list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around Higher Learning on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/Higher_Learning/91416/default.aspx Title: Higher Learning
Year: 1994
Director: John Singleton
Plot: This drama examines the personal, political, and racial dilemmas facing a group of college freshmen as they begin their first semester at Columbus University. Malik (Omar Epps) is an African-American student attending on a track scholarship; academics are not his strong suit, and he goes in thinking that his athletic abilities will earn him a free ride through college. Fudge (Ice Cube), a "professional student" who has been at Columbus for six years so far, becomes friendly with Malik and challenges his views about race and politics in America, while Professor Phipps (Laurence Fishburne), a black man who teaches political science, firmly tells Malik that he will not be graded on a different standard either because of his race or his ability to run quickly. With Deja (Tyra Banks), Malik finds a girlfriend, a tutor, and a training partner all rolled into one. Meanwhile, Kristen (Kristy Swanson), a somewhat naive young woman from California, meets a boy named Billy (Jay R. Ferguson) after both have had too much to drink at a beer blast; Kristen soon becomes a victim of date rape and becomes involved with a campus feminist group to deal with the painful experience. While working with the women's group, Kristen gets to know Taryn (Jennifer Connelly), a strong but understanding woman who is also a lesbian, and she finds herself becoming attracted to her. And Remy (Michael Rappaport) is a confused young man from the Midwest who feels lost in the multi-cultural atmosphere of Columbus. He is approached by Scott (Cole Hauser), a member of a group of racist skinheads, who believe that Remy is a perfect candidate to help carry out his group's violent goals. Keep an eye peeled for Gwyneth Paltrow, who has a bit part as a student; rap stars Busta Rhymes, D-Knowledge and Mista Grimm also appear in supporting roles. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 5
Number of Lists: 5
Number of blog posts: 1
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Thu, 07 May 2009 22:39:33 GMTHigher Learning1994John SingletonThis drama examines the personal, political, and racial dilemmas facing a group of college freshmen as they begin their first semester at Columbus University. Malik (<a href="/players/P____21960/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Omar Epps</a>) is an African-American student attending on a track scholarship; academics are not his strong suit, and he goes in thinking that his athletic abilities will earn him a free ride through college. Fudge (<a href="/players/P____34311/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Ice Cube</a>), a "professional student" who has been at Columbus for six years so far, becomes friendly with Malik and challenges his views about race and politics in America, while Professor Phipps (<a href="/players/P____23625/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Laurence Fishburne</a>), a black man who teaches political science, firmly tells Malik that he will not be graded on a different standard either because of his race or his ability to run quickly. With Deja (<a href="/players/P___195112/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Tyra Banks</a>), Malik finds a girlfriend, a tutor, and a training partner all rolled into one. Meanwhile, Kristen (<a href="/players/P____69296/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Kristy Swanson</a>), a somewhat naive young woman from California, meets a boy named Billy (Jay R. Ferguson) after both have had too much to drink at a beer blast; Kristen soon becomes a victim of date rape and becomes involved with a campus feminist group to deal with the painful experience. While working with the women's group, Kristen gets to know Taryn (<a href="/players/P____14510/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Jennifer Connelly</a>), a strong but understanding woman who is also a lesbian, and she finds herself becoming attracted to her. And Remy (Michael Rappaport) is a confused young man from the Midwest who feels lost in the multi-cultural atmosphere of Columbus. He is approached by Scott (<a href="/players/P____31032/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Cole Hauser</a>), a member of a group of racist skinheads, who believe that Remy is a perfect candidate to help carry out his group's violent goals. Keep an eye peeled for <a href="/players/P____54871/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Gwyneth Paltrow</a>, who has a bit part as a student; rap stars Busta Rhymes, D-Knowledge and Mista Grimm also appear in supporting roles. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide5Slightly Tagged (1-5)513http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t51773n0kxj.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/Higher_Learning/91416/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/8/26/34417.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 8/26/2008 6:01:05 PM
Body: I never went to a normal college, never lived in a proper dorm or experienced fraternity hazing or even rush week from an inside viewpoint. I went to an urban art school and then a commuter school. And though I grew up in a college town and later worked on the campus of another college I didn’t attend, I feel like I don’t have the proper perspective with which to judge most college movies and college kid characters as being true to life. This probably explains why I enjoy so many bad movies set in colleges and/or involving college students. I bet I could even check out a double feature of The House Bunny and College and have a good time at the movies. Of course, I do have some semblance of good taste, and I also recognize that none of the following movies are anywhere near the quality of my favorite college movies (including Harold Lloyd’s The Freshman, the Marx Brothers’ Horse Feathers and the Frat Pack’s Old School), or even the beloved Animal House, which I regrettably find to be highly overrated (no, that doesn’t mean I dislike it or think it’s bad or unfunny). The ten movies on today’s list are merely guilty pleasures that I can’t