Monday, August 08, 2005

Hustle and Flow (***1/2)

This is an excellent example of bridging an independent film's sensibilities with a mainstream, feel-good, Rocky-style story. Terrence Howard is amazing as DJay, a pimp with aspirations to be a rap star. The movie plays much better than it sounds, and Howard imbues his character with sympathy and grace. What I like best about the film is the way it maintains a hard edge throughout. You never really know if it's going to end up happy or in a hail of bullets. The musical sequences are exciting, and writer-director Craig Brewer really nails the desperation of DJay and his cohorts, and impressively achieves a stylistic 70s atmosphere. Anthony Anderson and Taryn Manning both deliver knockout supporting performances. Highly recommended.

2 Comments:

At 8:45 AM, Blogger Jeff said...

Yo! I could go to see it tonight. Wednesday night I'm going to a jazz concert. Not sure about thursday.

 
At 10:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yo?

 

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