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Love Jones

Love Jones

List Price: $14.97
Your Price: $11.98
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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Love Jones
Review: I absolutely love this movie. The anticipation and then the restraint of the couple is just sooooo real. You feel it every time you see it. Everyone has been through this I know. It's a must see...over and over.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Jonesing for Love...
Review: When it comes to movies about romance or relationships, I get a rash. Maybe not the kind that requires topical ointment and a shot, but my mood definitely clouds over. I'll cop to being a skeptic, but a hardened cynic? Hardly. It's just that I've witnessed far too many films in the romance genre that pander to the lowest common denominator. Films that drip with mawkish sentimentalism, blatant manipulation or unrealistic circumstances always conspire to render my eyes rolled in such perpetuity that one could mistake me for being in a constant state of orgasm. I wish. Instead, most of these movies just leave me even more depleted, world weary, and with the casing just a little harder than before.

Just so you don't think I'm biased against the genre, I firmly believe that if one can wade through most of the condescending swill out there, you'll find a gem or two. Amelie comes to mind, as does Moonstruck. Love Jones is almost, but not quite up there. It's a touching, subtle film about romance and modern day courtship, but not, I fear, without its problems.

Helmed by first time writer/director, Theodore Witcher, Love Jones centers on Darius Lovehall and Nina Moseley, played by Larenz Tate and Nia Long respectively. Nina is a struggling photographer who just recently ended a long-term relationship. Though she proclaims her days of romance over, Nina wastes no time in catching the eye of Darius Lovehall, a writer who regulars a beatnik poetry/jazz club. After some minor resistance from Nina, Darius succeeds in scoring a date with her. Larenz Tate plays Darius with enough aplomb without forgetting to show the glimpses of vulnerability underneath. After Nina leaves Chicago to pursue a second chance with her ex-boyfriend, Darius breaks and admits to his friend Savon (Isaiah Washington) that she was "the one". Realizing he wasn't ready to deal with that emotion, Darius immediately masks the statement with a hearty laugh, claiming to have played a joke on his friend. But what speaks the volumes is Darius' doleful, draining look when his back is to Savon.

Nina's attempt to reconcile with her old boyfriend eventually goes awry and she moves back to Chicago only to find Darius has moved on with another girl. I can continue detailing the seesaw plot line and the trite soap opera antics, but more of note is the solid performances by Long and Tate, not to mention a wonderful supporting cast that manages to keep the suds at bay. Nia Long imbues Nina with cool self-possession. As hackneyed set-ups go, photographing your lover is nothing new, but Long pulls off the seductive bit anyway, purring, "Take off your clothes". When Darius is taken aback and waxes shy at the request, Nina casually shoots back, "What's the matter? I already know what you got".

Though the script can be sharp at times, it can't save the movie from what's really ailing it. Love Jones is riddled with a clichéd plotline that's aggravated by a torpid pace. Surely, Witcher's intent was to let the story breathe on its own and have Darius and Nina's relationship slowly unfurl, but it only succeeds to make the film's shortcomings more evident. It's a shame too, especially since this is one of the few black films that don't sacrifice characterization in order to peddle out the obvious stereotypes for a quick laugh. Love Jones is a showcase of a specific time and place populated with characters that are intelligent, flawed, ambitious and self-assured. And it succeeds with nary a trace of pedagogy, or without compromising the black experience by watering it down for a more mainstream audience.

Unfortunately the only thing watered down is the story itself. After noticing Darius fielding phone calls from a previous fling, Nina's distrust begins to mount and becomes the impetus for another break-up. By the time Nina moves out for good this time, Darius buries his nose in a book feigning a lack of interest; and unfortunately, by then, so had I. Lost in thought, I daydreamed whether some minor editing of a few profanities, and this would have worked just fine on a certain Television-for-Women Network. I even worked out the title: "I'm Jonesing for Some Love: How I found and lost, then found my man again: The Nina Moseley story" ...Only on Lifetime...Television for Women.

