Prison Song

Prison Song is a very good movie about broken dreams and injustices in the prsion system. The direction by Darnell Martin is better than her last film I Like It Like That. The screenplay by lead actor Q-Tip is also very good for first time out. Look for cameo's by Mary J. Blighe, Noreaga and Fta Joe.

It is interesting to see a hood prison movie incorporate musical elements the way they did here. Unfortunately, this musical aspect is only seen in small instances, and as a consequence, it ends up not feeling so much of a hood drama musical all together. Now, I am not saying that the best thing the film has going is the musical take on the genre of films, but if it was not for the scenes where the actors rap, then this would be not much different than most of the other films that portray prison life.

As many of the other reviewers have stated, this movie presents to us a character with dreams of creating a "good life" for himself, who ends up falling into the prison system. Q-Tip and Darnell Martin do a great job in developing a script that embodies a trueness to the characters, which I am sure that the cast helped expand on. The silent moments of the film present the best moments (especially the last minutes where his works are displayed).

The movie takes ideas from many other prison films, however I have never seen a film present anything about asbestos and prisoners having to work in these conditions. After watching the DVD, I only wish that commentary were added and interviews at least with the director and writers. Worth a watch (or two). 8/10

Young people with talent. It's a good movie. You have to watch it in order to know how life go.

Prison Song was a film that I unintentionally passed up since it was on BET all of the time, instead I waited until the DVD came out to watch. When I did I realized that this is a very powerful film about a young man who gets caught in the system the same way his parents did - only it's a bum conviction that sends the kid to jail for life. For me, it's a very bothersome subject as I do have many friends who've been in and out of jail and as I'm aware of the fact that black people make up majority of the jail's population...

The movie even gets surprisingly graphic sometimes and really depressing as it's hard to not feel for the main character who was robbed of his dreams and his life by an unfair "justice" system. I relate to the main character as it's hard to emotionally detach yourself from a situation as messed up as the one he's in...

9/10 - solid and rewarding movie