Frauds and Scams Movie Reviews

This movie is a hidden treasure. I picked this movie up at a video store when it was the new release that they only have one copy of, so you can see what I mean that it went unseen by the public. This is a movie for everyone who has every dreamed of dating an actor or actress and knew they would make a bumbling fool of themselves if they even tried to ask the actor/actress out. It is a light hearted comedy about the plight of a slightly dopey but lovable tour bus driver(Jason Pivens) when he falls in love with a very famous actress and gets himself way in over his head. A definite must see.

I picked up this film to view because I like Jeremy Piven, and think he's a highly underrated actor in a comedic sense. I was impressed that I was able to sit through a film that was a romantic comedy, since I tend to in general not like the genre. I didn't leave my seat once while this was playing so I could keep with the story, and I even wanted him to get the girl (Lara Flynn Boyle) at the end of the movie. Guys, I recommend you get this film to watch with your ladyfriends. The basis of this film is mistaken identity. Piven plays a character that is essentially a 'nobody'. He drives a tour bus through a residential area of Beverly Hills pointing out the homes of stars for his father's tour company. At a bar that a friend of his is a part time bartender, he meets the actress of his dreams played by Lara Flynn Boyle. She believes him to be a scriptwriter, and gives him the script to an upcoming film of his to rewrite. Piven doesn't know how to tell her that he's not who she thinks he is, so he begins to further complicate matters by building upon the basic lie. Eventually he comes to a point where she will find out the truth, and be prepared to accept the consequences of his charade...however I leave the ending to your imagination, so watch the movie.

I've been watching Jeremy Piven since back in his PCU days...he has truly shown his mettle in supporting roles and I was extremely excited when I saw this on the shelf...great story (although a little predictable, but what isn't anymore?) and terrific acting by Piven and Sherilyn Fenn. A must have for aspiring, romantic writers...

Compared to all of the other b-movies I've tried to watch, I thought this one was pretty good. It had good music, and It kept me interested from the start! It gets 4 stars for it being good for a low budget movie.

This is one of those rare gems that you may not have heard about, but is definitely worth checking out. The movie centers around lead character Sketch and his high school cronies on the night before graduation. I know what you're thinking, "Been there done that." But this ain't Jennifer Love Hewitt and her homogenized group of whitebread cohorts--these are idiosyncratic, urban dwellers (without guns) that we've never seen before. The dialogue and scenarios ring true and Nicole Pulliam ("The Man Show") is worth the price of admission alone. Rent it. You won't regret it.

Thank goodness someone made a good, warm-hearted film about a family--that's pretty much what I thought when I first saw "Soul Food" in the theater in 1997. Like many Americans, I was starved for a movie that didn't portray the American family as broken or malignant, which appears to be the Hollywood standard. "Soul Food" works primarily because it never loses sight of the importance of family, even as its members may bicker or transgress. The plot focuses on the lasting impact of the family matriarch--Big Mama (played wonderfully by Irma P. Hall)--whose kind heart and wise soul holds the family of mostly younger couples together, despite their foibles. When she passes away from complications due to diabetes, her daughters must overcome their differences to uphold the family traditions, best embodied by Sunday dinners that go beyond simple meals. The cast is generally superb, though Vivica Fox and Brandon Hammond (as grandson Ahmad, through whose eyes we are told the story), sometimes try too hard, making their characters border on caricature in a film that otherwise seems so lifelike. There is a subplot involving a hidden family fortune that also gets in the way--writer and director George Tillman, Jr., seems to want to jam as much into the story as possible when he really doesn't have to, as the main plot is interesting enough. These flaws are oddly more apparent on the small screen than they were on the big screen. Nonetheless, "Soul Food," despite its "R" rating, is an effective family film, one with a sense of authenticity that Hollywood seems to have mostly forgotten.

I love this movie! This is a movie that I never get tired of because it tells such a compelling story about three sisters struggling with their family issues. The story is mostly narrated by Ahmad who himself is trying to put the family back together after his grandma goes into a coma. All of the actors and actresses give magnificent performances. This movie is definitely worth adding to your personal collection.

