Ever since The Carter documentary was shown at this year’s Sundance Film Festival to great reviews, and ever since Lil’ Wayne’s camp tried to sue QD3 Entertainment claiming the film painted Weezy in a negative light (Meaning they showed a lotta drug use), I’ve been interested in watching this film. Seeing that it was just released released on DVD last Tuesday, you can figure how Tha The Carter documentary was a good choice for Friday Night ‘Fro. Enjoy. (Sidenote: I would have more commentary on the actual film, but have yet to watch it in full).

Quick story: I went to the movies to see Paranormal Activity a few weeks ago and halfway through the movie four girls seated in front of me and my date got up and left. Not because they didn’t like the movie, but because the movie was too scary for them. And honestly, it’s actually is scary a movie. Maybe one of the scariest movies of all time. Backed by a $11,000 budget and a hell of a promotional push, Paranormal Activity does exactly what it’s suppose to; take one of your oldest fears and magnify it. So if you are brave enough to watch this movie, turn your lights low, cut off the phone, and get ready to be freaked out by even the smallest noises in your house.

Plus, it’s Halloween.

Note: I just realized that the ending for this version is totally different from the one in theaters now (Which is better). Sorry.

Even after 190 episodes, South Park still manages to crank out an episode that make me laugh out loud. The title of the recent episode, “Butters’ Bottom Bitch”, is exactly what it sounds like and is 21 minutes full of hilarity and offensiveness that makes this show still watchable after 12 years. In other words, it’s pretty good. All of Butters’ lines in the episode = classic. Word to Snooky!

I had to come through for everybody for this edition of Friday Night Fro. B-Easy was going to bury this movie, but only the real will feel me on this one. This IS THE BEST MOVIE MADE BY A RAPPER. Hands down. The quality might not have been the greatest, the acting wasn’t Oscar-worthy, but as far realness goes…I’m Bout It was that deal! You have a story that is based loosely on the life of Master P and his brothers in the streets of New Orleans. I’m not saying nothing else..enjoy this flick!

With all the recent hype surrounding Jay-Z and the upcoming “official” release of The Blueprint 3, I think it’s only right for Hovi to be feature in this week’s Friday Night ‘Fro. I could have went with the documentaries like Backstage or Fade To Black, but I had to take it back further than that and go with Streets Is Watching. Even though Jay is on some next shit these days  (“Hov on the that new shit/Niggas like how come?/Niggas want my old shit/Buy my old album” – “On To The Next One”[The Blueprint 3]), it’s still good to go back to 1998 and see him in at his most gutta state.

I also think that during the boom of “straight-to-movie” era of Hip-Hop in the late 90’s/early 2000’s (Ex. MasterP’s I’m Bout It, Three 6 Mafia’s Choices, Cash Money’s Baller Blockin’, etc.), Streets In Watching is the best out the bunch. Why? Jay and Dame did a smart thing by basically making it a movie that connects music videos together (Mostly from In My Lifetime Vol. 1). You don’t have to see (much) wack acting. Plus, because of the music videos, the film quality isn’t that bad either (Compare the camera quality between I’m Bout It and this and you’ll see…). Then you add in the soundtrack with songs like “Where I’m From”, “Streets Is Watching”, “Friend Or Foe”, & “Face Off”.

Check out the movie and tell us what’s the difference between a 4.0 and a 4.6.

Kids is one of those movies that as soon as it starts, it smacks you in the head to make sure your ass is woke. When I first saw Kids, I was almost in shock for the whole viewing; it’s that kind of experience. It’s also one of my favorite films of all time. It makes you feel as if you really are getting a glimpse of the nature of present day youth in urban life (Even though Kids came out in 1995, that still holds up for today; just add the internet). Yes, it’s filled with sex, drugs, and violence. But when you see all this acted out with 13 – 16 year old teens, it’s kind of sobering.

It’s directed by Larry Clark and written by Harmony Korine (Remember when I posted up Gummo? Dudes were freaked out!). In the movie, look out for a young promiscuous Rosario Dawson, a virgin hunting Leo Fitzpatrick (From The Wire), a crazy Justin Pierce (From Next Friday), and a confused Chloë Sevigny (From another favorite show of mine, Big Love). R.I.P. Harold Hunter. R.I.P. Justin Pierce. Check out the movie and tell us what you think. Note: The first time I went to New York and rode the subway, I secretly hoped the I saw dude on the train singing, “I have no legs”. Sad right?

I’m gonna change it up a little bit this week and not go with a full movie, but a set of movie shorts. It’s been a long week for you boy, so why not make it something funny. The sketch group Derrick Comedy has a sense of comedy that is bizarre, inappropriate, and awesome. You probably have seen a few of their videos on YouTube or College Humor (It’s reported that their videos have been viewed over 100 millions times online). They also have a movie coming out this fall called Mystery Team that looks hilarious and it’ll be opening in select cities soon (I’m gonna try to catch it on September 4th). Here are some of my personal favorite videos by Derrick Comedy as well as a trailer for Mystery Team. Enjoy.

Jerry
“My name’s Brian. I like to skateboard.”

