Artwork for podcast Hip Hop Movie Club
In Too Deep
Episode 466th December 2023 • Hip Hop Movie Club • Hip Hop Movie Club
00:00:00 00:35:13

Share Episode

Shownotes

Jeff Cole realizes his dream of becoming an undercover cop. Working his way up the ranks is one thing, but he now faces the challenge of his life when called upon to infiltrate and bring down the kingpin known as God! No, not that one, the one played by LL Cool J!

In this episode, we'll answer the question: How deep do you need to get in to take down God?

In Too Deep on IMDB

In Too Deep on Pluto TV

Credits

Hip Hop Movie Club is produced by your HHMC's: Boogie, JB and DynoWright! Theme music by Boogie.   

Hit us up at hiphopmovieclub@gmail.com or on TikTok, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @hiphopmovieclub. You can also check us out at hiphopmovieclub.com.  

On the next episode of the Hip Hop Movie Club podcast, your HHMCs will discuss Dashing Through The Snow. Subscribe today in your favorite podcast app and you won't miss it!  

Shout out to you listeners. Thanks for tuning in. 

And remember: Don't hate, hydrate.

Transcripts

Speaker:

Jeff Cole realizes his dream of becoming

an undercover cop, working his way up

2

:

the ranks is one thing, but

now he faces the challenge of his life.

3

:

When called upon to infiltrate

and bring down the kingpin known as God.

4

:

No, not that one.

5

:

The one played by L.L.

6

:

Cool J.

7

:

Bring it!

8

:

C’mon! Welcome to Hip Hop Movie Club.

9

:

This is a show for Gen X hip hop fans

who want to relive the glory days

10

:

and reconsider classic and modern hip

hop films from a current day perspective.

11

:

Together, we’ll explore some of the larger

societal issues raised in these films.

12

:

If you've seen today's movie before,

then you'll learn some fascinating trivia

13

:

you might have missed.

14

:

If you haven't seen today's movie before,

15

:

that will help you decide

whether this film is worth your time.

16

:

Either way, you'll be a smarter

hip hop fan by the end of this episode.

17

:

The next 30 minutes

or so you'll get all this and more.

18

:

We’re

19

:

three old heads who put their old heads

together to vibe on these films for you.

20

:

I'm DynoWright, podcaster, filmmaker,

21

:

long time hip-hop fan, and I'm the Cult

Jam to these guys’ Lisa Lisa.

22

:

I’m JB, eighties and nineties

23

:

nostalgia junkie, longtime hip hop fan.

24

:

And just like the Prodigal son,

I've returned.

25

:

Anyone stepping in me you'll get burned.

26

:

I like that.

27

:

I’m Boogie, deejay, long time hip hop fan

28

:

and I have a pretty cool stash of vintage

vinyl.

29

:

Nice, no doubt.

30

:

In this episode,

we'll answer the question,

31

:

How deep do you need

to get in to take down God?

32

:

(vinyl

33

:

scratches) One...one...one...one...

34

:

In Too

35

:

Deep is the 1999 crime

drama starring Omar Epps, L.L.

36

:

Cool J.

37

:

Nia Long, Stanley Tucci, as well

as a handful of other hip hop luminaries,

38

:

depict the story of an undercover cop

putting his life at risk to try to bring

39

:

down a major drug kingpin.

40

:

All right, let's dive in.

41

:

So in this movie, you have L Cool J

42

:

portraying a major drug player

43

:

kingpin named God, his nickname

44

:

alongside.

45

:

So he's a nasty fellow.

46

:

Where would you rank him?

47

:

Alongside other hip hop movie villains

such as Nino Brown, Bishop

48

:

and others that we may have seen

or maybe we haven't seen just yet.

49

:

But what would you rank him based on

50

:

his characterization in this film?

51

:

You know,

I was try to figure this one out.

52

:

I was struggling where I would rank them

because I could see some qualities.

53

:

He has some Nino-esque qualities

about him,

54

:

but I don't think he was.

55

:

Well, no, I think he could have been

easily as ruthless as Nino.

56

:

I think he was not as

57

:

wired up as Bishop was.

58

:

Bishop was out to actually try

to prove himself,

59

:

whereas as you see,

God, he's already established.

60

:

But I would think

I would probably rank him

61

:

about with Nino, because

62

:

he he was he,

63

:

he was kind of doing the work

of a Robin Hood type character,

64

:

feeding the neighborhood.

