"Four Brothers"...Singleton back to form?
 

I don't understand why John Singleton doesn't make more movies or at least a little more frequently.

I know he hasn't had the critical acclaim he used to with "Boyz n the Hood", but he makes some original movies that are quite provactive, poignant, and what I think is all too often reality.

I really liked "Rosewood" and "Baby Boy" and thought "Higher Learning" was decent. I can forgive him for commercializing for a minute with "2 Fast 2 Furious" and "Shaft".

Now I just come from seeing "Four Brothers" and man if this isn't the 2nd best of the bunch and a really gripping movie. I must admit I was totally surprised and not just by the movie, but I didn't even know John Singleton directed it until I saw his credit. I didn't want to rent this, but thought why not I didn't have too much in the que. I wanted to get it over with because I haven't been into drama lately, but boy is this so much more. Tension filled action, good acting, and a story that doesn't come along everyday. It could be said that it was a little predictable, but Singleton made it work and made it work real well.

He is becoming one of those directors that makes a movie not so often and they are very good. I think he needs to be recognized more and given freedom to do more especially based on the success of "Four Brothers".

Bottomline, he just seems to have this smarts that makes him unique and well worth watching his stuff.

I'll have to put that one on the 'wanted' list as I thought it looked like a decent movie. Any other opinions good or bad?

i really liked the movie i was suprised by this, i seen it on dvd and knew it got 2 thumbs up and I liked the cast but a really soild movie 4/5

I had no interest in seeing this, but it got pretty good reviews. I'll try and rent this week.

I just watched it last night and liked it alot.

Loved boyz n the hood and was barely interested in Four Brothers. Very typical and EXTREMELY predictable. Fine for one viewing but I'd never sit through it again.

I unfortunately paid to see it in the theatre and even a matinee price felt ripped off. Far from Singleton's best - IMO.

I really liked this. The Four leads really had the brother chemistry down. I would recommend a watch.

I surmised the answer to this question would be (as a filmmaker) he may prefer to take his time, and make good quality movies that portrays interesting real life crisis themes, which the majority of audience can relate to, instead of perpetually making bad films frequently, with many insignificant lack of interests storylines.

I hate most of his movies but I may give Four Brothers a try.

It was an entertaining movie, but the whole time the brothers were causing chaos throughout the city and hurting people, why didn't anyone notice?

it was a decent movie, good for a rental.

I still think BOYZ was massively overpraised, given that there were about two dozen movies released around the same period that dealt with the exact same topics with pretty much the exact same quality.

I think it was Robert Townsend who said that, if he ever made a HOLLYWOOD SHUFFLE 2, he'd open it up with a scene from a typical "BOYZ"-like film, with five different directors shooting it simultaneously...

I did, though, enjoy Higher Learning to some degree. But I don't think Four Brothers (which I thought was meh) is a return to form, only insomuch as it's the same level of quality of Singleton's recent work.

it was pretty good. Not great by any means, but definitly worth a rental or even a blind buy if you got the extra cash.

I went to an advanced screening of Hustle & Flow. Singleton was there, so I wanted to get my Boyz N the Hood DVD signed. Turns out he'd brought the first fifteen minutes of Four Brothers. The time stamps were still on it and all, but the actual footage was complete. Based on that alone, I avoided the film. It looked like it was set-up for a twist ending in the whodunnit sense, and the scene on the basketball court was so overblown that I figured if the movie followed pace, I'd have some "suspension of disbelief" problems.

I may get around to seeing it eventually, but I'm certainly in no hurry.

-JP

I'm a big fan of John Wayne's "The Sons of Katie Elder". I just watched this remake/update and was decidedly unimpressed. I thought it was a C-grade effort that was fortunate to see a theatrical release; I think of it more as direct-to-video material. While I don't always agree with him, I do like Roger Ebert in general, but I find his 3-star rating for this to be more than a little puzzling.

I thought Four Brothers was an excellent, fun movie. It wasn't one that'll win any Oscars, but I'll be damned if it wasn't a blast cranking my surround sound up and letting that shootout rip through my apartment complex.

Bottom line, it was a good time.

= J

Watched it a couple nights ago, a little over the top but what more can you expect from Singleton. Fun thriller.