If you really love this movie then you might enjoy the series, but I personally think the series ruined the whole dynamic of the movie. The famous actors and actresses who created the roles in the movie are not in series and to me that's a negative. I fell in love with just about all of the characters in the movie (except cousin Faith) and was really cheering for them from the beginning to the end, but in the series I just don't care for the characters they are just not the same characters they once were. I believe that they should have just stopped with the movie because there is only so far you can go with Soul Food the series, so I predict and hope that it will end soon because I really think it's messing up the memory of the movie.

Great movie, three of the most beautiful women in the world, what else could you ask for?

Thank goodness someone made a good, warm-hearted film about a family--that's pretty much what I thought when I first saw "Soul Food" in the theater in 1997. Like many Americans, I was starved for a movie that didn't portray the American family as broken or malignant, which appears to be the Hollywood standard. "Soul Food" works primarily because it never loses sight of the importance of family, even as its members may bicker or transgress. The plot focuses on the lasting impact of the family matriarch--Big Mama (played wonderfully by Irma P. Hall)--whose kind heart and wise soul holds the family of mostly younger couples together, despite their foibles. When she passes away from complications due to diabetes, her daughters must overcome their differences to uphold the family traditions, best embodied by Sunday dinners that go beyond simple meals. The cast is generally superb, though Vivica Fox and Brandon Hammond (as grandson Ahmad, through whose eyes we are told the story), sometimes try too hard, making their characters border on caricature in a film that otherwise seems so lifelike. There is a subplot involving a hidden family fortune that also gets in the way--writer and director George Tillman, Jr., seems to want to jam as much into the story as possible when he really doesn't have to, as the main plot is interesting enough. These flaws are oddly more apparent on the small screen than they were on the big screen. Nonetheless, "Soul Food," despite its "R" rating, is an effective family film, one with a sense of authenticity that Hollywood seems to have mostly forgotten.

I love this movie! This is a movie that I never get tired of because it tells such a compelling story about three sisters struggling with their family issues. The story is mostly narrated by Ahmad who himself is trying to put the family back together after his grandma goes into a coma. All of the actors and actresses give magnificent performances. This movie is definitely worth adding to your personal collection.

If you really love this movie then you might enjoy the series, but I personally think the series ruined the whole dynamic of the movie. The famous actors and actresses who created the roles in the movie are not in series and to me that's a negative. I fell in love with just about all of the characters in the movie (except cousin Faith) and was really cheering for them from the beginning to the end, but in the series I just don't care for the characters they are just not the same characters they once were. I believe that they should have just stopped with the movie because there is only so far you can go with Soul Food the series, so I predict and hope that it will end soon because I really think it's messing up the memory of the movie.

Great movie, three of the most beautiful women in the world, what else could you ask for?

This film is a forgotten contribution to public understanding of the history no history teacher wants to tell you. That is precisely why you need to see this movie. While it is not at the same quality level as "Gangs of New York" there are definitely highlights of quality work. Christopher Walken has a special style of playing villains. When you are ready to shoot him, you have to realize he just "got you." This is the mark of a real actor in a villain role. This is basically one of the most compelling stories of political corruption, and was the largest lynching in American history. Many good Italian American families suffered in the process.

Turn of the century New Orleans boasts a bustling port, a key revenue maker for the up and coming Italian immigrants struggling to cross the barriers installed by the WASP establishment and now tolerated Irish. Christopher Walken plays the key figure in the established world of commerce who can't seem to buy or bully his way into the market the Italians have locked up. He uses his political influence to bring further pressure to bear, and when the local police Chief, portrayed by Clancy Brown, now making a career of playing lawmen and prison guards, is assassinated he'll use the law of the courts and if that fails - the mob, to get his way. This true story is a strong testament to the slimy underside of the 'land of opportunity'. The combination of the posionous weeds of bigotry and the greed of finance capital proves a deadly one as a handful of Italians, including Walken's key business rivals, are rounded up for the murder of the Chief. An excellent courtroom drama makes up for an uninteresting romance between a young Italian boy and Irish girl that the film uses to lighten the load. The sterling performances of Clancy Brown and Bruce Davison, unrecognizable despite his dozens of TV movie appearances, in a tour de force role as defense attorney, earn this drama it's fourth star.

