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Have
you ever noticed
that in an Ice Cube
movie everybody gets
a mention in the
marketing? There’s a
brief bit on the
movie and then
there’s the rambling
off of 18 names-
actors and rappers
being actors. I’m
talking about Ice
Cube’s movie because
when he’s producing
a movie it’s
basically the same
thing- it’s a comedy
that’s fairly
social, a comedy
that’s not
controversial, and a
comedy with
straight-across
humor that can be
watched but doesn’t
demand to be
watched. That’s the
essence of
Lottery Ticket
and although ‘It’s
not horrible’ and
‘it’s watchable’
aren’t the first
things you’d choose
to have mentioned
about your movie,
it’s affable for a
movie like
Lottery Ticket
and it’s not the
worst thing that can
be said either.
Lottery Ticket
follows Kevin Carson
(Bow Wow) a young
man only concerned
with taking care of
himself, his
grandmother, and the
few people around
him that he cares
about. He doesn’t
have a ton of
ambition but when
the local
convenience store
manager/owner
convinces Kevin to
buy a ticket to the
lottery- he escapes
the odds with one
ticket and wins
$370,000,000. Not a
bad amount to fall
into. The only
problem that Kevin
has… it’s basically
a three day weekend-
the lottery office
is closed so Kevin
can’t claim his
winnings for 72
hours. From there he
has to survive a
couple of convicts
trying to steal his
ticket and fake
people wanting to be
his friend.
Basically the money
controls Kevin when
he first gets it and
it’s up to him to
overcome the people
around him changing
with the money while
trying to run away
from the convicts
who are out to steal
his ticket before he
can turn it in to
the office.
The cast for this
movie is really its
strength. I guess
that’s why everybody
gets mentioned in
the marketing. Bow
Wow was good enough
as the main
character Kevin
Carson. Ice Cube was
good as his roll
character and
Loretta Divine,
Keith David, Charlie
Murphy, and Bill
Bellamy all did good
jobs as well. A
surprising force of
the movie though was
Brandon T. Jackson.
He showed some
strength with comedy
to the point to
where you think he’s
going to be the next
Chris Tucker type
actor. But then he
gets this really big
dramatic moment
where you think he
could be the next
Denzel Washington.
The dramatic moment
might have had some
weird timing within
the movie, but it
still fit and
Brandon T. Jackson
was outstanding
during it.
The Blu-ray
experience is slim
but capable. There
are some deleted
scenes, a look at
the cast, and a look
at Bill Bellamy’s
do-rag collection.
Other than that
there’s not a lot.
And if a movie was a
good watch and not a
‘must-watch’ then
you’re probably not
going to spend a ton
of time with the
extras.
Lottery Ticket
wasn’t a bad movie.
It wasn’t a
hilarious comedy but
it was good enough
to get the job done.
The cast was good
and director Greg
White did a good job
with keeping the
action going so you
don’t miss a lot of
holes in the plot
(there are plenty.)
Just like several
other Ice Cube
produced ventures-
it’s a good movie
worth watching but
not something you
HAVE to invest time
in.
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