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	Movie Review - Four Brothers (2005)     (What this rating means)       Director: John Singleton Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese, André 3000, and Garrett Hedlund Rated: R (for strong violence, pervasive language and some sexual content) Length: 109 minutes Genre: Action/Drama Tagline: They came home to bury mom... and her killer Studio: Paramount Pictures Website: Four Brothers Release: August 12, 2005 PLOT After their foster mother is murdered during a robbery, four brothers reunite for her funeral. As they start to look into her murder, they realize that it might not be as random as the cops led them to believe. They decide to take matters into their own hands, but they quickly realize their brand of vigilante justice has consequences. Will they get the revenge they're seeking, or will they dig a hole too deep to climb out of? A gritty, old-fashioned revenge tale ensues. JOHNNY'S TAKE If you had ever told me that I would end up really liking a movie starring Marky Mark from the Funky Bunch and the lead singer of Outkast (the perpetrators of one of the most annoying songs in recent history - Hey Ya) then I would've laughed right in your face. Come on, a movie with three rappers (Tyrese throws down the rhymes also, yo!)? There's no way I would've expected that to satisfy my entertainment needs. But I'm man enough to admit that I would've been wrong. Four Brothers is a gritty, testosterone-fueled crowd pleaser that mixes drama, action, and humor. If you're looking for something light and fluffy then keep on looking because you won't find it here. But if you're in the mood to see some bad guys get pumped full of bullets and fists then this will put a smile on your face. The audience at the screening I attended was clapping and cheering throughout the movie. You'd have thought we were at a wrestling match. This plays out a bit like a Western. A wrong is done, a posse seeks to get revenge against the wrongdoers, and the wrongdoers are painted in such an unlikable fashion that you're just begging for them to taste a little vigilante justice. As for the good guys, well, they fall under the "anti-hero" moniker. They aren't scared to sidestep the law in order to get what they're after. But within the context of the movie you can't really blame their motives. Their mother adopted them when nobody else wanted anything to do with them. They were considered lost causes, yet she took them in, gave them a family, and put her faith in them. They didn't turn out to be saints, but as one cop says, "They're Congressmen compared to what they would've been." Now their mother, just an old lady always trying to do good, is dead and the cops don't seem to be doing anything about it. Wrongs have to be made right, and the brothers decide they're the ones that have to make it right. This is one of those movies that I figured I'd somewhat enjoy, but I walked out of the theater thinking, "Man, I didn't expect it to be THAT good!" It's rare that I find such a diamond in the rough, so I savor it as if I'm Rob Schneider at a stupid movie convention. One reason I had my doubts going in was I feared it might be drowned in loud, annoying hip-hop stylings. Plus, every Outkast song I've ever heard has made me want to gouge my eardrums with a letter opener, so I feared the worst from Andre Benjamin. "How annoying is this guy going to be?" I asked myself. But all my fears were unfounded. Instead, we're surrounded by a world of crooked cops, bad guys who wear man-furs, surprisingly good acting, believable chemistry, a couple of subtle twists, and a really cool car chase on ice. I'm always up for a good revenge flick, and I'm happy to report that this one exceeded my expectations. ODDS & ENDS Andre Benjamin was unsure about accepting his role in the movie, but while searching the Internet for music he came across a CD for a country group called The Brothers Four. He'd never heard of them before, and he took this as a sign to do the movie. It's 2:18 AM, and I just don't feel like coming up with cute odds and ends right now. Tyrese was in 2 Fast 2 Furious with Paul Walker who is in the upcoming Into the Blue with Josh Brolin who was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon. MAMA'S APPROVAL Oooooooh no, this is not anywhere close to getting mama's approval! There's quite a bit of profanity, a lot of violence, and some sexual situations. Please leave the children at home. TRAILER COMPARISON I enjoyed the trailer, and based of that I thought it looked like it might be fairly entertaining, but I enjoyed the movie more than I expected to. THE GIST Are you easily offended by violent revenge flicks? Then use your common sense and skip out on Four Brothers. But if that sounds like your kind of movie then I think you'll find this one works great within the genre.	RETURN TO HOME PAGE Ghouls Eagle Eye Righteous Kill Tropic Thunder Traitor Death Race Star Wars: Clone Wars The Dark Knight Journey to the Center of the Earth Hancock Weekend Results: 1. Beverly Hills Chihuahua($29,300,465) 2. Eagle Eye($17,709,817) 3. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist($11,311,751) 4. Nights in Rodanthe($7,368,259) 5. Appaloosa($5,050,310)

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