When we hear of lynchings we often think of African-Americans being strung up by the KKK. But the biggest mass lynching by a vigilante mob in the U.S. happened in 1890 to the Italian immigrants of New Orleans. HBO should be commended for having to courage to make a film about the most tragic time in Italian-American history.

In the film, 20 Italians were arrested at random and put on trial for the shooting murder of Police Chief Hennessy, an Irishman who may have been prejudiced towards Italians but would not lock them up unless he had concrete evidence against them. In other words, conspiracy and membership in a group whose name was heard for the first time--the Mafia.

In the trial, the Italians were acquitted. But that didn't stop a crazed vigilante mob from breaking into the city jail with shotguns and blowing them all away. (The film, however, shows that two do survive.) When the king of Italy heard about this he almost started a war with the US. Instead, then President Benjamin Harrison gave $25,000 in restitution, and everyone forgot about it. But not the Italians who witnessed the bloodshed for themselves. It's too bad the Mafia weren't there at that time; they could've fought back.

All the trouble starts when Mr. Houston, played by Christopher Walken, wants to get control of the docks which are run successfully by Mr. Macheca and the Provenzano family. He relies on the corrupt law system, but even the DA, played by Edward Herrmann, believes there's no case. He says, "Why would Macheca be with the Mafia? He's rich. He's got nothing to gain and everything to lose." The prejudice of the city fathers is remarkable. They always refer to Italians as either dagos or Italians with "I" pronounced like "eye".

In the end Mr. Houston takes over the business which Macheca built up from the bottom by himself. A statue is raised to the memory of Hennessy; but is there a monument in New Orleans to the killed Italians? It's amazing to see how some people thought nothing of toting shotguns and committing murder. Viewers of the film "Rosewood" will find this familiar ground.

One more thing: Unlike other ethnic groups, Italians have never bought into the cult of victimology. They do not issue calls for reparations. But every Italian-American should be aware of what happened a century ago in New Orleans. To this day there are still morons who believe that all Italian-Americans are part of the Mafia. And TV shows like "The Sopranos", now matter how riveting, do not help the image of these people, either. If you are Italian, and you see this movie, you will cry like the Jews after the Holocaust--"Never Again! Never Again!".

I am a huge fan of the first movie "Prancer" I've loved it ever since it came out and I was so excited when I heard word of a sequel. However,I found this movie to be extremely dull.The magic just wasn't there.It did not do the original justice and I am very sorry for anyone who thinks that this movie is better than the original.Sugestion:See the original and love it instead of buying this and being disappointed.

Hats off to John Corbett, Stacy Edwards, Michael O'Keefe, Jack Palance and the Producers of Prancer returns. We've enjoyed Prancer for so many years and were so excited to see "Prancer Returns" come out. Again, the movie has taken "every day" people, has placed them in "every day" life situations and has created a masterpiece filled with Christmas magic. A wonderful movie for everyone in the family. A must see!

Sequals are rarely successful, but this film proves the exception. It is at least as good and in some ways better than the original "Prancer". It is a really nice holiday story that should please both children and adults. Yes, it is a fantasy, but one grounded in reality which makes it the best kind of make-believe. From the opening, the viewer knows what the results will be. It is obvious who the divorced mother will end up with, the reindeer will actually be one of Santa's and the unpleasant person will get his just dues, but the way the events unfold make it a really enjoyable story. The characters are true to life with excellent preformances from the children. This could become a Christmas classic.