65

:

But he was making a lot of money

off of the poor people as well.

66

:

And those are those scenes where he was

67

:

actually pretty brutal

68

:

with some of the guys,

like the one guy who was

69

:

he believe was was an

70

:

informant, was informant with the police,

you know, cut his tongue out.

71

:

It's like, whoa,

72

:

you know, you can kill him, but come on.

73

:

And then the other guy

74

:

for to

that was his one of his best friends from,

75

:

you know, from elementary school.

76

:

And he tortured him, killed him

77

:

like, I think it was nothing.

78

:

Was that the one?

79

:

Is his God the godfather of his son?

80

:

Was that the one?

81

:

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

82

:

You know, and I was just.

83

:

And I wasn't even

that was just a speculative speculation

84

:

that he believe

Frisco was trying to get was is,

85

:

you know, whose baby's mother like

it wasn’t even confirmed.

86

:

It was he thought it was going on. Yeah.

87

:

So I think I think I rank him pretty high

just off of, just off of that.

88

:

I mean, granted,

we don't see too much other scenes,

89

:

but just off of those things alone,

you know, I think I put him up there.

90

:

How about you, DynoWright?

91

:

I think it's it's

third behind Bishop and Nino Brown, but

92

:

it was it was good.

93

:

I don't I'm

not sure that it was, like, iconic.

94

:

And we try not to use that word so much,

but Nino Brown's iconic

95

:

and I think he was

that quite as good as Nino Brown.

96

:

The movie was another story, but

97

:

the movie itself, it's another story.

98

:

But L.L.

99

:

Cool J was pretty good in this film.

100

:

L L.L.

101

:

Cool J was convincing as a bad guy,

but villain again, nickname was God.

102

:

Dwayne Gittens,

I think, was his character's name.

103

:

So as far as comparison

104

:

comparison to these other villains, he's

kind of up there like the

105

:

the brutality, the

like you mentioned Boogie, but he was also

106

:

he was also hitting women,

107

:

beating and torture as crew members,

violating them like the pool table scene.

108

:

I mean, the body having the body cut up

in a dumpster like it was kind of jarring.

109

:

But you don't.

110

:

The problem I have with some of this movie

and I will get it, is

111

:

some like the characters in the character

development and stuff like that.

112

:

Like I didn't see that.

113

:

You could see how Bishop turns heel.

114

:

It led up to that to a crescendo,

115

:

and you can kind of see how Nino Brown

116

:

mind worked a little bit.

117

:

We don't really see that.

118

:

We just see this sheer brutality.

119

:

So as far as characters

physically brutal way up on the scale,

120

:

but as far as like a memorable character,

not quite as much.

121

:

Right. Right, right. Okay.

122

:

So mentioned at the intro, there were

several hip hop stars in the movie.

123

:

Boogie, want to take us through Who.

124

:

Hip hop fans would notice.

125

:

And yeah. Sure.

126

:

I'll take a stab

at who I was able to recognize.

127

:

Well, although she's not necessarily

128

:

a hip hop artist,

she's a pretty well-known R&B singer.

129

:

We have.

130

:

Mya had had a brief cameo in the film.

131

:

She played a character named Loretta.

132

:

We only saw pretty briefly during J.

133

:

J...Cole/ J.

134

:

Reid's

135

:

graduation ceremony from the,

136

:

he was graduating from the Academy.

137

:

We have another character.

138

:

Well, this one I noticed right away.

139

:

So I sort of speaks of Shyheim,

who played the character of Che.

140

:

Oh, Shyheim a.k.a.

141

:

The Rugged Child,

142

:

was a recording artist

143

:

who who dropped onto the scene

at the age of 14 with this

144

:

album titled The Rugged

Child, has a few memorable hits.

145

:

He later affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan,

146

:

doing some songs

with a couple of artists there.

147

:

Then we have a brief cameo by Nas,

148

:

who actually was the

149

:

looks like

he was the first drug dealer that

150

:

we had to encounter

to prove that he was able

151

:

to make a buying bust,

152

:

that we have Sticky Fingaz

153

:

from the group Onyx

154

:

easy to spot him.

155

:

He played a character named Ozzie who,

along with another cat,

156

:

try to rob our main character.

157

:

And that was not successful

and we didn't go well for him.

