Reviews (8)

great acting!
Athough I have viewed this movie a couple of times on tv, when
I watched it on DVD it seemed like a whole different movie. The
background music was fantastic (horns, sax, etc.). All actors
portrayed their roles quiet well.

Could've Been Better, But Still Great
From Covenant Avenue to St. Nick-Harlem, once
the mecca that African-Americans lived, breathed and
thrived in, has become a pocket of infestation, a neigh-
borhood in hell, a timeshare in Vietnam. There's a war,
children, a war of values, of ethics, of lives, of genera-
tions and, ultimately, the spoils are simply blood, mate-
rial goods and empty futures. Wesley Snipes stars in the
new film Sugar Hill, which follows Roemello, a mid-
level drug kingpin, through the course of what seems to
be a week. Roemello is tired, but why he is exhausted is
never made clear. The film, directed by Leon Ichaso,
takes an unflinching look at both yesterday's addicts
(Roemello's parents) and today's (Roemello's brother
and partner Ray N athan) .The central theme is whether
or not Roemello will choose the true love of his girl-
friend Melissa, played with a defiant presence of char-
acter by Theresa Randle, or his surrogate father Gus,
mafia lord, supplier and the man who attempted to kill
Roemello's now-decrepit father. A battle over territory
ensues between Roemello and a competitor brought in
by Gus.
Roemello's father, played by Clarence Williams III
(who will be overlooked for an Oscar due the film's
release date), dealt drugs, supplied his wife's habit
(which leads to her death) , and lives in a walking death
of memories, regrets and heroin when the film opens.
Ray Nathan, played by Michael Wright, is the clingy,
needy older brother who relies on his Georgetown-
educated brother to balance his street insanity with
calculation and diplomacy. We then begin to see that all
Roemello is, all he has trusted, has abandoned him. Seen
this way we can finally understand why he's looking to
distance himself from his past. But the past is a curious,
vengeful, entangling animal tha t stalks all of Roemello' s
attempts to leave behind a vicious life for...? Well,
Roemello is never quite clear about where he'll go.
Sugar Hill is not one film, but several, and not one
story, but a legion of tales that fold into one another and
entangle tentacles of power, greed, lust, loyalty and
even family values. Two criticisms of this film are, one,
Roemello's character is made peripheral to the business
he actually controls. In a sense, we only see his hands
dirtied twice by murder. One is understandable, though
unjust, while the second is both unjust and inevitable.
Roemello, for all that his character embodies as an anti-
hero, becomes heroic as a drug dealer. His sense of
honor, supposedly gained through experience, makes
his moral caliber above those he deals with, and this is
where the film falters. How can the audience relate to
a good man who commits such a vile act as the extermi-
nation of his own people, his own father through
providing drugs? Is this a good man? Secondly, the film
also falters in that we, the audience, see the shadowed
results of murders-some not even shown. The audi-
ence can't visually connect to the crimes of the film
actually being committed by those we're supposed to
feel something for. In fact, a split occurs between the
good-bad guys and the bad-bad guys. Too many loop-
holes of justification and reverse condemnation perme-
ate the film. Are we, as an audience, so often spoon-fed
pabulum entertainment that we can't handle a mature
film where the characters redeem themselves not into
angels, but at least into something better than what
they were before? Do we need the hero going off into
the sunset so badly that we're willing to justify murder,
drug dealing and racial supplication just to feel good?
Make no mistake, Sugar Hill, even with it's intermit-
tently hard-soft hitting, is a film that needs to be seen, that
needs to beunderstood, and whose complexity and shades
of grey needs to be revealed and delved into. I highly
recommend it and feel strongly about the film, but I do
resent the soft-shoeing around the total impact that could
have been made. It's rated R, we're all adults, so let's live
in reality.

A cross between The Godfather and Jason's Lyric
I really liked Sugar Hill. If you've seen The Godfather series and Jason's Lyric, you'll be quick to recognize similarities. (I do realize Jason's Lyric came out after this movie.)

It's a story of two brothers being pushed into the drug/crime world by fate. One of them wants to leave the world behind, and the other doesn't want to let him go... and they've got to watch out for everyone on the street..

Definitely worth watching if you haven't seen it yet!

SONS OF THE FATHER
OK, OK so it's a story that has been told many times before --- good kid becomes a bad guy due to circumstances beyond his control but who, when he regains control as a successful adult, wants to become a good guy again.

But must inherit the wind.

So what? Just as an opera changes according to the players and a symphony is different every time it's played this is a story that is poignant despite its retelling --- especially if it is well mounted. And this one is.

Wesley Snipes is excellent as the drug-dealing son trying to throw off his past and his present in a troubling search that goes back to the future; Michael Wright provides a quirky performance as the older brother who suspects that he lives only as a reflection of his younger, stronger, smarter sibling.

Both perform a shadow play in the flickering light cast by their drug-addicted father, Clarence Williams III. Williams turns in an astonishing performance that, by itself, makes watching the movie worthwhile.

A controlled but authentic performance by mob boss Abe Vigoda is the grimy pallet upon which this tragedy is played out.

