list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around 8 Mile on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/8_Mile/206445/default.aspx Title: 8 Mile
Year: 2002
Director: Curtis Hanson
Plot: Controversial rap star Eminem makes his acting debut in this hard-edged urban drama, inspired in part by incidents from the musician's own life. Jimmy Smith (Eminem), known to his friends as Rabbit, is a young man trying to make his way out of the burned-out shell of inner-city Detroit. Rabbit's entire life has been a hard climb, and it certainly hasn't gotten any easier lately; Rabbit has just been dumped by his girlfriend, forcing him to move back in with his emotionally unstable mother, Stephanie (Kim Basinger), and he's getting along especially poorly with Stephanie's new boyfriend. Rabbit has a factory job that's tough, demeaning, and doesn't pay especially well, and he's convinced his skills as a rapper are his only real hope at a better life. Rabbit makes music with a crew of DJ's and MC's who call themselves Three One Third, among them his close friend Future (Mekhi Phifer), but his status as a white kid making music in a predominantly African-American community and culture is extremely intimidating, and after Rabbit freezes up in the midst of an MC battle, he's convinced he's missed his chance and that he's doomed to lead a marginal life as a factory rat for the rest of his days. With the help of his friends, and his new girlfriend Alex (Brittany Murphy), Rabbit struggles to work up the courage and the confidence to take one more shot at making his dream a reality. 8 Mile was shot on location in Detroit; the name refers to 8 Mile Road, a thoroughfare along the city's perimeter which effectively separates the middle-class suburban neighborhoods from the lower-class inner-city. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 69
Number of Lists: 40
Number of blog posts: 7
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:16:01 GMT8 Mile2002Curtis HansonControversial rap star <a href="/players/P___287398/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Eminem</a> makes his acting debut in this hard-edged urban drama, inspired in part by incidents from the musician's own life. Jimmy Smith (<a href="/players/P___287398/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Eminem</a>), known to his friends as Rabbit, is a young man trying to make his way out of the burned-out shell of inner-city Detroit. Rabbit's entire life has been a hard climb, and it certainly hasn't gotten any easier lately; Rabbit has just been dumped by his girlfriend, forcing him to move back in with his emotionally unstable mother, Stephanie (<a href="/players/P_____4427/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Kim Basinger</a>), and he's getting along especially poorly with Stephanie's new boyfriend. Rabbit has a factory job that's tough, demeaning, and doesn't pay especially well, and he's convinced his skills as a rapper are his only real hope at a better life. Rabbit makes music with a crew of DJ's and MC's who call themselves Three One Third, among them his close friend Future (<a href="/players/P___215981/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Mekhi Phifer</a>), but his status as a white kid making music in a predominantly African-American community and culture is extremely intimidating, and after Rabbit freezes up in the midst of an MC battle, he's convinced he's missed his chance and that he's doomed to lead a marginal life as a factory rat for the rest of his days. With the help of his friends, and his new girlfriend Alex (<a href="/players/P___200519/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Brittany Murphy</a>), Rabbit struggles to work up the courage and the confidence to take one more shot at making his dream a reality. 8 Mile was shot on location in Detroit; the name refers to 8 Mile Road, a thoroughfare along the city's perimeter which effectively separates the middle-class suburban neighborhoods from the lower-class inner-city. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide69Tag Target (>10)4073http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t68150l63pm.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/8_Mile/206445/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/12/22/38710.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 12/22/2008 1:01:38 PM
Body: The Academy’s list of 49 tunes deemed eligible for the Best Original Song Oscar this year seems like a lot for the Music Branch to pick through. That is, until you notice that more than one-fifth of those contenders are from the same film (High School Musical 3, which, thanks to a new rule, is only allowed, at most, two nominations in this category) and you recall that last year’s list included many more songs (59) to choose from. The talent involved this year, however, is tremendous, at least in terms of those performers who sing the tunes on the soundtrack (many of whom had a hand in the songwriting). These artists include Mariah Carey, Etta James, Beyonce Knowles (who played Etta James), Norah Jones, will.i.am, Jack White and Alicia Keys, Danny Elfman, Emmylou Harris, Chaka Khan and Regina Spektor. Add to those big names such heavyweights as Bruce Springsteen and Peter Gabriel, both of whom are locks to be nominated, as well as tween favorites Miley Cyrus and Zac Efron (along with the rest of the cast from High School Musical 3), and you could have one hell of a concert if the Academy simply turned