stop appreciating no matter how hard I try or how old I get. Teen Wolf Too - Certainly basketball is overused in high school and college sports movies, but following hoops with boxing gloves was an odd choice for this Teen Wolf sequel. It was almost as bad as having the popular jock character be on the wrestling team or, worse, a diver (see Back to School below). But despite the change of sport, the repeat of plot and the unfortunate recasting of the character “Stiles”, Teen Wolf Too has at least one enjoyable element: Jason Bateman. Even before he won our favor with Arrested Development and roles since, Bateman was quite a likable presence here. Sure, it’s not as good as the first movie, but does it really deserve that paltry 2.6 rating on the IMDb? Back to School - Having gone back to college after a long hiatus, I have a very special place in my heart for this movie. But I’ve had multiple levels of appreciation since first seeing it 22 years ago. Originally, as a kid, I just liked Rodney Dangerfield. In high school, my favorite character was “Derek,” the freaky friend played by Robert Downey Jr. Later, I got into Oingo Boingo/Danny Elfman and favored their appearance. And almost finally, when Kurt Vonnegut became my favorite writer, his cameo was the coolest thing in the world (as an added bonus: Keith Gordon, who plays Dangerfield’s son in the movie, went on to direct an adaptation of Vonnegut’s “Mother Night”). In a way, the movie isn’t too underrated; it has a decent 6.1 rating on the IMDb and a very good 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. Still, I’m always shocked that more people aren’t huge fans. PCU - I’ve already claimed my pre-hip appreciation for Jason Bateman (I even loved Valerie/Valerie’s Family/The Hogan Family, so there!), and now I must admit to having been a fan of Jeremy Piven since the beginning, too (Lucas has always been one of my favorite teen movies). I don’t know how often it’s watched these days, but looking back on it now, PCU seems to be a great souvenir from its time. Also, I’ll always remember it as the movie that taught me not to wear a band’s t-shirt to their concert and informed me of the fact that at any given time, there’s either a Michael Caine or a Gene Hackman movie being aired on television. Midnight Madness - I know it’s considered a cult classic now, but it truly deserves to be an actual classic. Is it not as popular or as widely seen as other college movies because it involves a college activity that isn’t centered around drinking or sex (there is at least the Pabst brewery)? When I first went away to college, I was nailed to the X (meaning I was straight-edge and didn’t drink or do drugs), so I would have loved it if there’d been scavenger hunts instead of keggers (actually, where I went, there wasn’t either), even if I’d already been arrested while participating in a hunt in high school. By the way, speaking of underrated scavenger hunt movies, where’s the DVD release of Scavenger Hunt already? Up the Creek - I guess not everyone has an appreciation for movies featuring Stephen Furst, despite his prominence in the king of college movies, Animal House. He followed that by appearing in both of my beloved scavenger hunt movies (see #4) and then later reuniting with his Delta brother Tim Matheson in this movie, which as a kid I always thought of as like a live-action, R-rated remake of Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown. Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise - It lacked the boobs and the bush, and its premise was pretty weak, even for being something of a redo of the first film’s plot. However, if you’ve ever seen the subsequent sequels, it’s clear that it could have been worse. Personally, I like the parts with James Hong, Bradley Whitford (always a well-played snake) and the song “No on 15″ (see the video above). Higher Learning - I tend to hate movies that so categorically divide the supposed social hierarchies of high school and college — maybe I just went to an abnormal high school, but it never seemed that distinct to me — and I don’t especially like the way this movie defines people by the music they listen to, but I have as much appreciation for Higher Learning as I do for The Breakfast Club and Crash, each of which I consider to be more about using thin characters as vehicles for ideas rather than about real people and a narrative story. Happy Together - No, I’m not referring to the Wong Kar-Wai film. Rather, the 1989 movie starring Patrick Dempsey and Helen Slater. Maybe it’s just the fact that my only college roommate was a girl. But that was intentional, unlike the scenario of this movie. Prior to its relevance to my life, though, it was merely great for featuring Supergirl (and Billie Jean) topless. Pumpkin - After so many high school and college movies in which the handsome guy or pretty girl ultimately falls for the “ugly” guy/girl, it was quite an interesting concept to have the “ugly” one be a mentally handicapped, as well as socially handicapped, person. Road Trip - Thanks to Martin Lawrence and Raven-Symone, I now have to specify that I don’t mean College Road Trip. I also have to note that I think it would be a much better movie if Tom Green wasn’t in it. Also, compared to Old School, which was also written by Scot Armstrong and Todd Phillips and directed by Phillips, it’s got about a tenth of the laughs, if even that much. Surprisingly, however, Andy Dick is actually tolerable in Road Trip and not in Old School. Is it just me, or should DJ Qualls be doing better for himself these days? Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:01:05 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com8/26/2008 6:01:05 PM I never went to a normal college, never lived in a proper dorm or experienced fraternity hazing or even rush week from an inside viewpoint. I went to an urban art school and then a commuter school. And though I grew up in a college town and later worked on the campus of another college I didn’t attend, I feel like I don’t have the proper perspective with which to judge most college movies and college kid characters as being true to life. This probably explains why I enjoy so many bad movies set in colleges and/or involving college students. I bet I could even check out a double feature of The House Bunny and College and have a good time at the movies. Of course, I do have some semblance of good taste, and I also recognize that none of the following movies are anywhere near the quality of my favorite college movies (including Harold Lloyd’s The Freshman, the Marx Brothers’ Horse Feathers and the Frat Pack’s Old School), or even the beloved Animal House, which I regrettably find to be highly overrated (no, that doesn’t mean I dislike it or think it’s bad or unfunny). The ten movies on today’s list are merely guilty pleasures that I can’t stop appreciating no matter how hard I try or how old I get. Teen Wolf Too - Certainly basketball is overused in high school and college sports movies, but following hoops with boxing gloves was an odd choice for this Teen Wolf sequel. It was almost as bad as having the popular jock character be on the wrestling team or, worse, a diver (see Back to School below). But despite the change of sport, the repeat of plot and the unfortunate recasting of the character “Stiles”, Teen Wolf Too has at least one enjoyable element: Jason Bateman. Even before he won our favor with Arrested Development and roles since, Bateman was quite a likable presence here. Sure, it’s not as good as the first movie, but does it really deserve that paltry 2.6 rating on the IMDb? Back to School - Having gone back to college after a long hiatus, I have a very special place in my heart for this movie. But I’ve had multiple levels of appreciation since first seeing it 22 years ago. Originally, as a kid, I just liked Rodney Dangerfield. In high school, my favorite character was “Derek,” the freaky friend played by Robert Downey Jr. Later, I got into Oingo Boingo/Danny Elfman and favored their appearance. And almost finally, when Kurt Vonnegut became my favorite writer, his cameo was the coolest thing in the world (as an added bonus: Keith Gordon, who plays Dangerfield’s son in the movie, went on to direct an adaptation of Vonnegut’s “Mother Night”). In a way, the movie isn’t too underrated; it has a decent 6.1 rating on the IMDb and a very good 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. Still, I’m always shocked that more people aren’t huge fans. PCU - I’ve already claimed my pre-hip appreciation for Jason Bateman (I even loved Valerie/Valerie’s Family/The Hogan Family, so there!), and now I must admit to having been a fan of Jeremy Piven since the beginning, too (Lucas has always been one of my favorite teen movies). I don’t know how often it’s watched these days, but looking back on it now, PCU seems to be a great souvenir from its time. Also, I’ll always remember it as the movie that taught me not to wear a band’s t-shirt to their concert and informed me of the fact that at any given time, there’s either a Michael Caine or a Gene Hackman movie being aired on television. Midnight Madness - I know it’s considered a cult classic now, but it truly deserves to be an actual classic. Is it not as popular or as widely seen as other college movies because it involves a college activity that isn’t centered around drinking or sex (there is at least the Pabst brewery)? When I first went away to college, I was nailed to the X (meaning I was straight-edge and didn’t drink or do drugs), so I would have loved it if there’d been scavenger hunts instead of keggers (actually, where I went, there wasn’t either), even if I’d already been arrested while participating in a hunt in high school. By the way, speaking of underrated scavenger hunt movies, where’s the DVD release of Scavenger Hunt already? Up the Creek - I guess not everyone has an appreciation for movies featuring Stephen Furst, despite his prominence in the king of college movies, Animal House. He followed that by appearing in both of my beloved scavenger hunt movies (see #4) and then later reuniting with his Delta brother Tim Matheson in this movie, which as a kid I always thought of as like a live-action, R-rated remake of Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown. Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise - It lacked the boobs and the bush, and its premise was pretty weak, even for being something of a redo of the first film’s plot. However, if you’ve ever seen the subsequent sequels, it’s clear that it could have been worse. Personally, I like the parts with James Hong, Bradley Whitford (always a well-played snake) and the song “No on 15″ (see the video above). Higher Learning - I tend to hate movies that so categorically divide the supposed social hierarchies of high school and college — maybe I just went to an abnormal high school, but it never seemed that distinct to me — and I don’t especially like the way this movie defines people by the music they listen to, but I have as much appreciation for Higher Learning as I do for The Breakfast Club and Crash, each of which I consider to be more about using thin characters as vehicles for ideas rather than about real people and a narrative story. Happy Together - No, I’m not referring to the Wong Kar-Wai film. Rather, the 1989 movie starring Patrick Dempsey and Helen Slater. Maybe it’s just the fact that my only college roommate was a girl. But that was intentional, unlike the scenario of this movie. Prior to its relevance to my life, though, it was merely great for featuring Supergirl (and Billie Jean) topless. Pumpkin - After so many high school and college movies in which the handsome guy or pretty girl ultimately falls for the “ugly” guy/girl, it was quite an interesting concept to have the “ugly” one be a mentally handicapped, as well as socially handicapped, person. Road Trip - Thanks to Martin Lawrence and Raven-Symone, I now have to specify that I don’t mean College Road Trip. I also have to note that I think it would be a much better movie if Tom Green wasn’t in it. Also, compared to Old School, which was also written by Scot Armstrong and Todd Phillips and directed by Phillips, it’s got about a tenth of the laughs, if even that much. Surprisingly, however, Andy Dick is actually tolerable in Road Trip and not in Old School. Is it just me, or should DJ Qualls be doing better for himself these days? Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/racism/MemberTagFilms.aspxracism
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