Arts Movie Reviews

I ask you once again, Is Bruce Lee's first starring role in THE BIG BOSS (titled FISTS OF FURY for it's U.S. audience) suuposed to be this,ph Ha Ha Ha, Hil- Ha Ha Ha- Hilarious? I really don't know. This has got to be one of the cheesiest hong kong films ever, but with good old Bruce Lee around, who cares?

The fighting is cool when Bruce Lee bursts with FURY, breaking a sacred promise to his mother to avoid fights. Most of the acting is fairly mediocre, with Bruce as an exception, of course. Boy, when he starts kickin', it's awesome, and even when he's just got that look in his eye, that he knows that he's in control of the fight and no matter how badly they beat him, he will always rise to the occasion and kick some [booty].

Bruce not only displays his martial arts skills, the finesse of his ossified physique, and his abilty to act, he even shows a few of his legendary punchlines, things like cracking his knuckles simply by making a FIST, or licking the blood off and open wound and screaming before retaliating.

Of course, Bruce was a pretty good actor, but even he couldn't always deal with dialouge as bad as this. The movies most memorable line was "They stole my rice cakes and kicked me." and wasn't even throw out there by Bruce. Nope, they left and innocent child with that responsibilty. Here's another pseudo semi-descent quote from the movie:
"Why hasn't my son come back. Go to the factory and see if you can locate him."
Bruce got all the best lines, and all of those are evidence that the writers just went through the motions for the dialouge. Didn't they know that the hero in any action film should have something clever to say. Nope, they gave Bruce childish dialouge.

Of course, that's 5 times what can be said for the dubbing. Everytime a punch or kick is throw in the movie, it somehow sounds like someone's blowing with great force into a microphone. And the cinematography is on par with your average camcorder. The martial arts scenes are terrifc, nonetheless. Bruce just had that ability to take any bad film, toss in his patented Jeet Kune Do, and voila! We have an enjoyable movie.

Bottom line, to Bruce Lee fans(of whom there are many)and non-fans (of whom there are very few) alike. Watch this film. Forget the dubbing, the dialouge, and sub-standard acting, and just watch and learn from the master.

I'm by no means a martial arts enthusiast, and I know almost nothing about Asian cinema, but there is just nothing better than a Bruce Lee movie. Fists of Fury marks the point in which Bruce finally sheds the silly mask of the Green Hornet's sidekick Kato and becomes a full-fledged star in his own right. Certainly, Fists of Fury is not Bruce's best film, and I don't believe he even choreographed the fight scenes himself, but to me this is a vastly underrated film.

The film opens with Cheng Chao-an (Bruce Lee) arriving wherever it is this story takes place to live and work alongside some of his cousins. His uncle as well as the locket he wears around his neck are constant reminders of the pledge he made to his mother that he would never fight anyone again. I have to tell you, it's pretty hard not to fight in this environment. Before he even gets to his new home, he has to watch a gang of thugs intimidate a poor young lady and kick a little kid around. He holds himself back, but his cousin does not; he takes on all comers and walks away smiling. Cheng's new life is turbulent from the start; the foreman at the ice shipping factory where all the men work is a brute of a man, some guy gives him a knuckle sandwich for no good reason on his first day, and the business itself turns out to be beyond crooked, but the real problem is even more insidious. Cheng's friends and relatives slowly begin disappearing, usually after having a talk with the manager or the nebulous Big Boss. When the men revolt and start an all-out fight at the plant, Cheng hangs back- until, that is, someone cuts him. This marks the first appearance of the Bruce Lee so many of us know and love; the look in Cheng's eyes right after he is slashed foretells the imminent demise of his oath of peace, and the fight ends rather quickly once he joins the fray. He wanders off the path somewhat after this, taken in by a promotion and the frills that come his way as a result, but his destiny is to face the dope-smuggling, preternaturally cruel Big Boss mano a mano.