its awards telecast into one big celebration of the year’s songs written for the screen. Unfortunately for ABC, the Oscars aren’t just about securing viewers, so there’s no promise that the most popular artists will be among the five nominees. Rather, the true Oscar-worthy songs are those tunes that serve their respective films best — in terms of context as much as in the quality of their songwriting. In addition to Springsteen and Gabriel, another sure thing nominee is Clint Eastwood, who wrote the title song for his film Gran Torino. As for the fourth slot, Cyrus could very well find herself a contender, which would technically allow the marketers of her upcoming Hannah Montana Movie to advertise the film as starring “Academy Award Nominee Miley Cyrus.” Her song, “I Thought I Lost You,” co-written with Jeffrey Steele (and co-performed with John Travolta), from Bolt has already received nominations for both a Golden Globe and a BFCA Critic’s Choice Award (as have Springsteen’s title song from The Wrestler and Gabriel’s “Down to Earth” from WALL-E). The only issue with a telecast performance of this song, despite the fact that it might draw higher ratings than a Best Picture nomination for The Dark Knight, is that a live duet between Cyrus and Travolta could be the creepiest musical number since Rob Lowe and Snow White’s infamous rendition of “Proud Mary” back in 1989. The final nominee is more difficult to predict. The Golden Globes selected Knowles’ “Once in a Lifetime” from Cadillac Records, which the Academy could use to make up for the singer/actress’ nominal exclusion as one of the songwriters of the 2007 nominee “Listen,” from Dreamgirls. Another favorite is M.I.A. and A. R. Rahman’s  “O…Saya” from Slumdog Millionaire, though this song has stiff competition from Rahman’s “Jai Ho” from the same film. A nod for the latter would be a wonderful recognition of Indian music, yet in a way it would also beg the question of why thousands of other great tunes from Bollywood haven’t been honored in the past (nor will they be recognized in the future). And why this song over other great “world music” possibilities like Bebel Gilberto’s “Forever,” from They Killed Sister Dorothy, and Angelique Kidjo’s “Djoyigbe,” from Pray the Devil Back to Hell? Oh yeah, because it’s the catchier number from the more upbeat (and fictional) Best Picture favorite. It will be a shame if, like many Oscar categories, there are no real surprises in the nominees for Best Original Song, so to assist the Music Branch in their task, I’ve picked out five alternative selections to those more likely to be nominated: “Barking at the Moon” by Jenny Lewis, from Bolt – Cyrus might be the bigger ratings draw, but Lewis would bring that indie “hipster” cred not really seen from the Academy since Elliott Smith’s nomination and performance more than ten years ago. Ratings aside, though, “Barking at the Moon” is actually the better of Bolt’s two eligible songs, and it’s just as catchy as “I Thought I Lost You.” Plus, its context is equivalent to the usual Randy Newman tune played over an animated film’s montage sequence. And since Newman is shockingly absent from the category this year, Lewis should fill in for him. “Sweet Ballad” by ‘Munchausen by Proxy,’ from Yes Man – If the Academy would rather recognize an actress who is also a singer rather than a singer-turned-actress (Knowles) or an actress-turned-singer (Lewis), then it’s time to honor Zooey Deschanel, who has performed on many of her films’ soundtracks, often diegetically and in character. This time she joined up with Von Iva to form Yes Man’s fake band Munchausen by Proxy, which has two songs eligible for the Oscar. The better of the two is this track, which sounds kind of like Julie Cruise fronting Goldfrapp (maybe David Lynch needs to cast Deschanel in something). It might be a little racy to perform a song featuring the repeated backing vocal lyric of “whore, whore, whore,” but it’s no worse than the Oscar-winning lyrics of “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp.” “Trouble the Water” by Blackkoldmadina, from Trouble the Water – Recently the Academy has honored two rap songs (“Lose Yourself” from 8 Mile and “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” from Hustle & Flow) and one track off a documentary (“I Need to Wake Up” from An Inconvenient Truth), so it’s only fair to go the next step and at least nominate this rap song from a documentary. It would be another of the Academy’s favored stories of triumph, since the track is by the doc’s subject, a relatively upbeat Katrina survivor who turned lemons into lemonade with her home video footage of the hurricane. “Up To Our Nex” by Robyn Hitchcock, from Rachel Getting Married – If for some reason the Academy wishes to ignore the usual old guys (sure, Gabriel’s never been nominated, but isn’t he almost interchangeable with his former bandmate Phil Collins?), it could do well to nominate Hitchcock, whose song is both lyrically relevant to the film’s story and prominently performed diegetically, which is precisely how an Oscar-winning song should be. Considering how important music is to Rachel Getting Married, it would be terrible for it to be ignored in this category in favor of an end-credits number. “Dracula’s Lament” by Jason Segel, from Forgetting Sarah Marshall – It’s easy to dismiss both this and Hamlet 2’s “Rock Me Sexy Jesus” as being “funny” songs, comparable to the Oscar-nominated “Blame Canada” from South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. But “Dracula’s Lament,” though plenty humorous, is no joke; it’s actually a great song that reflects the feelings of Segel’s character in the movie. And it would be the first Muppet-related Oscar-nominated song in more than 20 years. