Good story, Not enough for a whole film

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Gym shoes and sneakers are often referred to as kicks in the urban community. The right kicks can take a young man from obscurity to being one of the popular/cool kids. Imagine being a poor and unpopular teen that does not have any luck with the opposite sex. Then one day your life is changed by the acquisition of a pair Jordan sneakers. This is the plot of the film Kicks. A poor teenager, Brandon, procures a pair of Jordan brand basketball shoes that are taken shortly after by a neighborhood thug, Flaco, and the movie follows Brandon in his pursuit to retrieve his stolen kicks.Kicks is a smaller budget film that was released directly to DVD and video streaming platforms. In spite of its smaller scale release, I found Kicks enjoyable. This motion picture employs the basic storyline in which the main character's property is stolen, and the film is spent following him as he attempts to reclaim the stolen goods. This time the property in question is a pair of sneakers. Now most material things can be replaced, but sneakers, especially these sneakers stolen in Kicks are irreplaceable. Exclusive sneakers are usually either sold in limited quantities, or the price of a reselling of the same shoes is so outrageous, a person might have to take out a second mortgage to purchase them! In the case of Brandon, having these shoes in the first place is happenstance because of his family's economic status. The biggest problem I had with this film is the pacing. Some of the story elements move too fast where I felt more time was needed. For instance, the build up to Brandon getting the sneakers should have been a slower process. The audience would benefit from seeing the struggle Brandon endures to get the shoes. I purchased my first pair of Jordan gym shoes when I was fifteen years old, the same age as Brandon. I was working my first job at a popular grocery chain, and I wanted the red and black Air Jordan number ones to wear on my first day of school; the same shoes that causes the conflict in Kicks. Even with my part-time job paying weekly, attaining the shoes was still a struggle. I saved for months and even waited in line early on a Saturday morning with the risk the shoes would be sold out before I made it inside the shoe store. Well, unfortunately for me, the shoes did sell out…but luckily one of the salesmen had an extra pair he was willing to sell for an additional $25. The shoes were a half size smaller than I wore at the time. On top of that, they were not the original color-way I was so eager to purchase in the first place; they were navy-blue and white. At that point I did not care because returning home empty handed was not an option. After going through that experience, I would have been devastated if those shoes were stolen. A depiction that illustrates a struggle similar to my experience, or worse would have given the audience the context to understand why it was imperative that Brandon get his Jordan's back. With all that being said, there were a lot of things that work in this movie, namely, the casting. Kicks has a young cast, but they carry themselves like veterans in the industry. One of the characters I must highlight is Brandon's friend Albert, portrayed by Christopher Jordan Wallace, the son of the late great rapper Notorious B.I.G. Wallace cleverly portrays Albert as the comic relief in the movie and his comedic timing is impeccable. Kicks is a grittier film, so Albert balances the film out with humor, without it feeling out of place. I am not sure if Christopher is planning on following his father's footsteps with pursuing a career in music, but he has a bright future in the entertainment industry as an actor. Jahking Guillory was just right for the role of Brandon because he is actually the age of the character he is portraying; a rare occurrence in Hollywood portrayals of adolescents. He has a certain innocence that made me feel protective over his character which makes me root for him throughout the movie. Kofi Siriboe, who depicts Flaco is the perfect antagonist because he is the exact opposite of Brandon. Flaco is menacing with no remorse for his actions, and the viewer can tell he has been through some struggles in his lifetime. Although Flaco is a threatening character, the director Justin Tipping still manages to humanize him; a pertinent component in the creation of a good villain. This is the directorial debut of a full-length picture for Justin Tipping and all in all, I was thoroughly impressed. What he is able to pull off with a smaller budget is quite remarkable, and I look forward to seeing more of his work. If you are a fan of coming of age stories that deal with real world situations, I recommend Kicks for your viewing pleasure.

I do love a nice pair of Jordan basketball shoes but it's not that serious! After all they're just sneakers. As a kid growing up in the late 80s and 90s I remember hearing stories of people getting jacked or killed for a pair of nice basketball shoes. I was surprised to hear recently that this type of stuff still goes on today. That's basically what this film is about. A 15 year old named Brandon would give anything to get his hands on a brand new pair of retro Air Jordan 1s and when he finally gets a pair they are stolen by a hardened thug in his hood and he goes on a ghetto adventure with two of his friends to try and get the shoes back, a nice little story with some nice little twists and turns. This film isn't the best indie film out there but it is a nice one just to kick back and enjoy. I did like the acting coming from Kofi Siriboe, who played Flaco and Mahershala Ali from "The Hunger Games". I think these two gave the film what it needed to give it that extra boost into making it a decent film because these two are some talented actors. With that being said, I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a good indie film now and then.