For all that Love Jones has going for it - a shimmering soundtrack, a wonderful supporting cast, and a palpable chemistry between its two lead actors - it fails to rise above a wooden storyline. As such, the result is a mediocre movie whose potential of its characters aren't wholly realized, suppressed even. In a final impassioned plea to Nina who accuses him of impatience, Darius declares, "Right now, all that matters to me is this moment, and to me, ... urgent." Too bad the film didn't heed Darius' wise words.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Muscling Up For The Long Haul
Review: What can one say 'bout LOVE JONES other than it seems as tho LARENZ TATE is shirtless in every scene- which by the way isfine with me. Well OK, not quite but since I last caught thisrapidly rising star, his body has undergone a tremendous trans-formation. In one of his first films, THE INKWELL he spends onescene sprawled shirtless in a grass field with Jada Pinkett butthat film concentrated more on his captivating smile. The smileis very evident here as well but somewhere along the line he decided to hit the weight room. What we have here is a power-ful manchild- thick broad shoulders with a huge upper chest chest & club-like arms with lots of definition all over. The plot calls for a variety of emotions from all the principalsincluding Nia Long who does a wonderful job as his love interest. The interact scenes comes across quite steamy. Addto that the jealousy angle & we have all the ingredients forthe famous triangle that always finds it way into the betterflicks. Mr.Tate I'm told has started landing 'meatier roles.'He carries a scene very well. But the bottom line for me is-he carries his weight even better. Wish I could squeeze thisLOVABLE TEDDY BEAR all night long!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This movie was Good!!!!!!!
Review: This movie right here it's tight.On the real though. It has it's downs like when they keep meeting up again, alcohol is alway's there. But besides that from what I got from the movie, is sayin that threw trials in a coulpes relationship they alway's end up together if they truly love each other. For coulpes or people looking for a real good love movie, Buy this, trust me you will like it!!!!!!. I dedicate this movie to a girl that I really love,"Someone Special" because our relationship may not been as in as in the movie but, we alway's seem to know and how to deal our situations we come back together and continue, "~*Yulaw*~". Anyone who buy's this movie will get there money's worth.Alex/Florida.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: To me, it's another definition of LOVE!
Review: This special someone told me about this movie "YULAW", and so on my lonely days, I would rent movies at blockbusters. So I rented LOVE JONES, and it really inspired me. It gave me a whole different perpective, and a whole new meaning of LOVE. I wasn't depressed any more, and within a matter of days,I would visualize us as those two characters, and I decided that we should watch the movie together. When we both (one day) on the couch cuddled up, we would pay close attention and we would end up crying together.So we sat up rewinding the movie over and over especially on the part when they reunited after a year, and the girl wrote a poem about him reciting it out to an audience, they walked outside, and began to kiss in the rain. Oh how romantic! YULAW
It's a very inspiring movie, I really enjoyed it. I believe it's good especially for couples with deep affections towards one another. BUY THE MOVIE!!!!!!! IT'S AWESOME! I'M TELLING YOU IT'S HOT!!!!!!!! Believe me, it also deals with poetry, and deep affectionate, passionate, andd fierceful LOVE! I encourage you to BUY this movie, or at least take the time out and rent it. You'll thank me later. HOLLA!!!! Sarah Pinette Margate Florida

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Stylish, classy, and underrated
Review: Impressive, well-polished love story concerning a photo assistant (Nia Long) and an aspiring poet (Larenz Tate). The film doesn't quite break the rules of modern film making, but Nia Long and Larenz Tate make such an appealing couple and show chemsitry through their performances. So why only 4 stars? Because the film almost completely skimps on features. All we get is the trailer and the (very good) video to Lauryn Hill's "The Sweetest Thing." A commentary and documentary would have been nice, but it's still a worthy purchase for those looking for a great romance that doesn't fall into the usual "chick-flick" category.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Film
Review: This is a great love story, and I really enjoyed it when I first saw it in the movies. I have it on VHS and when I watch it,it's like watching it all over again for the first time.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My Favorite Movie of All Time
Review: I am so upset that Mr. Theodore Witcher only blessed the world with one masterpiece! Lovejones is a mature story about two wonderful, but imperfect people in love. I would strongly suggest for anyone to watch it, while I'll wait patiently for Mr. Theodore to write and direct another heartfilled love story.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Wonderful Love Jones
Review: Words cannot describe how wonderful this love story will make you feel. The story keeps you focused on the emotional aspect of the relationship while making you relive your own "love jones" experience. I love the movie, could watch it again, and again. The acting was simply marvelous. A must have for your DVD collection, but let us not forget to mention the great music CD to make this package complete !!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Beauty of African-American Love
Review: This is on my top 10 list of all time favorite movies. A well written and acted story of love among young upwardly mobile african americans. It was such a refreshing and welcomed change. The characters were going for what they wanted both personally and professionally. The very last line in the movie says it all. This movie was so well cast, you simply have to love them.


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