158

:

This one, I spotted, too.

159

:

She's an old school rap artist

160

:

who was affiliated with the likes of

161

:

the Audio Two, MC Lyte, MC

162

:

Peaches, et cetera, Michie Mee.

163

:

She had a brief cameo as well.

164

:

She played a character named -

I had to look it up - her name was called,

165

:

her name was Martha,

166

:

and she was at the baptism ceremony

and she was actually going to be

167

:

the godmother to God's son.

168

:

Then we have

169

:

Jermaine Dupri. Mr..

170

:

So So Def himself,

who played a character named Melvin,

171

:

had another brief cameo.

172

:

There was a lot of brief cameos.

173

:

They were in and out,

but he played the character named Melvin,

174

:

who during the scene

tried to take our main character

175

:

outside and rob him for his gold chain

and his money.

176

:

But God's crew spotted the shadiness of it

177

:

all and was able to stop him before

he was able to shoot our main character.

178

:

Those are the ones that I knew I didn't.

179

:

I was trying to see if there were more

180

:

because they were popping in and out

so quick.

181

:

But those are the ones that I spotted.

182

:

Yeah, I think you covered them all.

183

:

You had more than I listed out.

184

:

Yeah, definitely Some.

185

:

Some were bigger names

than others that you would

186

:

recognize, like

187

:

Nas, Jermaine Dupri, Sticky Fingaz, etc..

188

:

DynoWright, any others that you noticed?

189

:

No, although I would say the

190

:

the guy who plays Latique, Hassan Johnson.

191

:

I thought that guy could play Method Man.

192

:

He kind of had the look... at first

193

:

I thought, “oh is that Method Man?”

And then, now I realized there wasn't.

194

:

So there was that.

195

:

And also apparently David

Alan Grier has a cameo in this,

196

:

and I didn't spot that at all.

197

:

I was trying to find him.

198

:

I couldn't see.

199

:

I didn't see it.

200

:

But yeah, good call on Michie Mee.

201

:

I only noticed that in the credits

afterwards, like oh,

202

:

I missed that whole one.

203

:

So I kept looking at her face in my

she looks so familiar.

204

:

I paused it.

205

:

I'm like,

Wait a minute, I know who that is.

206

:

Yeah.

207

:

It really I think the only reason

I really recognized her

208

:

right away was because

209

:

she's she's friends.

210

:

She's really good friends

with a friend of mine.

211

:

Oh, I mentioned the emcee Peaches,

who was my

212

:

who used to live down the street from me,

213

:

and she actually signed

with First Priority.

214

:

So she ran with that whole crew.

215

:

And every now and then she'll post,

she put up a post

216

:

with Michie Mee ‘cause they’re still cool.

217

:

I’m like, oh, there you go.

218

:

That's why I recognized her face.

219

:

So a couple of things.

220

:

Who else could have played

the role of God, which was played by L.L.

221

:

Cool J.

222

:

I mean, obvious choices would be some of

those other villains that we talked about.

223

:

Probably Tupac,

224

:

Wesley Snipes.

225

:

Who else do you think could play it

or like maybe someone

226

:

from this younger generation?

227

:

What do you guys think?

228

:

Right off the bat?

229

:

I figured we could give it a little cause

because guy, he was

230

:

he wasn't really loud.

231

:

He was real low key,

but he was about his business.

232

:

If we wanted to get somebody

a little louder.

233

:

I was thinking somebody like DMX.

234

:

Shake it up a little bit. Yeah.

235

:

He's been in a movie with Nas before, so.

236

:

Yeah, it worked.

237

:

Yeah, I could see that.

238

:

Trying to think of

who else would be a good,

239

:

good character to play that,

240

:

whether it be in hip hop world or or not.

241

:

I had trouble answering this question.

242

:

I think

243

:

generally I didn't really like the movie,

but I started thinking like,

244

:

what if they flipped?

245

:

And what if Omar Epps played God and L.L.

246

:

Cool J played J.

247

:

Cole?Or not J.

248

:

Cole, I'm saying, doing your thing.

249

:

It’s easy to say that it was Jeff Cole,

but his alias was J.

250

:

Reed. So we talk about J. Cole.

251

:

Yeah, Yeah.

252

:

They’re

messing me up 30 years later. Yeah, right.

253

:

That's funny.

