A good, if tired, story and dancing worth watching again | Stomp the Yard (Widescreen Edition)

stomp the yard | Stomp the Yard (Widescreen Edition) | Columbus Short, Meagan Good

DVDs:


	• Stomp the Yard (Widescreen Edition) Columbus Short, Meagan Good Sony Pictures, 2007 average customer review:based on 54 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

"Stomp the Yard" A Film of Life-Affirming Power and Beauty

Director Sylvain White's STOMP THE YARD may not strike many as an ideal movie for the family to gather around and watch during holidays or other special occasions but it actually is because holidays are about reaping the benefits of tradition and this movie is about that too. It's not so clear at the film's beginning whether we're watching a violent video game or a demonstration of directorial genius. The distinction, however, soon becomes obvious and the genius apparent.

The mesmerizing opening dance scenes come across a lot like video gladiator battle sequences. These give way to the urban realism of a more brutal --and fatal-- L.A. gang clash after the not-so-lethal dance battle. DJ, played pitch perfectly by Columbus Short, loses his brother Duron (singer Chris Brown does an impressive job in this role) to a bullet in the clash and life as DJ knows it then comes to a screeching halt.

After a brief time in jail, he leaves the West Coast for Georgia, where he moves in with his aunt and uncle, then enrolls in college. It seems like the perfect strategy for rebuilding your life but DJ has problems with the idea that he's living his brother's dream of going to college and that his own is not all that definite. Perhaps among the most under-appreciated gifted actors of his generation, Harry Lennix gives one of the strongest performances of his career as the no-nonsense-taking uncle who pulls DJ out of his self-pitying funk. Their relationship proves to be one of tough-love and mutual respect. It also provides a rare glimpse into how black male relatives often function as surrogate fathers to youth whose biological fathers for whatever reason are nowhere to be seen.

The move from West Coast to Georgia might appear coincidental but in fact it is crucial to this film because DJ's move takes him out of a region of the country where historically black institutions like Clark University and Tuskegee Institute do not exist, and into one where their presence and legacy remains strong. The move to Georgia turns into an inner journey to his ancestral beginnings where ultimately he discovers the strength and integrity needed to cope with the grief over his brother's death and move forward with a vision for his own life.

Once he becomes a student at Truth University, DJ initially demonstrates the same kind of arrogance and self-absorption that got him into conflicts back in L.A. But he also discovers the world of stepping, both a new form of dance for him and a cultural tradition going back to the establishment of the first black Greek Letter fraternities and sororities in the early 1900s during the Harlem Renaissance. He becomes determined to help his chosen fraternity, Theta Nu Theta, end a seven-year long losing streak against their rivals Mu Gamma Xi, and to win the heart of co-ed April Palmer (played beautifully by Megan Good). His efforts take him through an inspiring rites of passage during which he learns a great deal about his ancestral legacies and the advantages of sometimes working as part of a team rather than thinking only of himself.

The culminating dance competitions in Stomp the Yard have to be seen to be believed and rank among the best in cinema history. Ultimately, this film is one that stands alongside "You've Been Served," "Drumline," and others that accentuate the life-affirming power and beauty of many African-American college traditions. In the process, it confirms and celebrates that same potential in all human beings.

by Author-Poet Aberjhani
author of The Bridge of Silver Wings (Songs of the Angelic Gaze)
and Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (Facts on File Library of American History)

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A good, if tired, story and dancing worth watching again

This is an enjoyable movie. The actors all do a very good job -- no small feat considering some of the leads are dancers and not actors -- and of course, the dancing is all it's cracked up to be. The plot is mildly engaging, even though it's thoroughly predictable and has been done over and over. Sometimes characters seemed to change too quickly and do things that were out of character; but plot isn't really what this movie is about. This is a dancing film with a very simple conflict story thrown in -- the kind that usually drives low-brow sports comedies, of underdog team against a dynasty, and two members of those teams having a personal grudge.

Honestly, I didn't start off enjoying this film. I'm not hip enough to keep up with the gangsta dance battle that takes place at the beginning of the film, especially the way the camera was jerking around; I had a hard time distinguishing between dancers, etc. and was not anywhere near familiar enough with the dancing to have any kind of sense for who was better or why. But I did end up liking (not loving) the film by the end. And I do appreciate artistically the way the director deftly changed the whole look and mood of the movie from the dangerous street dancing in the opening's gangland LA to the more peaceful intensity of the rest of the movie's Georgia college setting. It helped lend a sense of repressed danger to Columbus Short's lead character that made the threats of his frat-boy enemies seem disingenuous.

Short, by the way, turns in a quiet performance in the most critical role that really glues the film together.

To summarize, this film is worth a look as a rental. Whether or not you want to own it would depend on how much you enjoy the dancing sequences.

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stomp the yard

Stomp the Yard is a good movie,the movie is only 116 minutes long.The movie Stomp the Yard is about a teenage deliquent that is able to stay out of juvienile hall by going to collage where he becomes a dance star. It is a PG 13 rating movie. Some of the characters that played in the movie are Columbus Short who played as DJ and as a brother to Chris Brown who played as Duron, Megan Good played as April and as the girlfriend to DJ (Columbus Short). The director was Sylvain White, the movie was good although it is a drama movie it is still a good movie. Karina C.

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Stomp The Yard

I love the movie. I watched it on SKY and just had to get it. Shows how the youth can vent anger and frustration positively. The only thing was that I bought it from America so it won't show in my DVD in England, but it will play on the computer. So make sure if you want to buy this DVD that you make sure you buy the correct version for your region.. but a must have for anyone who loves music and style.

DJ (Columbus Short) an amazing underground street dancer hasn't been in college for a day before he's entranced by the lovely April (Meagan Good).Working as a gardener to pay the bills DJ doesn't fit in with the wealthier students around campus but one thing does catch his attention the rival fraternity competitions known as stepping. With April's help DJ learns about the legacy and heritage behind the fraternities and decides to join up. Now part of an official step group DJ must balance rehearsals work and school while at the same time winning the heart of the girl of his dreams. With the National Step Championship drawing closer DJ must learn to stop dancing as an individual and start stepping as a team.Run Time: 116 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG - 13 UPC: 043396160422 Manufacturer No: 16042

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