Changing the Game (2012)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

This story is in two parts. The first part deals with a poorly developed friendship between Darell (Sean Riggs) the smart kid and drug dealing Dre (Dennis L.A. White). This loosely sets up the second half where Darrell obtains his business degree and gets involved in some bad investments using the drug money. For some reason because it was his money, he is being investigated because his hedge fund investor (Brandon Ruckdashel) lost it. Go figure.The setting is in Philadelphia with broken dirty streets. The film likes to use and quote Machiavelli in order to look intellectual, because the acting and directing wasn't going to hack it. The acting was especially sad. They called it in.What was with giving Tony Todd two different roles, one as disfigured pimp and another as an FBI agent? Didn't Ed Wood think we would notice? The plot had continuity issues especially at the end.The film tries to go deep, but doesn't achieve. Brarality J. Dowdell, wrote and directed this film. It is his first attempt from his cushy college days.Recommend "Life of a King" or "Money Matters" instead.Parental Guide: F-bomb, N-word, brief sex, side breast nudity..

This was such a wonderful film with colorless and timeless messages. It could not have come at a better time. If you grew up as a suburbanite who was never exposed to urban America, or as one from Sweden who was privy and never for a moment growing up in the type of environment shown in this film, then this will definitely be like watching a foreign film without the subtitles. One has to know what it's like to overcome obstacles and succeed in life despite having everything against you to appreciate everything this uplifting film has to offer. Also, you have to be one who has someone in your life who has introduced you to having faith in a higher being to appreciate this film, like the grandmother (played by the incredible Irma P. Hall) did for the main character (superb newcomer Sean Riggs.) It is definitely not for the atheist. This film is SO much better than films like "Empire" which could never hold a candle to it. Changing the Game gets the highest of recommendations.

Now this is what I call a SURPRISE!!! I went into this film with no expectations and only decided to go because of the tile of the movie 'Changing the Game'. I thought maybe there would be some very funny irony that I could post if the film in fact did not "change the game". But as I started watching I realized I was witnessing something truly remarkable... a multidimensional, multicultural, mind-enhancing spectacle of entertainment and inspiration. I really don't want to give away any plot because it is filled with many major twists and turns that need to be experienced firsthand. I believe it is always better to see a movie with an "unframed" mind. What I mean by unframed is not allowing others to shape your expectations and understandings before you see it for yourself. That being said.... I love the characters (especially Irma Hall and Riggs), I LOVE the plot, and I love the overall uniqueness of the film. The cinematography detail is excellent as camera shots and character movement seemed to evoke unforced natural emotional cues that enhanced character dialogue and overall character development. BTW, the dialogue is awesome as every word seems to power the plot instead of depleting it with clichés. I feel like I am getting too technical so let me just say that this is a MUST SEE. The only knocks are that it could use some bigger budget polish and I felt like I wanted to see more interaction between the kid versions of (Darrel and Dre) because their childhood history and interaction is kind of bare. But this does not hurt the movie overall in any way. When I first came I had pretty low expectations but by the end not only did it blow my negative expectations away and turn them into positive fulfillment it made me want higher expectations for myself. That alone is priceless. I guess it's time for me to start changing myself in this game of life we all play.

This film was one that was one of the most pleasant surprises I've seen this year. I really did not know what to expect. What I got was one of the most ambitious and satisfying journeys in film that I have seen in a very, very long time. Protagonist Darrell Barnes takes us on a journey from childhood to adulthood where he learns that the unforgiving streets of North Philadelphia and the corporate private rooms of Wall Street are cut from the same corrupt cloth with many memorable characters in between. The film, for an independent, is truly ambitious in every regard. The cast is eclectic and consummate, and one scene in particular brought me to tears with its realism and heartfelt emotion. I also commend the chutzpah to pull of that very clever surprise ending. Kudos to the filmmaker and the entire production team from top to bottom for not being afraid to venture into unchartered independent film territory and pull it off so well.