saturday night scooter & i went to see hustle & flow, and it was a damn good movie. not the island-style summer blockbuster movie, but rougher around the edges, you know, raw. with a kickass soundtrack to boot. i’d been wanting to see it for ages after getting swept up in a preview — which, it’s rare i want to see a movie based on previews, but you know — and had been repeatedly thwarted.
no matter, we managed to truck it out to alewife and catch a late showing. there were only two other chicks in the theatre besides us, which is not unusual for our movie viewings at freshpond. it is pretty spiffy these days to be damn near alone in the theatre. it’s like your own private show. and it’s always funny when the ushers come in to check and see if they actually have to run the movie or not. yes, you do have to run it, bitchez. for me!!!
tee hee.
anyway, terrence howard is like the new It boy in the movie scene these days it seems. well, him and cillian murphy, but that dude just looks fuckin’ weird as all hell. and howard is damned cuddly lookin’. even when he’s playin’ a hard-luck pimp-with-a-dream in memphis. the scratchy drawl was kinda appealin, too. even if his extra processed curls were mostly laughable. same reason i’m so in love with ice cube…he just looks cuddly. and, while i’m interested as to whether or not it really was howard spittin’ rhymes on film, he did make his flow believable to a certain extent.
and as far as behind-the-scenes-of-hip-hop movies go, this beat out 8 mile by a longshot. then again, while eminem tried…um, well…whatever. he’s eminem. like, you get exactly what you would expect from him.
either way, it seems these days i’m watchin’ a lot of movies about pimpin’, and hos, and whatnot. i don’t know if i should or not, but i’m just so damned amused by it. i love the cars, if i don’t watch myself i really will start callin’ everyone a bitch, and as far as hustle & flow is concerned, my main love is always hip hop. rock, indie, classical, hard rock, electronic, salsa, reggaeton, r&b, jazz, blues, etc., etc., etc. …i always go back to hip hop. it’s just so damned…i mean, you can’t really explain it. and i know scooter is all about the production side of things, but while that is somewhat important and can make or break an artist — and is often masterfully done — it’s just…that ain’t the heart of it.
i like it raw, and fresh. hungry.
and you see some of that in this movie. it doesn’t all come together and it is somewhat depressing, but it’s real. the ending isn’t some lame ass ‘happily ever after’ copout, and you feel the beat. plus, it is kind of awesome to see them build a ‘studio’ out of nothing and create a song. i covet their drum machine. mad equipment lust here.
is it the best movie i’ve ever seen — or even this summer? no, not necessarily. but did i enjoy it? hell yeah, i did. that shit was tight, man. and at any rate, how can you not love a movie where ludacris gets beat down? watchin’ a drunk-ass luda get the shit kicked out of him was well worth my $9, yo. hell, i’d pay to see that again. def jam vendetta ain’t got shit on terrence dashon howard, ya heard. of course, you know who really needs a hardcore beatdown — on film, or you know, wherever? fuckin’ ja rule, man. and every time ja rule pretends he can act, i just hope and pray that somewhere in the script it calls for him to get a massive ass-whuppin’. seriously. the world needs a ja rule beating. f’sho.
besides, he really does seem like just one loveable pimp. just tryin’ to make money for the rent…