254

:

That would be a good that would

that actually actually could still work.

255

:

They should redo this movie with a better

script and have them flip roles.

256

:

It could work, but I don't.

257

:

Omar Epps doesn't like.

258

:

I think he's just too likable.

259

:

Like he's he's like even

even the role that he played it

260

:

like everybody in the in the movie

suspected him as a cop.

261

:

I'm like they could tell he's too,

he looks like too straight edge.

262

:

Too nice.

263

:

Like he's a guy

264

:

you want to hang out with at a barbecue

and like, be like kind of like,

265

:

I don't know.

266

:

I just think

267

:

he'd be tougher to play that role.

268

:

‘Cause I don't know if he has that. Yeah.

269

:

That mean streak.

270

:

He definitely had a lot of close calls

of people thinking he was a cop though.

271

:

I had a lot of problem

with those scenes. It's like. Yeah.

272

:

If there's any doubt, there's no doubt.

273

:

Right?

274

:

So yeah, so call him out on it!

275

:

I don't know.

276

:

One of my many problems with the movie.

277

:

Yeah.

278

:

I got you.

279

:

So what we're you know,

280

:

we'll talk about pitfalls of the movie

I guess, but what were some of

281

:

the highlights of the movie?

282

:

Like what?

283

:

What did you like about the movie

284

:

Boogie?

285

:

What were some of things

that you liked about it?

286

:

I mean, I do like

287

:

I do like crime dramas

and I do like stories about

288

:

officers going undercover.

289

:

Like one of my favorites is Donnie Brasco.

290

:

So I love to see how,

291

:

you know,

officers are able to get into the network

292

:

and kind of get really close

in the different challenges

293

:

that they have to face in doing so,

because it's the heart.

294

:

I think the hardest part is like

as mentioned as mentioned in the movie,

295

:

is that there's going to be a time

where they're going to test you

296

:

and, you know, they're testing you

to see if you're down with them.

297

:

They’re testing to see if you're a cop,

you know, And I think the movies that kind

298

:

of can depict that and I did see that

this was loosely based on a true story. So

299

:

I definitely

enjoyed those type of stories.

300

:

I do think that

this one probably could have had some

301

:

a little more development with it,

but I think overall,

302

:

I like I like those kind of movies.

303

:

Some of the

304

:

some of the characters

were a little weird, but

305

:

I mean, I mean,

306

:

I do like I do I do like God’s portrayal.

307

:

I do like L.L. Cool J.

308

:

But yeah, he was he was the

he was very charismatic.

309

:

You knew that he was a bad guy.

310

:

It was something that we said,

you know, as to Tupac, you know,

311

:

in different roles

312

:

like you, you especially Bishop

313

:

like you and Birdie, you,

you know, he's a bad guy,

314

:

but you still kind of like to say,

oh, you know, so I think that

315

:

that portrayal by L.L.

316

:

Cool J was was pretty good.

317

:

Let me see.

318

:

Well, I mean, my agent, who's always,

319

:

you know, put me along in the movie, so

320

:

yeah.

321

:

So there's always great there.

322

:

But I think overall,

I think those kind of stories.

323

:

All right.

324

:

That right.

325

:

What what did you like about the movie

most?

326

:

Well, L.L. was good.

327

:

Omar Epps is always good.

328

:

Nia Long was good.

329

:

And that was it.

330

:

They were not given much to work with.

331

:

I mean, Nia Long's whole story arc

332

:

is really kind of tangential

and just unnecessary like that.

333

:

If she wasn't in the movie, there were

no stakes that were raised or anything.

334

:

And so that was almost like window

335

:

dressing to have someone like Neil Yi,

you know, a waste of her talent.

336

:

Yeah,

337

:

I the world, I always take notes.

338

:

Like, what do I like?

339

:

Little anecdotes,

I guess, that I find in this story.

340

:

I like Jeff's story of why

341

:

he became interested in becoming a cop,

342

:

how growing up in the projects

and seeing the names on the Great Wall

343

:

of his neighborhood, of the kids

that had been slain, and that he clearly

344

:

remembered the youngest one's name,

who was only three years old.

345

:

And that inspired him to become a cop

and make a difference.

346

:

I kind of like that.

347

:

I almost wish.

348

:

But again, I think I wish

development would've been more.

349

:

Maybe we see a little bit of that

upbringing or flashbacks.

