Hip hop loves movies, not only do you have groups like Wu-Tang having their styles influenced by kung fu flicks, but you've got rappers like Will Smith, Ice Cube, and LL Cool J developing full fledge movie careers. But even if Common or T.I. isn't making an appearance in the movie, HipHopDX will still be there to tell you whether or not to spend your hard earned money on it or just cop the 30 new Lil' Wayne mixtapes that just dropped.

Above the Rim - | DVD Release | Comments: 0

A fairly straight-forward film involving a talented but conflicted high school ball player (Martin) who is torn between his relationships with a basketball team managing drug-dealer Birdie (Shakur) and a former local basketball star. The plot becomes a rehash of stories from films that came out at the time (eg. Boyz In The Hood) which involves the main character deciding which path to follow in life. Despite a mediocre plot, the basketball scenes are among the best to be put on film. Streetball becomes an undiluted and totally raw version of basketball. Alongside the great scenes of streetball games, Tupac gives one of the better on screen

Belly - | DVD Release | Comments: 2

Like a feature length hip hop video, Hype Williams' Belly is filled from beginning to end with gangsterism and violence, beautiful camera work and imagery, and rap stars. Nas and DMX play Sincere and Tommy, two gangsters trying to make it big in the drug game and after some mild success they go their separate ways. Unfortunately the film suffers from bad plotting, pacing and editing which combines to make a very convuluted and medicore gangster movie. I take nothing away from Hype Williams. The movie is visually beautiful and technically stunning but the story itself come off as being too dry and the characters

Friday - | DVD Release | Comments: 1

Basically the story goes...two homies, Smokey and Craig, smoke up a dope dealer's weed and try to figure a way to get the $200 they owe the dope dealer by 10:00pm that night. In that time they smoke weed, get jacked, and they get shot at in a drive-by. Simple right? Much like Snoop Dogg's lyrics, the simplicity of Friday is what makes it attractive. The movie is laid back and the plot is simple with the innocence of a small budget movie. Chris Tucker steals the movie in his performance as Smokey who, living up to his name, smokes too much. Most of the movie is set with Craig

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