Bruce Lee's acting talents are easily apparent in this first of his feature films. Starting as a country bumpkin of sorts, Cheng's shyness and feelings for the lovely lass Chow Mei (Maria Yi) are expressed both subtly and convincingly. His face also bears clearly the inner turmoil he feels early on as his oath keeps him from joining a fight that is morally justified. His expressions when the decision to fight is basically made for him are priceless, but he really comes into his own during the fight scenes. No one will ever come close to matching Lee's fighting performances, and while the fights in Fists of Fury aren't as elaborate as those of later films, they are plenty impressive to me. Who else but Bruce Lee could take on the ultimate bad guy and his minions while purposefully eating a bag of crackers?

Fists of Fury is a dark film; let there be no mistake about that. You won't come away from this movie feeling happy or light of heart. It has a pretty high body count, and while none of the deaths are shown in gruesome detail, there can be little doubt about the levels of blood and pain that surely coincide with a good many final breaths. Evil and cruelty run rampant on the streets, and even the brotherhood of the good guys is greatly diminished at one critical juncture of the story. I doubt that the American public had ever really seen a movie such as this Hong Kong production back in 1971, but two things are certain: Fists of Fury played a very important part in making Bruce Lee the super-human legend he is and always will be, and it also helped make martial arts films a hearty new staple to be enjoyed by untold numbers of people across America and much of the rest of the non-Asian world.

Top notch Martial Arts Action. Don't let it bother you that this is his first big film, theres tons of time on screen with Bruce, and even in his quiet moments his presence is great. The US version on DVD is a great improvement from the VHS versions all of us have had to live with for years, but it you see the Chinese versions, you will find the movies to be better in every way. Thanks to Thomas Ong for his very good advice that made me aware of this (see Listmania) , also read Dragon Man X's reviews, his reviews are great. he goes into this same topic in depth. I have about three versions of this movie, and the US version cut out the scene where he goes to the brothel (needless US censorship- including a priceless few seconds of Bruce behind a Chair ready to go .. why would they cut that out. oh yeah, the brothel. they seem to frown on showing that stuff now. They sure didn't mind that stuff before 1990 ) We have so few films of Bruce that it's a crime to withhold any footage from us. Also cut out is the scene at the end (if you see the US version from fox, you can sense there is something missing) (Note that the scene with the saw in the icehouse is missing from all versions, I guess that is removed from all the versions). Also, the scale of the widescreen, while good in the US version is still cropped more than the Chinese Versions side to side and a bit from the top and bottom. And the sound is stereo in the Chinese versions! The subtitling is off in the US versions also. I compared the traslations, and the Chinese versions have what I believe to be the more accurate versions of the translations. this is true of all the US tranlations of the BL films, it's more fun and meaningful to read the actual translation.. in the US version , they had to voiceover and watch the actors as they mouthed the words so sometimes the meaning is completely different. And the Chinese versions have an actual photo of Bruce, not glazed over in red? who made that decision?

The singing was wonderful, but the staging ranged from distracting to hilarious.

You like slaves? This production has them in abundance, cluttering up the action, groaning and moaning as they pull and push stones and monuments like a pack of crack-smoking ants. They were especially annoying in the triumphal scene, where the chorus could barely squeeze on stage, cowering in the background while the over-acting wretches took center stage. (Hey slaves! Triumphal celebration going on! Take five!)

It was also kind of weird in Act I, Scene II, where the rocks just popped up out of the ground, noisly banged about, and occasionally formed,one assumes, significant shapes.

Act II, Scene I was bizarre. First, there were topless women "bathing." Let me tell ya, topless women are always a distraction, except in a topless bar, and even there they distract. What was the point of them here? Second, while most ballets in this scene feature the usual gaggle of Egyptian girls "walking like an Egyptian," they changed it up a bit by having young boys--very young boys!--hopping about in thongs, while being whipped by some old dudes. (Speaking of pointless, don't miss the entrance of Radames in the Act II, Scene II, with the scantily clad young hunk standing over him, ready for action.)

Finally, Herr Pavarotti was big enough; hanging curtains on him only added to the effect. (One could almost hear the slaves lamenting, "We can pull the sphinx across the stage, but not that tenor!")

It is also noted that the once discriminating La Scala audience fell for this MTV approach like wrestling fans marking out to a Hulk Hogan pose down.

All in all, an absurd and sterile desecration of Verdi's opera.

