Exoticalot
People are voting emotionally.
SnoReptilePlenty
Memorable, crazy movie
CrawlerChunky
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
Roland E. Zwick
Artfully directed by Sheldon Candis," LUV" is a compelling, low-budget tale of Vincent, a recently released convict who takes his young nephew, Woody, on a day-long excursion through Baltimore to give him lessons on how to survive in the urban jungle that is his home (Woody's mother lives in North Carolina while his grandmother is currently raising him in Maryland). This includes, among other things, teaching him how to drive and how to shoot a gun. But the main focus is on Vincent's attempts to go straight and to secure a loan for a restaurant he wants to open. But the young man soon discovers that it isn't all that easy to cut the ties with one's criminal past, and Woody bears witness to some pretty horrendous events throughout the course of the day.Taken as a whole, "LUV" is considerably less than the sum of its parts. The screenplay by Candis feels strangely doughy and underdeveloped, often leaving us bewildered as to what exactly Vincent is up to and who it is he's interacting with at any given moment. That being said, "LUV" manages to hold our interest due to the immediacy of its style and the naturalism of its performances. Common makes us care about Vincent; we see him as an ambitious young man who, despite his natural inclination towards crime - an inclination obviously resulting from the difficult circumstances in which he was raised - appears to be genuinely trying to turn his life around. That the world and his past seem to be conspiring against him is what makes the tale so poignant. Vincent may not be the perfect role model for his young nephew, but he is probably the best the boy is going to have for the foreseeable future.But it is young Michael Rainey, Jr., in a star-making performance as Woody, who walks off with the film. Even at the tender young age of eleven, Rainey is already a natural in front of the camera and it is his wholly believable reactions to what is taking place around him that strike a responsive chord in the viewer. Indeed, we are willing to go on this structurally awkward and artistically uneven journey simply for the privilege of reveling in his performance. Rainey, in essence, becomes the thread holding all these seemingly random and arbitrary events together. One looks forward to great things from him in the future.
darkchaoschao
I really enjoyed this movie. I mean it doesn't give the typical vibe as most movies do, some people might describe it as "incomplete" which is fair, but it really fits this movie. A few things in the movie don't "finish" as one could say, but in reality, this movie does not have a happy ending. This movie is probably one of the saddest movie towards the end.It's basically about a former big time drug dealer, Vincent (played by Common), who gets out of prison after 8 years in a 20 year term - people have there suspicions, and it's been 8 years since he's been out there. During his time in prison, he planned the rest of his life out, he wanted to open up a restaurant and everything... live a life "not of crime". Only problem is he has another loan (or something) not paid off and he has to come up with 22 grand within a few days to get a new loan worth 150 grand to buy the land for his restaurant... But a lot of people on the streets wants him dead.One day Vincent is driving Woody to school, they at the school and this girl who Woody likes is staring at him, but Woody is too shy to even get out the car and talk - he's embarrassed. So after a bit of sitting, Vince decides to take Woody out of school for the day, Woody is going to work with Vince... And throughout the next two days a lot happens.I'm not to good at giving summaries that don't spoil the movie, but bare with me. The movie is great if you like sad movies. This movie does not have a happy ending and a lot of things mentioned in the movie are up for your "imagination" you could say... it's a cliff hanger ending.Good film.
tiffnee428
I was so disturbed by this film. Why was it even made? As an African American woman, we often hear "support our own". Well I find it a hard slap cross the face when I do and this is what's delivered. An uncle takes his young nephew out into the world, and this poor child is exposed to the street life. The acting was good so this film was believable. The biggest problem was that not one adult in the film had a problem exposing this young kid. I'm still trying to figure out, who was that target audience. My son who is 9 yrs old, was so afraid of the violence that he asked me to turn it off. That's what's wrong with our youth today, exposed to too much violence. I kept hoping that I could find some sort of message but sadly it ended. I pray that the producers of this film go back to the table and put out some positive material because with the wonderful cast they had in this movie, they certainly have the resources.
jsrnorris
Shopping at Target and I notice this movie. I thought my husband and I would be able to enjoy a good movie one Saturday night. Boy was I so wrong. The movie had a lot of components but never made all the connection. The movie look like it started in the middle, really no beginning. I think a little more time writing and putting the pieces together would have made it a good movie. It never really gave a good foundation into Vincent. They had a lot of good actors which was very surprising they signed up for something like this. I wish I could get my money back for the movie. I would not recommend this movie and would hope they writer much success in the future.
