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07/22/08
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The Hip Hop Project (2007)
60 %
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 30
Fresh: 18
Rotten:12
Average Rating: 6.4/10
Consensus: Director Matt Ruskin's enthusiasm for the project is readily apparent, but his film is unfocused, meandering, and frustrating to watch.
Theatrical Release: May 11, 2007 Limited
Synopsis: From Executive Producers Bruce Willis and Queen Latifah, THE HIP HOP PROJECT is the compelling story of Kazi, a formerly homeless teenager who inspired a group of New York City teens to transform their life stories into powerful works of... [More]
Starring: Doug E. Fresh, Russell Simmons, Bruce Willis
Director: Matt Ruskin, Scott K. Rosenberg
DVD Info
Reviews for The Hip Hop Project
Top CriticClick to read the article
08/30/07
Even if you don't particulary care for rap, The Hip Hop Project may persuade you that there's something to be said for it, after all.
05/23/07
No review available.
05/14/07
Top CriticClick to read the article
05/12/07
The story is compelling enough that even glib phrases like 'healing through hip-hop' can't drag it down.
05/11/07
First-time director Matt Ruskin is a skilled documentarian; he releases information gradually so the narrative develops in an organic fashion that is consistently engaging.
05/11/07
The film meanders, sidetracks, and frustrates -- few of the rap songs, some of them boasting wildly inspired couplets, are shown and heard in their entirety.
05/11/07
Dramatically, the movie lacks motion -- the kids don't seem a lot better off at the end -- and the point of the program escapes me. These kids badly need an education.
05/11/07
[Director] Ruskin is so awed by his subject that he never gains the distance needed to create a bigger, more powerful picture.
05/11/07
Will the music of The Hip Hop Project album change your life? Likely, no. Did the process of making it change the lives of those involved in its creation? Undoubtedly. And that, perhaps, is inspiration enough.
05/11/07
Top Critic Net profits from the theatrical release of The Hip Hop Project will be donated to youth organizations, so you can feel doubly good about attending this modestly moving tribute to a small but significant kind of inner-city success.
05/11/07
There is some inspired camera work during some of the performance sequences, but none of the performances themselves stick. It's a shame when a film about the power of music doesn't contain one memorable song.
05/11/07
The live performances sizzle. Expect genuine passion behind the music, even when you wonder, as an MTV interviewer does during the film, whether these kids are that much more captivating than a million other hip-hop hopefuls.
05/11/07
All of this is related in a well-meaning, would-be uplifting but ultimately ham-handed manner somewhere between a PBS documentary and a TV movie of the week.
05/11/07
Top Critic In fact, it is the tyro director's slapdash structure and pacing that distract from the film's content. A rather haphazard architect of his own material, Ruskin tends to rush certain crucial developments while lingering on more lackluster details.
05/11/07
Its most compelling message is about the importance and power of community.
05/11/07
Scenes that should be revelatory, such as a lyric-writing session, are sketchy and fail to give a sense of the work being done.
05/10/07
Despite a jumpy narrative, the film works because Kazi speaks to the kids on their level but from a slight elevation, and the honesty and raw emotion he draws out of them come through.
05/10/07
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