Paid in Full

Rating:
Summary: very entertaining, based on a true story
Review: A well made movie about a young kid who finds himself right in the middle of a money making drug ring. This young man works at a dry cleaner shop untill he finds a bag of cocain in a pair of pants, when he trys to give the bag back to the owner he realizes the money he could make and soon sets up shop with this and begins buying large amounts of cocain from him. What started small has now grown into pounds,and pounds of cocain. But people soon become blinded by all the money this is where the movie gets interesting. The ring quickly begins to fall apart and people begin to tur on each other leaving people dead and broke. This movie is a real masterpiece and gives you a look into 80's drug dealing and the problems involved with it.

Rating:
Summary: Personal, True Account of the Gangsta Life
Review: Ace (Wood Harris) is a young man working in a dry cleaners in 1985 Harlem. His friend Mitch (Mekhi Phifer) sells cocaine, drives flashy cars, and has cash to burn. When Mitch goes to prison and a couple of coincidences leave Ace with a ball of cocaine in his pocket and customers waiting to buy, Ace decides to enter the drug-dealing business that he had previously shunned. He quickly rises to prominence as the cocaine kingpin of Harlem. When Mitch is released from prison, Ace brings him into the business as a partner, along with Mitch's volatile acquaintance from prison, Rico (Cam'ron). When violence erupts, Ace begins to question whether the money that his cocaine business has provided him is worth its cost.

At first look, Paid In Full seems to retread a lot of territory that has already been covered in a slew of films about inner-city drug-dealing since the 1980's. There are a couple of things that set this film apart, however, and make it worth seeing. This film emphasizes the characters' development and inner struggles more, and the trappings of the gangsta lifestyle less, than most films on the same topic. And Paid In Full is based on a true story: the story of AZ, Rich Porter, and Alpo, three young men who controlled the cocaine trade in Harlem in the mid-1980's. (Called Ace, Mitch, and Rico, respectively, in the film.) Azie Faison, who was AZ back then, cooperated with the film and wrote an early version of the screenplay. He has since criticized the film for glamorizing the gangsta lifestyle too much and not being a strong enough cautionary tale. I don't find that Paid In Full glamorizes the lifestyle all that much, but its criticism of gangsta life is not heavy-handed either. Perhaps it is better that the film did not moralize as much as it could have because that tends to alienate the audience. You will have to see it and judge for yourself.

The film's faults are more annoying than serious. I found it slow in parts. And there is a lot of carelessness with accuracy. The film states at the outset that it takes place in 1985-1986. But the Saab sports cars that the drug dealers are so fond of driving are not 1980's models. And someone talks on a cell phone in one scene -a little, modern cell phone, not a huge 1980's model. First-time feature film director Charles Stone should try hard to avoid this sort of sloppiness in the future, as it can ruin a perfectly good movie.

I recommend Paid In Full for its realistic depiction of a particular lifestyle -and its consequences- in a particular time and place in American History. It is especially interesting because the events are seen through the eyes of someone who actually lived them.

Rating:
Summary: Really good movie!
Review: Ever since I seen it I can't quit thinking about it. I've seen a lot of "hood" movies this one is way different. Even though this his first role, Cam'ron did his thing. And for the Amazon reviewer, Cam'ron wasn't in the movie Woo. But he did have a song on the soundtrack. I've noticed for the most part Amazon's reviews of anything hip-hop are useless.

Rating:
Summary: Definite Classic Movie!
Review: I first saw this movie in the movie theater when it was released knowing nothing about the real story of the drug-lords being portrayed in the movie (Alpo, AZIE and Rich Porter) when i left the movie theater i thought this was the best movie i ever seen. Everything about this movie is perfect, the way the director and Damon Dash made the movie work out was perfect.

For those of you that dont know this movie was a true story about 3 Harlem drug-lords who ran NY in the mid 1980's at the age of 16 and 17. They would make $50,000 a day (selling 2 ki's of cocaine). This movie teaches u alot about the drug game, the good part and deffinately the bad. This movie being a true story is what makes it so good, knowing that these events really happened make you want to know more about the characters. This is the 2nd part to the life of the drug lords. To learn more about them get "Game Over (Part 1)" which is the real documentary on em.