A nivel general esta es una gran version de Aida, comenzando por la puesta en escena de LUCA RONCONI, bella y coherente visualmente en todo momento, sin los alardes tipicos de la obra, pero con un inteligente movimiento de figurantes.
Luego, en el apartado vocal tenemos al sobresaliente Radames de LUCIANO PAVAROTTI, en uno de sus dias de gloria, a la poderosa Amneris de GHENA DIMITROVA (sin los medios de la Zajick, pero muy notable tambien) y a esos lujos para los papeles secundarios que se llaman PAATA BURDZULADZE (Ramfis), JUAN PONS (Amonasro) y NICOLAI GHIAUROV (Rey de Egipto), todos de lujo en sus respectivas partes.
La Aida de MARIA CHIARA cumple bien, aunque no llega a arrebatar vocalmente, impone una presencia escenica bastante interesante. Aunque prefiero a Aprille Millo...
LORIN MAZZEL lleva comodamente la direccion de los cuerpos estables de la Scalla de Milan, todos ellos muy ductiles, rematando asi una version de Aida bastante interesante.

A cast like this is practically impossible to find or replicate today. Pavarotti and Dimitrova were in their prime (the latter would "progress" to the Aida rôle shrotly afterwards) and Maria Chiara, in spite of a tentative start, amply shows that she still was in very fine form, her portrayal soon growing into a warmth and securenes seldom seen. The Ronconi production was spectacular and shed some of the traditions that tended to be the norm (like dancing, remember the ballets were asked for by Verdi to accomodate Parisian tastes when the original production moved from Cairo to Europe) and thence you will encounter the ballet music firstly to accomodate pranks by kids who brusquely interrupt the languor and peacefulness of Amneris's bath, and later to accompany some heavy labouring by slaves in the triumphal scene. Mazzel's conducting is precise and to the point, the La Scala orchestra irreproachable as is also the very idiomatic chorus. And what's more, to have Ghiaurov, Buchuladze and Pons to support Pavarotti, Chiara and Dimitrova as Amonasro, the Paraoh and Ramfis was a splendid luxury only a theatre like La Scala could attract. The opera was recorded live some 15 years ago and, along with the Met's rival version with Millo and Domingo on a DG dvd, belong in any collection. You can't go wrong with either, although I'd slightly prefer this La Scala production, in spite of the lack of ballet criticised by some colleague reviewers. And don't mind the (for me unobtrusive) nudity that accompanies the Amneris' bath scene: after all, it's only natural that people undress to bathe!

yes its a kung fu classic and Jackie Chan's personal favorite movie, but the video and audio quality are unwatchable, seek out the remastered edition and skip this one.

I am a big Jackie Chan fan, so I bought this with high expectations. While the fight scenes are spectacular and well staged (an average of a fight every 5-10 minutes), the big disappointment in the is the quality of the transfer to DVD. The picture is blurry at times. Another disappointment is the sound. It is dubbed with very poor quality. Ironically it was very similar to the Kung Fu movies they used to show on television years ago, the very ones that made me a big fan of the genre. It was a trip down memory lane. I am still glad I bought it as a better version is not available and it is better than nothing.

This is a good movie. Many are complaining that this movie is not Drunken Master II. It is Drunken Master I, just like it says on the cover. This is a movie with alot of fight scenes and action scenes, although it is slow in the beginning. The style used in this kung fu comedy is the Drunken Eight Immortals, it is a very comical and effective style. This movie demonstrates it well.

Too short = 76 minutes (not complete concert as 2 cd set) + Too expensive ( same price as Led Zep, new 2 DVD), don't buy, if you like Yes, buy Yessong in cd only

This is a great movie. I can remember seeing this many years ago, more than once. Starship Trooper is not in its entirety, only get small pieces, tastes at the end. Obviously an editing issue. I would guess that even in 1973 they had to cut "something", had to keep it commercial for the low attention span masses and their money. Other than that I have zero criticisms because it is very true to the performance. The camera work is fine, the amoebaes and fly-traps are fine, the capes are fine, and And You And I is great.

This set here captures Yes in fine form, as they were performing songs to support their 1972 release _Close To The Edge_. As many reviewers have stated, the sound quality is quite faint, which can be inexcusable to many viewers, but the performances are top-notch, and on the whole, is worthwhile for the Yes fan.

