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Straight Outta Compton (2015)

DollEyes

By DollEyes
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DollEyes

DollEyes

(edited)

Another summer film that looks exciting is Straight Outta Compton, which is the story of Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, MC Ren & DJ Yella, aka N. W. A., short for "[N-Words] With Attitude,"  the L.A.-based hip-hop group that not only changed the game, they made The Game (see what I did there?), in every way.

 

  The film stars, among others, Paul Giamatti,  Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre, Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E, Aldous Hodge from Leverage as MC Ren and in his big-screen debut, O'Shea Jackson Jr. as Ice Cube, aka his own daddy.

 

  The film is directed by F. Gary Gray, whose other credits include Set It Off & Friday, which starred Ice Cube. The film debuts in theaters Friday, August 14th.

Edited by DollEyes
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Princess Sparkle

Princess Sparkle

Another summer film that looks exciting is Straight Outta Compton, which is the story of Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, MC Ren & DJ Yella, aka N. W. A., short for "[N-Words] With Attitude,"  the L.A.-based hip-hop group that not only changed the game, they made The Game (see what I did there?), in every way.

 

  The film stars, among others, Paul Giamatti,  Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre, Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E, Aldous Hodge from Leverage as MC Ren and in his big-screen debut, O'Shea Jackson Jr. as Ice Cube, aka his own daddy.

 

  The film is directed by F. Gary Gray, whose other credits include Set It Off & Friday, which starred Ice Cube. The film debuts in theaters Friday, August 14th.

Oh, that explains it!  I kept seeing the commercials and marveling that they found someone to play Ice Cube that looked so much like him.  It makes sense that it's his own son.

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SnoGirl

SnoGirl

I totally want to see this, and I love that my Age of the Geek Hardison aka Aldous Hodge, from Leverage, is in it. I hope he has a great performance because I really love what he's done in the past and I really hope he lands some great roles because of it.

I'm also not a huge fan of hip hop but I think this movie looks just so interesting...

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Ohwell

Ohwell

I have a feeling that if we saw all casting call descriptions of the actors/actresses that movie producers wanted, they would probably be just as offensive to someone.  Therefore, I am neither surprised nor appalled. 

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DollEyes

DollEyes

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(edited)

As a dark-skinned Black woman, I'm going to see what other sisters who've seen it have to say about the depictions of dark-skinned sisters in the film before I make up my mind on that subject. I'm still planning to see it because almost all of the reviews I've read and/or heard about it so far have been great and from an artistic standpoint, I want to see for myself so that I can make up my own mind.

Edited by DollEyes
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bluvelvet

bluvelvet

I just saw the movie and I really enjoyed it. Just read the casting call. I assume the A girls are the women who played the random women in the various party scenes, hence the call to all races. I assume the C and D girls was the casting call for someone to play the wives to Ice cube, Dr. Dre and Easy since those women in the movie fit that physical description. Can't figure out about the D girls though. I don't think they were ranking them in best to worst orders, I think they were grouping them.

I would assume the casting call for Dre and MC Ren probably went something like African American male, dark-skinned in good shape etc etc etc and Ice cube being a medium height light skinned male in okay shape etc etc. I would want to see what the male version of the casting call before making any judgements since the main cast are all physically different.

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Irlandesa

Irlandesa

I have a feeling that if we saw all casting call descriptions of the actors/actresses that movie producers wanted, they would probably be just as offensive to someone.  Therefore, I am neither surprised nor appalled. 

Casting calls aren't super secret.  I've seen a lot of calls for extras for various TV shows through my spoiler hunting and I don't recall reading anything quite like the one in this thread. So I'm sure it has been done before but if it were super common, I think I would've seen it before and I'm not sure it would've merited an article.

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MarkHB

MarkHB

Given that Dr. Dre and Ice Cube were two of the producers, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if those were the classifications the band used for the women around them back in the day. I don't know that, but it would match what I know of their lifestyle.

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bluvelvet

bluvelvet

About the movie itself, I learned a lot. I didn't know Ice Cube was a lyricist or that he wrote a significant portion of the songs in NWA.  When I think Ice Cube, I think movies... Didn't know Dre walked away from Ruthless and Death Row, did he really walk away with nothing from Death Row? 

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Racj82

Racj82

About the movie itself, I learned a lot. I didn't know Ice Cube was a lyricist or that he wrote a significant portion of the songs in NWA.  When I think Ice Cube, I think movies... Didn't know Dre walked away from Ruthless and Death Row, did he really walk away with nothing from Death Row? 

