Shottas - Una vita al massimo

A bit uneven, Shottas suffers from low quality transfers that just add to the film's problems. My dvd copy would sometimes cut to a black screen that would say: Insert more robbery scenes here. Technical problems aside: the meaningful dialogue is quite slim- character development seems aimed at an increase in robberies, the direction is lop-sided and meandering, never really wanting to show you much more than hot chicks and nice whips(would have made for a nice extended music video). While I did like the music, it's over-used and just sort of "there"- didn't do much for the film other than elicit some head-nodding on my part. The Anderson character is a joke-he's a political-bad guy cut-out. And how about that "tongue-in-cheek" joke about Wyclef's character banking on a music career? Horrible. Did I care what happened at the end of the film to the main characters? Not really, they were bad people who did bad things, a sentiment I held regarding Cess Silvera's directing effort.

Shottas tells the story of Biggs & Wayne. Both poverty stricken Jamaican youths who want the "shotta" (jamaican for gangster) lifestyle. They begin by robbing a cola truck and move on from there. The story was actually good. As said in other comments, I also was ready for "another rapper" movie. Ky-mani Marley did a great job. Same goes for Spragga Benz. If you want to see a gritty, violent, & entertaining tale, watch Shottas.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Biggs (Kymani Marley) and Wayne (Spragga Benz) grew up together on the mean streets of Kingston, Jamaica, and build up a huge drug dealing network that extends from their home town to the streets of Washington and Miami. But as the stakes rise and the games turn deadly, their rise to the top could be followed by a spectacular fall.

Having West Indian work colleagues, the particular lingo they use grows on you after a while and you can pick up some of this particular mangling of the English language. But the 'patois' featured heavily in Shottas would appear to be so heavy that subtitles are required through out, even if you do try to get rid of them on the menu screen. Their particular phrases, descriptions and certainly insults will certainly make an impression on you and so, even if this tale of young upstarts rising through the criminal underworld isn't particularly original or inspired, it's distinctive and amusing enough for this reason alone. Bob Marley's son Kymani Marley has presence in the lead role, and there's other musical talent in the cast including Wyclef Jean in a supporting role. ***

Firstly, it was fairly entertaining and had very good camera work although will look slightly outdated now. But it followed the same 3 chords the whole film. Dialogue a bit forced at times and some "actors" seemed to be anything but. It's fine for ok watch but won't be remembered as anything special.

This movie will probably be difficult to find, but it's worth it!

Cess Silvera does a good job directing. Everything looks very cool and stylish. He also captures the action scenes very well, they are not overly bloody either. Well done to him on the writing too. It is an original story. There aren't many movies (actually I don't know of any) that show the life of a shotta/gangster on the streets of Jamaica. Also the Jamaican drug dealers in Miami. I hope to see more from Cess Silvera!

Quite good soundtrack. All the songs suit the scene their placed in.

Some people thought that the acting wasn't good. I thought it was fine. Each actor plays their character very well. The stand outs were Ky-Mani Marley and Paul Campbell.

Overall I thought it was a cool and enjoyable movie. A good gangster film. As I said before, it maybe difficult to find, but it's worth it!