350

:

That was my major problem!

351

:

My major problem was

you don't know his motivation at all.

352

:

Yeah. They don't show you. They tell you.

353

:

And that's that's a terrible way

to try to develop a character like, yeah,

354

:

you really needed

Nia Long to get this out of them.

355

:

Like, Yeah, Oh, I hated this part. Okay.

356

:

And then know.

357

:

We don't care.

358

:

Like, we don't, they don't make us care.

359

:

Yeah, I was, I wasn't emotionally attached

to any of the characters, and there.

360

:

Are no stakes in this movie

and there's no reason to think,

361

:

you know, this is such a paint by numbers

movie that,

362

:

you know, we got to the end.

363

:

It's like, Oh,

nothing that changed actually.

364

:

They got the guy.

365

:

But that was it. Right? Yeah.

366

:

Yeah.

367

:

They dropped Nia Long in for guys like me,

they like Nia Long.

368

:

Yeah, Yeah.

369

:

It worked and it worked.

370

:

It works. And like, I don't know.

371

:

This is this is this is 1999, so she may

have been just kind of on the come up.

372

:

So like, she wasn't even quite nearly

as established.

373

:

I'm not sure what she had done prior,

but it's maybe one of those no earlier

374

:

films in her career

and she's had quite a storied career.

375

:

One of the highlight that I like that

it was put in the movie,

376

:

you know,

in our introduction to the podcast,

377

:

we talk about

we discuss larger societal issues.

378

:

And there was that scene of police

brutality and racial

379

:

profiling

following Jeff's argument with with Myra

380

:

as these white cops came up on them,

you know, he had gotten out of the car.

381

:

Is there a problem here is I'm a cop.

382

:

They wouldn't believe him.

383

:

And even when he was, you know,

he had his gun, you know,

384

:

I don't know if he showed a badge or not,

but they wouldn't believe him.

385

:

They still threw him down

and were beating on him.

386

:

And I was like, you know, that was

387

:

again.

388

:

I had another another major problem

with that scene.

389

:

So what was your problem with that scene?

390

:

So they get into an argument,

which is fine, but that was the time

391

:

when the cops show up.

392

:

Like the cops

never show up when you need them.

393

:

And and then if

if this was supposed to be a scene.

394

:

So in the movie, the

395

:

Cole and and and Myra having an argument

396

:

and this is I think this is supposed

to portray that he's turning into Reed

397

:

and he's losing his Cole-ness

And so he's he's in too deep, supposedly.

398

:

But then when the cops come, oh, I'm a cop

399

:

and I don't show my badge

and maybe they didn't have it on him.

400

:

And so, like, you're are you in too deep

or you're not in too deep?

401

:

And so the timing is terrible.

402

:

Like, oh, they show up

just exactly when they're needed.

403

:

The only reason that happens

because they wrote it in the script,

404

:

there's no like reason for it to happen.

405

:

So I was like,

Oh, this movie can't end fast enough.

406

:

Will they please take down this kingpin.

407

:

I'm tired of this.

408

:

He flipped the J. Reid/Jeff Cole switch.

409

:

Yeah,

410

:

let's switch.

411

:

So I looked it up.

412

:

Nia Long was in Boyz n the Hood.

413

:

Yes. Made in America.

414

:

Mm hmm.

415

:

Friday, 16

episodes of Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Yes.

416

:

All before he even got into this movie.

417

:

They. They did waste her talent.

418

:

Soul Food. Love Jones.

419

:

Yeah, Yeah.

420

:

I mean, two episodes of Moesha.

421

:

Benefit of the doubt,

but yeah, you're right. She was fine.

422

:

I mean, she was fine, but they didn't

give her anything to work with.

423

:

Also, the name's Jeff and Myra.

424

:

No offense to people then that,

but like, does that sound like this?

425

:

Sound like

426

:

to me that sounds like two fans of like,

Peter, Paul and Mary.

427

:

Would they sit by the campfire?

428

:

Nerdy white folks?

429

:

Yeah.

430

:

There's a

there's a laziness to the character.

431

:

The character writing

because the name of the actual person

432

:

that God is named for is

his name is Dwayne Gittens.

433

:

His name's Dwayne Gittens. Like

434

:

you didn't do any

work to to change the character at all.

435

:

You gave him the same name,

you spelled it differently, but like

436

:

put some work in, please.

