Crossover

This movie was a Crossover that is for sure. I broke my ankle on purpose just to try and get through the painful story line and horrible streetball action. If you want to see streetball just rent the And1 Mix Tape tours, even though they are a jumble of random moves, they are still better action then Crossover. This acting was not good either. The character development and personalities are cliché. And why now is Wayne Brady trying to get this tough guy persona. Ever since the Chappelle show appearance he is now all of a sudden more sinister. All in all this was not a good movie, I guess you can tell from my vote 1 out of ten, and that is 1 is just because there is nothing lower.

Do you like crossovers? Then do I have the movie for you! It is called Crossover. When I heard they were going to make a movie called Crossover I started practicing my crossover like everyday. When the movie came out I brought my rock to the theater and crossed-over all these dudes in line, it was hilarious. Then I crossed-over the popcorn dude. I got the Producer's Pick, you know, a hot dog and a large soda, then I crossed-over that too. Then in the theater this guy started talking on his cell phone, you know what I did… Yup! Crossover!!! Shut him up real good. EDITOR'S NOTE: The basketball scenes in Teen Wolf are better than the basketball scenes in Crossover. Crossover.

My kids and I enjoyed this dreadful exercise in predictability and bad acting for all the wrong reasons: We playfully wagered on what actors would say next (and I use that word "actors" very loosely). It's full of clichés of all kinds. We would rewind and laugh at the scenes containing Eva Pigford's unbelievably horrid acting (please, for God's sake, stick to simply being a model!). We'd pretend to be menaced and afraid by appearances of that definitive "hood" slick guy, aka Wayne Brady ("New Jack City's" Nino Brown has got nothing on him!!!). And we were amused at how surprisingly weak the basketball scenes were. The on-the-court scenes contained lots of edits and cut-aways that marked staged shots. And for a movie about b'ball, the court scenes were extremely minimal and unexciting. On a serious note, please observe this theory of mine if you rent this film (for God's sake don't buy it): Sometimes, being surrounded by bad actors and faced with a bad script can even make a good actor bad. Case in point, Anthony Mackie. He's clearly got skills, but he had no business being in this foul of a film! This movie surely falls under the "So bad it's good" banner. If you rent it expecting anything else, you will surely be disappointed.

You know what's funny? I'll tell you...this movie. Once again drum roll please....Or, should I say DRUMLINE please. Drumline type movie that bombed like all of the rest. Nothing was good about this movie except the end credits where some persons name was my name and it made me as giddy as a school girl. I thought I was renting a movie about a poltergeist, but that didn't happen. But I was wishing that I was in the grave at the end of it. It's kind of strange that director's would take on something of this crappy caliber and try to make something of themselves. Writing was dumb, actors were...you know, and the scenes just made me want to take a bath and scrub myself from all of the bull that I've encountered.

As of this point, I have done more reviews on IMDb than anyone. And, in recent months I've taken my love for foreign, classic and independent films and set it aside for a strange little obsession--bad films. I have made it a point to try to see as many of IMDb's Bottom 100 films as I can. There is no way I can see them all--a few are not available and some are simply not available in the US. During my little experiment, I have so far seen about 50 of the films and have noticed a trend. Many of these Bottom 100 are Black-American films and some are actually pretty good--such as "I Can Do Bad All By Myself", "Phat Girlz", "Feel the Noise" and this film. This leads me to wonder two things--either I like them because they appeal mostly to 45 year-old men like me or there are a lot of people out there that seem to have it in for films with Black casts--especially urban films. I can't say what is going on, but even if these are bad films (which they aren't in my opinion), there is no way they should be ranked lower than all the films of Ed Wood, Al Adamson or William Grefe. The difference between these Black-themed films and the ultra-low budget schlock films is enormous!

The film is about two young men, Tech and Cruise. Tech is a bit of a loser. Not a horrible person, but someone whose life seems to be going nowhere. Cruise, on the other hand, has a chance to play basketball for UCLA while he works on a Pre-Med degree. Two friends whose lives are going in opposite directions. However, just because things appear this way doesn't mean there won't be a lot of surprises on the way to the end of the film.

The film featured a lot of street-style basketball. And I have to be honest, basketball is among my least favorites sports to watch--right up there with golf and lacrosse! Yet despite this, the action was exciting and there was enough to the plot to keep me interested--especially in the lives of these men. The writing, while not great (there are a few clichés here and there--especially the one girlfriend and the need to tack on an epilogue during the credits), it is very good and kept me guessing. Also, there have been a few knocks about the acting--and I can't see why. Some jumped on Wayne Brady--who was not bad at all here. In fact, I just don't get all the hostility towards the movie. What's to hate about it?