Gimme the Loot

The best thing about this flick is the real people. Almost all of these actors seemed like regular folks. The accents were 100% genuine. I especially liked how everyone was very opinionated about the Yankees vs. Mets thing.

I loved how the movie gave you the feeling of what it's like to be in NYC and go from one adventure to another.

The 2 leads were fantastic; interesting, funny, and easy to relate to. They stole the movie.

The only thing wrong with the movie was it's lack of ending. Plus, the introduction of romance seemed like an attempt to show some sort of resolution. It came off as cute but a little hackneyed.

Well made, well acted, keeps you interested then... it's over and you're like, "So are they dating? Are they gonna get into Shea stadium? Was the blonde chick cool or an a jerk?" etc

This is a surprisingly charming movie. You end up rooting for the characters even though there isn't too much to the story.

Although by no means expected, the main heroes of this fab little indie are amongst my all time favourite small time crooks.

We follow the trials of two young misfits whose plans seem to go from bad to worse where instead of giving up they keep coming up with more scams or more plans for further scams. An interesting without a doubt portrayal of certain elements within metropolitan societies where by influence, neglect and lack of alternatives are pushed into this sort of perpetual circle.

Their personalities are so delightful, that the audience will bypass the fact that they are in fact miniature criminals or accomplishes.

Simplicity in filmmaking creates a documentary type experience with substance. It deserves to be seen, talked about, even studied.

--Review originally published at www.theframeloop.com--

Jam-packed with lofty art-house endeavours, CPH PIX Film Festival proves it has a soft-spot for feel good cinema with presentation of Adam Leon's impressive, Kickstarter funded debut, Gimme the Loot.

Presented by The Silence of the Lambs' director Jonathan Demme, the SXSW favourite is a platonic relationship comedy about a pair of aspiring, Bronx-based graffiti artists, Sofia (Tashiana Washingthon) and Malcolm (Ty Hickson). Discovering that a rival gang has trashed their turf, the pair hatch a plan to 'bomb the apple', AKA to tag the New York Mets' Home Run Apple at Citi Field stadium. It's a tough, nonsensical mission – the likes of which have been attempted in real life for the last twenty years, to no avail – but one that our teenage whippersnappers think they have the prowess to conquer. But first they need to raise $500 as a bribe for a guard at the ballpark.

And so sets off a picaresque pursuit for the dollar. Candidly shot across New York's Bronx and Manhattan neighborhoods (presumably without production permits), they hoist in a little help from their small-time gangster buddies for a series of heists and loots. Apparently anything sells in New York, so the savvy Sofia pawns off half empty spray cans, second-hand cell phones and used Nike sneaks while, a few blocks away, the scrappy Malcolm goes rogue with a pot dealers' weed and sells the stash to rich BoHo chick, Ginnie (Zoe Lescaze, looking much like a young Sissy Spacek). Invited in for a little tomfoolery, the inexperienced Malcolm is instantly besotted with her, but it won't stop him from swiping her extensive jewellery collection.

Allegedly taking influence from Raymond Abrashkin's iconic 1953 Coney Island classic Little Fugitive, writer-director Leon tells the featherweight story with tremendous zeal and a curiously observational approach, that is more akin to the French New Wave than the typical American indy. His New York is not of the resplendent Woody Allen persuasion, nor that of Scorsese's foggy urban sprawl. If anything, Leon presents the city like the warts-and-all melting pot that it really is, which is once again reflected in the diverse soundtrack's blend of R&B, experimental rock and original East Coast hip-hop.

While the graffiti surface story stinks of adolescent desperation, it is very much a red herring to the real story of oblivious teenage angst and love. Their first starring roles, newcomers Washington and Hickson have an exuberant chemistry together, which makes their covertly flirtatious banter and naturalistic prattling all the more charming, and the stagnated climax at the very least tolerable.

Gimme the Loot is somewhat of a rarity. Nonjudgemental of his protagonists, Leon's debut is a sweet natured gangster flick which neither glorifies thug life nor condemns it. It's slight, knowingly goofy filmmaking – the likes of which are so rare in modern, message-laden cinema - and proves the young débutant, his impressive cast and cinematographer Jonathan Miller as promising future talents.

--Review originally published at www.theframeloop.com--

Every so often we get a film made by young passionate filmmakers that offers us a fresh perspective on an overlooked aspect of society that speaks to everyone in an entertaining, powerful and mature way. Gimme The Loot is very close to being that film this year. Although it attempts for a realistic view, it's still very textured, capturing these few hot summer days in brilliant voyeuristic wides. While its rich in character, it does suffer on the story side. Although it has a simple setup of goal and problem, their journey to solving the problem feels meandering and unfocused, drifting away from their desires too often. However, the character work is brilliant, especially due to the great performances from Hickson and especially Washington, it does a great job of humanising these vandals. It's just a shame that it doesn't feel like it's paid off what it set up in the end.

7/10

The Bronx is alive with this film.

This is the neighborhood that I came up in. It's so actuate to the New York flavor and it was filmed right in my upbringing.

It starts on the streets of the Bronx and spreads all over the place, the village, Queens, etc. It hits the mark of everything New York is now.

And the cinematography helps to give it that realness.

Two best friends plan to graffiti bomb the Mets Home Run Apple by getting enough money to bribe a friend to let them into Shea stadium(not Citi field(perfect). They'll gonna get this money anyway they can.

But the movie is about more than this, It's about being a teenager and having a relationship with the only person on the planet who gets you.

Malcolm is lucky cause when I was his age my Significant other was a dude, he got pretty girl in Sofia who was as gangsta as she was pretty.

The movie is all about capturing this moment, and using the city as a beautiful background. It made me relate more, but who doesn't known what it's like to have a friend to battle the world with.

Loved it! This is my New York!!