Tag: Derek Luke

Self/less

“Self/less” is “Selfish”!! Its “Selfish” in its Execution and “Selfish” in its Delivery.

An extremely wealthy business man Damien (Ben Kingsley) is dying from some form of neurological cancer. He is offered a chance to undergo a form of radical treatment that transfers his consciousness into a healthy younger man.

Once the transfer takes place and the healthy young Damien (Ryan Reynolds) wakes up, is rehabilitated and starts his new life, all is not what it seems. As the younger Damien starts to uncover the mystery of the original older Damien, the secret society behind the treatment will stop at nothing to protect its cause.
The story unfolds from there…

This is one of the worst executed stories I have seen in a long while. It seems that the story is being made up as it moves along. There are so many miss-connected dots. The story does not flow at all. It starts off odd, gets odder as the movie continues and ends in strange fashion.
This is a movie that should have gone straight to video. Its not worth the money. In fact it probably should have been placed on the cutting floor.

It was a waste of Ben Kingsley and Ryan Reynolds acting abilities.

I do not recommend “Self/less”

Sparkle

“Sparkle” can be thought of as the ending of a brillant career for actress/singer (Whitney Houston) and the beautiful beginning for another (Jordin Sparks).

American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks makes her acting debut in this adaptation of “Sparkle”. “Sparkle” is a singing prodigy who writes music constantly, but is afraid to sing solo in public. She resides in an affluent neighborhood in Detroit, raised by a single mother (Whitney Houston) along with her two sisters.

Sparkle tries to balance a budding romance with her music manager Stix (Derek Luke) while trying to adjust to the changes that come with her and her sisters (Carmen Ejogo, Tika Sumpter) as they embark on what could be a potential singing career and also trying to keep her mother happy. The story unfolds from there…

The camera loves Jordin Sparks. She looked great throughout the movie. Her acting is pretty good. It doesn’t hurt that she can sing. Whitney Houston has a very nice Gospel solo that will bring you to tears.

The paid critics were a bit luke-warm about “Sparkle”, but over all I thought the movie was pretty good, though there are a few holes and several loose ends were not tied up at the end.
If you are a Whitney Houston or Jordin Sparks fan then you should see “Sparkle”.

The Paid Critics gave this movie 2 1/2 stars. I Think it’s worth 3 stars.