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the 5 minute window was the time he allowed the people to get in and out.
the fact that he left his cargo behind destroys any credibility he would have as a driver. yes he left them behind outside of that 5 minute window which falls into the understanding he had with the bad guys. But when your entire purpose is to be a wheel man, and you are hired to do the job, you should at least complete the job. But instead, after a very short pursuit, he bailed on the bad guys.
it makes him a hack and a person that nobody in there right mind would hire. it also killed the scene
if all he does is drive then he should have did his job. why would anyone pay him to sit and wait for them to do a job during that 5 minute window? it kills any credibility he hasComment
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I'm pretty sure the job was to get them to the parking lot where they can easily slip away.Comment
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if that was the job then why did he wait until the cops were all over him to go in the garage. i guess he is lucky the game didnt go into overtimeComment
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like i said, lucky for him the game didnt go into overtime. seems kind of thin dont you thinkComment
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I keep laughing at "he bailed on his people".Comment
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where did i say that. i said bad guys and cargo. glad u find that amusingComment
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My understanding was that once he got them out of harm's way, i.e. away from the cops, his job was done. They're not paying for a cab ride to their front door. And there's no sense in continuing to drive a car that the cops are looking for.Comment
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Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest
Directed by Michael Rapaport.
2011. Rated R, 97 minutes.
Cast:
Q-Tip
Phife Dawg
Ali Shaheed Muhammad
Jarobi White
Afrika Baby Bam
Mike G
Common
Angie Martinez
Chris Lighty
Monie Love
Black Thought
Questlove
Bobbito Garcia
Pharrell
Mary J. Blige
Adam Yauch
Back in the days when I was a teenager, before I had status and before I had a pager (remember those?) you could find young Dell listening to hip hop, my mom used to say it reminded her of be-bop. True fans know this to be a paraphrase of the first verse of “Excursions,” the opening song on A Tribe Called Quest’s classic hip hop album “The Low End Theory.” Yes, I’m a true ATCQ fan. At a moment’s notice I can recite whole songs of theirs completely from memory. Obviously, Beats Rhymes & Life is a movie that I could not miss.
For those not in the know, ATCQ is composed of four members. Q-Tip is the face of the group. Initially, he handled most of the rapping. He also handled most, if not all of the production. Later, his lyrical role was reduced to pretty much half. More than any other, his fingerprints are all over the Tribe’s identity. Tip is a bit eccentric, very much so by hip hop standards. Phife does the rest of the rhyming. His much more muscular yet witty approach to the mic provides the gravity that keeps Tip from spiraling off into outer space. Ali Shaheed Muhammad is the group DJ. He keeps the live shows moving and eventually helped produce. Before this documentary, Ali never seemed to say much, except with his hands of course. Fourth member Jarobi is a mysterious figure to many tribe fans. He was visibly and audibly part of the crew at the beginning yet disappeared by the time their second album came out. He was spoken of, but hardly seen. However, he does travel with them on occasion.
We meet up with our heroes in 2008 on the “Rock the Bells” tour. The Tribe is headlining despite not having recorded together since their very public break-up a decade prior. Time has not healed all wounds. Q-Tip and Phife constantly teeter on the edge of a fist-fight. By this point in their relationship, everything Tip does irritates Phife on some level. Ali and Jarobi are pretty much caught in the crossfire, unable to help the situation. Director Michael Rapaport spends plenty of time getting the points of view of the two bickering parties. He also gives us some commentary from the other two members.
To reinforce the iconic status the group enjoys in hip hop culture various artists producers, industry folks speak about how ATCQ influenced them or their experiences with them. ATCQ devotees, such as myself, will delight in seeing the likes of Common, Pharrell, The Beastie Boys and Monie Love testify to the Tribe’s greatness. Fellow Native Tongues alums, The Jungle Brothers, are particular helpful since they were greatly involved in getting a record deal for ATCQ. The Native Tongues were a group of artist that often worked together and were an eclectic bunch with an afro-centric outlook, a great deal of social awareness but decidedly less militant than much of the rap music of the time. The most successful NT member, Queen Latifah, provides us with the most glaring absence. She has transcended the music to become one of the most recognizable women in the country, an Oscar nominated actress and best-selling author. She would provide us with something the movie is a bit lacking in: another person young people or those not necessarily Tribe fans would easily connect with. She’s mention and seen an old clips but does not appear to share any of her recollections.
People gushing over our heroes is nice, but not what keeps us intrigued. What does it is the same thing that drives all those episodes of VH1’s Behind the Music. We want to see what happens to people who grew up as friends and achieve success together to destroy their relationships. Here, like in most cases, it’s everyone’s fault to some degree. Phife seems tired of Tip’s controlling ways and sometimes envious of the attention Tip gets. Q-Tip often appears oblivious to what’s going on as it’s happening. Then, he feel blindsided when he finally realizes the problem. The two have an interesting dynamic that’s explored thoroughly. However, what we’re offered as a resolution isn’t one, at all. In light of where they are when things end, we need to be given more.