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Mon, 22 Dec 2008 18:01:38 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com12/22/2008 1:01:38 PMThe Academy’s list of 49 tunes deemed eligible for the Best Original Song Oscar this year seems like a lot for the Music Branch to pick through. That is, until you notice that more than one-fifth of those contenders are from the same film (High School Musical 3, which, thanks to a new rule, is only allowed, at most, two nominations in this category) and you recall that last year’s list included many more songs (59) to choose from. The talent involved this year, however, is tremendous, at least in terms of those performers who sing the tunes on the soundtrack (many of whom had a hand in the songwriting). These artists include Mariah Carey, Etta James, Beyonce Knowles (who played Etta James), Norah Jones, will.i.am, Jack White and Alicia Keys, Danny Elfman, Emmylou Harris, Chaka Khan and Regina Spektor. Add to those big names such heavyweights as Bruce Springsteen and Peter Gabriel, both of whom are locks to be nominated, as well as tween favorites Miley Cyrus and Zac Efron (along with the rest of the cast from High School Musical 3), and you could have one hell of a concert if the Academy simply turned its awards telecast into one big celebration of the year’s songs written for the screen. Unfortunately for ABC, the Oscars aren’t just about securing viewers, so there’s no promise that the most popular artists will be among the five nominees. Rather, the true Oscar-worthy songs are those tunes that serve their respective films best — in terms of context as much as in the quality of their songwriting. In addition to Springsteen and Gabriel, another sure thing nominee is Clint Eastwood, who wrote the title song for his film Gran Torino. As for the fourth slot, Cyrus could very well find herself a contender, which would technically allow the marketers of her upcoming Hannah Montana Movie to advertise the film as starring “Academy Award Nominee Miley Cyrus.” Her song, “I Thought I Lost You,” co-written with Jeffrey Steele (and co-performed with John Travolta), from Bolt has already received nominations for both a Golden Globe and a BFCA Critic’s Choice Award (as have Springsteen’s title song from The Wrestler and Gabriel’s “Down to Earth” from WALL-E). The only issue with a telecast performance of this song, despite the fact that it might draw higher ratings than a Best Picture nomination for The Dark Knight, is that a live duet between Cyrus and Travolta could be the creepiest musical number since Rob Lowe and Snow White’s infamous rendition of “Proud Mary” back in 1989. The final nominee is more difficult to predict. The Golden Globes selected Knowles’ “Once in a Lifetime” from Cadillac Records, which the Academy could use to make up for the singer/actress’ nominal exclusion as one of the songwriters of the 2007 nominee “Listen,” from Dreamgirls. Another favorite is M.I.A. and A. R. Rahman’s  “O…Saya” from Slumdog Millionaire, though this song has stiff competition from Rahman’s “Jai Ho” from the same film. A nod for the latter would be a wonderful recognition of Indian music, yet in a way it would also beg the question of why thousands of other great tunes from Bollywood haven’t been honored in the past (nor will they be recognized in the future). And why this song over other great “world music” possibilities like Bebel Gilberto’s “Forever,” from They Killed Sister Dorothy, and Angelique Kidjo’s “Djoyigbe,” from Pray the Devil Back to Hell? Oh yeah, because it’s the catchier number from the more upbeat (and fictional) Best Picture favorite. It will be a shame if, like many Oscar categories, there are no real surprises in the nominees for Best Original Song, so to assist the Music Branch in their task, I’ve picked out five alternative selections to those more likely to be nominated: “Barking at the Moon” by Jenny Lewis, from Bolt – Cyrus might be the bigger ratings draw, but Lewis would bring that indie “hipster” cred not really seen from the Academy since Elliott Smith’s nomination and performance more than ten years ago. Ratings aside, though, “Barking at the Moon” is actually the better of Bolt’s two eligible songs, and it’s just as catchy as “I Thought I Lost You.” Plus, its context is equivalent to the usual Randy Newman tune played over an animated film’s montage sequence. And since Newman is shockingly absent from the category this year, Lewis should fill in for him. “Sweet Ballad” by ‘Munchausen by Proxy,’ from Yes Man – If the Academy would rather recognize an actress who is also a singer rather than a singer-turned-actress (Knowles) or an actress-turned-singer (Lewis), then it’s time to honor Zooey Deschanel, who has performed on many of her films’ soundtracks, often diegetically and in character. This time she joined up with Von Iva to form Yes Man’s fake band Munchausen by Proxy, which has two songs eligible for the Oscar. The better of the two is this track, which sounds kind of like Julie Cruise fronting Goldfrapp (maybe David Lynch needs to cast Deschanel in something). It might be a little racy to perform a song featuring the repeated backing vocal lyric of “whore, whore, whore,” but it’s