8 mile

[Jason Pohl]

I saw '8 mile' tonight. Eminem was surprisingly good, even beyond my expectations that had been inflated by excellent reviews.

I'm curious what some of you others might have thought of the movie. If you're somebody who would never normally watch a movie with Eminem in it, are you considering changing your mind with the critical acclaim that is currently being showered?

I'll leave the rest of my comments for a later date, other than to say it helps if you've listened to Rap or Hip-Hop and therefore can keep up with all the lyrics throughout the film.

--Jason

[Ed Miller]

I thought 8 Mile was quite good. The acting was strong and it really only suffered from a predictable plot. I'm not really into hip hop much... especially most of the mainstream stuff... but Eminem is a standout talent. He is clearly a thoughtful and intelligent guy, and people who criticize him for the content of his lyrics are missing the point at best. I recommend the movie... especially to people who feel like they don't understand hip hop.

Eminen is Vanilla Ice with a different haircut. who cares if a movie is critically acclaimed - what the hell do movie critics know about hip-hop or rap? Eminen will be gone soon enough only to be replaced by the next great deep thinking white boy rapper who captures are society's collective interest.

rap and hip-hop mucicians (loosely referring to them as musicians) are amazing at the way they continually fool the American consumer into purchasing their shi**y product of off publicity stunts and east coast/west coast wars. The moronic teenagers that buy into this commercialized drivel are as much to blame as the overgoarded record labels printing this crap.

[2005]

While you are certainly entitled to your opinion, I believe you are way off in this regard. First of all, rapping is quite difficult. Who are some of the great songwriters of rock history who also sang their own stuff?? John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, CSNY, etc. What they write and sing is not much different than what some rappers write and sing. They are lyrics that rhyme, hit the right beats, and have something to say. Rappers do the same thing, they just do it in a different light. That said, I'm not comparing rappers like Master P or Ludacris to the great songwriters of the 60's and 70's. I think idiotic bragging rap has completely ruined the artform. Groups like Public Enemy and The Ghetto Boys who actually had something to say about the struggles of poor black people and the black society in general are the true artists of the genre.

That said, I think there are a few rappers today who actually get it and understand the art involved in rapping. Those included in this group are Common, The Lost Boyz, Nappy Roots, Xzibit, and, yes, Eminem. Sorry to say it, but he's light years away from Vanilla Ice. He raps about problems that many people have, issues with abusive parents, bad marriages, drug/substance problems, etc. He also raps about the love he has for his daughter. He's letting us into his life like any great songwriter. Perhaps he doesn't play an instrument and he doesn't have a great singing voice, but he writes about issues that anyone can relate to and current societal issues, much like many of the great songwriters of the past.

I'm not interested in changing your opinion, just in giving you another view on the parts of hip hop that you may have missed.

Gavin

p.s. I haven't bought a rap/hip-hop album in years b/c I really dislike the way it's headed, but I like what artists like Eminem and Common have done for it and perhaps they can turn it back into a good overall genre again.

[Clarkmeister]

Tupac was as talented as any mainstream music artist in the last 20 years.

[Jimbo]

Yes Clarkie, I heard Tupac could juggle while he sang.
/forums/images/icons/smile.gif
Jimbo

[Ryan_21]

I have to second that!

Ryan_21

[Ed Miller]

Comparing Eminem to Vanilla Ice is like comparing Stevie Wonder to Milli Vanilli.

IMO...saying you are way off base would be an understatement. Vanilla Ice didn't say anything and had very little skill...he had one song, was white when mainstream America was looking for something to relate to that soundy like 'pop'. Eminem addresses the East Coast/West Coast rap war (for crying out loud, people died over it...I wouldn't say it's fake.) Furthermore, Eminem is not trying to say he's a deep thinker...just that he keeps it real by telling it the way life for him really is. He does what most professors teach their students in collegiate English: Write about what you know.

Hey, I'm not saying there isn't hardcore marketing and a blitz, but there are two points. Eminem is anti-establishment, a move that is opposite standard mainstream marketing...it indicates that he said, "Screw it. I'm gonna do what I do and if you don't like it, then screw you." In fact, that's something he makes pretty clear in the movie. Second, the fact that critics who are old and established, who (I would assume) do not like hip-hop and have a hard time relating, who you would ALWAYS expect to rain on Eminem's parade...these critics didn't just like the movie. Many of them loved it.

I've heard Oscar talk (not that I'd necessarily agree). And clearly, the movie is worth watching. Like I said, if you enjoy rap or hip-hop, it's probably a must-see. Even if you don't, you should still strongly consider seeing it, especially once your done with LOTR2, Gangs of New York, and Harry Potter.

P.S. I gotta go see Attack of the Clones on IMAX.

--Jason

[Clarkmeister]

Clones is coming out on IMAX? Sweet. Now if we could get FOTR in IMAX I'd be super stoked.

[PokerBabe(aka)]

Well, I haven't seen the movie yet, but if they cannot even get the tense of "mile" correct in the title, how good can it be? Do these guys know singular from plural?. /forums/images/icons/ooo.gif

Babe,

I understand your confusion, but "8 mile" is actually the name of a street that runs through Detroit - the so-called "color line." I've heard the movie is about the tension between the two sides, like the tension between the "greasers" and the "socs" (socials) in the movie "The Outsiders." Since I go to grad school at UMich, I've been to 8 mile a few times, and it's extremely impoverished in parts. . .

glen

[Jason Pohl]

Attack of the Clones is already out on IMAX. November 1st.

I agree...big movies on IMAX screens could not hurt the moviegoing experience.

--Jason

and you may see things in a different light...

How can you say that eminem is anti-establishment? He is all about the establishment. Every album he puts out will have one hook song to sell to the mainstream, the buy anything played on the radio crowd, then disregard the remainder of the album when it turns out to be bullshit drivel. His image of Fu** you if you don't like me is the marketing campaign to impress the 12-18 year olds who want to attach to a rebellious symbol. Who honestly thinks that Eminem would be taken as a bad ass on the streets?

the fact that the word oscar is associated with 8 mile shows that eminem is part of the establishment, and that if you can hit on enough liberal sufferage issues in a movie that it will get academy consideration.

finally your comments on the east coast-west coast war show that far to many people these days get their news from the hard hitting news organization MTV News. As Chris Rock once said, Tupac Shakir and Biggie Smalls weren't assisinated, the Niggas got themelves shot. Martin Luther King was assisinated. Mr. Rock was right, Mr. King was killed because of his beliefs and principles. Tupac and Biggie were killed because of Greed, stupidity and name calling (all of which was fueled by marketing records - rather irionic isn't it)

would those be adidas or K-swiss, cuz I got shot at last time I wore my air Jordans

Are you trying to tell me that Vanilla Ice rapping for the Teenage mutant ninja turtles didn't speak to you