Money Power Respect

I watch a lot of low budget indie films. Sometimes you see a film that despite its modest budget is able to tell a story and entertain. This film however is not one of them. The film suffers from terrible sound, bad photography and bad editing. The sound is so poor that about a third of the film is incomprehensible. Many films shot on DV can display an adequate image. This film has every scene shown with a very high noise level; even the daylight shots! On the commentary track the DP brags that the night scenes were shot without lights. Well that explains why the actors look like moving shadows. At night you at least need to back-light actors to differentiate them from the background.

A competent director can work around technical issues and concentrate on acting blocking and coverage. The director appears to have given no thought on blocking. There are several scenes, such as when Levi visits his mother and little brother, where the actors are standing in front of one another and you can't see who is even talking! The acting is poor across the board and the director has decided to place the camera in a single position for an entire scene.

I am a filmmaker and I see quite a few films and read reviews. I rented this film despite some of the comments made by others on this site. After viewing the film I wondered whether or not people rent movies so they can trash them to feel better about themselves.

Truthfulness is important in story telling and I think this film is on the mark in that regard. This was written by someone who is obviously familiar with the world he writes about. The same cannot be said for films that many of us pay to see at the theater. The actors were inexperienced as indicated by the director in the commentary. The cinematography was good although some people may question why it was not "covered" a little more but if you watch the director's interview you learn that the shooting budget was 10,000 and they did not have control of all locations. Solid debut. I look forward to seeing more from this director.

Oh yeah. It has bad actors, bad porn scenes, bad shoot ups, bad drug exchanges, bad everything. I don't know why I saw the whole thing, but I guess I needed to kill some time while cooking dinner. Either they're all crack heads trying to change course in life, or they're actors not worthy of they're titles. Drew is acting OK, but the main character should be expelled from further acting duty. The story is OK, but it seems like they have taken the common Italian Mob film, made a black ghetto version of it with minimized budget and low budget actors. I mean, even the "bling" looks cheap in this movie ! Naw, films like these just can't make it without Ice-T he he. Or, throw in Andre 3000 and make a decent comedy out of it, but please, don't do it like this. 'These clowns wouldn't last a day in Brandbergen', to quote a certain genius.

I was impressed by the film. It had realism and you were able to follow and understand the choices and consequences that surfaced in the the film. For a Low budget film (no disrespect) It was put together very well. I personally do not care for them. You can not honestly compare the flaws of and Indie film to a Major Motion Picture. Resources were limited and you basically make the best with what you have. Yes, Some of the acting was mediocre but you got the jilt of what was trying to be transposed. This film took you on a journey in the day and a life in the narcotics world. I grew up around such conditions and was able to relate to a lot of what was going on. If you were not exposed to this type of lifestyle, you will not understand the film and consider it poor or not fulfilling.

I would like to give Jamal Hill his props on this film. If he ever had any future projects in the works I would definitely work with him on it. Thats the vibes and self confidence I see in the production work. If you have not seen it yet, take time to check it out, you won't be disappointed.

This movie was a great hood movie that started off slow, but then took you right in.The actors played their roles well and it made you feel like you knew them personally.My DVD of this movie is crystal clear and the audio is good it's not too low or jumpy, it's smooth all the way threw.Also the story line was great,I mean it's the story line of a lot of movies but so what every one has it's own unique turns and twist and that's what makes every movie different and when you live in that life like me or it's around you then you can really related and if you don't money power and respect will still grab you in and you will understand the life. Not only me but everybody that I let see the movie want's me to get them one and everybody in Detroit loves the movie,that's real so keep up the good work and Jamal if you make part two cause you can the way it ended let a sista know maybe you can give a fly chick a part in it. Keep shooting for the stars you'll make it

Michelle mcmurray