Belly Review
by Susan Granger (Ssg722 AT aol DOT com)November 8th, 1998
Susan Granger's review of "BELLY" (Artisan Entertainment)
Hype Williams' rambling, confused gangsta rap story revolves around lifelong pals turned drug dealers. Tommy Brown (Earl Simmons, known as the rapper DMX) and Sincere (Nasir Jones, known as Nas) grew up in the projects in Queens; now they're living in luxury on Long Island. Each one decides to take a different path. Sincere's into family life, perhaps a movie to Africa, trying to distance himself from the chaos of illegal drug trafficking, while greedy Tommy's getting in deeper and deeper with a superpowered heroin manufactured in Omaha, Nebraska. Predictably, conflicts occur - and the heavy-handed finale, set on New Year's Eve, 1999, revolves around an interminable diatribe about ending mindless violence and saving mankind, punctuated by a hallelujah chorus in the background. Hype Williams' murky directing style stems from MTV, combining slow-motion, rapid cuts, strobe effects, and a multitude of fish-eye shots and, presumably, the actors are better at rapping than they are at emoting. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Belly" is a stoned 2. It's hard to stomach.
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
