God Has a Rap Sheet

With all the stupid,silly movies I see on cable night after night,I rented a copy of God has a rap sheet,and man was I happy to see a movie that told the truth about things Hollywood is too scared to talk about. Set in a grimy,stinky,holding cell on a hot summer's night- God has a rap sheet tackles touchy subjects like race,religion,sex and politics. (With eight different characters to represent all the different dilemmas discussed) Kamal Ahmed (the former Jerky boy) delivers a powerful debut,considering he wrote,directed and played all the music! I highly recommend this for anyone who supports low-budget,but high concept Independent movies. How or why the Sundance or IFC channel haven't picked this up,only points out their phony,going for the buck,star driven vehicle trash.

A close friend of mine recommended this movie to me and although it took several days to find it,I finally saw it on NetFlix. Well,let me start by saying I haven't seen so much honesty in a movie since the '70's. What made it special was that it was flawed and uneven,but that's what endeared me even more. Actor John Ford Noonan who played a sort of "God" mouthpiece,should of been singled out by Indie crowd as one of the best performances in years,but to my surprise,many people still have not heard of this film,and when I called the IFC channel to complain (I read one of the viewer's rants on the IFC's refusel to play it) They gave me no reasonable excuse,just a simple "We passed on that title". Curious,to me. But I think there is an obvious discrimination that reeks around this title.

After voting I noticed only people who rated this movie with 10 out 10 commented it so I thought I should do my service to the community by balancing a bit the comment department :)

I gave it 6 out of 10, which means I thought it was a bit over the average. I don't care if it's a low budget or a million dollar blockbuster, my parameters resume to my satisfaction while watching the movie.

This whole movie takes place in just one cell with about 8 guys in it. So the least you'll expect is 8 terrific actors and a perfect plot. I can't complain too much about the actors, some were great, others forced their "type" a bit too much and others were unnoticeable... still nothing shocking here. The plot, however, was nice but tried to give more than it should. The whole theme around the conversations within the cell resume to politics, racism, violence, etc... which is all very nice and interesting, but after almost 2 hours of condescending advice about how to reject sin and be good to your brother was just too much. I think they forced the idea a bit too much.

The plot disappointed me in more two items, the way it explained "God's" story, and the last part of the movie took a few strange and useless turns.

By the way, the soundtrack could have been much more interesting as well as the photography.

Whatever you may believe (in more sense than one), this movie might rub you a certain way. There are quite a few cliches checked here. The white old guy who says he is god, looks like or similar to what Christianity makes him out to be. Of course within the cast there is "diversity". Coincidence or not, they all get locked up in one cell and ... talking ensues.

Whatever you may think of religion and or ethinicity, the movie tries to be entertaining with that stuff while also gives you food for thought throughout. The message seems to be that it is tough to be good and very easy to be tempted to the dark side. Is there a chance for redemption, is too late or is all just ... talk? No pun intended, though to be fair there is a lot of talking which may be too much for some.

While many things are on the nose, look for subtle things like a shadow (4 minutes before the movie ends) ... have to admit was positively surprised overall by this. And the acting was decent too - like the idea and the script - whether you believe or don't ... oh it's real! It's damn real (or is it?)

An honest character study that is fearless in finding humor in certain racial stereotypes. Very well acted especially from the lead; John Ford Noonan, who I've had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with on many different subjects and levels. The direction is solid and specific from Kamal Ahmed who's created a fresh, raw and impressive take on the Independent film medium. Bonz Malone is another powerful character who takes the film to another level. The set and some of the visual choices made in this film are amazing and prove the level of commitment involved from Director, Ahmed and Cinematographer, Tom Agnello. Another great attribute to the film is it's soundtrack by The Sacred Groove Posse which mixes funk and an old seventies type feeling to the story.