Girls Are Not To Be Trusted
WRITTEN BY KEVIN

B-Boy Stance
“No I do not regret having my hands surgically attached to my back.”

Blow Job Girl
“I’m gonna make it so dry for you.”

Do You Like Hip-Hop?
“Imma let you cop that for 50 bones.”

Jazz Man
“I just orgasmed on stage from your white hatred.”

Mystery Team Adventures: The Case of the Haunted Hotel
“That ghost has really unfinished business”

Mystery Team Trailer
Check out that beat in the background!

Do I really need to state the influence of the movie featured in this week’s Friday Night ‘Fro? I mean, didn’t Fabolous just release an album based on and inspired by Carlito’s Way? And when I say “based on”, I mean it only shares a likeness in name, a likeness in artwork, and they both contain something named “Pachanga”. Putting aside my obligatory Jay-Z reference to the film (“I played him like Benny Blanco, mano a mano” – Jay-Z on “Bring It On” off Reasonable Doubt [1996]), even with all the Hip-Hop references to this film, I don’t think a lot people have actually seen Carlito’s Way (Especially the youngsters of today). If you know the Jay-Z line I tried not to mention earlier, you should probably watch it. If you like the movie Scarface, you should probably watch too (This 1993 movie did bring back together Scarface director Brian De Palma and Tony Montana himself, Al Pacino). If you like shootouts, criminals trying to go on the straight and narrow, and a bearded Pacino, you should definitely watch it.

And don’t look for me to post the direct-to-dvd prequel Carlito’s Way: Rise to Power. Too much Diddy and no Pain In Da Ass.

Boogie Nights is one of those movies. It’s personally not in my “Top Movies” list, but it leaves an impression. Think about it: The personal lives of porn stars is an interesting subject. Set in Southern California in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the movies focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes the popular star of adult films and finds himself slowly descending into a nightmare of drug abuse when his fame draws him into a crowd of users and abusers. The movie came out in 1997 and even received some Oscar nods for acting and screenplay.

So what’s the Hip-Hop connecting? None. I mean, Marky Mark Mark Wahlberg is in the movie but I dare wouldn’t use that. If you’ve seen the movie, it’s not a bad second watch. If you’ve never seen Boogie Nights, get ready to meet Dirk Diggler, Jack Horner, Amver Waves, Chest Rockwell, and of course Rollergirl. And I’m not gonna even talk about the final scene. Fake.

You know, I somewhat considered myself a movie buff. So when someone asked me a question the other day about whether I’d seen the The Killer, I was kinda embarrassed. It’s not that I don’t know about the John Woo & Chow Yun-Fat classic. Who didn’t remember Raekwon on Enter The 36 Chambers? “Where’s my Killer tape at?!” I’ve actually seen parts of the the movie but not it’s in entirety. Until now. Synopsis please:

Though John Woo’s lifelong admiration of Sam Peckinpah, Sergio Leone, Martin Scorsese, and Stanley Kubrick are also evident in this stylish actioner, the film is essentially a tribute to Jean-Pierre Melville and his cult thriller Le Samouraï. During a restaurant shoot-out, hitman Jeff (Chow Yun-Fat) accidentally hurts the eyes of a singer (Sally Yeh). Later, he meets the girl and discovers that if she does not have a very expensive operation very soon, she will go blind. To get the money for the surgery, Jeff decides to perform one last hit. The cop (Danny Lee), who has been chasing Jeff for a long time, is determined to catch him this time. The film’s number of victims makes The Terminator or Rambo pale in comparison, but its brilliant visual style and bravura direction earned accolades even from non-action fans.

But wait there’s more. It’s always hard to mention The Killer without mentioning Hard Boiled. Mainly because it has Woo & Yun Fat together again and raising the cinema body count. Some even put this Hard Boiled as one of the best action movie of all time. Why not make this a double feature? We haven’t done a Friday Night ‘Fro in a minute. One more synopsis:

Hard-Boiled is the last film directed by Hong Kong action auteur John Woo before his arrival in the U.S. This 1992 thriller, along with The Killer, is widely seen as one of his best from his Hong Kong days. Every ingredient of the quintessential Woo thriller is present, including his ever-present anti-hero (Chow Yun-Fat). Yun-Fat portrays a maverick, clarinet-playing cop nicknamed “Tequila” whose partner is killed in the dizzying chaos of a restaurant gunfight with a small army of gangsters. It is soon revealed that one of the mob’s high-ranking assassins is Tony (Tony Leung), an undercover cop who, despite his badge, is dangerously close to the edge. Tequila and Tony must team up in a tense partnership, and their common pursuit of a vicious crime lord results in a brilliantly elaborate climax in a hospital, where the heroes must rescue newborn babies from the maternity ward while fighting off dozens of mob soldiers. The characters Tequila and Tony are two sides of the same coin, another trademark theme of Woo’s films that would later be most fully realized with Nicolas Cage and John Travolta in the American hit Face/Off.

Enjoy.

The Killer

Hard Boiled

Part2 – Part3 – Part4 – Part5 – Part6 – Part7 – Part8 – Part9 – Part10 – Part11 – Part12 – Part13