Trigger Warning(s): Gun Shots and BloodReview (with Spoilers)Noted Actor(s)Brandon (Jahking Guillory) | Albert (Christopher Jordan Wallace) | Rico (Christopher Meyer) | Flaco (Kofi Siriboe) | Jeremiah (Michael Smith Jr.)StorylineBrandon is poor. So poor that while his friends Rico and Albert have a fresh pair of kicks, Brandon's look like he got them at least one or two years ago. So with him hustling candy bars to get some nice shoes, naturally when someone takes them he wants to get them back. Problem is, the person who took them is Flaco. A local hoodlum who is definitely about that life but can Brandon step up, either with help or on his own, and take back what's his? Or is he still a boy and not yet a man?HighlightsThis Movie Will Get You HypedI'm not sure who of you out there may have gone to an urban movie, in a theater which mostly caters to Blacks and Hispanics, and had that one person who decided to vocalize or express how a particular scene made them feel. Well, let me tell you that person may end up being you with this movie. Something about the way violence happens, the way jokes go down, and how the characters interact is very authentic. To the point you almost one to join in and comment as if they going to look at you and laugh, tell you to shut up, or something like that.The Topic of Manhood, Friendship, and InnocenceIn the film, there are not real roles for women. Pretty much it is all about the friendships between men, loss of innocence, be it with sex or violence, and what it means to be a man. We see this in a few ways. The first, and unfortunate way, deals with the boys having sex or getting with a young woman. Like many a coming of age film, sex is a symbol of manhood but, unfortunately, the film is an example of toxic masculinity. Perhaps making you wonder why this is a highlight? Well, because in the movie you see how such a thing forms.Take Flaco's little brother, or son, Jeremiah. From what it seems, Flaco takes that kid with him everywhere. Be it him going to a party to get high, drunk, and maybe feel up on a shorty, or to watch people ride around in cars. The boy, who can't be older than 10, observes, absorbs, and with him singing a lyric, seeing how comfortable he is around guns and violence, you see how Flaco has normalized that in his life. Making it so, even at such a young age, his innocence is gone. Naivety about the life Flaco lives is not only non-existent but discouraged. Manhood is presented as taking what you want, defending and keeping what's yours, and violence is a norm and not a last resort.CriticismAin't One Positive Depiction of Black Women in the Whole MovieWhen you watch the credits you'll see the name of a few girls like Alexa and Mercedez, but will have a hell of a time trying to remember who the hell was that. Reason being, women solely play the role of someone to mess around with in this movie. If they aren't grinding up on someone, they are as ghetto as possible. If they aren't in the process of having sex, they are about to. I mean, to my surprise we didn't end up seeing a crackhead saying they would suck one of the leads members for a dollar.But to add insult to injury, we don't even get to see Brandon's, Albert's, or Rico's mom. The only mother, much less woman, who isn't problematic is Brandon's grandma and she has a non-speaking role and is bed ridden.On The FenceIt's All About SneakersIt all really boils down to sneakers. If you dig deeper you can find other things to note and talk about but, no matter how you look at it, Brandon's passage to being the local definition of a man came from some sneakers. Of which, so much nonsense happens that, paired with the negative depiction of women, it makes it hard to say, without pause, you like this film in such a politically correct world.Overall: Mixed (Home Viewing)

I was fortunate enough to be in the audience of the first screening of Kicks at the Tribeca Film Festival. It's an incredibly fresh and original film that addresses issues of masculinity and violence in modern times. I was actually left in tears as the credits rolled at the end of the film -- contemplating how violent the world we live in is. Yet, there's hope in Kicks, a beautiful hope that we can change and choose to move away from violence represented by the youngest character's choice at the end of the film. The performances from the cast are astonishing, especially the three young actors that play close friends in a frightening world with an honest and humor that is essential in real life. It's entertaining and touching. The use of music and visuals -- all the tools at a filmmaker's disposal are embraced to their fullest. It's hard to describe in words. You just have to experience it. So, go see it. I'm excited to see what's to come from these filmmakers.