That was an excellent one.

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

This morning, a cable channel showed "The Rosa Parks Story" since it fits in so well with Martin Luther King day.The movie drew me in and kept me in my seat until the very last scene. While most people are aware of Ms. Parks' historical significance, the famous bus scene forms a centerpiece for the movie which is deftly surrounded by events from her childhood, her marriage to Raymond, and a stirring scene with her mother around the time of the turmoil.It would have been so easy for such a movie to descend into preaching or overly lionize Ms. Parks. Instead, she is portrayed as a woman simply asserting her dignity as a human being. The casting for the movie was extremely strong since Angela Bassett (Rosa), and Cicely Tyson (her mother, Leona) are great actresses and Peter Francis James also does well as Raymond Parks.Through haunting flashbacks and a scene showing Ms. Parks's struggles to register to vote, the producers succeed in showing an ugly era in America's social history without over-sensationalizing. They also manage to show that many white people in Montgomery extended kindness to her, including a wealthy woman customer at the store where she worked and an attorney who helped out with the court case.Many scenes are emotionally stirring: you'd better have a box of tissues handy for this one!

In continuing to review in chronological order the achievements of African-Americans in film and television for Black History Month, we're now at 2002 with The Rosa Parks Story, written by Paris Qualles, directed by Julie Dash, and starring Angela Bassett who also serves as an executive producer. We follow the woman born Rosa McCauley's life story from when she was a child (as played by Charde Manzy) attending an all-colored-(as they were described as then)girls Catholic school with a Caucasian female teacher to her marriage to Raymond Parks (Peter Francis James) to her first confrontation with the mean white bus driver (Sonny Shroyer in a role very much different from deputy 'Dipstick' Enos on "The Dukes of Hazzard") to her arrest from that same driver with police backup. That first scene with Shroyer was really frightening with the way he treats her when she refuses to go to the back entrance to get back on because of the hard rain outside. Another intense scene is one that takes place after the famous incident when Rosa answers the phone that rings for a long time and looks shocked after she puts the receiver to her ear. Everything about Ms. Parks as performed by Bassett rings true here. Also fine is Mr. James as husband Raymond who's charming when he first courts Rosa even when she constantly refuses to see him and then is initially hesitant when he realizes the consequences of his wife's actions. And then there's the great Cicely Tyson, Miss Jane Pittman herself, who delivers perhaps the most inspirational speech as Leona McCauley to her daughter near the end of the movie. That and Dexter Scott King portraying his father Dr. Martin Luther make The Rosa Parks Story a very compelling movie biography. As an added treat, we see President Bill Clinton, in his second-to-last State of the Union address, acknowledging Ms. Parks in the audience and saying she can sit anywhere she wants! With all that said, I highly recommend The Rosa Parks Story to anyone with an interest in American history's darkest days and the good that resulted when someone did something to help put an end to it. And of course to any fan of Ms. Bassett. P.S. Peter Francis James is, like me, a Chicago native.

The choir in the movie sounded very good. They should get credit for all the hard work that they put into the soundtrack of the film. They traveled for hours just to make it to the set. they set and waited for long hours, voices drained, and they still managed to sound incredible. they were talked about and criticized, but they overcame all the negative comments and still did their thing. they should at least appear on the credits. they stayed up all night on a school night just to record the soundtrack. that's dedication. the central high school show choir from Tuscaloosa, Alabama should get recognition for their incredible work and their outstanding voices. Mrs. Jocqualine Richardson, the director, does a wonderful job with these young kids.

The performance of Angela Bassett and the other actors in the movie was great. They portrayed the parts of the story that most people do not know. It brought out so many emotions, I could hardly control them. Like Rosa, I'd refuse to leave my seat, rather my sofa], as well.