no worse than the Oscar-winning lyrics of “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp.” “Trouble the Water” by Blackkoldmadina, from Trouble the Water – Recently the Academy has honored two rap songs (“Lose Yourself” from 8 Mile and “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” from Hustle & Flow) and one track off a documentary (“I Need to Wake Up” from An Inconvenient Truth), so it’s only fair to go the next step and at least nominate this rap song from a documentary. It would be another of the Academy’s favored stories of triumph, since the track is by the doc’s subject, a relatively upbeat Katrina survivor who turned lemons into lemonade with her home video footage of the hurricane. “Up To Our Nex” by Robyn Hitchcock, from Rachel Getting Married – If for some reason the Academy wishes to ignore the usual old guys (sure, Gabriel’s never been nominated, but isn’t he almost interchangeable with his former bandmate Phil Collins?), it could do well to nominate Hitchcock, whose song is both lyrically relevant to the film’s story and prominently performed diegetically, which is precisely how an Oscar-winning song should be. Considering how important music is to Rachel Getting Married, it would be terrible for it to be ignored in this category in favor of an end-credits number. “Dracula’s Lament” by Jason Segel, from Forgetting Sarah Marshall – It’s easy to dismiss both this and Hamlet 2’s “Rock Me Sexy Jesus” as being “funny” songs, comparable to the Oscar-nominated “Blame Canada” from South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. But “Dracula’s Lament,” though plenty humorous, is no joke; it’s actually a great song that reflects the feelings of Segel’s character in the movie. And it would be the first Muppet-related Oscar-nominated song in more than 20 years. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/karina/archive/2008/3/5/25892.aspx Post By: Karina
Post To: Karina on SpoutBlog
Post Date: 3/5/2008 1:01:21 PM
Body: An administrivia note: we still have a couple of SXSW previews to push out over the next two days, but starting this afternoon we’re going to start posting full-fledged reviews of films in advance of the festival’s opening on Friday. Make sure to check our SXSW 2008 category for all the goodies. Now, for today’s preview. Probably the only documentary in recent memory featuring appearances from both Weird Al Yankovich and Jello Biafra, Nerdcore Rising (premiering at SXSW on Sunday as part of the 24 Beats Per Minute program) delves into a subgenre of hip hop that’s all about nerdery. The trailer for the doc can be found above, and director Negin Farsad answers the 4 Questions We’re Asking Everyone below. Tell us about your movie. Who did you work with, why did you make it? Give us the reductive, 25-word or less, “It’s like [pop culture reference a] meets [pop culture reference b]!” pitch, then explain what the quick and dirty sell leaves out. Nerdcore Rising is like Battlestar Galactica meets 8 Mile. Basically, its a documentary that explores a rapper who’s trying to make it – though in this instance the pseudo-fictionalized Eminem is being played by lovably geeky and lyrically speedy, MC Frontalot, the godfather of Nerdcore hip hop. And, like Eminem, before being a rapper Front’s life was hard – though that hardship was less financial and more algorithm-related. Frontalot used to be a web coder/designer but decided to invent a new genre of hip hop, drop all the bandwidth, and form a band (puns!). Also, I’d like to note that Eminem and MC Frontalot happen to share exactly the same skin color though I believe their similarities end there. But, other similarities pick up with Battlestar Galactica because Frontalot is a Cylon. Kidding. Because the film takes place in outerspace. Kidding. Because Frontalot is a big geek and he really loves fictional space odysseys as do his fans. In fact, his fans are the real stars of the movie because throughout the film they share with us their love of video games, their obsession with Star Wars, their weakness for table-top gaming, and, of course, an unabashed belief in the Nerdcore hip hop. They provide the proof that Nerdcore isn’t simply about one nerdy guy with “thick-ass birth control glasses” (as someone in the film describes them) but it’s really about a movement, complete with die-hard fans. Fans that have been looking for a space to bob their heads to strident hip hop beats with lyrics that mean something to them. Nerdcore is that space and Frontalot is making their heads bob. (more…) Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » karina
]]>Wed, 05 Mar 2008 18:01:21 GMTKarinaKarina on SpoutBlog3/5/2008 1:01:21 PM An administrivia note: we still have a couple of SXSW previews to push out over the next two days, but starting this afternoon we’re going to start posting full-fledged reviews of films in advance of the festival’s opening on Friday. Make sure to check our SXSW 2008 category for all the goodies. Now, for today’s preview. Probably the only documentary in recent memory featuring appearances from both Weird Al Yankovich and Jello Biafra, Nerdcore Rising (premiering at SXSW on Sunday as part of the 24 Beats Per Minute program) delves into a subgenre of hip hop that’s all about nerdery. The trailer for the doc can be found above, and director Negin Farsad answers the 4 Questions We’re Asking Everyone below. Tell us about your movie. Who did you work with, why did you make it? Give us the reductive, 25-word or