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8 Mile (Full Screen Edition)

8 Mile (Full Screen Edition)

List Price: $14.98
Your Price: $13.48
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fantastic.....and I don't even like rap!
Review: I am not a fan of Eminem or of rap, hip-hop, or R&B. However, I went to this movie because of the plot not the music. I was amazed at how well Eminem acted. I think he was great. This film is very inspiring and very dramatic. The characters are all fun to watch and very interesting. The ending is pure fun. The rap battles are all very enjoyable. This film will also make you laugh and that's good for a movie to have some humor.

If you don't like rap, at least give this movie a chance. I mean look, I'm a rocker, my friend is a punk rocker and my cousin is a heavy metalist and we all liked this movie.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: impressive acting debut
Review: Rapper Eminem makes a spectacular screen debut in "8 Mile," a film designed to showcase the performer's talents as singer, songwriter and, now, actor.

In this semi-autobiographical tale, Eminem plays a young white rapper named Jimmy who is struggling to achieve respectability and recognition in an area dominated almost exclusively by black artists. We've seen this story before in films ranging from "The Hustler" to "The Cincinnati Kid" to "Rocky": the hotshot, talented newcomer attempts to make a name for himself in some specialized area (be it pool, poker, boxing or rapping) by challenging and defeating the highly respected and established reigning champ. In terms of plotting, "8 Mile" offers little that is new or exciting, but what makes the movie work is the fine sense of detail and texture that writer Scott Silver and director Curtis Hanson bring to the world they are showing us. Set in 1995 Detroit, the film superbly captures the unmitigated bleakness of its urban setting: from the burnt-out, abandoned buildings to the graffiti-covered walls to the dank, cavernous music clubs to the rundown trailer parks. Jimmy is caught in a world that offers the poor working class stiff little opportunity for hopes and dreams beyond those he can make for himself - and Jimmy has found rap music to be the best chance for his ticket out. Yet, Jimmy is no pie-in-the-sky idealist. He knows that he can't afford to put all his eggs into one basket and so he remains levelheaded and pragmatic in his aspirations and goals. Beyond the obvious handicap of his skin color, Jimmy is also having to cope with a crumbling relationship, an alcoholic mother, her abusive boyfriend and some "concerned" parties who, despite what they may say, may not always have Jimmy's best interest at heart.

Each of these characters has the potential to become nothing more than a hokey stereotype, but the acting and the writing keep most of it real most of the time. Kim Basinger, Mekhi Phifer, Britanny Murphy and several others all turn in fine performances in their roles, but it is Eminem himself who makes the film work. Jimmy, despite all the frustration and rage smoldering under the surface, comes across as a decent guy who wants to make something of himself and to help those people who mean the most to him in the process. Eminem is a natural on the screen, and it will be interesting to see if he will be able to so successfully inhabit a character who is not so carefully tailored to fit his ready-made persona. My suspicion is that he will, though only time - and his next few roles - will tell.

"8 Mile" affords a fascinating glimpse into a subculture that many of us have hitherto viewed only from the outside. Especially intriguing are the "hip-hop battles," wherein rappers come on stage and challenge one another to perform spontaneous mutual put-downs, with the audience getting to determine the contest's winner. No matter what one may feel about rap music itself, one has to admire the talent involved in composing these rhyming verses extemporaneously. The music may sometimes be execrable, but the love of language that pours forth out of the mouths of these young practitioners is actually quite encouraging and captivating (though one wishes that that talent would be channeled in a more positive direction at times).