And the comment that makes me old today goes to...

 

I've always joked about this but the day when I'm old enough that teens either don't know who the likes of Biggie Smalls and 2Pac are or never listed to their music will be the day I will feel really sad.

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DollEyes

DollEyes

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Did the actors sing, or were they lip syncing?

 

  According to Ice Cube, the actors did all their own rapping.

 

SOC is not only the #1 movie in the country with over $56 million and counting, it's the highest-grossing opening for an R-rated movie in August.

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kassa

kassa

Saw it yesterday and liked it, but the previews had me ready for a thrilling ride, and it was a pretty sedate biopic about life in the music industry.  Nothing wrong with that, but also nothing that really had to be on the big screen vs waiting to see it on tv at home.

 

Paul Giamatti's really scooping up all the scumbag music manager roles!

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topanga

topanga

He is wearing a wig which supposedly cost 15 grand.

For a jheri curl wig??? Holy shit....was it the party-end of Jean-Claude Van Damme's mullet from Hard Target?

 

 

 

It's a good looking wig, but I can't imagine that it cost 15 grand. It does look better than the typical Jheri curl wig, which looks horrible--think Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction.

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Joimiaroxeu

Joimiaroxeu

Casting was spot on.

Except for Snoop. Until he started talking I would have never guessed who he was. Apparently the actor was hired more for his ability to imitate Snoop's style of speaking and rapping.

 

I came out of the movie ready to buy the soundtrack and was surprised to learn that there isn't one. Unbelievable. There's some fantastic music in this movie, and not just the NWA guys' stuff.

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nicepebbles

nicepebbles

I loved this movie. It is a perfect movie? No. I still enjoyed. Some of the love is due to nostolgia. Some of it is the fact that I found the acting to be top-notch as well as the writing. I didn't know that Ice Cube's son played him in the movie. The whole time I was like, "They really lucked out with this dude. The resemblance is uncanny." Duh! Lol. To be fair though, they lucked out with the other guys as well as far as looking like the character they protrayed. If I wasn't feeling under the weather right now and was a better movie reviewer, I could go into detail. I'll probably watch it again and then do a better review.

 

I will say that what made it not a perfect movie was towards the end it seemed somewhat rushed. A lot happened the could've used some more time. I know the movie wa already 147 minutes or something like that. Easy E's reliance and trust in Jerry was never explained enough to my satisfaction. And as others have said better than me, the treatment of women as far as fans, groupies, and so on. Now as far as I can remember the movie is accurate on that front. The issue is no voice or voices in the movie to point out how wrong that is. Weren't there voices in the media pointing out the treatment of women?

 

Despite the flaws, as I said, I still love it and am happy it's doing well.

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JBC344

JBC344

Really enjoyed this movie.  One of the best I have seen all year.  Was like a fun walk down memory lane.  I am an NWA fan and still found a lot of surprises that I didn't know. 

 

The casting was incredibly spot on.  O'Shea Jackson Jr was really good playing his father, but you could tell this was his first acting job.  Great way to start.  Corey Hawkins was good as Dr. Dre and dare I say made the character a lot more sympathetic than Dre is in real life.  Jason as Easy-E was incredible.  The actor who played Snoop didn't necessarily look like him, but he definitely had his cadence and personality down.  Now the actor who played Tupac was just SCARY.  For a second I thought they may have superimposed Tupac's face on the actor's body, a la The Social Network.  Please sign that actor to one of the Tupac bio pics.

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methodwriter85

methodwriter85

(edited)

I enjoyed it, but I came out of it realizing that I really wanted to see more mid/late-1990's hip-hop...not just that little snippet of California Love. I feel like I would have liked it more if I had been better acquainted with late 80's/early 90's hip-hop.

Edited by methodwriter85
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JBC344

JBC344

(edited)

I enjoyed it, but I came out of it realizing that I really wanted to see more mid/late-1990's hip-hop...not just that little snippet of California Love. I feel like I would have liked it more if I had been better acquainted with late 80's/early 90's hip-hop.

I don't know how serious this is, but there is talk that they could do a sequel that would focus on the mid to late 90's Compton hip-hop/gangsta rap scene.  With Dre, Suge Knight, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac.  Lord knows there is enough material. 