I am a huge fan of the first movie "Prancer" I've loved it ever since it came out and I was so excited when I heard word of a sequel. However,I found this movie to be extremely dull.The magic just wasn't there.It did not do the original justice and I am very sorry for anyone who thinks that this movie is better than the original.Sugestion:See the original and love it instead of buying this and being disappointed.

Hats off to John Corbett, Stacy Edwards, Michael O'Keefe, Jack Palance and the Producers of Prancer returns. We've enjoyed Prancer for so many years and were so excited to see "Prancer Returns" come out. Again, the movie has taken "every day" people, has placed them in "every day" life situations and has created a masterpiece filled with Christmas magic. A wonderful movie for everyone in the family. A must see!

Sequals are rarely successful, but this film proves the exception. It is at least as good and in some ways better than the original "Prancer". It is a really nice holiday story that should please both children and adults. Yes, it is a fantasy, but one grounded in reality which makes it the best kind of make-believe. From the opening, the viewer knows what the results will be. It is obvious who the divorced mother will end up with, the reindeer will actually be one of Santa's and the unpleasant person will get his just dues, but the way the events unfold make it a really enjoyable story. The characters are true to life with excellent preformances from the children. This could become a Christmas classic.

Waiting to Exhale The movie is like a Cliff's note version of the book. A thin condensed version of the novel that skims the surface of the source material and gives the viewer a general overview of the actual story. This watered down movie dilutes the richness of Terry McMillan's novel and removes all the depth and substance from the characters. The key theme of women realizing that they make their own choices regarding the men in their lives is lost in the quest to commercialize black women's pain.
Angela Bassett gives a strong performance despite the weak material, however the other actors drown in this bland, homogenized movie that pushes style over subtance. A wooden Whitney Houston and a vapid Lela Rochon are horribly miscast, and Loretta Devine struggles to do her best with the weak script. The male actors with the exception of Gregory Hines, and Michael Beach cannot get past one dimension because the screenplay won't let them utilize all their acting skills. The Wesley Snipes cameo is indicative of what's wrong with this movie; it's a sellout of the original material. And that is the problem with Waiting to Exhale, a horrible script that compromises the artistic integrity of the original book. Terry McMillan and Ron Bass mistranslate a 400+ page deep novel full of three-dimensional characters, subtext and a complex plot into a shallow one-dimensional screenplay that has been sterilized for Hollywood. To really enjoy the story buy the book instead. It pulls no punches and will be far more entertaining.

Terry McMillan is an incredible author, and she's terrific when it comes to juggling several subplots and interweaving them together to form a story. Waiting To Exhale is based on McMillan's novel by the same name.

This movie takes place within the course of a year - from one New Year's Eve to the next. It's about four black women who all have relationship problems involving their black significant others, and how they pull together to provide friendship and support for each other during these relationship woes. It would take a long time for me to describe the specifics behind their problems, but the one thing they have in common is their hatred of men, specifically black men.

The movie is an ensemble performance starring Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, and Lela Rochon. While they each get equal billing, I enjoyed Bassett's performance them most. She received an Oscar nomination for this role, and it was definitely well-earned.

Though the movie was advertised as a romantic comedy, it's more a movie about friendship, and how men may come and go but your friends will always be there to catch you when you fall. This is a very nice movie, and definitely worth a look.

~_~

That is what it is. Really, you need to 'inhale' the classic. This movie is timeless. It deals with universal laughter and heartaches. Angela Basset gives one hell of a performance.

Also, a "myth" about this movie is that it is "all women" cast. Untrue. Some of the finest black actors are in this movie.

The very expressive soundtrack that features an all woman artist is really cool.

I watch this movie a lot because it really is a fun movie.

The VHS tape I had forwarded to a friend was faded with use (she said.) Certainly not a commentary on this remarkable movie but a caution on the original sourcing of this tape.

This is a great place to begin a journey of thinking...when this world is so big, is God really interested in my every day life? A great film that depicts intertwined stories (like the brilliant "Magnolia" but less gracefully executed) and people's trials and hard times along the bumpy road of life. See it, breath it and think hard...it may make you doubt what you believe, but whatever it does, hopefully, it will make you a better person in the end.