Guarentee u will like this movie. 100% classsic

Rating:
Summary: Movie Good; Documentary Low Budget
Review: I thought the movie was great. It was entertaining and and did not glorify drug dealing. Besides the lyrics we hear in rap music, Paid In Full showed the tragedy that happens to the majority who are deep in the game. They go to jail or are dead, they don't become rappers. Paid In Full was so moving I wanted to get a more accurate version of what happened and not jus the hollywood story, therefore I bought Game Over. Now that was disappointing! Although the Basically a bunch of people from Harlem talking about how the rap game is fake, AZ was very ambiguous, and Rich Porter's sister rambling on about things she had little knowlede of. Old news stories from Newsday and Washingtonpost of these tragic events gave of more documentary depicition.

Rating:
Summary: realiest film you'll see this year!
Review: i've seen this movie mounths ago & this is a good mvie it tells a compelling stroy of drug lords az,alpo(changed to rico in the film & good protrayl by cam'ron),& rich porter.wood harris plays a good az R.O.C. had done it again but don't take my word just see it until reserve judgement untill after you've seen it.IT'S THE REALIEST FILM YOU'LL SEE IN YOUR LIFE!

Rating:
Summary: Classic Gangsters
Review: My fascination with gangsters on film continues. In Paid In Full, the most telling scene is the Harlem young people in a movie theatre watching Al Pacino's, Scarface. They love that movie, cheer the crazy, bloodthirsty, self-made, only-in-America bad guy. When poor and black Harlem residents get a handle on the new drugs in the early eighties like cocaine and crack, money rains down. Wood Harris goes from delivery boy to kingpin of the Harlem drug trade. His buddies are more flamboyant than he. That youthful enthusiasm for easy money in the face of "The Man," proves to be our hero's downfall. This is a classic gangster story and it is very suspenseful and true to life.

Rating:
Summary: This was NY/NJ in the 80's
Review: One of the reviewers from D.C. said two things I want to comment on:
*First he said in d.c. they weren't driving saab's, well in NJ and NY, everyone was trying to get their hands on a saab. Saab's and Audi's were the thing, and even volvo's were making a come back. Ballers or drug dealers had them, or pushed to buy'em.
*Second, the clothes were also on point. Who ever picked the clothes, etc. were so on point it was pathetic. Back in the day if you weren't making money, that's what you wore.
And when they were all making money, they dressed just like that. Girls were wearing Fendi this, and Gucci that, and guys were dressing back then. No Tee Shirts, and jersey's or army fatigues like they do now with $15-$20,000 in their pockets.

That movie made me cry in the theater and thereafter. I really had to pull it together. It reminded me of my brother. My brother was Mitch, all the way. From the clothes, and everything else. It was exactly like that for us here in NJ.

There wasn't one scene in that movie that differed. Even when their friend turned on them and got jealous, it was the exact same way. As a matter of fact, Mitch died in the same manner that my brother died, at the hands of his boy. His own friend that he was there for. That's just how it was, with street codes, and crazies that went against the street codes, and those who lived by them. Everybody made money except the crackheads and dope feins. Yep, that's how it was.
And as usual it ended when you had enough of it, and you had enough when someone close to you died and it scorned your heart. (although some went to jail or were killed.)
Paid In Full was right on time, and the song was the establishing touch, as we all said we were getting, "Paid in full."

Rating:
Summary: you love the game but it dont love u back
Review: paid in full is a true story that takes place in harlem the main charactor ace is a poor teenager from the ghetto who works in a low budget cleaner store one day on a delivary ace meets lulu a cuban drugdealer who slowly brings ace into the cocane business ace quickly goes from poor kid from the ghetto to kingpin of the streets he does all of this when his best friend mitch is in jail when mitch gets out they form a partner ship that gives them more money than they ever imagened when mitch is in jail he meets a new friend named rico played by cam ron rico is a violent hustler that will end up in jail because of his greed after he kills his so called friend mitch now ace is all alone in the game.... a powerful movie that u should definatly see

Rating:
Summary: fun movie
Review: paid in full was a pretty fun movie too watch. that stars cam'ron, and has alot of scenes that is fantastic. and rap fan should pick this movie up.