437

:

Yeah, I mean, we're talking about

all the different pitfalls that are right.

438

:

You mentioned a bunch. Any other ones?

439

:

I don't think we have enough time.

440

:

Well, so on the ferry.

441

:

On the ferry where there

442

:

were, Cole is taking pictures of

443

:

of Myra. Mm.

444

:

Oh, hold this camera.

445

:

Let me, let me go get you a hot dog.

446

:

And then that's when the the

I guess a DEA or.

447

:

The the attorney general or whatever.

Yeah, Attorney general.

448

:

The attorney general like

449

:

shows up on the ferry with with his family

like another plot contrivance.

450

:

Like, Oh, what, what great timing.

451

:

I thought that was a little bit

too fortuitous.

452

:

I could predict something's happening.

453

:

Let me go get a hot dog.

454

:

It's like, Oh,

it says right here in the script,

455

:

you should

you will find that kind of attorney

456

:

general

on a boat in the middle of a river.

457

:

Right, what are the odds?

458

:

Like, not like at his office or something

like, Well, what are they doing here?

459

:

Oh, that was kind of odd.

460

:

Oh man.

461

:

All right, so let's let's let's switch

gears a little bit.

462

:

Another legendary actress,

Pam Grier, was in it.

463

:

All right, So what

464

:

where should we all know Pam Grier from

for maybe the younger listeners?

465

:

Pam Grier

466

:

was a trailblazing actress.

467

:

Multiple movies

like some of the blaxploitation

468

:

films.

469

:

She was huge in the seventies. Yes.

470

:

She was like the quintessential,

one of the quintessential.

471

:

Actors. Of any

472

:

of any kind.

473

:

In, in the blaxploitation genre.

474

:

Yeah, Coffy.

475

:

Coffy.

476

:

Foxy Brown

477

:

and many others.

478

:

Yeah.

479

:

Quentin Tarantino called her

the first female action star.

480

:

And I think he's right. Yeah. Yeah.

481

:

I remember when

482

:

Tarantino brought her

into that role of Jackie Brown.

483

:

She was a featured actress in back in 97,

and that was very fun.

484

:

Movie was a good movie, a very fun movie.

485

:

And I was like, Yeah, she she could take.

486

:

But still she was a star of the seventies

and in the late

487

:

mid to late nineties,

I mean, she was kicking butt

488

:

So yeah she's,

489

:

she's in this as one of the

490

:

head head of the police crew

491

:

You know we're they're wiring

492

:

Jeff Cole up or J.

493

:

Reid enlisting and her

and another associate

494

:

kind of head of that investigation there

495

:

and it's Stanley

Tucci played a guy named Preston who was

496

:

Jeff's boss.

497

:

And again, I kind of feel like his

talent was a little bit wasted too.

498

:

This. He's a legendary actor, too.

499

:

Yeah, easily.

500

:

He's been in hundreds

of films and on Broadway. And

501

:

I mean,

502

:

his was like kind of a cookie cutter role.

503

:

Yeah, there was nothing

504

:

special about

505

:

his performance, you know?

506

:

No, no, They didn't give him much to work

with again.

507

:

Much to work with. Yeah.

508

:

It just kind of threw him in there.

509

:

So. Hey,

we have a notable actor in the movie.

510

:

Yeah, And yeah, Stanley Tucci is

one of my favorites-I love Stanley Tucci.

511

:

Anything I see him and I'm like,

There you go.

512

:

That's my man, right

there. He's a cool dude.

513

:

That's very talented.

514

:

Yeah, very cool, dude.

515

:

Again, you look, I know some of his

memorable roles, and he's had so many.

516

:

The Devil Wears Prada. Mm.

517

:

Deconstructing Harry.

518

:

Big Night. Prizzi’s Honor. Yeah,

519

:

He was even in it for the MCU fans.

520

:

Captain America, the First Avenger.

521

:

Mm hmm.

522

:

He's done

a ton of voice acting, and he still does.

523

:

The younger generation might know him

from The Hunger Games.

524

:

Yeah, that's right.

525

:

That's right.

526

:

He's been nominated for an Oscar,

527

:

so he's not that bad.

528

:

So let's talk

529

:

before we do, like,

kind of rankings and ratings.

530

:

I know we're going to go someplace.

531

:

But how about. The soundtrack?

