Murda Muzik
As long as the hoods exist, so will hood movies. Directed by Lawrence Page (Statistic),Murda Muzikis set in Mobb Deep's native Queensbridge and was inspired by Havoc and Prodigy's 1999albumof the same name (there's also asoundtrack). The straight-to-video release, which features big-name hip-hop talent like Big Noyd and Nas, may be manna for Mobb Deep faithful--but all others are advised to proceed with caution. Unlike John Singleton'sBoyz N the Hood, the king of the hood movies,Murda Muziklacks a plot and the dialogue, which appears to have been improvised on the spot, is hard to follow. The action, such as it is, consists of drinking, smoking, and drug dealing. There's also some sex and murder. If that sounds enticing, you'd be better off with Brian De Palma'sScarface. Al Pacino's Tony Montana is everything the characters inMurda Muzikare not: interesting.--Kathleen C. Fennessy