We also should have more of their personal lives. Phife has serious health issues which we spend lots of time on. However, we learn little or nothing about the other guys’ lives away from the stage. Is anyone besides Phife married? Anyone have kids? If their parents are still alive what do they have to say? There is a scene of Tip going back to his old high school and catching up with some of his former teachers. However, none of them get a moment to speak on their ex-pupil. They are merely props for him to interact with, more or less.
Beats Rhymes & Life overcomes its flaws to still be a very good documentary. For Tribe fans, and those of 90s hip hop, the nostalgia factor is off the charts. For younger viewers it gives insight into a legendary group they may not know much about even though many of the artists they currently listen to know plenty. For non-rap fans, it’s hard to say how much value this holds. Thankfully, Michael Rapaport does a nice job of making this a very human story of strained relationships. I’d again refer to Behind the Music. If you’re the type that watches that show regardless of who the artist is, you’ll enjoy this.
MY SCORE: 8/10Comment
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your right...and im way over analyzing for the sake of discussion. But it just felt thin to not show the guys getting out too.... or makes it look like he is a hack. Again this only goes to why i didnt care for the scene as much as other did. Other than that, it had the potential to be a great scene imo
either way it was a great recommendation because it was so different in its approachComment
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Warrior
Directed by Gavin O'Connor.
2011. Rated PG-13, 140 minutes.
Cast:
Nick Nolte
Tom Hardy
Joel Edgerton
Frank Grillo
Maximiliano Hernández
Kevin Dunn
Jennifer Morrison
Denzel Whitaker
Kurt Angle
Erik Apple
What happens when your demons catch up to you? Our three main characters in Warrior have to find out the answer to that very question. There’s Paddy AKA Pop (Nolte), and his two sons, Brendan (Edgerton) and Tommy (Hardy). The three have been estranged for quite some time. Pop is a drunk who abused the boys’ mother. He’s been sober for close to 1000 days. When he comes home one night he discovers Tommy waiting on his doorstep. We quickly learn that a few years ago Tommy took mom and fled in hopes of getting her as far away from Pop as possible. He seethes hatred for his old man, yet here he is. Brendan lives not too far from his father but refuses to see him, mostly for the same reason as his brother. However, there is even more to that dynamic. The two brothers aren’t speaking, either. Both are trained fighters, but not working as professionals. Still, they both decide now is the time to get back in the game and start seriously training for a very high profile mixed martial arts tournament where the winner takes home $5 million. They do so separately and without knowledge of what the other is doing, of course. Interestingly enough, Tommy asks Pop to work with him.
The three men share something I hesitate to call a bond. That would imply that what they have is a positive thing. Rest assured, it is not. It’s much more akin to shackles that keep them connected no matter how much they desire to be otherwise. Indeed, they are each other’s demons. It seems they’ve been haunting one another all of their lives. Despite all the anger between them, we empathize with each of them. We understand the actions of the two sons. Things are a little trickier with regards to Pop. However, we feel sorry for him. He desperately wants to make amends but knows his mistakes are unforgivable.
Besides watching the guys rage against each other, the reason the two brothers want and need the prize money is also explored. This adds to the drama and helps to flesh out the characters. The writing and the actors themselves aid in this also. Nolte and Hardy are particularly good. It’s one of Nolte’s best in years. He really conveys a man constantly grieving his own errors, desperate to reconcile with his offspring and feeling completely dejected. It’s heart wrenching stuff. Whenever Hardy’s on screen, Tommy’s anger consumes both him and us. We feel the chill of his coldness. However, knowing what’s gone on in his life, we totally understand. By the way, as Brendan, Joel Edgerton holds up well also. Unfortunately for him, his performance is bookended by two outstanding portrayals.
Don’t go getting the wrong idea. There is lots of MMA action. It’s oddly handled, though. It’s brutal, but only up to a point. Fists, elbows, feet and knees hit as bone-crunching noises threaten to blow out your speakers. Bodyslams certainly live up to their name. However, it’s all strangely sanitized to fit into the movie’s PG-13 packaging. In short, it’s a bloodless affair. Anyone who’s seen the sport in real life knows this isn’t the case. Often, someone is being pummeled but where they’re being hit is barely out of sight. When you see this realize it’s the camera doing what camera’s aren’t supposed to do: flincing.
The fighting in Warrior is not here to satisfy my bloodlust, though. It’s here to provide a triumphant achievement for one of the brothers. For this reason, it’s been called just another Rocky clone. I disagree. There is that element to Warrior, but it’s much more. It’s about the painful relationships the three men share. This comes through even in its most Rocky-esque moments. Though one son assumes the Balboa role, the other is no Apollo Creed. He’s much more reluctant hero than villain. However, we do get an Ivan Drago in the form of unbeatable Russian champion Koba (Angle). In reality, he’s merely an interesting sidebar. Finding a way to defeat him is not the point of the nearly two hours we spend with this dysfunctional family. The point is to see how much the thrill of victory can be tainted by the agony of defeat.
MY SCORE: 8.5/10Comment
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I thought Warrior was a pretty bad ass movie. Also I downloaded the Tribe doc the other day and still havent got to watch it yet.
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