Wow!! "Biggie Smalls" Shines!! It's Almost as Though He Never Left Us!!!
Written: Jan 26 '09 (Updated Feb 01 '09)
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Great movie! Gives a very candid look at the life and times of "Biggie" Wallace!
Cons: A real tear jerker!
The Bottom Line: I highly recommend it!!
Get up close and personal with one of the greatest rappers in our time! The Man, the Myth, the Legend!!
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| daquan's Full Review: Notorious |
WHAT'S THE 411 ON THIS MOVIE?
Notorious, not to be confused with the old '46 Alfred Hitchcoock film of the same name, is really a great movie in my honest opinion!!
This movie is based on the real-life story of the late great rapper Christopher George Wallace, aka Biggie Smalls, NOTORIOUS B.I.G. and Big Poppa who, at the age of only about 19, had shot up practically overnight to fame and fortune!!. It shows in detail the life and times of the late award-winning rapper who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York through the '70s and '80s. Also the very controversial life-style that he lived.
Fairly new to acting, newcomer Jamal "Gravy" Woolard, who is also a real-life rapper and actual fan of Christopher Wallace, makes the big screen in his debut film, who was chosen over dozens of other hopefuls for the part, has been said by real-life mom of Christopher Wallace to bear an almost striking resemblence to her beloved late son and stars in the title role. The task of getting him to act, walk, strut, talk, sing and perform on the stage and look and stand tall like the great rapper once stood, must have been not too difficult! Seems like the part was tailer-made for him!!
Violetta also, along with real-life Sean P. Diddy Combs, produced the movie as well!
WHAT IS THE STORY LINE OF THE MOVIE?
The story line begins with an at-risk very young Christopher Wallace age 8 - 13 growing up on the mean streets of Brookyn (This part of him as a young boy is actually played by Wallace's real-life young son Christopher Jordan Wallace who was only 5 months old when his dad was murdered). He goes through the difficult times of being poked fun at and tormented by his classmates at school because he is fat. Life on the streets for him isnt' all that great either.
He meets up with one of his young friends who introduces and inducts him into the dark world of selling drugs to earn some money. By the time that Wallace reaches age 17, he quits school becomes a hardened drug dealer while trying to hide his dirty profession from his mom (played by Angela Basset). When she finds out that he's a drug dealer, she then goes nuts and kicks him out of the house.
Meanwhile, Wallace gets deeper and deeper into his troubled life of selling drugs, crime and corruption as he meets up with his "homies" on the mean streets, blatently and openly pushing drugs with some of ther guys working for him as well, running from the police, being arrested so many times, as well as hooking up with his girlfriends and getting them pregnant. Struggling to provide for his two kids, Wallace has to try to find new ways come up with the finances and means to support them.
So he gets the idea of of becoming a rapper by being a street rapper / pusher and getting paid for it. His saucy sexy heavy soul voice - almost like that of the late great love song singer Barry White, had wooed women. He was writing lyrics for rapping when he was a young boy. He later meets up with Sean Puffy Combs (Derek Luke who also played Antwone Fisher) who becomes his partner / writer / producer for his songs, as he begins to build his career as a professional rapper. He is then later introduced to Tupac Shakur and they then become friends.
Christopher, now nicknamed Biggie, has also become a drug user, is caught having an affair with another woman by his wife Faye. A saucy sexy tabloib magazine has later posted a vicious rumor that Biggie's wife supposedly had an affair with Tupac. Biggie catches wind of this, is then enraged about it and goes nuts on his wife! Having gone through several trials and tribulations with their stormy marriage, Faye decides that it time for her to go. But Biggie would always try to sweet-talk, sing and dance his way back into her life.
Meanwhile,Tupac Shakur gets ambushed and is shot. He thinks Biggies and his friends were involved in some way. This begins what is now known as the East Coast / West Coast rivary and feud, and it only escelatses and gets worst. While in Los Angeles, Biggie meets and hooks up with Suge Knight who owns and manages Death Row Records. Suge offers Biggie the opportunity to sign on with his co to sing. The controversy continues with the East Coast / West Coast fued, as Tupac is ambushed and shot again, this time in Las Vagas!
Though it all, and in the midst of trying to keep it all together, Biggie then actually begins to take a long hard look at himself and tries to reflect back on his life-style in the past, wants to make some changes for the better, wants to raise his kids the right way and then he decides to go out to California to promote his then latest album Life After Death which had went platinum and had sold millions of copies in real life. While there, he and his friends decide to go to a party. He says to someone at the party; "We can't change the world unless we all change ourselves."
He then wants to try to make things right for him and his wife, put an end to his wild partying and adultrous affairs with other girls and be the man that he says he should have been all along. He DOES leave the notion that he wants to finally do the right thing.
ANY SORTCOMINGS AT ALL?
A real tear jerker!
HOW WAS THE MOVIE?
I must say that I like the movie! It was well-thought out, well-scripted and excellent based on the real-life and true story of one of the greatest rappers ever of all time!! Biggie has touched billions upon millions of lives in so many ways through his music and his rapping career. He will always be remembered for his inspiration to the art of rap music!!
IN SHORT:
This movie is definitely a must-see for all of the fans who came to know the biggest bigger-than-life rapper there ever was, allowing everyone to relive the life and times of this once-fast-rising star and king of the rappers! It tells of the sad but true rise and fall of one of the most notorious rappers that ever lived!
FINAL THOUGHT?
Yes!
This is as real as it can get for those who have KNOWN AND LOVED the big guy, to get to see the big rap star on the big screen, and of the man, the myth, the legend who was once on top of the entertainment world having lived a life of drugs, crime, corruption, partying, feuding, fast women, a fast-paced rapping career and fast cars!!
Movie Rating: R.
Contains pop music culture, performing arts, rapping. singing and dancing.
WARNING:
Contains graphic scenes, drug scenes, drug (crack cocaine) use, sexual situations, partial nudity, violence, gun scenes and vulgar language.
CAST OF CHARACTERS:
Chistopher "Biggie" Wallace................Jamal Woolard.
Violetta Wallace...........................Angela Basset.
Young Christtopher Wallace age 8 -13.............Christopher Jordan Wallace.
Sean "Puffy" Combs.....................Derek Luke.
Record Exec at Party.................. Mohamad Dione.
Tupac Shakur.............................Anthony Mackie.
Suge Knight...............................Sean Ronggold.
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Watch very closely, as there is a shot of the Lower Manhattan skyline with the former Twin Towers of the World Trade Center standing in the background, something that we have not seen in films since the time before the 09-11-01 terror attacks!!
Biggie once took a picture of himself with the former towers in the background.
Thank you for reading this review.
~Daquan.
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Serious Movie
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Nothing
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Epinions.com ID:
daquan
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 - Top 500 |
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Location: East Boston, MA.
Reviews written: 246
Trusted by: 62 members
About Me:
Was born & raised in Boston. I like kitchen gadgets & appliances. Love to cook!!
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