With a new Men In Black film coming out soon, its only right that I list my other favorite films by the Fresh Prince, better known these days as Will Smith. Smith has been one of my favorite actors since Bad Boys. He was funny on Fresh Prince of Bel Air but I really didn’t consider him an actor then, more like a caricature; though he did have some profound moments like the episode about his biological father not being in his life. With that said, he “grew into” himself and really excelled with his acting, moving on to put out some quality films. Here are my top 5 favorites of his flicks.

I Am Legend

I think it takes a great actor to hold down a movie (for the most part) by himself. In I Am Legend Smith embraces and embodies his character to the point where at times you actually forget it’s a movie! I found myself analyzing the situation as if I was in his shoes – playing out scenarios to see what I would do to survive a similar event. Great films make you think, and I think he delivered his best work with this one. The scene where he had to kill his dog after she was bitten by other virus-infected dogs showed enormous pain without him having to say a word. Where he had to reach within himself to pull out those tears and emotion must have been a dark place.

Enemy of the State

Enemy of the State is a dope all around movie. Conspiracy, murder, surveillance, survival, action, humor and great execution is what makes this Smith’s second best. With an all-star cast to support him (Gene Hackman, Jon Voight), Smith does well at playing a clueless father- husband and attorney at the wrong place at the wrong time. Once he is the target, its entertaining watching him escape by the hairs on his head from the villains.

Bad Boys

Martin Lawrence and Will Smith, what more can you about this movie? Just these names alone in the same sentence make you laugh and think about your favorite scenes from this film. The chemistry between the two funny-men was on point, enough to make this movie great both on the comedic level and action level.

Men In Black

Any movie that I can watch anytime it’s shown on FX or TBS to me is a favorite, and Men in Black is one of those movies. I don’t know if these networks bought the rights to the movie or what but it seems like it’s always on television when nothing else is on – but it never gets old. I can’t wait to the see the new one. Hopefully it tops the other two and they leave it there, with just three.

The Pursuit of Happyness

It was tough picking my 5th favorite as some of the honorable mentions below are just as good. With that said I had to go with The Pursuit of Happyness over Seven Pounds. Though Seven Pounds was unique in its own right and something a little different for Smith’s portfolio, I really found the movie depressing. I know all movies can’t have happy endings, but Seven Pounds just didn’t jump at me as something I would watch multiple times. Despite having a good story, it just wasn’t my cup of tea. The Pursuit of Happyness on the other hand was good from the aspect of motivating the audience to keep pushing and striving. I like stories like these – and because it was based off true events made me like it even more. Furthermore, acting alongside your son without it coming across corny or elitist was also an added bonus.

Honorable Mentions

I, Robot
Seven Pounds
Men in Black II
Six Degrees of Separation

It’s been a minute since I wrote a review or even just a blurb about a new movie. Over the past few weeks I was able to catch what I feel are the top three movies in theaters right now: Safe House, Contraband and The Grey. I must warn you, there are spoilers in my comments below.

Safe House I think is non-spoken response to me if Denzel could have read my mind or heard a conversation I had with some other movie-goers recently. I stated that I think he has become comfortable playing “good guy” roles and that he needed to do something playing a “bad guy” of some sort again, but not necessarily another Training Day. Then what happens, he presents us with Safe House. Though he is not a “bad guy” per say, he is considered a rogue CIA agent in the eyes of government agencies because he is trying to expose individuals within these agencies for the criminals that they really are. This movie came with a lot of action, good fight scenes and never a dull moment. As soon as you think it will be a lot of dialogue, bullets are flying or punches are thrown. Safe House is a definite improvement since Denzel’s last flick Unstoppable. What’s ironic about Safe House, the last time he played a villain he also had a white sidekick and he died in the end.

Just as Will Smith, when I watch Mark Wahlberg in films now it’s hard to believe he was once a rapper. He has morphed into a good and consistent actor. He takes on roles that he can actually make believable on screen. Contraband can almost be a bit of a spin off or extension of Four Brothers because like this film, Mark plays a guy with a criminal history trying to go straight but forced to defend family. In this case, his naive brother-in-law gets caught up with drug trafficking and is forced to dump the product. Of course the man in charge doesn’t take too kindly to losing his investment so just like most drug related movies, the brother-in-law has a short time frame to make up for what he lost or he is a dead man. That’s when Mark has to step in. Unlike Safe House, Contraband was more dialogue than anything else. More of a story had to be told since there were many characters, all who were affected by one man’s actions. This isn’t Mark Wahlberg’s best work but a movie I recommend checking out.

I am a Liam Neeson fan but even with following his work I don’t have much good to say about The Grey. In all honesty I was disappointed in the film. I remember seeing the previews and getting really amped about it – survival, wolves; I don’t know, maybe I was looking for some sort of Underworld meets Rambo type flick. Instead, The Grey is probably the most depressing movie I have seen in a while. Don’t get me wrong, Liam always does his thing but the story never went upward, maybe it wasn’t supposed to. The Grey is about a group of men working at an oil drilling plant in Alaska. On a routine flight back home the air gets so cold that it causes the airplanes engines to fail amongst other damage. In short, the flight goes down and now those who survived the crash are stranded in the middle of snow and yes, wolves. Surviving the wolves is the only excitement in this movie. But as you can imagine, almost everyone is killed by a wolf or the weather conditions. This film goes up and down, one minute there is hope and laughter, next thing a person is killed, and then again, and then again and again. When it comes to the acting and execution this is an excellent film; believable and real but as far as happy endings – not happening. What made me later appreciate this film was adjusting my expectations and watching it again, paying attention to what the story was trying to deliver – and this was a message about faith, will and the determination to survive.

