Love and Basketball (New Line Platinum Series) (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)I first saw Love & Basketball at the premiere of the movie with all the stars. It was a special viewing where there was almost not a dry eye at the end of the film from tears of joy. I think you cannot get a better chemistry of on screen love then Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan. I guess the film was their destiny, because last I heard they were engaged to be married in real life. The film is simply a beautiful epic that combines a little bit of everthing from drama, comedy, action and romance. You not only care about the characters in this film, you actually see them grow up on screen.
Love & Basketball is definitely one of my all-time favorite films. It seemed so realistic as if it was a true story, and I myself being a USC graduate and former Trojan athlete from the area the film is set in can attest that the film is very realistic and true to the story being told. This film is about the true undying love of two things: the love of basketball which sees both characters in their pre-teen days on the basketball court to their days of both being professional basketball players in the hometown. It's also about the true love between a man and a woman that had to evolve and elevate just like their basketball skills had to succeed. "All is fair in love and basketball"!
The DVD version of this film is a true treasure. I love every bit of it and it gives the viewer their money's worth. The producers of this DVD out did their self with giving the view a whole complete vision of what they expressed on the screen. The two original documentaries: "The Rise Of Female Athletes" and "The Portrayal Of African-American Women By The American Media" are outstanding and really conveys the point of view the writer/director Gina Prince-Bythewood experienced herself as a basketball player. Plus, the deleted scenes and bloopers, three feature length commentaries, storyboards, and music video of Lucy Pearl's hit are a treat! One thing I truly loved as a screen writer was the whole screen play of the film on the DVD. This not only helped me understand the film more, but also helped me as a screen writer as well.
Love & Basketball is definitely a classic! I loved this film when I first saw it, and I still love it today, maybe even more because of the outstanding DVD version of it. This film makes you believe in the power of Love and Basketball!

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LOVE & BASKETBALL - DVD Movie

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Out of Time (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Out of Time" is the story of Banyan Keys chief of police Whitlock (Denzel Washington), a man in the middle of a divorce he does not want. Whitlock turns to his old high-school sweetheart, Ann Harrison (Sanaa Lathan) for solace, only to learn that she has terminal cancer and cannot afford the alternative treatment that might be her only hope. Whitlock can't just watch Ann die, so he steals a large chunk of money he bagged in a drug bust from his own department and lets her have it. But then Ann and her abusive husband Chris (Dean Cain)go up in smoke in an apparent arson, triggering a legal fallout that leaves Whitlock struggling to tie up all the loose ends as his life unravels around him.
"Out of Time" is a somewhat formulaic but still successful mystery/suspenser that slowly pulls the viewer into the web along with Chief Whitlock until there's no escape. Fans of this kind of movie will see a lot of familiar set-ups and plot devices, but the strong cast makes the story work as a whole even if you think you've got it all figured out. Washington's hapless cop is unfailingly appealing, even if he is guilty of some terrible lapses in judgment (but then aren't we all from time to time?). Cain and Lathan likewise do well with their roles, and Eva Mendes is a standout as Whitlock's estranged wife, a homicide detective in her own right who slowly discovers more than she wants to about her husband's role in the Harrison case. Will Whitlock be able to put the puzzle together in time to save his skin from a looming murder rap? And will Mendes help pull him out of the fire, or push him all the way under? You can't stop watching til you know the answers.
The film's seedy, noirish atmosphere is a great plus as well, and if it's not original "Out of Time" is still entertaining. Overall it's worth 3.5 stars, and certainly a movie you want to watch at least once if you like mystery or suspense films. Like many of its kind, however, it may not hold up to multiple viewings once you've learned the secrets, so it may be one to rent rather than buy. Either way, it's a great way to energize a lazy evening.

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Two-time Academy AwardÂ(r) winner* Denzel Washington (Training Day) is "fantastic [in this] inventive, exciting and spellbinding thriller" ("The Movie Network") co-starring Eva Mendes (2 Fast 2 Furious), Sanaa Lathan (Blade) and Dean Cain ("Lois & Clark").In Banyan Key, a small Florida town surrounded by azure seas and sultry secrets, Chief of Police Matt Whitlock (Washington) finds himself caught in the eye of a storm and about to get blown away. Investigating the murder of a woman he was secretly seeing, Matt races to uncover a murky trail of stolen money, drugs and deceit, all the while staying two steps ahead of his own detectives because all the evidence points to him!

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