DVD Review | 3 A.M.
Written by: Kage Alan

Showtime Entertainment is celebrating Black History Month by releasing a
number of African-American titles in their DVD catalogue.  The first one I
reviewed was "It's Black Entertainment!" and I urge readers to seek that disc
out.  It's incredible!  The second feature is something I hadn't heard of
before and wasn't sure at all what to expect.  Well, I was pretty blown away
by the end of the film, which is not an easy thing to do, especially since
this makes two in a row.

The Lady Luck Cab Company isn't doing so well with the recent serial killings
of cab drivers in New York City.  The employees are starting to quit or call
in sick and that just doesn't settle well for the manager, Box (Sarita
Choudhury, "Mississippi Masala"), who's desperately trying to keep the
business afloat.  The shift the murders happen on is the late one, around 3
A.M. or so, but that's really only a backdrop for the film.   "3 A.M." is
really about a group of people who all interact throughout the night.  First
up is Hershey (Danny Glover, "Lethal Weapon"), a divorced cab driver dating
waitress Georgia (Pam Grier, "Jackie Brown").  She wants more of a commitment and he still has reservations.

Next up is Salgado (Michelle Rodriguez, "Resident Evil"), known as "Grumpy"
to her co-workers because she doesn't appear to like anybody and is usually
found in a foul mood.  There are times I can relate.  Anyway, Salgado has a
few personal demons that may or may not also be slightly supernatural.  Aside
from her, there's Rasha (Sergej Trifunovic), an immigrant with a habit of
getting into accidents and a streak of bad luck that may just lead to making
some very serious life changing decisions.  Throw in a couple of special
appearances like Spike Lee, Walt Frazier and The Guru along with a number of subplots and you've got the making of one heck of a film.

"3 A.M."'s strength comes from moving from one character to the next
throughout a 24-hour period and visiting just as many storylines, each with a
unique plot point that comes into play at some time with all the others.  The
acting is solid, the setting surreal at times right down to the restaurant
with cockroaches finding their way into the food and the stories compelling. 
While there's drama and suspense, there's also a bit of humor interspersed
throughout, which really helps relieve some of the tension.

Showtime has released "3 A.M." in a fine looking Full Screen transfer.  In
all honesty, I'm not crazy about it being in Full Screen, but since this
appears to be a made-for-Showtime movie, they usually aren't filmed in the
Widescreen format.  Anyway, video quality is very good and audio quality
compliments it.  As for extras, there are a couple of filmographies and
trailers included, but that's all.  I would have enjoyed listening to a
commentary with writer/director Lee Davis, but there wasn't one.  Perhaps
he'll consider doing one for his next project.

Viewers going into "3 A.M." expecting a film about a serial killer going up
against the likes of Glover, Grier and Rodriguez are going to be
disappointed.  It's not like that at all.  This is more along the lines of
Robert Altman's "Short Cuts" where it's character driven, not action driven,
and audiences are along for the ride.  The fact it had Spike Lee as Producer
and Danny Glover as Executive Producer speaks highly of the project as well. 
For something off the beaten path of what we're used to seeing, "3 A.M." fits
the bill quite nicely.

Film Rating: B+
DVD Special Features: N/A

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