532

:

We always talk about the soundtrack,

so I thought it was solid.

533

:

What do you think, BooGie?

534

:

No, I think the soundtrack

was definitely a solid soundtrack.

535

:

I mean, yeah, from the intro.

536

:

I mean, you get the, you know, Quiet Storm

remix soon as it comes on.

537

:

That's one of my favorite favorites.

538

:

I love that track.

539

:

And it just it just so, you know, melodic,

but there some good songs in here.

540

:

I mean, not necessarily songs

that you hear a lot on the radio, but

541

:

they were good as far as,

542

:

you know, make me want to nod in my head.

543

:

I thought, I thought it was solid.

544

:

Yeah I was nodding

545

:

in my head in the song at the very end

too was solid.

546

:

I forget which one that was but...

547

:

In Too Deep It was really it was called

“In Too Deep” Nas and Nature.

548

:

Yeah.

549

:

Nas and nature.

550

:

I like that song.

551

:

I was like, Oh that's a banger

552

:

on the soundtrack.

553

:

Jermaine Dupri,

554

:

Method Man and Redman, Lil Kim

555

:

and Mobb Deep, 50 Cent, Jill Scott,

556

:

star studded the Lox, yep.

557

:

Star studded soundtrack.

558

:

So that was

559

:

one of the redeeming

qualities of the film.

560

:

I think this could have been

a Netflix series if they had

561

:

actually put a story to this.

562

:

It is it could have been a series.

563

:

I mean,

564

:

I was thinking like because The Wire was

was is iconic is an iconic,

565

:

you know, crime series

It takes place in and Baltimore.

566

:

This is in Cincinnati

so it's got a similar backdrop

567

:

but erm yeah I think it would,

I think it would give us that development

568

:

that we were looking for. Yeah.

569

:

That's the thing

if you could spread it out.

570

:

The back story. Yeah.

571

:

Yeah.

572

:

All those things that we were looking for,

573

:

you can definitely stretch

those out in the series.

574

:

You know, the, the whole suspense.

575

:

I didn't really feel any suspense of him

being found out because there was no,

576

:

like every time they tested him, he'd say,

What do you think I am?

577

:

And then they were just going,

they just move on.

578

:

So, you know, the

579

:

one of the best parts of Mad Men

580

:

was that you were always on

the brink of Don getting found out.

581

:

And so you could have used that in it.

582

:

They could use that in a Netflix series

to build up the suspense

583

:

and get people hooked on watching it.

584

:

And I feel like J.

585

:

Reid never really paid any consequences

586

:

on his way up or paid any dues.

587

:

I mean, he did have to make compromises,

principles all along the way.

588

:

Some.

589

:

But you never really felt, you know, the

stakes weren't very high or compelling.

590

:

And so, like,

he shot the guy in the crotch, but,

591

:

you know, an ultimatum

kind of felt like cartoonish and like, Oh.

592

:

Right. Yeah.

593

:

And it's supposed to,

594

:

you know, push him down the path,

I guess, to the dark side. And

595

:

there was still no like,

596

:

there was no

there's no payoff for that in any way.

597

:

And it would have been fun

to have a kind of cat and mouse game

598

:

between God and Reid, you know,

because that

599

:

why God trusted J.

600

:

Reid so much throughout this film.

601

:

I never really understood.

602

:

So I think you could really work

that into a Netflix series

603

:

and really build on like, why does he care

what, you know, this guy just showed up

604

:

and he was trusted

more than his guys who been around him.

605

:

And yeah, yeah,

606

:

I don't know.

607

:

It didn't feel that believable to me.

608

:

Only they were only like

609

:

paired against each other

because they were the lead actors and.

610

:

It was kind of like

God was a training as a boxer or,

611

:

or he liked to do that for fitness and J.

612

:

Reid or Jeff or whatever it was.

613

:

He was standing up to them

and he was able to spar with them or,

614

:

you know, hell, I'm like, Yeah, okay,

you're in.

615

:

Like, that makes sense.

616

:

And you've got boxing

training in the academy.

617

:

And I think these other guys,

like he the one guy, couldn't hold it.

618

:

The, the heavy. Bag. Yeah.

619

:

I mean that's, that's hard.

620

:

But like,

no one else could hold the bag gloves.

621

:

No one else can hold the, the target pads

622

:

like and I've, I was like oh okay,

623

:

you're in!

