Ride Along (2014)

Manic comic Kevin Hart and former NWA member Ice Cube headline this buddy comedy.  James (Ice Cube) is not crazy about Ben (Kevin Hart), the guy his sister Angela (Tika Sumpter) loves.  Ben gets accepted into the police academy and declares his intention to marry Angela.  James, a cop, decides to test Ben's fortitude by taking him along for the day as he goes about his job.  Ben is subjected to various scenarios designed to humiliate Ben, while James tries to track down someone who's planning to bring a shipment of guns into Atlanta.

I've seen Ice Cube in better projects, most notably, Boyz In The Hood (1991) and Barbershop (2002).  I like Kevin Hart as a comedian, but I have yet to see him in a good movie other than his comedy concert films.  There's a plot twist that can be seen from miles away.  It was no surprise to me when it was fully revealed late in the movie.  Unfortunately, most of the movie is the usual that audiences have seen many times before.  Hart dishes up his trademark non-stop patter, but here, it seems a little less would have worked better.

Gary Owen (Think Like A Man) has a small role, and singer Angie Stone appears briefly in a scene.  John Leguizamo (Ice Age), Bryan Callen ("Mad TV"), and Bruce McGill (National Lampoon's Animal House) appear as cops working alongside Ice Cube's character.

"Are We There Yet?" (2010 - present)

Based on the 2005 movie of the same name, the series continues following a blended family and their adjustments to their situation. Nick Kingston-Persons (Terry Crews), an ex-athlete turned information technology guru and sports reporter married divorcee Suzanne (Essence Atkins), a party planner.  Suzanne has two children from her previous marriage -- smart-alecky Kevin (Cory Stevens) and typical teenager Lindsey (Teala Dunn).  Nick's widowed mom, Marilyn (Telma Hopkins) doesn't like being called "grandma" by Suzanne's kids, and she has friction with Suzanne from time-to-time.  Suzanne's assistant Gigi (Keesha Sharp) is a somewhat flighty and self-absorbed woman who loves the attention of men, and often gets it. Martin (Christian Finnegan) is Nick's best friend, and the guy who brought Nick's sports memorabilia shop.
Terrence (Ice Cube) is Suzanne's secretive brother who's in the paramilitary.

This is a standard sitcom with the usual plot devices:  misunderstandings between spouses, disagreements between in-laws, kids trying to trick their parents, antics of co-workers, bosses, neighbors, and friends, etc. The comedy is mildly amusing.  This is not the first time there's been a TV show about blended families, but it is interesting to watch Nick and Suzanne work out various issues relating to Nick being a first-time husband and step-dad, as well as Suzanne sometimes grappling with how much authority she should give Nick over the kids, in addition to how much freedom she should allow her kids to have.

Terry Crews is an ex-athlete in real life, having played football in the NFL.  Essence Atkins was one of the half-sisters on the series "Half N' Half".  Keesha Sharp was William's witchy wife Monica on "Girlfriends".  Telma Hopkins was a member of the group Tony Orlando and Dawn; her TV credits include "Bosom Buddies" and "Half N' Half" with Ms. Atkins.  Also, Darrell Hammond and Horatio Sanz, both former "Saturday Night Live" cast members, appeared as a colleague of Nick's and Nick's boss at the TV station where Nick worked.

Boyz In The Hood (1991)

Absolutely the best of the "'hood" movies that were produced during the 1990's. Tre' (Cuba Gooding Jr.) is a teen who resides with his dad, Furious (Lawrence Fishburne) in rough South Central Los Angeles. His buddies are Doughboy (Ice Cube) and Ricky (Morris Chestnut), half-brothers who have somewhat of a rivalry going. Ricky is a high school sports star, while Doughboy has spent his time in and out of juvenile hall. In fact, as the movie opens, there is a party being thrown by the brothers' mom to welcome Doughboy home from another stint in jail.

It is explained that Tre' is living with his dad because his mom felt the boy was getting out of hand. Indeed, under his father's guidance, Tre' is a decent kid. However, he and his friends have to deal with the day-to-day trials of living in a neighborhood that lives under the cloud of gang warfare and street violence. Police helicopers patrol the area at night, shining bright lights on everyone. There is a scene where Tre's girlfriend, Brandi (Nia Long) is trying to do her homework as shots ring out on the street. Tre' is harassed by the cops in another harrowing scene, for apparently no reason other than he is an African-American young man.

Doughboy continues his gang association, and quickly starts a beef with a rival group. A war of words soon turns into a war of bullets, and tragedy follows the main characters.

This was director John Singleton's first major film. Cuba Gooding Jr. is the son of the lead singer of the R&B group The Main Ingredients. Gooding won a Best Supporting Oscar for his work in Jerry Maquire (1996). Nia Long appeared as Will Smith's girlfriend on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air"(1990-1996). Ice Cube was a member of the infamous rap group Public Enemy, who were chastized by the FBI for their hit "Fuck The Police". He was also the lead in the comedy Barbershop (2002). Morris Chestnut was in The Inkwell (1994). Angela Bassett, who was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for What's Love Got To Do With It?, appears as Gooding's mom.

Friday (1995)

Rapper Ice Cube co-wrote this slice of life about a day in an inner-city neighborhood of Los Angeles. Craig Jones (Ice Cube) and pal Smokey (Chris Tucker) are two young men who appear to do nothing about hang around the 'hood all day. Craig has just been fired from his latest dead-end job. Craig's dad (John Witherspoon), is always on him to do something with his life. Dana (Regina King), Craig's sister goes to school and is overly concerned with her hair.

The movie consists of the antics of Craig and Smokey's family and friends throughout the day. Some of it is funny, but a lot of it misses the mark. There is a long scene where Craig and Smokey are sitting on the front porch smoking, drinking, and making comments about the people who are passing by. It totally stops the movie in its tracks, and does not move the story along.

Ice Cube was a member of a notorious rap group known as NWA, known for such hits as "Gangsta, Gangsta" and "Fuck The Police". He has gone on to appear in such films as Barbershop. Chris Tucker paired with martial artist Jackie Chan for two installments of the movie Rush Hour. John Witherspoon was a regular on TV's "The Wayans Brothers". Anna Marie Horsford, who plays Ice Cube's mom in the film, was a regular on "Amen". Regina King was a regular on "227" and was in the movies, Jerry McGuire and Ray.