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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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Once in the Life
Lions Gate Films
MPAA RATING: R for pervasive languge, strong violence and some drug content
Starring
Laurence Fishburne,
Gregory Hines,
and
Annabella Sciorra
A gritty drama centered around brotherhood and friendship, Once in the Life is a realistic depiction of how every day choices affect our path in life. (Lions Gate Films)
| GENRE(S): |
Drama
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Laurence Fishburne (also play Riff Raff)
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Laurence Fishburne
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: March 27, 2001
Video: March 27, 2001
Theatrical: October 27, 2000
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
110 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
USA |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
80
Los Angeles Times
Kevin Thomas
Fishburne excels in his triple-threat roles as actor, director and adapter of his own play, and his cast glows under his direction.
75
Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman
Showcases a trio of terrific performances.
70
LA Weekly
F. X. Feeney
May lack any transcendent point that would make it exceptional, but it is certainly a worthy start, and worth catching.
68
Mr. Showbiz
Kevin Maynard
Has a credibly gritty texture, thanks in large part to Fishburne's generosity with his fellow actors.
63
New York Post
Lou Lumenick
Basically it's an acting exercise - a one-set rendition of that old stage and movie standby, the ex-convict struggling to go straight who's tempted to attempt one last score.
63
Chicago Tribune
Michael Wilmington
Strong, hard, dirty, funny, moving atmospheric and laced with scabrously musical street dialogue.
50
New York Daily News
Jack Mathews
As urban gangster drama, Once in the Life is way below mundane, and Fishburne's direction exceeds the rookie jitters.
50
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
The movie remains an actor's exercise--too much dialogue, too much time in the room, too much happening offstage, or in the past, or in memory, or in imagination.
50
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Sean Axmaker
If Laurence Fishburne could only have harnessed his fierce performance to drive his directoral debut, Once in the Life might have made something memorable of the done-to-death tale of small-time crooks on the run after a heist gone wrong.
50
Village Voice
Michael Atkinson
While the line-readings are often dead-on, Fishburne's movie suffers from the usual one-room claustrophobia and Mametian repetitions.
50
Variety
Robert Koehler
A film that ultimately feels stagebound and excessively talky, but which showcases an exceptional performance.
40
TV Guide
Ken Fox
The good news is that Fishburne also stars, and has recruited a talented group of actors to flesh out the cast; the bad news is that no one seems to have been on hand to help out with the rest of film.
40
Film.com
Henry Cabot Beck
Doesn't have a lot to offer that hasn't been done better -- and worse -- in hundreds of ghetto-sink shoot-em-ups.
40
The New York Times
Dana Stevens
(Fishburne's) performance here, witty and profane, vulnerable and strutting, nearly holds the movie together.
 The average user rating for this movie is 0.0 (out of 10) based on 0 User Votes
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