The six performances on here are for: "Your Move/I've Seen All Good People," "The Clap," "And You And I," "Close To The Edge," "Jingle Bells/Hallelujah/Roundabout" and "Yours Is No Disgrace" as an encore.

"Your Move.." is quite a nice performance as vocalist Jon Anderson is using his ethereal upper-register, and Steve Howe is playing mind-blowing material on his guitar (though in the first half, he plays what looks like a mandolin.) The vocal harmonies exchanged by Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire and Steve are nice as well. I also liked watching keyboardist Rick Wakeman clapping his hands during the handclapping section. "The Clap" is an extraordinary workout by Steve Howe. It was nice watching the close-ups on the fretboard, and watching Steve's amazing technique and virtuosity.

Elsewhere, hearing and seeing this live performance of "Close To The Edge" was quite refreshing, and sits quite nicely with the studio version. The opening was melodic and mesmerizing, although there were some parts in the beginning where you couldn't see the bandmembers, due to some of the art collages. This may annoy some viewers as this appears in other places during the performance, particularly during the third movement, "I Get Up, I Get Down." It was almost like magic witnessing Rick Wakeman, wearing his glowing silver cape, playing that soaring synthesizer lead before the crashing rhythm section jumps in to close out that third movement.

And, for more Rick Wakeman, he continues his magic on the "Jingle Bells/Hallelujah/Roundabout" medley. The first two parts feature Rick on the keyboards alone. First, he starts with a fairly reverent version of "Jingle Bells," then all of a sudden, it turns into a funked-up, bluesy piece, with the audience members clapping along. Then comes his interpretation of "Hallelujah," which was magnificently done, as he plays a synthesizer with his left hand, and what I think is a mellotron with his right hand simultaneously. It's unbelievable how he could get orchestral/choiral effects out of his instrument. But, of course, that may as well have been the technology at the time. But, in any event, it was nice to watch what many non-prog rock fans would simply call silliness and indulgence. And to end it all, there's an energetic version of "Roundabout." The encore was lots of fun as well, which was the fiery live version of "Yours Is No Disgrace."

To end this horribly written review, I'll just say that this should be owned by Yes fans, especially for fans who wish they could have seen the band play live in their 1970s period. Despite the slightly lacking sound quality, this still shouldn't be ignored, as the performances are excellent.

As a Gilbert & Sullivan fan (and a member of the Pittsburgh Savoyards G&S company), I was thrilled to learn that there is a series of videos of most G&S shows. But the series is very disappointing, and Pinafore is a good example of the series. Peter Marshall is a poor choice for Captain Corcoran, and Frankie Howerd is an incomprehensible choice for Sir Joseph Porter, KCB. Howerd appears to be making up the role as he goes along. The singing is credible (although far from the best I've heard), and the dancing is very good. But the staging is poor, and the entire effect is that the fun of a good Gilbert & Sullivan show is lost.

This is the best presentation of Pinafore and of Gilbert and Sullivan that my family has ever seen. The casting is a work of genius, with a felicitous mixing of singers (for the operatic parts),comedians (for the comic parts) and dancers. The London Symphony Orchestra's music is excellent, as is the singing of the Ambrosian Opera Chorus. The choreography is fast-paced, creative, and amusing. Dick Deadeye, Buttercup, lord of the admiralty, captain, lovers, crew, and "cousins and aunts" all come colorfully and hilariously to life. There is never a dull moment. Entertaining, delightful, and fast-moving from beginning to end. We watch it over and over. We recommend it wholeheartedly and without reservation. There is no better introduction to Gilbert and Sullivan.

I have watched this tape four times and liked it better and better each time. Lucretia Grindle is right but not enthusiastic enough! The production works! I showed it to a group of 60 seniors and they all loved it.

Thsi movie is a complete waste of time and money for Jackie Chan fans.His screen presence is only a few minutes, in 2-3 scenes.
The story is obscure.Editing is poor. One cannot understand what is going on!Sound is poor with poor quality dubbing as well. picture quality is also worse than an old VHS tape.it is a complete waste.