This is a movie about life, plain and simple. I saw this dvd on sale for $$$$ at my local best buy, so i thought i would give it a shot........from the first scene where Mack is on the verge of getting held up i was totally hooked - the whole movie was breath-taking , I have never seen a film quite like it, i know alot of people try to compare it to magnolia but i think that's ridiculous.....this film deserves to be recognized for what it is, a story about life and the fact that everybody is a little peon on this planet, but each and everyone of us dictates each others lives in a significant way when we are not even aware of it. I'm tired of reading negative reviews from this tree-hugging hippy new york times junkies, please watch this movie for yourself to form your own opinion rather than basing it on a media outlet. This film will resonate w/ you, it's not your typical friday night rental, it is the type of film that will be in the back of your mind right after you watched it.........

just got finished watching this movie on HBO and am still not sure what i just witnessed. this is quite possibly the worst movie i have ever seen. the way the movie jumped around was if the director was trying to re-invent the pulp fiction plot twist, but only ends up confusing viewers. 1hour & 50minutes wasted, better spent on something else. anything but this horrible movie.

"The Rules of Attraction" attempts to satirize college as a realm of debauchery that goes beyond a true overdoze of cynicism and for all its flash leaves little if any room for the viewer to care about any of the characters or the movie itself.

Roger Avary, the movie's director and screen writer (who adapted it from Bret Easton Ellis' novel) is obviously a talented and imaginative director who has a strong eye for detail. There are many Tarantinoesque touches that impress, especially a sequence involving a trip to Europe that should be released as a short film, as it fails to impress as much as it would have had the director paced his earlier scenes in contrast to this amazing montage. That montage gains magnitude considering it's multilocational settings and that, if seen as a stand alone piece, is the only scene that manages to reach true satire.

There is also a great scene in which two characters are shown kind of getting ready to go somewhere, dancing to the beat of George Michael's "Faith" that shows a hint of humanity that is lacking in this movie. This scene could very well top Tom Cruise's dance in "Risky Business" as the most amusing underwear dance in recent cinema. Unfortunately, the director follows what in my mind is the best scene in the movie with one showing a cheap and unearned charicature of the parents of these messes, as hidiously played by the great Swoozie Kurtz and Faye Dunaway. What were these women thinking when they signed on to this mess?

Throughout the movie I kept thinking of a movie that tredded similar waters, but did so brilliantly: Doug Linman's "Go" which also uses flash to tell a tale of reckless twentysomethings, but succeeds because it used the flash for a purpose and has several characters that allow you to step into the movie. All the actors in "Rules of Attraction" look like models from "The Gap", "Abercrombie & Fitch" with a little "Betsy Ross" thrown in for good measure and left me feeling like the models on the catalogues of the aforementioned stores would have more on an impact that the collective bad acting exhibited by several actors from the WB's collection of teen shows. In all fairness, not even Meryl Streep could make the bad dialogue work.

The whole movie seems to want to say that priviledged young adults are clueless and that they will turn into medicated versions of their clueless selves as they age. What came first the chicken or the egg? That point could work as satire as was done brilliantly in "Six Degrees Of Separation", but here there really is no satire, intelligence, nor observation. I like flash as much as anyone and think that the movie's director has an arsenal of scenes that can be enjoyed from a visual perspective, but the story and the movie are not recommendable.

I think the best thing about this movie is that it is often very funny. James Van Der Beek 's performance as an amoral but goofy drug dealer and sex addict is extremely comical. His performance was excellent in getting Sean's personality down pat. However at times the movie becomes repetitive and when it gets bleak it becomes something of a disturbing downer. The end of the movie gets very weird with a succession of rejections including Sean's rejection of a gay guy who seems to prefer straight guys, as well as Sean's rejection by Lauren whose ex has forgotten her. The movie becomes somewhat nihilistic at the end and I preferred the parts of the movie that were funny. In any event this is definitely a movie that you dont easily forget.