If any film should be forgiven its excesses, it’s Straight Outta Compton, which is about the clashes and camaraderie among men whose unruliness sparked a cultural moment that was beyond their ability-and their willingness-to contain.
If “Compton” is undeniably of the moment, it’s also timeless in its depiction of how artists and writers transform the world around them into angry, profane, vibrant and singular personal expression.
It plays like a Marvel superhero movie had Marvel been run by Suge Knight. Straight Outta Compton is among the most potent rags-to-riches showbiz movies ever made. Dre, and Jason Mitchell as the late Eazy-E. playing the role of his father, Corey Hawkins as Dr. Gary Gray directs this biopic about the rise to stardom for the act that earned the moniker of “The World’s Most Dangerous Group”, featuring Ice Cube’s son O’Shea Jackson Jr. And as they spoke the truth that no one had before and exposed life in the hood, their voice ignited a social revolution that is still reverberating today. F. Taking us back to where it all began, STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON tells the true story of how these cultural rebels-armed only with their lyrics, swagger, bravado and raw talent-stood up to the authorities that meant to keep them down and formed the world’s most dangerous group, N.W.A. In 1987, five young men, using brutally honest rhymes and hardcore beats, put their frustration and anger about life in the most dangerous place in America into the most powerful weapon they had: their music. FREE DISCUSSION THIS SATURDAY Join us on Saturday, Aug 29th at 3pm for a discussion with photographer and filmmaker Lisa Leone about the early days of Hip-Hop.