John Q. (2002)

What happens when a father is given so many options and is left with only one choice? You’ll have to see for yourself in Director Nick Cassavetes’ (The Notebook) 2002 Drama from New Line Cinema called JOHN Q. Two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington (1989 – Best Supporting Actor, Glory; 2001 – Best Actor, Training Day) plays John Quincy Archibald, a down on his luck husband/father/factory worker, whose only son Michael (Daniel E. Smith) is diagnosed with an enlarged heart and then finds out he cannot receive a transplant because HMO insurance will not cover it and decides to take drastic measures by taking a hospital full of patients hostage until the hospital puts his son's name on the recipient's list. The film also stars Robert Duvall (The Godfather) as Chicago Police Lt. Frank Grimes, James Woods (Once Upon a Time in America) as Dr. Raymond Turner, Anne Heche (Six Days, Seven Nights) as Hospital Administrative Supervisor Rebecca Payne, Kimberly Elise (Tyler Perry’s Diary of a Mad Black Woman) as John’s wife Denise Archibald, Eddie Griffin (TV’s Malcolm & Eddie) as the street talking Lester Matthews, Shawn Hatosy (The Faculty) as the cocky Mitch Quigley, Kevin Connolly (HBO’s Entourage) as Hospital nurse Steve Maguire, Obba Babatundé (Philadelphia) as Chicago SWAT Police Sgt. Moody, Ethan Suplee (TV’s My Name is Earl) as Hospital guard Max Conlin, Laura Harring (Mulholland Dr.) and David Thornton (Home Alone 3) as John and Denise’s friends James and Gina Palumbo, Paul Johansson (TV’s One Tree Hill) as news reporter Tuck Lampley, and Ray Liotta (Goodfellas) as Chicago Police Chief Gus Monroe. I was thirteen and in the eighth grade when this film came out. I missed the chance of seeing this in the theaters and forgotten about it over the years till I finally saw it when I was 22, and I thought this was a very entertaining movie. I thought all the actors, and not just Denzel Washington, were all terrific in their performances. As the story is taken place in Chicago, Illinois, the movie was filmed in Toronto and in around Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and part in Canmore, Alberta from August 7th to November 3rd, 2000, with an estimated budget of $36,000,000. Released two years later on February 15th, 2002, JOHN Q became a box office hit. Opening at #1 with $23,275,194 during its first weekend, and ended up with a total domestic gross of $71,026,631. I consider JOHN Q one of the best Denzel Washington movies I’ve ever seen. And if you haven’t seen it, I totally recommend it.

Set It Off (1996)

Released in 1996, is director F. Gary Gray’s (Friday, The Italian Job, Law Abiding Citizen) action-crime-drama-thriller SET IT OFF. Lifelong friends since childhood and raised in the dangerous projects of Los Angeles, California, Four young African-American women: Lita “Stoney” Newsome (Jada Pinkett-Smith – Madagascar, TV’s Hawthorne), Cleopatra “Cleo” Sims (R&B and Hip-Hop musician/actress Queen Latifah), Francesca “Frankie” Sutton (Vivica A. Fox – Kill Bill: Vol. One, Independence Day), and Tisean “T.T.” Williams (Kimberly Elise – Tyler Perry’s Diary of a Mad Black Woman, For Colored Girls), struggle through life with lack of money while working as night janitors. And after they each witness a series of tragic events, they decide to turn to a life of crime by robbing banks. The film also stars John C. McGinley (TV’s Scrubs) as L.A.P.D. Detective Strode, Rap artist/record producer Dr. Dre as Black Sam, Theater actress Ella Joyce as L.A.P.D. Detective Waller, Anna Maria Horsford (TV’s The Wayans Bros.) as Ms. Wells, Thomas Jefferson Byrd (Ray) as Luther, special appearances by Charlie Robinson (TV’s Night Court) as Nate Andrews and F. Gary Gray himself as a low rider driver, and Blair Underwood (TV’s L.A. Law) as Keith Weston. I’ve heard about this film since as long as I remembered. I finally watched it, and I thought this was a very entertaining movie. The performances by Pinkett-Smith, Latifah, Fox, and Elise I thought were fantastic. There is one scene of the film that I thought was hilarious to watch is when the women are imitating characters from Francis Ford Coppola’s THE GODFATHER, with Fox as Vito Corleone and Latifah as Peter Clemenza. Before she would go on star in Tyler Perry’s films DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN and FOR COLORED GIRLS, SET IT OFF marked the theatrical film debut of Kimberly Elise, who was waitressing at a restaurant during the start of her career and was discovered by the film’s producer Dale Pollack. Filmed entirely on location in Los Angeles, California from December 19th, 1995 to February 12th, 1996 with an estimated budget of $9,000,000, the film was released on November 10th, 1996, with $11,807,451 opening weekend, and later grossing over $36,049,108 nationwide. SET IT OFF is one of the greatest crime movies I’ve ever seen, next to THE TOWN and DEAD PRESIDENTS, and I make it a definite must see for all movie lovers to watch.