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City of Lies Trailer #1 (2018) “Who Shot Biggie?”

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City of Lies, the crime drama that follows the investigation behind the unsolved murder of the Notorious B.I.G., aka Biggie Smalls, following the death of Tupac Shakur, has released its first trailer.

Based on the book LAbyrinth by Randall Sullivan, the film stars Johnny Depp as LAPD detective Russell Poole and Forest Whitaker as journalist Jack Johnson. The two team in an attempt to solve the mystery of the rapper’s death and the conspiracy to cover up the case.

“Why is this case so important to you?” Johnson asks in the beginning of the trailer. Poole responds, “A murder like that only goes unsolved if the police don’t want to solve it.”

After discussing some theories regarding Smalls’ death, Johnson asserts, “If we could prove the connection between cop and Biggie’s murder, it would not only break the LAPD…” Poole finishes the thought: “It would ruin the city.”

Brad Furman directed the movie, which was produced by Miriam Segal’s Good Films.
 City of Lies is set to bow Sept. 7.


*Text from The Hollywood Reporter

City of Lies

Movies, Music, Review

Movie Review: Straight Outta Compton (2015) *Incendiary Music Biopic*

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Straight Outta Compton
So let’s talk about race.  You can’t talk about Straight Outta Compton without talking about race, because that’s the issue that drove the music that drove the controversy that is still driving a dialogue today.  Spike Lee isn’t organizing a boycott of the Oscars because Will Smith didn’t get nominated for Concussion.  It’s happening because Straight Outta Compton, one of the best-reviewed films of the year, was all but ignored when handing out nominations.  Should it have been nominated for Best Picture?  The Academy had two slots it could have used, but didn’t.  It’s one of the strongest years for film in a decade, so is there a real snub in F. Gary Gray’s biopic of the rap group, NWA, not being a bigger part of the Oscars?  After seeing it, I have to say, yes.  This is a better film, a more compelling film, than at least two of the films the Academy chose to nominate for Best Picture.  I could also list several others that are better than both those films and this, but I can see the reason for the anger.  It’s a mirror of the anger that the film chronicles. Continue reading Movie Review: Straight Outta Compton (2015) *Incendiary Music Biopic* →