This is the most ridiculous Jackie Chan movie ever, at least mine was a double sided DVD with "Master with Cracked Fingers" on the other side which is pretty cool. FMF is too hard to watch because it is so goofy. Make a different choice

Confused with the name of this title? Then you'll probaby be even more confused with this movie. The movie makes almost no sense, but is funny none the less. It's full of skitsophrenic humor that can only be asociated with the asinine humor of the Naked Gun series. With action, random humor, and even musical numbers, how can you go wrong?! I give this title 3 out of 5 stars, and a kudos to Jackie Chan for gracing the foriegn film industry with this haphazard adventure of slapstick escapades. (oh yeah, to be fair, i borrowed the name of this review from an article that appeared in Game Informer magazine.)

From my point of view this movie is great!It may not be as good as the game but is still good.There are some funny parts and no swearing.Just to let you know that this movie is double the fun and double action.And also this is double dragon!

DOUBLE DRAGON can best be described as America's early introduction to Jackie Chan-style matrial arts movies. The two heroes (played by Mark Dacascos and Scott Wolf) are blackbelts who emerge out of fights unharmed by using there martial arts skils, but also using whatever props and tools they can get their hands on (the parking cone, for example.)

It has just enough comedy in it too. So that's how it is a Jackie Chan-style kung fu flick. It was critically trashed in it's day, and ended up being a box office ghost, but it deserved much better. Make no mistake, It is suitable for family viewing, but it also is enjoyable to martial arts fans and fans of the source video game. There's something in it for everyone.

DOUBLE DRAGON tells the story of the future in L.A. It is now called "New Angeles" after a horrible earthquake has partially submerged the city in water. Evil businessman Koga Shuko (Robert "T-1000" Patrick, who does these roles in his sleep) is seeking to get his hands on a mystical chines amulet known as the "Double Dragon". It was split into two halves, but whoever could possess and unite both halves who attain godly power. Koga already has one halve in his possesion, but the other half belongs to Satori Imada (Julia Nickson), who is the adoptive mother of martial arts expert brothers Jimmy and Billy Lee (Mark Dacascos and Scott Wolf). Koga is hot on their trail, and Jimmy and Billy join to stop Koga and save the world.

The story is one that is more than adequate enough to build a video-game-based-martial-arts-movie on, but that's just one of DOUBLE DRAGON's virtues. The movie is so crammed with action that it's almost impossible to imagine why it was so overlooked in it's day. In their first appearance onscreen, the Lee brothers establish theie martial arts credentials at a tournament, and things only go uphill from there.

Dacascos and Wolf and just as good actors as they are karate experts. They actually not only can act, but also look young enough to be playing brothers who are 17 or 18 years old. If you doubt this, then here's a little FYI. In 1994 (when DOUBLE DRAGON was released) Wolf was 26 years old, and Dacascos was 30!!! This may be the only kung fu movie Wolf has done, but not Dacascos. In fact, he recently played the bad guy in the Jet Li martial arts flick, CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE (which I plan on immediately buying.)

Julia Nickson is also very watachable, playing apparantly the only person who cares enough about the Lees to take them in. She even gets to do alittle fighting in the movie. As for Patrick, This may not go down in history next to his T2 villian, but it does in my book.

That Double Dragon medallion really is something, too. Satori's half gives "power over the body", allowing the wearer to become impervious to injury or death, just take anything and shake it right off. Koga's half gives "power over the soul", allowing the wearer to turn himself into some kind of ghost and take possesion of any human body. If I had that kind of power, I wouldn't even need to study Tae Kwon Do.

In closing, I would just like to say, DOUBLE DRAGON rules baby!!! Buy it, now!!!

Remember that big, fat guy on steroids? That was devastating. "Double Dragon" was a miserable failure at the box office but proved itself to be momentous to me. Based on the video game, two brothers (who can't possibly be brothers, genetically) fight an evil wannabe from getting the second half of a mystical medallion. The other half is in their mentor's hands. That's the plot, now let me tell you about the funny stuff. Fat boy was pretty clever with the ugly and homely joke. Poking at ya clown boy! Look at my arse, it's so big (Alyssa Milano's asset). Julia Nickson was cheated and was the best thing that happened to this movie. Since she did say I was gorgeous and I am now forever a fan of hers. Robert Patrick is cool dude, nice streaks in your hair, you're so pretty. Now, that I think of it, I really disliked this movie.