less, “It’s like [pop culture reference a] meets [pop culture reference b]!” pitch, then explain what the quick and dirty sell leaves out. Nerdcore Rising is like Battlestar Galactica meets 8 Mile. Basically, its a documentary that explores a rapper who’s trying to make it – though in this instance the pseudo-fictionalized Eminem is being played by lovably geeky and lyrically speedy, MC Frontalot, the godfather of Nerdcore hip hop. And, like Eminem, before being a rapper Front’s life was hard – though that hardship was less financial and more algorithm-related. Frontalot used to be a web coder/designer but decided to invent a new genre of hip hop, drop all the bandwidth, and form a band (puns!). Also, I’d like to note that Eminem and MC Frontalot happen to share exactly the same skin color though I believe their similarities end there. But, other similarities pick up with Battlestar Galactica because Frontalot is a Cylon. Kidding. Because the film takes place in outerspace. Kidding. Because Frontalot is a big geek and he really loves fictional space odysseys as do his fans. In fact, his fans are the real stars of the movie because throughout the film they share with us their love of video games, their obsession with Star Wars, their weakness for table-top gaming, and, of course, an unabashed belief in the Nerdcore hip hop. They provide the proof that Nerdcore isn’t simply about one nerdy guy with “thick-ass birth control glasses” (as someone in the film describes them) but it’s really about a movement, complete with die-hard fans. Fans that have been looking for a space to bob their heads to strident hip hop beats with lyrics that mean something to them. Nerdcore is that space and Frontalot is making their heads bob. (more…) Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » karina http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/3/5/25890.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 3/5/2008 1:01:13 PM
Body: An administrivia note: we still have a couple of SXSW previews to push out over the next two days, but starting this afternoon we’re going to start posting full-fledged reviews of films in advance of the festival’s opening on Friday. Make sure to check our SXSW 2008 category for all the goodies. Now, for today’s preview. Probably the only documentary in recent memory featuring appearances from both Weird Al Yankovich and Jello Biafra, Nerdcore Rising (premiering at SXSW on Sunday as part of the 24 Beats Per Minute program) delves into a subgenre of hip hop that’s all about nerdery. The trailer for the doc can be found above, and director Negin Farsad answers the 4 Questions We’re Asking Everyone below. Tell us about your movie. Who did you work with, why did you make it? Give us the reductive, 25-word or less, “It’s like [pop culture reference a] meets [pop culture reference b]!” pitch, then explain what the quick and dirty sell leaves out. Nerdcore Rising is like Battlestar Galactica meets 8 Mile. Basically, its a documentary that explores a rapper who’s trying to make it – though in this instance the pseudo-fictionalized Eminem is being played by lovably geeky and lyrically speedy, MC Frontalot, the godfather of Nerdcore hip hop. And, like Eminem, before being a rapper Front’s life was hard – though that hardship was less financial and more algorithm-related. Frontalot used to be a web coder/designer but decided to invent a new genre of hip hop, drop all the bandwidth, and form a band (puns!). Also, I’d like to note that Eminem and MC Frontalot happen to share exactly the same skin color though I believe their similarities end there. But, other similarities pick up with Battlestar Galactica because Frontalot is a Cylon. Kidding. Because the film takes place in outerspace. Kidding. Because Frontalot is a big geek and he really loves fictional space odysseys as do his fans. In fact, his fans are the real stars of the movie because throughout the film they share with us their love of video games, their obsession with Star Wars, their weakness for table-top gaming, and, of course, an unabashed belief in the Nerdcore hip hop. They provide the proof that Nerdcore isn’t simply about one nerdy guy with “thick-ass birth control glasses” (as someone in the film describes them) but it’s really about a movement, complete with die-hard fans. Fans that have been looking for a space to bob their heads to strident hip hop beats with lyrics that mean something to them. Nerdcore is that space and Frontalot is making their heads bob. (more…) Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Wed, 05 Mar 2008 18:01:13 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com3/5/2008 1:01:13 PM An administrivia note: we still have a couple of SXSW previews to push out over the next two days, but starting this afternoon we’re going to start posting full-fledged reviews of films in advance of the festival’s opening on Friday. Make sure to check our SXSW 2008 category for all the goodies. Now, for today’s preview. Probably the only documentary in recent memory featuring appearances from both Weird Al Yankovich and Jello Biafra, Nerdcore Rising (premiering at SXSW on Sunday as part of the 24 Beats Per Minute program) delves into a subgenre of hip hop that’s all about nerdery. The trailer for the doc can be found above, and director Negin Farsad answers the 4 Questions We’re Asking Everyone below. Tell us about your movie. Who did you work with, why did you make it? Give us the reductive, 25-word or less, “It’s like [pop culture