Good Direction by Curtis Hanson!

Rating: 8/10 (18 January 2003)

Surprisingly good film starring the notorious rapper, Eminem. Directed by Curtis Hanson who's done such films as L.A. Confidential and Wonder Boys. Brian Grazer of A Beautiful Mind produced the film. I admit, I had my worries about this film from the start. I'm not an Eminem fan and when I heard that he was making a movie, I thought this was going to be another teen-music sensation disaster. Some of you must remember Brittany Spears' film; Crossroads released back in February of 2002. And what about the Lance Bass flop, On The Line. Not to worry though, 8 Mile was excellent. The reason I went to see it was because of Curtis Hanson, whose work on L.A. Confidential was enough for me to want to see this film. I was very impressed by most of the performances in the film. However, Kim Basinger, who portrays Eminem's character's mom, isn't all that great. She is believable at times, while other times she's phony. But over all, the film was very impressive. It's important to point out that this film is not about Eminem specifically, but rather, loosely based on his life. ***