At first glance, I was excited to watch "Dragon and the Hawk," an interestingly packaged DVD with all the right graphics and cover art.
And it seemed like a good idea for a kung-fu movie - apart from the same old plot. Girl goes to America to find dream, gets lost, kung-fu master brother (Dragon - Julian Jung Lee) comes to America to find her, beats up bad guys, happy ending.
With plenty of wham-bam, in-your-face-action.
I'm sad to say that this move flops on all counts, even the action.
Barbara Gehring plays a police detective - Hawk - who teams up with Dragon to find the missing sister. They share a link - both of their sisters are missing.
Enter the bad guy. Trygve Lode is the scheming, stiff and stereotypical Therion who is concocting some super-soldier drug and testing it on girls his thugs nab off the street.
And thus we get the Dragon and Hawk fighting Therion's bad guys and trying to save the girls.
I've seen some very bad movies in my time, believe me. But even "Ishtar" had moments that were actually funny and "Little Nicky" had some great lines.
This move isn't even campy-funny. It's rotten. The camera work is boring - each fight seen is shot from the same high-angle crane shot - and the dialogue is so stiff I was begging for some Hong Kong filmmakers to come along and dub their own English actors' voices over these bozos.
And that's bad for some of these Americans, I tell you.
Besides the acting and action, I was very perturbed to hear unnecessary swearing. It's as if the scriptwriter decided that, "Oh, this goofy scene needs some more punch!" and then dropped awkward vulgarities into the script, just to get the "R" rating. Even the actors doing the swearing looked funny saying the words, as if they knew that not even in real life do people swear this weirdly.
The only redeeming quality is that the soundtrack seemed upbeat and the DVD's special features had a music video that was actually worth watching.
But a music video does not a DVD make.
Save your pennies. If this ever makes it onto cable TV, it will definitely be on some late-nite, make-fun-of-the-movie show.
But this isn't even Mystery Science Theater 3000 funny. It's just bad.
This movie deserves a solid D-.

...because -2 stars was not an option.
This movie was such a terrible waste of time and money for both me to watch and whatever production company decided to fund this mess. I could list countless reasons as to why this movie should have never been made, but I will do not want to drone on with mindless, disjointed babble (a courtesy that D & H did not extend).
1. Bad acting- I don't think one person in this movie has ever acted professionally in their lifetime and if they did, its no wonder why this is the only gig they could get.
2. Terrible fights- The director of this movie should be ashamed for calling this movie a MARTIAL ARTS flick. I have seen some movies that can pass off with nitty-gritty fight scenes, but this movie had the most ridiculous fight coordination! It was lazy, thrown together and beyond amature. TEACH YOUR ACTORS/ STUNT PEOPLE TO THROW A PUNCH FOR CHRISTS SAKE!! (or at least for the sake of those CLAIMING to be stunt fighters) and I pray that this is nobodys day job.
I can't rip too much on the technical side of the movie because I applaud anyone who employs such "special" people to work as their crews. For that, I thank you and Jerry's Kids thank you.

What happens when you take a hackneyed, b-grade comic book plot, and cross it with wooden acting and slow, boring fights?

You get The Dragon and the Hawk.

I've been a fan of kung fu flicks for years, and this one ranks just under Fists of Legend 2 for the worst Kung Fu movie I've ever seen. The actors visibly wait for their turn to star speaking, then they spend so much time trying to remember their lines that they manage to suck out any possible emotion. To compund matters, the dialogue is trite and blatantaly banal whenever possible, so the only emotion you can experience is irratation any time someone opens their mouth. Even the supposedly humous parts are killed by the frankenstein quality acting exhibited by all involved in the production.

But then who cares about the writing in a kung fu movie? It's the action you're there to see right? This movie fails to deliver in this category as well. Fights are slow, poorly coreographed, and the last few sequences take place in locations that are so dark, it's hard to see what's going on. The music blows as well.