reference a] meets [pop culture reference b]!” pitch, then explain what the quick and dirty sell leaves out. Nerdcore Rising is like Battlestar Galactica meets 8 Mile. Basically, its a documentary that explores a rapper who’s trying to make it – though in this instance the pseudo-fictionalized Eminem is being played by lovably geeky and lyrically speedy, MC Frontalot, the godfather of Nerdcore hip hop. And, like Eminem, before being a rapper Front’s life was hard – though that hardship was less financial and more algorithm-related. Frontalot used to be a web coder/designer but decided to invent a new genre of hip hop, drop all the bandwidth, and form a band (puns!). Also, I’d like to note that Eminem and MC Frontalot happen to share exactly the same skin color though I believe their similarities end there. But, other similarities pick up with Battlestar Galactica because Frontalot is a Cylon. Kidding. Because the film takes place in outerspace. Kidding. Because Frontalot is a big geek and he really loves fictional space odysseys as do his fans. In fact, his fans are the real stars of the movie because throughout the film they share with us their love of video games, their obsession with Star Wars, their weakness for table-top gaming, and, of course, an unabashed belief in the Nerdcore hip hop. They provide the proof that Nerdcore isn’t simply about one nerdy guy with “thick-ass birth control glasses” (as someone in the film describes them) but it’s really about a movement, complete with die-hard fans. Fans that have been looking for a space to bob their heads to strident hip hop beats with lyrics that mean something to them. Nerdcore is that space and Frontalot is making their heads bob. (more…) Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/smoothjazzandmore/archive/2008/1/21/24154.aspx Post By: smoothjazzandmore
Post To: smoothjazzandmore Blog
Post Date: 1/21/2008 3:38:24 PM
Body: Marshall Mathers, a.k.a. Eminem, gives a rather humbling performance as Jimmy "Bunny Rabbit" Smith, Jr.; a wanna-be rapper with problems bigger than what we can imagine. He's down on his luck and has to move back home to his mom's house. Couple that with the fact that he has a fear of rejection. In more ways than one, his problems are our problems we face in everyday life. This makes the movie smart and easy to manufacture. It's not the best film, but it does entertain as well as tell an effective story about challenges and courage.
]]>Mon, 21 Jan 2008 20:38:24 GMTsmoothjazzandmoresmoothjazzandmore Blog1/21/2008 3:38:24 PMMarshall Mathers, a.k.a. Eminem, gives a rather humbling performance as Jimmy &quot;Bunny Rabbit&quot; Smith, Jr.; a wanna-be rapper with problems bigger than what we can imagine. He&#39;s down on his luck and has to move back home to his mom&#39;s house. Couple that with the fact that he has a fear of rejection. In more ways than one, his problems are our problems we face in everyday life. This makes the movie smart and easy to manufacture. It&#39;s not the best film, but it does entertain as well as tell an effective story about challenges and courage. http://www.spout.com/blogs/moviebabe/archive/2007/3/9/6251.aspx Post By: MovieBabe
Post To: MovieBabe Blog
Post Date: 3/9/2007 9:30:00 PM
Body: Eminem has apparently learned to turn his experience with the train wreck that is Mariah Carey to his advantage. She became a source of lyrics for two songs on his latest LP, The Eminem Show (on which he implies that he'd rather, say, start recording Diane Warren songs than return to his former flame). And "Lose Yourself," the sopping-the-airwaves single from Eminem's film debut, 8 Mile, talks of an artist whose "bosses don't want him no more, he's cold product...he nose-dove and sold nada"--which was exactly Carey's fate soon after the release of her own exhaustion-inducing, semiautobiographical joke of a movie, Glitter. (Of course, given that Carey got $28 million from her label to just go away, the joke is clearly on everyone else.) And Eminem does Glitter one better with 8 Mile. Though both are loose retellings of the entertainers' lives, Mariah's yay-me mess was a rags-to-riches story involving horrible actors and an unbelievably quick shot to stardom. The tale of Jimmy "Rabbit" Smith Jr. (Eminem), however, is the tale of a reluctant rapper, an efficient slice of life from L.A. Confidential's Curtis Hanson that's more easily digestible simply because it stops before launching its hero, cliches in tow, off into the celebrity stratosphere. Rabbit is introduced anxiously practicing his moves in a locked men's room before a rap battle, in which he'll have 45 seconds to out-rhyme another contestant or not make it to the next round. He vomits before moving to the stage; then, seemingly OK after briefly tussling with a black doorman who thinks the white Rabbit doesn't belong backstage, the rapper gets to the microphone and chokes. The scene is unexpected--and a noble, if abortive, attempt to establish Rabbit as an unfamiliar character, not just a thinly disguised doppelganger for the brazen rapper. The rest of 8 Mile, though, feels like a brilliant piece of PR, showing Em--er, Rabbit as a protective son, affectionate older brother, and sophisticated voice against violence (well, the gun-related kind, anyway) in his group of going-nowhere friends. He asks for extra shifts at his factory job while his beat mom (Kim Basinger, looking as if she hasn't slept since her last hit but still too pretty for trailer trash) puts her hope in