35 & Ticking [DVD] [2010] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

This movie was heads and shoulders above a lot of independent black cinema due to several factors: 1.) The Cast--the right group of individual was chosen to act in this flick, which was a real plus, cause everyone here had the talent to pull it off. 2.) The Storylines--everybody had a story to tell, and even though a happy ending was not to be had by all, the story of their lives brough enough realism and never made them one-dimensonal. 3.) The Production--totally crystal clear and professionally done and able to understand every word being spoken. It was a real movie! Believe me, I have spent good money supporting our films and received worse. This was a treat for me and I really enjoyed watching it.

Unlike many of our current black independent films that are comprised of stereotypes & buffoonery, this was a good independent film and one to be proud of. The storyline was good, good actors were selected & the acting was not only good but also realistic. This movie was very humorous & comprised of many good scenes, good lines & also good delivery, timing, body language & facial expressions that actually coincided with the lines, which is what brings the characters to life and makes not only the characters realistic but also the story. Also, the sound track was very good and the great songs that were selected actually coincided with the scenes, unlike some songs that are played in films that have absolutely nothing to do with the scenes. Bottom line, it was refreshing to see a black independent film that was well thought out, tastefully executed and really relative to today's relationship issues. It was along the lines of another movie I loved that was also well done titled, "30 Years to Life." After watching this movie I looked at the credits to see who the writer was so I could look out for future movies from this writer, and to see what else he may have written. I saw that he also wrote "Love for Sale," which is another black independent film I've seen and really did like. With that said, let me say Kudos to Russ Parr for a job well done. In closing I just have to say that Clifton Powell who is one of my favorite actors, must really have a great agent because there are not too many black films or plays, whether independent or a major motion picture that he's not in. He was actually in both of Russ Parr's films, "35 & Ticking" & "Love for Sale" which as I stated before are very good films and Clifton did a great job in both.

The writing on this film was some what bone dry, with either forced comedic moments that were meant to be funny but wasn't or not enough wordiness between characters at pivotal points which made the film drag in a slow spacey manner. Russ has written better, like, "love for sale", although the writing was on the weak side the star cast of actors made up for what could have been a total lost of a film. Not to be minimized on writing specifically, the subject matter was pretty nice, I was thrown for a loop at certain points with whom I thought would end up with each other. So, kudos for that twist, normally I be up on stuff like that. Over-all this was a pleasant film to watch and it definitely had me reflecting about how ppl my age perceive in this day and era. I can relate to a lot of what was shown in this film and so I would recommend this film to anyone who would want to see a solid romantic comedy that isn't over the top with any slap stick buffoonery...