I can't see any reason to claim this movie's good. It has no redeeming qualties at all. When there's stuff like Jackie Chan, and Jet Li out there, or even David Carradine's Warrior and the Sorceress, there's absolutely no reason to bother with this one unless you just need something to make fun of Mystery Science Fiction Theater style.

this is one of the first stand up comedy dvd's i have bought (along with kings of comedy) and i have to say i was dissappointed. he's really not too funny with his racial jokes, chris rock and dave chapelle are much better in this area. also its annoying to hear more bin laden/911 jokes... they're just not that funny. i really wish i could return this dvd, i couldnt even watch it all the way through the whole thing

Marin Lawrence covers all the bases (sex, drugs & alcohol, family problems) of a typical stand-up comedy. It's average, but it's kinda funnier at some parts than others. If you're a fan of stand-up comedy, or a fan of Martin Lawrence, you won't be dissapointed, but you shouldn't get your hopes up too high. My advice is to rent it first.

In order to enjoy this performance, you have to like this kind of comedy. I'm not talking about "watered-down-Fresh-Prince-of-Bel-Air-hip-hop-for-the-masses-care-of-Will-Smith" comedy, either. I'm talking about Richard Pryor and Bernie Mac, tellin it like it is.

Yes, there's a lot of profanity. Yes, he talks about sex, body parts, and pregnancy in graphic detail. Yes, there are stories involving drug use and getting arrested by cops. Yes, he pushes the boundaries of what's considered acceptable in a comedy routine. Prudes definitely need not apply. But the real test is: would I consider his vulgarity tasteless and excessive? No. Does it fit into the routine? ... Does it match his style? ... Is it done justice by his delivery? Yes.

Speaking of his delivery, this is one of Martin's strengths. He delivers a commanding performance, showing off his acting and storytelling ability. He has great presence, prowling the stage, defiant that he's the one that's going to tell it like it is and the media can just kiss his a...

Those of you who are skeptical of this performance from the negative reviews citing a "low-brow, boring, vulgar performance" should probably not watch this. You wouldn't "get it" anyways. But those of you who have a little flava and don't mind a brutha who's got game laying down the laughs the way he wants to and doesn't care about not offending anyone in the process need to watch this performance. There are some slow parts, but at least half of this thing is drop dead hillarious.

this is one of the first stand up comedy dvd's i have bought (along with kings of comedy) and i have to say i was dissappointed. he's really not too funny with his racial jokes, chris rock and dave chapelle are much better in this area. also its annoying to hear more bin laden/911 jokes... they're just not that funny. i really wish i could return this dvd, i couldnt even watch it all the way through the whole thing

Marin Lawrence covers all the bases (sex, drugs & alcohol, family problems) of a typical stand-up comedy. It's average, but it's kinda funnier at some parts than others. If you're a fan of stand-up comedy, or a fan of Martin Lawrence, you won't be dissapointed, but you shouldn't get your hopes up too high. My advice is to rent it first.

In order to enjoy this performance, you have to like this kind of comedy. I'm not talking about "watered-down-Fresh-Prince-of-Bel-Air-hip-hop-for-the-masses-care-of-Will-Smith" comedy, either. I'm talking about Richard Pryor and Bernie Mac, tellin it like it is.

Yes, there's a lot of profanity. Yes, he talks about sex, body parts, and pregnancy in graphic detail. Yes, there are stories involving drug use and getting arrested by cops. Yes, he pushes the boundaries of what's considered acceptable in a comedy routine. Prudes definitely need not apply. But the real test is: would I consider his vulgarity tasteless and excessive? No. Does it fit into the routine? ... Does it match his style? ... Is it done justice by his delivery? Yes.

Speaking of his delivery, this is one of Martin's strengths. He delivers a commanding performance, showing off his acting and storytelling ability. He has great presence, prowling the stage, defiant that he's the one that's going to tell it like it is and the media can just kiss his a...

Those of you who are skeptical of this performance from the negative reviews citing a "low-brow, boring, vulgar performance" should probably not watch this. You wouldn't "get it" anyways. But those of you who have a little flava and don't mind a brutha who's got game laying down the laughs the way he wants to and doesn't care about not offending anyone in the process need to watch this performance. There are some slow parts, but at least half of this thing is drop dead hillarious.