bingo and the settlement that her drunken boyfriend expects to receive (and she expects to share). And, to show he's more than just a tough guy, Rabbit becomes smitten with sleazy/beautiful Alex (sleazy/compelling Brittany Murphy), an aspiring model who's been hanging around the 'hood. Rabbit happily trots out his rhyme skills only when she's in earshot, having shrugged off the notion of performing before an audience after the humiliating battle. Throughout, Eminem makes the ever-observant, often-scribbling Rabbit a fascinating character to watch, drinking in his surroundings with a stolid expression that could easily wander into stonerville but instead suggests intense involvement. A slight man, Eminem puffs and falls at the appropriate moments, shrinking his shoulders and burying himself in a hood when Rabbit's feeling threatened, but expanding to own a room, gestures confident and head held high, when Rabbit finds his groove at impromptu rap sessions among co-workers or friends. Rabbit is a notch above his buddies in terms of talent and maturity, the natural but quiet leader (though closely rivaled by battle host and best bud Future, the dreadlocked, regal Mekhi Phifer). Yet the script gives him moments of decided juvenility (mostly when he's swooning around Alex) to remind the audience that, star quality aside, this is just another kid from the projects (whatever the truth about the real rap star, whose detractors point out that he's actually from white-bread Warren, Mich.). 8 Mile takes place in 1995 Detroit, and the title refers to a road that has traditionally divided the Motor City's blacks and whites, an obvious symbol for a white performer trying to make it in an overwhelmingly black art form. And the theme of struggling to break boundaries is applied not only to Rabbit but also to other characters: Alex opportunistically screws someone she thinks can help her modeling career, Rabbit's mom spends her money gambling for a windfall instead of holding down a job. But no one has a long-term plan aside from getting out of the current hellhole; Rabbit's motivation to finally give the mike another try stems not from starry-eyed aspirations but from his disgust at the quality of life around him. Suddenly, stage fright seems an easily overcome obstacle next to the stumbling blocks on his current path. The movie lags when it dwells on its sometimes silly subplots, from its merely skirted love story (one of the biggest editing gaffes is a make-out scene that goes on forever and completely lacks passion) to Rabbit's mother chasing him into his room trying to talk about her sex life (the scene culminates in a shouted "Greg won't go down on me!"). Besides this obvious attempt at humor, though, Hanson delivers 8 Mile straight, and it's a relief when "Lose Yourself" kicks in while Rabbit's churning out lyrics to signal his long-awaited triumphant climb in the movie's final third. And if the ending seems abrupt by Hollywood's usual tied-with-a-bow standards, that's more satisfying than spilling into Glitter-y territory and overstaying its welcome.
]]>Sat, 10 Mar 2007 02:30:00 GMTMovieBabeMovieBabe Blog3/9/2007 9:30:00 PMEminem has apparently learned to turn his experience with the train wreck that is Mariah Carey to his advantage. She became a source of lyrics for two songs on his latest LP, The Eminem Show (on which he implies that he&#39;d rather, say, start recording Diane Warren songs than return to his former flame). And "Lose Yourself," the sopping-the-airwaves single from Eminem&#39;s film debut, 8 Mile, talks of an artist whose "bosses don&#39;t want him no more, he&#39;s cold product...he nose-dove and sold nada"--which was exactly Carey&#39;s fate soon after the release of her own exhaustion-inducing, semiautobiographical joke of a movie, Glitter. (Of course, given that Carey got $28 million from her label to just go away, the joke is clearly on everyone else.) And Eminem does Glitter one better with 8 Mile. Though both are loose retellings of the entertainers&#39; lives, Mariah&#39;s yay-me mess was a rags-to-riches story involving horrible actors and an unbelievably quick shot to stardom. The tale of Jimmy "Rabbit" Smith Jr. (Eminem), however, is the tale of a reluctant rapper, an efficient slice of life from L.A. Confidential&#39;s Curtis Hanson that&#39;s more easily digestible simply because it stops before launching its hero, cliches in tow, off into the celebrity stratosphere. Rabbit is introduced anxiously practicing his moves in a locked men&#39;s room before a rap battle, in which he&#39;ll have 45 seconds to out-rhyme another contestant or not make it to the next round. He vomits before moving to the stage; then, seemingly OK after briefly tussling with a black doorman who thinks the white Rabbit doesn&#39;t belong backstage, the rapper gets to the microphone and chokes. The scene is unexpected--and a noble, if abortive, attempt to establish Rabbit as an unfamiliar character, not just a thinly disguised doppelganger for the brazen rapper. The rest of 8 Mile, though, feels like a brilliant piece of PR, showing Em--er, Rabbit as a protective son, affectionate older brother, and sophisticated voice against violence (well, the gun-related kind, anyway) in his group of going-nowhere friends. He asks for extra shifts at his factory job while his beat mom (Kim Basinger, looking as if she hasn&#39;t slept since her last hit but still too pretty for trailer trash) puts her hope in bingo and the settlement that her drunken