when he is admitted into Atlanta's privileged Truth University. Just when he thought he had escaped a life of gangs, DJ finds himself in the middle of a "war" between two upper-crust fraternities where stepping (a popular dance form) is their weapon of choice. When DJ realizes the coed he falls for is the girlfriend of the school's champion stepper, he joins the rival fraternity to try to show her--and himself--that he's as good as anyone else there. Stomp the Yard is not an original film. Add some drums and you've got Drumline . Change some of the characters around and you've got Save the Last Dance . What sets the movie apart is the stepping. The precision involved at this level is impressively complicated and Short--a dancer and choreographer--is beautifully expressive both as an actor...  (less)

Marlon and Shawn, and director-cowriter Keenen Ivory) some slack and at least try to answer the obvious question, what were they thinking? For the sake of charity, let's ignore charges of reverse racism that plagued this would-be comedy about a pair of FBI agents (Marlon and Shawn) who go undercover as over-privileged white debutantes to thwart a kidnapping scheme, and let's allow that comedy--not social satire--is the Wayans' top priority. If you can get past the fart jokes, the freakishly unconvincing "white chick" makeup, seemingly endless gags about "white chicks" getting hit on by lusty black guys, and a plot that really doesn't matter at all, you just might find a laugh or two in the Wayans' attempt to understand women through a bit of frien...  (less)

to 10-year-old watcher. Does this make it a bad family film? Not in the slightest. The gee-whiz visual effects (created by original Star Wars wizard John Dykstra) and the film's ebullient wholesomeness make this a welcome addition to the home library. In E.B. White's world, it's hardly surprising that human parents would adopt "outside their species." The smooth-talking mouse Stuart (voiced by Michael J. Fox) seems the perfect new child for parents Geena Davis and Hugh Laurie, especially with an adorable wardrobe of very small sweaters and pants. Harder is fitting in with the Littles' family cat, Snowbell (voiced by Nathan Lane, who also deftly voiced Timon in director Rob Minkoff's last feature, The Lion King ). The simple story deals with Stua...  (less)

nothing tender about the Tenderloin District: "You've got people smoking crack while sitting in front of Starbucks." Chappelle's inspiration dips a bit after that, as the subject of sex with monkeys and smoking weed with Indians doesn't quite reach his usual standards. Then, suddenly, he's on top of his game again, his material like an echo of vintage Lenny Bruce as he discusses why whites drink grape juice and blacks drink "grape drink," why police harassment has led him to believe in impromptu alibis, and why the culture of celebrity should stay away from real-world issues: "Maybe Jah Rule doesn't have the answers we want in a disaster." --Tom Keogh Taken together, Richard Pryor's concert films, the essential Live in Conc...  (less)

plays the title character, a white-trash orphan in search of the parents who abandoned him at the Grand Canyon. The humor is supposed to come from Joe's misadventures, his redneck gullibility, and his encounters with such figures as a serial killer, a wacked-out janitor (Christopher Walken), and a lovable gal (Jamie Pressly) who may, unfortunately, turn out to be his sister. But the squishier requirements of the story, requiring the audience to feel deeply for the pain of Spade's caricature, are an irritant and force Spade to veer from the nastier stuff he does so well. With Kid Rock, Dennis Miller. --Tom Keogh  (less)

Christopher B. Stokes as a crassly commercial vehicle for B2K, the teen group that Stokes managed while making cheap-ass movies like this one. There's a tissue-thin romantic subplot, but mostly it's about the MTV-styled showdown between B2K (as Orange County white boys) and their black L.A. competitors, including members of the hip-hop group IMx. Their aggressive moves are undeniably impressive (in other words, don't try this at home unless you know a good chiropractor), but Stokes would've been better off making a straight documentary, thus avoiding all the nonsense that You Got Served delivers between its abundance of choppily edited dance scenes. --Jeff Shannon  (less)