DVD Review: Notorious - Page 3

If you are a fan of Notorious B.I.G., the rapper, this movie is definitely for you. If you are a fan of the real person however, this movie might be too shallow in that department for you to enjoy. George Tillman, Jr.’s exodus into making a film about Christopher Wallace the man doesn’t fail completely, it just moves too fast for you to care about anything else besides his fame as The Notorious B.I.G. Notorious deserved to be longer — much, much longer.

There are several DVD features included with this film.

• "The Making Of Notorious"
• "Biggie Boot Camp"
• "I've Got A Story To Tell: The Lyrics of Biggie Smalls 
  Notorious Thugs: Casting the Film
  Anatomy of a B.I.G Performance
  Party and Bulls**t"
• "The B.I.G Three-Sixty"

Most of these showcase the good vibes and hard work that went into making the film. The most surprising revelation for me in watching them was the insistence that Jamal Woolard go to a Biggie Boot Camp to learn how to speak, walk, and rap like Christopher Wallace. The same required of Derek Luke since he was protraying Puffy Combs and performing in some of the concert segments that mirror real concerts Biggie and Combs performed. 

I don't really see the point of showing a view of the street where Christopher Wallace was shot ("The B.I.G Three-Sixty"). We all know how he was murdered, getting a 360-degree view seems unneccessary. The feature seems pointless since it doesn't shed any light on what could have been the motive for his killing.

I will say that both Antonique Smith and Nautri Naughton are stunning beauties that should immediately be given more roles. Naughton's success from this film, especially should be a "take that" moment towards her former girl group, 3LW. I think Ms. Smith on the other hand might have a record contract coming — if not, why not?

Article Author: Matthew Milam

Matthew Milam lives in Chicago, IL. Visit him at his personal blog at http://matthewmilam.com

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