Just Wright

Release Date: May 14th, 2010

Genre: Romance / Comedy

Stars: Queen Latifah, Common, Paula Patton

Synopsis: A female physical therapist falls for the star NBA player she is helping to rehab but he happens to be engaged to her best friend.

AltAss Ratings (On a scale of 1 to 5 asses)

Plot:                              

A solid overall premise but some of the decisions subtracted great opportunities for more heat and drama that really give this type of film a boost.

Writing:                          

A well written script that was heavy on the romance and very light on the comedy. 

Acting:                            

Common does a very nice job at leading man which is impressive because I am not aware of him having a lot of experience.  Queen Latifah is not as funny as she has been in the past but turns in a solid performance nonetheless.

Originality:                

Your everyday run of the mill love triangle, very stale, very predictable.

Overall:                       

It wasn't dreadful to watch but could have used more comedy and/or tense situations.  There wasn't anything uproariously hillarious or gut wrenchingly emotional so the film obviously did not capitalize on the opportunity to entertain as thouroughly as was possible.

What did you think?  Leave a comment below to tell us how you'd rate this film!

Born Free

Artist: Kid Rock

Release Date: November 16th, 2010

Genre: Rock

AltAss Ratings (On a scale of 1 to 5 asses)

Music:                        

The sound is very much like modern popular country in my opinion.  Kid Rock may have to consider changing his name to Old Man Country if he wants to keep making music and showing his face to his original fans.  All the tracks sound cookie cutter manufactured for pop and country radio.

Lyrics / Message:     

Alot of this album attempts to connect with the pain and hardship felt in the rust belt during these hard economic times which mostly just comes across as hokie and cheesy especially on the track entitled "Care".  There was a time when Kid Rock could effectively reach this crowd but after selling a few million records it appears more like he's using hard times to sell a few million more.

Originality:                

It seemed like every decision made for "Born Free" was made to go against the forces of creativity and orginality.

Overall:                       

What used to make Kid Rock so great was his ability to transcend labels and blur the lines between musical genres which "Born Free" doesn't even appear to attempt.  He has completely sold out, allowing two of his songs to become corporate jingles for sports TV productions, and the usual suspects will undoubtedly eat this up like Lemmings but there will be a lot of fans who become former fans over this dismal effort.

Play The Game

Release Date: May 4th, 2010 (DVD)

Genre: Romance / Comedy

Stars: Paul Cambell, Andy Griffith, Doris Roberts, Marla Sokoloff, Liz Sheridan

Synopsis: A young man teaches his grandfather how to be a ladies man in a retirement community and ends up with girl trouble of his own.

AltAss Ratings (On a scale of 1 to 5 asses)

Plot:                               

Terriffic concept for a romantic comedy that offers just the right amount of both to be effective.

Writing / Editing:       

There was plenty that worked but it was too often interspersed amongst sections that weren't as effective or out of place.

Acting:                          

It did not seem like Paul Cambell was up to the task of keeping up with his legendary co-stars who were mostly brilliant, but that was quite a challenge to take on to his credit.

Originality:                

Follows the typical romantic comedy formula but we get to see Andy Griffith in a track suit and backwards cap.

Overall:                       

A very nice, if predictable, film with some good laughs.  If you are a sucker for the romantic comedy genre than you won't want to miss this film, otherwise it is a take it or leave it affair.

The Laugh Factor

Belly Laughs: 1-3

Chuckles: 6-8

Knucklehead

Release Date: November 9th, 2010 (DVD)

Genre: Drama / Comedy

Stars: Mark Feuerstein, Melora Hardin, Paul Wight (The Big Show)

Synopsis: A large and clumsy gentle giant must work his way through the underground mixed martial arts circuit in order to save the orphanage that raised him.

AltAss Ratings (On a scale of 1 to 5 asses)

Plot:                                

A great concept for a light and lively film that provides plenty of opportunity to deliver a ton of laughter.

Writing:                        

Not nearly as funny a ride as this storyline gave potential for but it doesn't make you want to beat your head against the wall throughout the entire film.

Acting:                           

Paul "The Big Show" Wight is a funny guy when he does interviews on talk shows and I wish they would have let him do more in the way of smart comedy as opposed to slapstick.  The rest of the cast are all traditional actors you've probably seen before and are not the source of this film's mediocrity.

Originality:                  

A nice new idea for a basic story line but a let down in hashing it out into unique scenarios for the characters to encounter.

Overall:                       

The new WWE Studios has chewed up capable actors and viable storylines and spit out a bad product once again.  While The Big Show is certainly a better actor in "Knucklehead" than John Cena was in "Legendary", this is more of a writing, directing, and editing debacle which makes sense since the WWE is all talent and storylines.  Somebody needs to tell Vince McMahon to carve out a bigger piece of the pie for the people behind the scenes.

The Laugh Factor

Belly Laughs: 1-2

Chuckles: 5-7

Toy Story 3

Release Date: June 18th, 2010

Genre: Animation / Adventure / Comedy

Stars (voices): Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack

Synopsis: The gang is back after a long hiatus and this time their owner Andy is all grown up and heading to college when his toys mistakenly end up being donated to a day care center from where they must make a daring escape to return home.

AltAss Ratings (On a scale of 1 to 5 asses)

Plot:                                  

Did a good job of providing a lot of adventure and sticky situations for the characters to overcome and ended with a heartwarming conclusion.

Writing:                        

There was some funny but not as much as I remember in the original films which had me rolling at times.  The material was just not as fresh and snappy as expected.

Acting (voices):              

Ned Beatty was fantastic as the villain Lotso and everybody else fell into their old parts rather nicely with no obvious missteps but seemed to lack the old intensity.

Acting (animation):         

It was good but felt a bit stale and not nearly as magical as the orginal films perhaps because we have grown so accustomed to the Pixar brand over time.

Originality:                  

Did not feel different from the previous movies in the franchise at all with the exception of the addition of some nice characters.

Overall:                           

Toy Story fans had to have been disappointed, but an entire new generation of kids were probably thrilled.  The ending was the only part of this movie that drew me in emotionally which its predecessors had so masterfully done for broad audiences from start to finish.  I suppose as third installments of a series typically go, this one was still better than most.

The Laugh Factor

Belly Laughs: 1-2

Chuckles: 6-8