 

The idea being that it could pick up where this one left off with Dre starting Aftermath, and Snoop and Tupac dealing with Suge Knight at Death Row, and possibly incorporating the "east coast/ west coast" feud bringing in Bigge and Puff.

Edited by JBC344
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DollEyes

DollEyes

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(edited)

SOC is not only Number One for the third week in a row with over $13 million, according to the Today show,  it's not only the most successful musical biopic since 2005's Walk the Line, it's the first movie made by Universal since Jurassic World to be on top for more than two weeks.

Edited by DollEyes
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spaceytraci1208

spaceytraci1208

Finally saw it this weekend, I loved it. I hope the actor who portrayed Easy E gets some recognition come awards season. I also fell in love with Ice Cube again lol...I've always had a thing for him. My favorite moment is when the kids on the school bus were taunting the Bloods in the car next to them, and the Bloods forced the bus to stop. That shit was scary, but when dude told them to "gangbang them textbooks!" I was rolling.

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dusang

dusang

 

2uqd3ix.jpg

 

Casting was spot on. Some of these actors are dead ringers.

 

Especially the one who plays Tupac. He could be a doppelganger.

 

Are we all entirely sure Tupac is dead because DAMN!

 

I came out of the movie ready to buy the soundtrack and was surprised to learn that there isn't one. Unbelievable. There's some fantastic music in this movie, and not just the NWA guys' stuff.

 

Dr. Dre released a new album as the soundtrack: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/dr-dre-to-release-new-album-as-straight-outta-compton-soundtrack-20150729

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JBC344

JBC344

I'm not sure how a soundtrack works for a period movie.  Considering all the music was pre-released weather from NWA or not, I'm wondering if a soundtrack would just be a compilation?  If so the studio would probably have to pay huge royalties to all the non NWA artists, probably not worth it financially.  I don't think there was any actual original music in the movie. 

 

I do admit the music was fantastic the way it was put together. 

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yourstruly

yourstruly

This made me go out and buy some old Dr. Dre and the NWA songs that I didn't already have. The funny thing is, I don't even think Straight Outta Compton is a good album. Like top to bottom, there is a lot of filler. It's just that the good songs are *so* good, *so* incendiary, that they overshadow how mediocre the majority of the album is. And what Dr. Dre and especially Ice Cube did afterwards leaves NWA in the dust.

 

 

Some of it was by artists other than the NWA people.

Yeah, like, when out of nowhere, Tears for Fears came up on the soundtrack. Although to be fair, I'm black and I love Tears for Fears.

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JBC344

JBC344

This made me go out and buy some old Dr. Dre and the NWA songs that I didn't already have. The funny thing is, I don't even think Straight Outta Compton is a good album. Like top to bottom, there is a lot of filler. It's just that the good songs are *so* good, *so* incendiary, that they overshadow how mediocre the majority of the album is. And what Dr. Dre and especially Ice Cube did afterwards leaves NWA in the dust.

 

Yeah, like, when out of nowhere, Tears for Fears came up on the soundtrack. Although to be fair, I'm black and I love Tears for Fears.

Same here.  Tears for Fears is on heavy rotation on my Pandora account.  Their music cue fit perfectly into the film.

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Danny Franks

Danny Franks

(edited)

This was a decent film, with some very, very good performances.

 

Ice Cube jr has a promising career, by the looks of it. And man, he is the spitting image of his dad. The guy playing Easy E was good as well. But I wasn't really sold on Dre, he just looked uncomfortable all the time. The most uncanny one though, was the Tupac cameo. I honestly thought it was archive footage, for a moment. I'd have liked more of him, and more of Dre working with him (before they fell out due to Dre leaving Death Row).

 

The Rodney King Riots felt a little shortchanged, to me. I thought that would be a bigger part of the narrative, but I guess this is what it was like for the those guys. By that time, they were detached from their old community and not really involved.

 

I guess what it made me realise is just how brief NWA's time at the top was. I knew a bit about their history from watching Straight Outta L.A, the ESPN documentary, but never realised that they really only released one album before Ice Cube left the group. I've always liked Ice Cube, and been amazed by the sheer rage he seemed to have inside him, in his rapping and his acting.

 

To be honest, while I like some of their music and the fact that they were brutally honest in talking about what life was like in Compton and other places, NWA were a little before my time. I had my period of being into rap later in the 90s, and absolutely loved 2Pac. So talk of a sequel that's more about him, Dre and Snoop, and the horror show that was Death Row Records, would be good. If a little depressing.

Edited by Danny Franks
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