At a seminal point in the movie Snipes kills a man after telling him "I'm not like my brother." Yet he is --- but he is not. This ambiguity gives depth and dimension to a fairly pedestrian story line --- and sets the movie apart from the genre.

Superb direction by Leon Ichaso (Crossover Dreams, Bitter Sugar), an arresting ensemble cast, and a melancholy score makes this one of the best-overlooked movies of the early 90's.

The Critics Are Partly Wrong.
After reading how the critics panned this movie I wonder if they watched it. The movie has a very dark yet thoughtful feel to it. If we understand that critics rarely have talent as actors or screenwriters we can see how this nice movie could be so underrated by them. Wesley Snipes plays his role with a warm compassion for those around him. Michael Wright does overact quite a bit but he probably had a few years to go to become a good actor. Clarence Williams III was superb as the father. Theresa Randle is very good as the girlfriend. I almost fell in love with her myself. She seemed like the perfect woman. The rest of the movie is straight gangster done by a black cast except for Abe Vigoda who played his part excellently.

The opening scene and the scene about the mother and father is very good and sets up the whole movie. Especially the scene with the father and the thugs on the roof, which is fantastic. We understand so much about Roem's motives from that scene that we appreciate his later life and his rage toward the things which affect him later.

I usually don't like movies which are from the nineties but this one stands out. It is worth watching. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

PUT IT ON DVD!
He's certainly deserving of a dvd for his best material...

A good tribute that could have been just a little better.
My thoughts on the 'Best of Tim Meadows' are a bit mixed. First of all, it's great to see that this best of set was made. Meadows was a cast member of SNL at least as long as anyone since the show's inception (perhaps the longest). He is very deserving of this recognition. During that time he played all kinds of characters, from tough to sensitive, from goofy to dead serious. He also had a very wide range. Therein lies a big flaw with this tape. While it contains many skits that are very funny in general, it also leaves out many that showed Meadow's true talent.

The funnier skits are great. One particularly good one is 'Perspectives,' a very early Sunday morning talk show hosted by Lionel Osborne, a clueless, aloof talk show host who thinks everything is fantastic. There are two Perspectives skits that are quite funny. One of them is an out-take with Chris Rock as the guest as a member of the Million Man March. It's quite humorous to see them both start to loose it laughing due to the content of the material. There are also several skits of Meadows doing O.J., where he accentuated O.J.'s guilt in all instances. Some other great clips include him doing Sammy Davis Jr., Ike Turner on Weekend Update, and of course some Ladies Man skits.

The downside of this tape is that it does leave out some great characters that Meadows has played, while including some that could have been left out. For instance, there is Jingleheimer Joe, a skit where he is a census taker, and others that are quite funny, but don't showcase Tim's true talent. The fact that there are no skits of him doing Oprah is a travesty. He did Oprah better than Oprah did Oprah, yet there is only a two second glimpse of this in the closing credits. One would think that perhaps one of these could have made it on to the tape in lieu of three Ladies Man skits. Other great characters he's done that didn't make it on include Bernard Shaw of CNN, Michael Jackson, and Don King, just to name a few. There's also another skit with 'Captain Jim and Pedro,' played by Meadows and Adam Sandler. While this is a very funny skit, it is Adam Sandler who clearly steals it, while Tim's character is sort of just along for the ride. That said, I would recommend this tape to any and all SNL fans, particularly anyone who has had any appreciation for Tim's work over the years.

Tim Meadows Rules
I saw this on TV and I could not stop laughing. One of the funniest things he did was the Ladies Man and the Weather man. This video is a must buy for any SNL Fan. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A GREAT PLAY TURNED INTO A MEAN MOVIE
Based on Charles Fuller's Off Broadway play, ZOOMAN & THE SIGN, the film tells the story of what happens to a family and community when a young sociopath accidently shoots and kills a little girl. A family comes together, but a neighborhood falls apart. The acting is excellent, but so intense and emotional, it is sometimes difficult to watch. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown, the ending was changed. In the play, you learn that Zooman like the little girl was a victim of the callousness and apathy of society. In the film, he just receives street justice. A mean and cold ending to an eomotional wrought film. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

this is the best fukin SNL movie ever
this is one hilarious gut busting comedy with all of chris farleys greatest SNL moments. GET THIS DVD

Mostly great for boring times
I saw this at a friends house. It's pretty funny, but some is not. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Save your money
This poor quality flick barely kept my attention. I would list it next to the Ed Wood films. I didn't expect a blockbuster, but a good movie would have been nice. Save your money.

UNDER RATED MICHELLE PFEIFFER MOVIE
Michael Pfeiffer stars in this Hollywood tale of glitz and glamor set in the thirties she plays a rising starlet who is in love with a married man and together display uncontrolable passion. With her career on the line, despite hollywood's gossip and scandall, she chooses to continue her affair. When tragedy strikes she must forever live with overwhelming guilt, feelings of betrayl and heartbreaking lonliness. Pfeiffer delivers a stunning performance in this classic tael of love, passion & scandal.

The Most Divine movie I've ever seen!
I loved Power Passion and murder! I could watch it over and over again. Michelle was absolutely divine. I actually thik it diserves more than 5 stars. Way more.

Tiffany Collinsville IL ... Read more