Ice Cube is the man of the hour and deserves major props for his new movie 'Barbershop'. I can not say enough about this excellent movie which is like a combination of Friday and Soul Food. Fellow actors and actresses like Eve, Cedrick the Entertainer, Sean Patrick Thomas and Anthony Henderson to name a few, all do a wonderful job. As for Cube, he's definitely stepped it up a notch. He's matured and reached his stride as both an actor and film writer.

The story centers around Cube who plays the role of Calvin struggling to keep a Barbershop which has been in his family for 40 years. There's a couple of side plots. One centers on comedian Anthony Henderson who steals an ATM from a neighboring convenience store. The other focuses on Eve and her two timing boyfriend who she seems to not be able to leave.

The movie is off the hook and if thats not enough-It was number one at the box office this weekend. Again major props to Cube. Lets hope other Hip Hop inspired films take a hint and move in the same direction. Actor Sam Jackson who says he hates working with rappers turned actors may have to reevaluate those words.

Red & Meth to Go Ghetto

In other Hip Hop news, Rappers Method Man and Redman are gearing up to star in yet another movie. Currently you can see them on TV commercials hawking deoderant. This new movie is called 'Ghetto' and is being billed as an urban comedy that centers around the characters played by Red and Meth forming a rap label to escape the ghetto. The pair made noise last year when they were featured in the movie 'How High'. It was your typical B movie that was packed with all the Hip Hop/ Black stereotypes and cliches. It's clear that both artists have lots of potential, lets hope they step it up in major way this time around. Cube's new movie should be a clear cut message that the bar has been raised.

One movie that may follow the footsteps of Barbershop is the soon to be released film 8 Mile which features Eminem. Its being billed as a cross between Rocky and semi autobiography of Eminem. It recently played at the Toronto Film Festival and got rousing reviews and had a line that strectched around the block with festival goers eagerly waiting to see the flick. In fact some said that there's a possibility it could win an Oscar. We'll have to wait and see. One thing for sure, the trailors look exciting.

The movie stars actors Mekhi Phifer who we know from Soul Food and more recently in MTV's Hip Hop opera Carmen.There he starred alongside Beyonce of Destiny's Child and rapper Mos Def who was incredible and recently starred on a Broadway Tony nominated play called Top Dog. Also on board is Oscar winner Kim Bassinger and Brittany Murphy. The movie is set to open November 8th and I humbly predict it will win its slot at the box office.

One thing to note, the producers of this movie are saying this is Eminem's movie debut. That's not true. He was featured in a Hip Hop spoof of the Blair Witch Project. It was a cheesy flick called 'Da Hip Hop Witch' that went straight to video and featured all kinds of rappers like Mobb Deep, Rah Diggah, Vanilla Ice, Pras and Ja Rule. Em tried to detch himself from the flick. In fact he went so far as to try and get his image removed but was unsuccessful. Should 8 Mile blow up and Em gets recognized for his role, folks are gonna head to the local video store looking for that cheesy movie he'd rather forget to have as a collector's item.

Lastly Lil Kim is set to blow up the spot with her film debut for 'Guns and Roses'. This movie is being described as an indie urban Western movie and will feature actors LisaRaye ("The Player's Club"), Monica Calhoun ("The Best Man"), Marie Matiko ("The Art of War") and Louis Mandylor ("My Big Fat Greek Wedding"). The plot centers around the trials and tribulations of five female outlaws who are out to avenge a murder in the 1800s. Also in the flick is singer Bobby Brown who is no stranger to the Big Screen.