Drumline | | Cast : | Nick Cannon, Zoe Saldana, Orlando Jones | | Director : | Charles Stone III | | Studio : | Twentieth Century Fox Home Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Dolby | | Released Date : | December 13, 2002 | | DVD Released Date : | September 06, 2005 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), Spanish (Subtitled), Spanish (Dubbed) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 02, 2005 | | Summary | Drumline | Content
 | This is a fun and inspiring story for youth. It teaches the importance of discipline and determination. It also gives a view of college life. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 11, 2005 | | Summary | Rocky with a Snare Drum | Content
| The "Rocky" plot was so good and successful that it has been recycled many times - such as in "The Karate Kid". I don't know if I would have thought that the plot would adapt well to a story about elite college marching bands, but it does.
Since that plot must follow certain lines there is little that is surprising, so the success of such a film depends on the performances and "little things". Drumline gets "the little things" right.
Nick Cannon plays our hero, a snare drummer so talented that he is recruited from his NYC High School on a scholarship to play at fictional Atlanta A&T. (Of note: many REAL college marching bands are represented and, as Roger Ebert noted in his review, the famous Morehouse Marching Band figures prominently and was a good sport to allow their leader to serve as the "bad guy" in the story.) Devon Miles is proud and hard-headed, and doesn't tell the bandleader that he plays from memory because he can't read music - obviously a shortcoming in a band member. But he is also a spectacular drummer, and in one of the brilliant early scenes he tracks his uninvolved father down to tell him that he is graduating from high school, going to college, is not on drugs and doesn't have any illegitimate kids running around.
There is the expected "love interest". There is the realistic mentoring, courtesy of Orlando Jones as Dr. Lee, the bandmaster. There is the tense rivalry between hot upstart freshman Devon and Leonard Roberts as Sean Taylor, the Senior Section Leader of the Drumline. And there are some spectacular scenes of incredible high-stepping choreography and musicianship as the various bands strut their stuff en route to the BET Championship.
If you think a movie about marching bands would be boring, you might be surprised.
|
| Rating | | | Date | June 25, 2005 | | Summary | Pretty good, actually! | Content
| Normally I would not be inclined to enjoy this sort of movie.
But I found some of the themes and characters in this one to be quite interesting. I also found that the movie communicated a generally positive message. There were a few things that annoyed me, but overall I got a good impression.
This is much better than most of what has been released after 2002. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 24, 2005 | | Summary | Awesome music, okay storyline | Content
| If you enjoy marching bands and a pure drumline sound, crank your speakers up while watching the marching in this film. Excellent musicanship and showman ship are evident in the bands selected for this film. Having been a past band member, I fondly recall the excitement that flows during a performance.
The story, however, is a bit familiar at times. High school star goes to college, meets girl, makes friends but lets it all go because of an over-inflated ego. Devon Miles' (Nick Cannon) particular predicament is a good twist on the story but slightly predictable. Dr. Lee's (Orlando Jones) insistance on "One Band, One Sound" and his passion for musicianship will endear musician and watcher alike.
On that same note, Orlando Jones' performance in this movie is outstanding and uncharacteristic of his usual roles. He truly creates a memorable character.
This movie makes great strides to depict the intense competition of Black College marching bands and does an admirable job. Each show is edgy, high impact, and full of excitement. Unfortunately, much of this goes unnoticed as "big" networks cut to commercials instead of showing the real entertainment at halftime.
Take the time to watch this film, all things aside, you'll be glad you did. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 19, 2005 | | Summary | Talk About Making A Big Deal Over SO Little! | Content
| Drumline was an okay movie, but that's it. A little bit of romance, practically no humour, and a lot of hip hop.
I didn't care for the main character because of his extreme arrogance. Some might see this as making the movie realistic, but I thought it made the movie a little annoying. I'm not a big fan of cocky, arrogant people, especially when all that garbage isn't backed up what you think you are.
I didn't care for the love story in the movie. It didn't have a lot of substance.
Orlando Jones as Dr. Lee seemed to give a pretty good performance as the band's director.
The drums were good to the average audience, but pretty average to most drummers that are or have been in marching band. The part about not looking at your drum is pretty much known by most first time marching band drummers, and is definitely known to college level drummers. The drums kept the groove in the movie, so that's something.
I did like the "Saints Come Marching In" by the brass players. |
|
Picture 01 (20)
