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Breakin’

July 20th 2006 Posted to Movie Reviews

Kelly, a struggling young jazz dancer (Lucinda Dickey) meets up with two break-dancers, Ozone (Adolfo Quinones) and Turbo (Michael Chambers). Overcoming scorn from other dancers disapproving of her hybrid dance style, Kelly soon becomes the sensation of the street crowds.

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Boyz N The Hood

July 20th 2006 Posted to Movie Reviews

John Singleton’s landmark debut featuring Ice Cube.
As we follow Tre Styles from childhood toward becoming a young adult (as played by Cuba Gooding, Jr.), and attempting to dodge, with the cautious guidance of his parents, the many dangers and risks associated with growing up in inner-city America, the sense of ever-present danger and, often, hopelessness associated with attempting to avoid falling into the cracks of society is abundantly clear.
In the role of Tre’s troubled friend Dough Boy, Ice Cube is something of a revelation, and his balanced performance, alongside Singleton’s excellent script, prevent him from becoming merely another gangster caricature. Lawrence Fishburne and Morris Chestnut add further depth to a strong cast.
All in all a very real, gritty depiction of the challenges faced at every turn by African American men and women in modern America. The building anger bristling beneath the surface in so many scenes is particularly resonant given the outburst of violence in the Rodney King Riots that took place in the very same city of the story just one year later.
The film spawned several imitations in subsequent years, but most glorified violence and placed an emphasis on a loud soundtrack and sexual explicitness at the expense of strong plot-line, good character development and a serious social message. All three are to be found in Boyz N The Hood.

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Beat Street

July 20th 2006 Posted to Movie Reviews

Beat Street is a story about kids in the South Bronx coming together to throw parties, pick up girls and express themselves through the medium of hip-hop. There are outside forces trying to glom some of the street cred off the kids. This time it’s plucky young Rae Dawn Chong as the downtown high-culture girl who introduces the notion of escaping the ghetto to Guy Davis, a DJ/rapper looking to make a name for himself. Reality comes crashing back down on Davis when one of his friends dies. The story isn’t unique but the film gets a lot of details right. The opening credits immediately feature some excellent break dancing and graffiti-inspired design while the burned-out buildings and house-parties vibe of the South Bronx youth culture is legit. (One of the film’s most memorable lines: “This ain’t New York, this is the Bronx!”) Additional credibility is provided by appearances from rap pioneers like Afrika Bambaata and break dancing legends Rock Steady Crew.

Beat Street is one of the more innocent, sweet hip-hop films from the early days. The cast is decent and the real hip-hop energy is strong. Even though the main love story is pretty uninteresting the break dancing and rapping (plus some classic graffiti) make this another early-hip-hop film to add to the collection.

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Wild Style

July 20th 2006 Posted to Movie Reviews

In Wild Style, legendary New York graffiti artist Lee Quinones plays the part of Zoro, the city’s hottest and most elusive graffiti writer. The story concerns the tension between Zoro’s passion for his art and his personal life, particularly his strained relationship with fellow artist Rose. However, you do not watch this movie for the story. Wild Style is the classic hip-hop movie reference point, full of great graff shots, breakdancing (Rock Steady Crew), freestyle MCing (Cold Crush, Busy Bee) and rare footage of one of the godfathers of hip-hop, Grandmaster Flash, pulling off a scratch mix set on a pair of ancient turntables in his kitchen!!
A must-see for any hip hop fan.

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