Let’s start with the bad. National Security a film starring (and I use the term lightly) Martin Lawrence and Steve Zahn (a ‘real’ actor,) as security guards trying to bust a smuggling ring. How many movies in a row can Lawrence ruin before he realizes he is NOT A LEADING MAN!! He is a funny sidekick. Learn your freakin’ role man! He gets more desperate with each film as he will stop at nothing to try for a laugh… including a constant barrage of anti-white-I’m-the-abused-black-man jokes. It is sad to watch.

Steve Zahn on the other hand should fire his agent for pairing him with Lawrence. Zahn is a great actor, both drama and comedic. He has accepted some pretty terrible movies and his career has undoubtedly suffered because of it.

This movie was directed by Dennis Dugan, an actor-turned-director that should have stayed an actor. He did Saving Silverman, which I liked, but the rest of his films are typical shlock.
RATING 4 out of 10

On to better things… An Evening With Kevin Smith is an interactive series of visits to college campuses by Kevin Smith. He tells some great stories of how his career and films progressed and takes questions from the audiences. It was filmed during a 2001/2002 speaking tour of Cornell University, Indiana University, Kent State University, University of Wyoming, and Clark University, and they cut back and forth between campuses for nearly every question. The film is very funny as Smith’s comic sense comes through freely as he takes his one-man show around the country.

Whether you are a film buff or just a fan of funny stuff – you must check this out. The story about his attempt to create a Superman script with Jon Peters was great.
RATING 9 out of 10

The Endless Summer is one of those classic films – actually a documentary that everyone has either seen or plans to see. I was one of those who had heard about it for years, but never saw it. That has changed. ‘This’ is what a documentary should be. Bruce Brown’s love of surfing is electric. Even for those of us on the third coast who are lucky to see one foot swells at Galveston cannot help but become fans of surfing. Add his strong affinity to the sport to his ability to weave and interesting story and you have a documentary that is as much travelogue as surfing legend folklore. I first started to admire him as a filmmaker way back in 1971 when my brother and I went to see On Any Sunday. This documentary about the world of motorcycle racing featured Steve McQueen and was amazing to us as avid motocross riders.

If you want a trip back to a more innocent time and a film about pure love of a sport… check out both of these films.
RATING 8 out of 10