I finally got a chance to catch up on some movies over the past few weeks. Though a fan of these film’s predecessors, I cant say my expectations were met.

X-Men: First Class

Ive been a fan of X-Men since Saturday morning cartoons as a kid. I also enjoyed each of the most recent movies that have been released; but I cant say that I am overjoyed with the latest offering. Following the same path as in Wolverine Origins, X-Men: First Class is designed to show how Professor X and Magnento met and formed their teams. A trip down memory lane to explain things was good, the historical aspects was even better, but I feel the movie got cluttered with the introduction of too many characters – maybe necessary on one hand, on the other, some of these folks could have been presented for the first time in the next X-Men.

Kung Fu Panda 2

Ive always stood by my theory that most sequels arent as great as the original. Kung Fu Panda 2 is one of those movies that fit into that category. I recall laughing a little more during the first film probably because overall it was much funnier: Po was new to Kung Fu, clumsy, doubted by almost every one and had much to prove – all of these things made for a funny film. When you put a person of his ability and status in a group of Kung Fu masters and villans, whats bound to go right? Now in part two, he is the chosen one and still gets clowned, still clumsy but this go around there seems to be less jokes. For kids to stay attentive.. you have to keep them laughing. The action and background on how Po ended up with a goose for an adoptive father made the film that much better, for me at least. Side note: I was shocked to see Jean Claude Van Damme provided his voice for one of the characters!

Hangover II

What can be said about the origial Hangover that hasnt already been said? It was great..period. The sequel, not so much. Same story line, someone is getting married, someone else wants to have a wild weekend to celebrate..then the expletives hit the fan. Even though part two was a bit bland compared to the first, I cant lie and say that I didnt laugh. There were a few extremely funny moments, but consistent laughter in the theater was at a minimum. In all actuality, this is another man-movie that tops Hall Pass.

The bottom line, all of these films are worth watching once in the theater..and if you are collector, add them.

I went in to see Limitless with mildly high expectations; the trailer looked decent, it was recommended by a friend but in the end, it didnt live up to the hype. What I came to realize when the movie was over is that the trailer pretty much shows you the movie in a nutshell. There really is nothing more to the film. Dont get me wrong, the film isnt bad, but its only worth one watch in my opinion. It didnt make me laugh, jump, curse or any sort of emotion. For some reason I was hoping that it would be something similar or just as good as Inception, but its vaguely similar and thus far not on my top list for 2011. You be the judge…

For those of you who are fans of Wedding Crasher, Couples Retreat and American Pie type films, Hall Pass is just for you. This is one crazy flick with many similiarties about two men who have hit a bit of a drought in their marriages and cant seem to control their thoughts or hormones. The end result, their wives give them a one-week “hall pass” so that they can relieve themselves of their urges and get back on track. Well, it doesnt really go down like that. There are a lot of ups, downs and twists in this comedy. Good to see my boy J.B. Smoove b.k.a Leon from Curb Your Enthusiam in this, wish he had more lines but the ones he did have were funny. This is definitely a man-movie.

Best Line(s): Rick: “Hey, remember when we dominated JV basketball?” Fred: “Yeah, senior year!”

I caught a couple fairly new movies over the past few weeks, my thoughts on the two:

The Last Exorcism

I remember seeing the previews for this last year and I admit I slept on it. There are many movies like this coming out and I mistakenly grouped this one in with the others. I’m glad I took the time to check it out though - this movie takes another path in presenting an exorcism story. The plot involves a priest who admits that his exorcisms are phony (as well as others) and he allows a camera crew to follow him while he reveals the “tricks of his trade.” When he thinks his latest exorcism will be as simple as the others, boy is he in for some trouble! The Last Exorcism is definitely worth viewing.

127 Hours

Some years ago I heard about this dude Aron Ralston; the guy who went out into the mountains without letting anyone know his whereabouts or his plans and ended up getting trapped under a bolder where the end results was him decapitating his own arm. I think I saw his story on one of these “I shouldn’t be alive” type reality shows. After hearing his story I shook my head in awe and shock.

Now, a few years later leave it to Hollywood to praise a man who was so cocky that he would journey out into the wilderness unprepared like he was. Don’t get me wrong, his courage and will to survive I respect, but venturing out with no companion, no communication amongst other things isn’t too wise. In the film he even states it. In regards to the movie, 127 Hours is pretty good. It has extremely high ratings, in which it deserves because James Franco plays one believable trapped mountain climber. The stress, worry, fear and courage that you have to show in your face is key in a film like this, especially with no supporting actors and little to no effects;  just a camera and an actor. The one major effect, the decapitation of his arm wasn’t too bad either. If you can handle the Saw movies, you should be able to handle the 10 minutes or so of Franco removing his arm.

Que Films is seeking talent for a new film titled “The Bluest Note.” Click on the picture to view it in its normal size.