This movie was so real, that it made me cry... It's all about knowing what's right & wrong. I give it 5 plus stars! It was so good that I watched it twice! !! The main character's grandma reminded me a lot of the conversations I have had with my 3 sons, and that's why I cried, it hit home run with me. THANK YOU GOD, for another awesome grassroots movie with substance, heart, and soul. No big budget here, but good acting and resources to quality scenes made you forget its grassroots. Fantastic beginning, middle, and end. And none of them predictable. And to top it off, the actor who played "Candyman," Tony Todd, played two very symbolic and memorable roles!

Excellent - MUST SEE FILM! Changing The Game is hands down one of my favorite independent films of all time. It is an intelligent, moving, timely, brilliantly told story filled with depth of emotion, strong characters and dialogue, classic literary references, superb acting by a diverse and well chosen cast, with a surprise ending Hitchcock himself would applaud. While the film takes place in an Urban setting, this is NOT your typical "Urban Drama". It has heart, honesty and shows that Black Men in the inner city can be victors in any circumstance as opposed to victims of their circumstances. The characters are so well scripted and acted, as a viewer, you are engaged and involved in each of their story lines. They make you laugh, cry, cheer and they make you care about their fate or outcome. The production, props, set design, wardrobe and special effects make you forget this is a small budget film shot in Philadelphia in just 21 days. This film by Director and Writer Rel Dowdell, fills a void in modern Black Cinema, by artfully and masterfully maintaining a balance of great story telling, with believable characters and multiple themes which are thought provoking without being "preachy". Sean Riggs, Dennis L.A. White, Irma P. Hall, Nicoye Banks, Kirk "Sticky Fingaz" Jones, Tony Todd, Brandon Ruckdashel and the rest of the cast, do a phenomenal job telling a great story. This is a film you will definitely want to see multiple times.

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.