An interesting side note: at one point, Jimmy recites a rap defending a homosexual co-worker. After all the bad blood that has gone down between Eminem and the gay community in the past, I wonder if this is the rapper's attempt to make peace and bury the hatchet. If so, it is a gesture well worth making.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Awesome
Review: Eminem's acting debut is phenomenal. He plays Jimmy aka Rabbit, a struggling rapper who lives in the ghetto of Detroit. When I heard of this movie, I thought another musician gone bad movie, but it's definately not. The story is great, almost a biography about Em's life. He works at the local steel plant during the day, and battles his rhymes (when he doesn't chicken out) at night. Kim Basinger plays his alcoholic mother. Overall, 8 Mile was definately one of the greatest movies of 2002.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not Bad
Review: Eminem act is okay, well he act like himself. Britany Murphy well she seem like a drug addict, I like her as an actress, usually she act good but this time she get so much on my nerves. Kim Basinger is good,streetbrawls.com is better very surprising to see her in that type of movie. Overall it's a great movie for fanatic of Eminem but it's not a so good movie for people who don't know him or don't really care about him.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: 8 Mile Is The Best Movie Ever!!!
Review: I loved it because Em is sooo hott ... the only thing I didn't like was that Britney Murphy girl she [was really bad]in this movie!! But Em really pulled it off and I enjoyed it so much I could watch it a thousand more times! Eminems #1!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Pretty Good Formula
Review: this Movie Reminded me of "Saturday Night Fever","Flash Dance"&"Purple Rain" all Rolled into One.Eminem has a Screen pressence but the Film is choppy in spots&takes on a bit to much but the Performances work.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: this movie was ok
Review: This movie was a over all a good movie though it was boring in someways because there was so much cussing. This movie IS NOT FOR KIDS UNDER 17. This movie has 3 sex sceens, 2 fist fights, and 1 shooting, and I think we all no how horrible it is for all the fowl mouthing he uses. Well the story was good it was exiting so it was accually a pretty good movie.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: It's Okay...
Review: The movie is okay not the best movie of the year but it's not that bad. Eminem act okay, well he act like himself. Britany Murphy well she seem like a drug addict, I like her as an actress, usually she act good but this time she get so much on my nerves. Kim Basinger is good, very surprising to see her in that type of movie. Overall it's a great movie for fanatic of Eminem but it's not a so good movie for people who don't know him or don't really care about him. The movie don't really mean anything. The only thing I had to said is if you are an Eminem fan you would love this movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Oscar Winning Eminem!
Review: At least Eminem got an Oscar for Best Song! This movie is an original! Eminem is a natural. The movie is Very Raw and realistic. Lots of range of emotions. Wonderful actresses such as Brittany Murphy and Kim Basinger light up the Big Screen. Check out Eminem's natural rapping. He can even do rap wars off screen!

I defintely dig this guy and movie!!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Story of rap star wannbe misses some beats
Review: I don't know quite what to make of "8 Mile". I am admittedly not much of a fan of rap music or of the movie's star, Eminem. This is not to say I haven't enjoyed some rap songs, some of which were written and performed by Marshall Mathers, AKA Eminem.

The movie was directed by one of my favorite directors, Curtis Hanson. To me, it does not stand up to his best works, "LA Confidential" and "Wonder Boys". Is this because those are stronger films or because the subject matter in "8 Mile" is less appealing to me? I'm not sure, but I do know this: "8 Mile" is relentlessly dark [literally and figuratively] and grim, whereas Hanson's previous efforts, though serious, were peppered with a great deal of satire and humor. What is ironic to me is that the director fails to see the satiric, humorous nature of much of rap music itself.

Jimmy [Eminem] grew up on the 'wrong side' of Detroit's 8 Mile Road, which is a kind of boundary between the city's mostly black inner city and its predominately white suburbs. Jimmy is an angry young man who channels his frustrations into his rap music. The problem is that he's a 'trailer trash white boy' [his own description of himself] trying to make it in a rap world dominated by black artists. Adding to his woes is the fact that, after packing all his things into a garbage bag and leaving his pregnant girlfriend, he is forced to live with his drunken mother [Kim Basinger] and her...boyfriend. The few bright spots in his life are his kid sister, his small group of loyal friends and his musical talent. Can Jimmy escape his fate through his music, or will he end up being just another [also-ran] in the long history of pop music?

Eminem is excellent as Jimmy, but whether this is because he is a fine actor or because he is playing a version of himself remains to be seen. There are certainly many parallels between his life and character he plays.

As a movie about pop music culture, this one is superior to most others. If only its outlook weren't so unrelentingly bleak!


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