and Philip "Hot Sauce" Champion as fellow players stand out but unfortunately too short on screen time. And as much as the seemingly likable Jonathan tries to make his character the multi-dimensional heart-tugging soul of the story he lacks the chops to carry the movie. Mackie and Jonathan may have street cred as street basketball players but their portrayals of inner-city youth don't have real-life cred. Crossover is sure to have audiences shouting "Show me the basketball!" But where is the dramatic footage of really good game playing like in Glory Road He Got Game or Coach Carter? Yes there's the dramatic drop of the ball at midnight in an old train station where the lawless game takes place but that’s not enough. The game is all about winning and director Preston A. Whitmore II shows that well but the story turns maudlin and the characters act like they’re performing in an overly earnest community theater that just tries too hard. And the whole “girlfriend” thing only proves to be a ridiculous diversion. It's a bad sign when a non-sports fan wants to see more b-ball instead of the unnecessarily heavy dramatic plot lines.
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Yours, Mine & Ours Review
November 28, 2005 10:54am ESTFrank Beardsley (Dennis Quaid) is a widowed Admiral from the U.S. Coast Guard with eight kids and one hell of a regiment. In fact you could call him downright anal retentive when it comes to raising his children. Meanwhile his poor kids ardently hope that someday they’ll land somewhere permanently. They get their wish when Frank runs into Helen North (Renee Russo) his former high school sweetheart. Helen is also widowed a free-spirited handbag designer with 10 kids who takes a more relaxed approach to parenting. Deciding its fate they’ve been reunited the two get married without their combined 18 children knowing about it. When the kids find out that their lives are about to drastically change all 18 of them band together to break up their parents--but learn a few life lessons instead. Sweet isn’t it? Watching Russo is always such a treat. Even grappling with a script like Yours Mine and Ours she manages to make the most of her eccentric flustered character. Quaid on the other hand deviates little from the character he played in The Parent Trap or The Rookie or any other movie he’s been in lately. If you have seen one of his movies you’ve seen them all. Thankfully the kids are the best part of the movie each of them finding a way to endear themselves. The youngest two kids--Ethan Beardsley (Ty Panitz) and Aldo North (Nicholas Roget-King)--are the most entertaining to watch because they are so young and naïve. Whether they are getting in trouble for something their older siblings put them up to or fearing the “hammer” (aka the Admiral’s discipline plan) they bring some welcomed relief in the otherwise stale comedy. Director Raja Gosnell best known for helming comedies such as Scooby Doo Big Momma's House and Never Been Kissed should know have known better than to try to resurrect and remold the Lucille Ball/Henry Fonda1968 original. It just isn’t necessary. To start with the story which is based on the real Helen North Beardsley’s book Who Gets the Last Drumstick? isn’t all that entertaining. It’s also a little dated for these modern times especially when we’ve seen the same material covered in far better films such as Parenthood. But at least Gosnell knows how to highlight the calamity of having 20 people together in one house--a house which also includes two large dogs and a pot-bellied pig. Yeah a pig. Whether it’s a paint fight among the family or a party among the older kids Gosnell puts you inside this zoo the Beardsley-Norths call home. Just be glad you don’t live in it yourself.
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Beauty Shop Review
March 30, 2005 11:18am ESTYou remember Gina (Queen Latifah) from Barbershop 2? She's the one who worked at a beauty shop next door to the barbershop and gave Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer) all kinds of grief. In Beauty Shop the widowed Gina has moved from Chicago to Atlanta so her daughter can attend a prestigious music school. With scissors in hand Gina quickly becomes the most sought-after stylist at a chic-chic salon. Unfortunately the guy who runs it is a superficial egotistical jerk named Jorge (pronounced "Hor-eh") (Kevin Bacon) who tosses his weight--and his stringy hair--around a lot. Obviously the headstrong Gina isn't going to stand for that nonsense for very long. She eventually tells him off and storms out to open her own shop taking a few choice clients with her. And what a shop it is! The ever-creative and determined Gina stocks it with her own hair products or "hair crack" as it's lovingly referred to a cappuccino maker and a myriad of colorful employees who also aren't afraid to speak their minds. So grab a seat under the hairdryer and watch how these women get busy. Beauty Shop also has a myriad of animated performers. Everyone seems to be having a great time except maybe the Queen Bee herself. In Barbershop 2 Latifah's Gina got to be one of those full-of-life supporting players sparring with Cedric the Entertainer and delivering some of the film's better moments. Now that the actress has to carry the film she also has to play it straight most of the time which doesn't suit her quite as well as it did for Ice Cube. But she still manages to infuse her own particular brand of charm every once in awhile when the film warrants it. The rest of the cast keep things light and lively especially the over-the-top Bacon who plays Jorge as a cross between one of those pretentious hair salon owners we all know and a bit player in a bad disco movie complete with a faux Austrian accent and gold chains. It's good to see him have some fun. It's also good to see Alfre Woodard who plays one of the shop's more eccentric hairdressers wearing low-cut leopard prints and spouting poetry by Maya Angelou. Also making an impression are Alicia Silverstone as the token white girl in the salon who eventually gets a ghetto makeover; and Keisha Knight Pulliam all grown up from playing little Rudy Huxtable on The Cosby Show as Gina's lackadaisical sister-in-law. Initially it's fun to see the same Barbershop dynamics applied to Beauty Shop this time from a woman's point of view. Director Bille Woodruff (Honey) does a nice job setting up all the different personalities in the shop from the sardonic to the bubbly to the unconventional as the women talk about anything from bikini waxes to men crying during sex to interracial love. It's amusing and will hit home for many of the women in the audience but you'll soon realize Beauty Shop's script is far more tame and predictable than outrageous. Basically Beauty Shop doesn't have an Eddie character which is what makes the Barbershops work so well. He's there to say the most outlandish--and sometimes offensive--things that make people stop think and then laugh their butts off. Beauty Shop only touches upon social and cultural differences never really digging in deep and rarely making you laugh out loud.