boyfriend expects to receive (and she expects to share). And, to show he&#39;s more than just a tough guy, Rabbit becomes smitten with sleazy/beautiful Alex (sleazy/compelling Brittany Murphy), an aspiring model who&#39;s been hanging around the &#39;hood. Rabbit happily trots out his rhyme skills only when she&#39;s in earshot, having shrugged off the notion of performing before an audience after the humiliating battle. Throughout, Eminem makes the ever-observant, often-scribbling Rabbit a fascinating character to watch, drinking in his surroundings with a stolid expression that could easily wander into stonerville but instead suggests intense involvement. A slight man, Eminem puffs and falls at the appropriate moments, shrinking his shoulders and burying himself in a hood when Rabbit&#39;s feeling threatened, but expanding to own a room, gestures confident and head held high, when Rabbit finds his groove at impromptu rap sessions among co-workers or friends. Rabbit is a notch above his buddies in terms of talent and maturity, the natural but quiet leader (though closely rivaled by battle host and best bud Future, the dreadlocked, regal Mekhi Phifer). Yet the script gives him moments of decided juvenility (mostly when he&#39;s swooning around Alex) to remind the audience that, star quality aside, this is just another kid from the projects (whatever the truth about the real rap star, whose detractors point out that he&#39;s actually from white-bread Warren, Mich.). 8 Mile takes place in 1995 Detroit, and the title refers to a road that has traditionally divided the Motor City&#39;s blacks and whites, an obvious symbol for a white performer trying to make it in an overwhelmingly black art form. And the theme of struggling to break boundaries is applied not only to Rabbit but also to other characters: Alex opportunistically screws someone she thinks can help her modeling career, Rabbit&#39;s mom spends her money gambling for a windfall instead of holding down a job. But no one has a long-term plan aside from getting out of the current hellhole; Rabbit&#39;s motivation to finally give the mike another try stems not from starry-eyed aspirations but from his disgust at the quality of life around him. Suddenly, stage fright seems an easily overcome obstacle next to the stumbling blocks on his current path. The movie lags when it dwells on its sometimes silly subplots, from its merely skirted love story (one of the biggest editing gaffes is a make-out scene that goes on forever and completely lacks passion) to Rabbit&#39;s mother chasing him into his room trying to talk about her sex life (the scene culminates in a shouted "Greg won&#39;t go down on me!"). Besides this obvious attempt at humor, though, Hanson delivers 8 Mile straight, and it&#39;s a relief when "Lose Yourself" kicks in while Rabbit&#39;s churning out lyrics to signal his long-awaited triumphant climb in the movie&#39;s final third. And if the ending seems abrupt by Hollywood&#39;s usual tied-with-a-bow standards, that&#39;s more satisfying than spilling into Glitter-y territory and overstaying its welcome. http://www.spout.com/blogs/gothere/archive/2007/2/11/5361.aspx Post By: gothere
Post To: You should go there
Post Date: 2/11/2007 2:33:00 PM
Body: Though they almost could've used the same theme song, Hustle & Flow is a far better than 8 Mile. Hustle & Flow is more real and more tragic, making it a lot more memorable.Terrence Howard is the kind of actor who has the ability to evoke several competing emotions in a sidewise glance. I love a film that capitalizes on such talent, as this one requires. Beside the more obviously hip 70's title sequence, catchy hooks, and hip-hop storyline of a pimp trying to make it big, what I like most about this film is its depiction of the creative process. The truth in people creating art from all walks of life in their living rooms, drawing from personal experience and as Howard's character, Djay puts it, that every man has to tell his story. I love that the song they create is an assemblage that crosses boundaries and is equal parts ego, angst, and happenstance. Even though it's hard out here, that this truth previals makes Hustle & Flow an optimistic film which shines through its sad veneer.
]]>Sun, 11 Feb 2007 19:33:00 GMTgothereYou should go there2/11/2007 2:33:00 PMThough they almost could&#39;ve used the same theme song, Hustle &amp; Flow is a far better than 8 Mile. Hustle &amp; Flow is more real and more tragic, making it a lot more memorable.Terrence Howard is the kind of actor who has the ability to evoke several competing emotions in a sidewise glance. I love a film that capitalizes on such talent, as this one requires. Beside the more obviously hip 70&#39;s title sequence, catchy hooks, and hip-hop storyline of a pimp trying to make it big, what I like most about this film is its depiction of the creative process. The truth in people creating art from all walks of life in their living rooms, drawing from personal experience and as Howard&#39;s character, Djay puts it, that every man has to tell his story. I love that the song they create is an assemblage that crosses boundaries and is equal parts ego, angst, and happenstance. Even though it&#39;s hard out here, that this truth previals makes Hustle &amp; Flow an optimistic film which shines through its sad veneer. http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/friendship/MemberTagFilms.aspxfriendship
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