624

:

You can hold you can hold focus pads

you're in

625

:

right. Yeah.

626

:

Like that. Was it like.

627

:

The other aspect that could lead to

628

:

a Netflix series would be,

629

:

you know, Jeff

630

:

being a trainer at the

as for the cadets and like,

631

:

they have this pipeline of new of younger

undercover

632

:

cops and kind of talk about their exploits

and maybe he gets engaged certain points

633

:

and write in flashbacks

and some other tie ins that way.

634

:

Yeah yeah.

635

:

You could actually use Nia Long or,

you know, a love interest character

636

:

for for some.

637

:

Yeah. For some story benefit.

638

:

And maybe they could put one plot twist

639

:

in the Netflix series

because there weren't any in this movie.

640

:

No definitely weren't any.

641

:

You know you could predict this

from like a mile away like,

642

:

oh yeah, give me your gun and badge

643

:

and. It was a funny thing.

644

:

Like at the end

it was like the cops come in and

645

:

surround LL Cool J’s character.

646

:

God and everything is like,

647

:

wait, you're a cop.

648

:

You're you're not a cop, you're a sellout.

649

:

And it's like, what's this? Yeah.

650

:

It was, it was such a letdown. Mm.

651

:

Yeah. Yeah.

652

:

And then Breezy turned state's evidence

at the end and I, it was like,

653

:

nicely wrapped up in a detail like, oh,

654

:

I'll be cool in three

and a half or whatever it was.

655

:

You know, he'll do his time

and come out and be square.

656

:

All right,

657

:

so let's go round and give a rating.

658

:

It's pretty much keep it, leave it.

659

:

So we haven't done this in a little while

because we've been doing a lot of docu

660

:

series and documentaries.

661

:

So back to your traditional movie Boogie,

662

:

bring that funky flick back, bring that

funky flick back or leave it in the vault.

663

:

Yeah, I'm going to

664

:

have to leave this one in the vault.

665

:

Alright, DynoWright?

666

:

Despite Roger Ebert giving this movie

thumbs up and I respect him greatly.

667

:

I'm also leaving this in the vault.

668

:

That makes three of us.

669

:

I will leave it in the vault.

670

:

The pitfalls and flaws in this one.

671

:

You want to actively seek it out

when there's so much other

672

:

great content out there.

673

:

Yeah, maybe.

674

:

Maybe some clips on YouTube.

675

:

You watch L.L.

676

:

Cool J or just watch NCIS

677

:

or even Last Holiday

with the Queen Latifah.

678

:

It's a fine film.

679

:

That's right.

680

:

Yeah.

681

:

I mean,

682

:

I did notice one actor in the movie

that I recognized from

683

:

from one of my old movies

that I like to watch, though,

684

:

David Patrick Kelly.

685

:

Oh, he played

the DEA, the DEA agent, Rick Scott

686

:

Shorter

687

:

fellow in

the movie that was with the police officer

688

:

who was trying to convince the DEA

to let Jeff continue to stay undercover.

689

:

He was in one his in my fav-film

The Warriors.

690

:

Old old gang movie from New York.

691

:

Oh, yeah.

692

:

He's the guy that actually shot Cyrus

in the beginning of the movie, hey that’s

693

:

Luther right there!

694

:

It's funny, every time I spotted him,

I'm like, Hey, I know him.

695

:

That's a deep cut.

696

:

Yeah.

697

:

Bring it!

698

:

C’mon!

699

:

Hip Hop Movie Club is produced

by your HHMC’s: JB, Boogie and DynoWright.

700

:

Theme music by Boogie.

701

:

(Bring it!

702

:

C’mon!)

Check us out on Facebook and Instagram

703

:

at Hip Hop Movie Club.

704

:

(Bring it!

705

:

C’mon!) On the next episode of the Hip Hop

Movie Club podcast,

706

:

your HHMC’s will review Dashing

Through the Snow.

707

:

Subscribe now and your favorite

podcast app and you won't miss it.

708

:

Shout out to your listeners.

Thanks for tuning in.

709

:

And remember, don't hate hydrate.

710

:

Drink that water!

711

:

I learned from a classmate

to hydrate or die-drate.

712

:

Oh, That's

713

:

a good one.

714

:

Bring it!

715

:

C’mon!

Links

Chapters

Video

More from YouTube