Cut Throat City movie review

posted in: Action, Crime, Drama | 0

MOVIE TITLE:  Cut Throat City [Blu-ray + DVD]

RATING:  R

LENGTH:   2 hours, 3 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE:   C

 

IN A NUTSHELL:

Set in New Orleans during the infamous Hurricane Katrina, this film features four friends from the poor 9th Ward who are desperate enough to get involved with a local gang and dangerous heist.  Gee, what could go wrong?

Directed by the de facto Wu Tang Clan leader RZA, the movie is raw, dark, and tells a compelling crime story with drama and action.

This is NOT a movie that will appeal to a lot of people, simply because of the immense profanity and rough environment.

 

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

  • Terrible profanity, including zillions of F-bombs and the “N” word
  • Some skin during a honeymoon scene
  • The movie starts with graphic-novel images of violence with blood splatters
  • You see the rear end of a man when he pulls his pants down
  • Crime
  • Violence with guns and hand-to-hand combat, murder
  • Several scenes in a strip club with views of scantily-clad strippers and topless women
  • Drugs, alcohol
  • A woman flips the bird.

 

THEMES:

  • Racism
  • Blame vs. responsibility
  • Don’t wait for the government to save you. Save yourself.
  • Be careful who you spend your time with because you become like them.
  • People do desperate things in desperate times.
  • Corruption (society, corporations, and individuals)
  • Rationalizing crime
  • Choices and their consequences
  • Greed
  • Second chances
  • Home

 

THINGS I LIKED:

  • The talented cast includes Shameik Moore, Demetrius Shipp Jr., Denzel Whitaker, Keean Johnson, and Eiza Gonzalez. But wait!  There’s more!  There are some impressive cameo performances by Ethan Hawke, Terrence Howard, Wesley Snipes, Isaiah Washington, Kat Graham, Lil Chuuch, Joel David Moore, and Rob Morgan.
  • I liked the use of the graphic novel to illustrate the world that the protagonist lives in.

 

 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

  • I felt like I just walked through the swampy gutters of New Orleans after watching this foul-mouthed film.  It was exhausting but powerful.
  • Some bad editing.
  • Some of the accents were bad and inconsistent.
  • There is an interesting juxtaposition of religion and crime.  For example, several men pray before they commit crimes and murder.
  • The protagonist had a college education and artistic talent, yet he chose to commit crimes, claiming he wasn’t given equal opportunities.

 

INTERESTING LINES:

  • “It’s not always about happiness, but meaning.” – bride’s mother
  • “You’re tugging at my heartstrings.  If I had one, you’d have it.” – Cousin Bass (T. I.)
  • “A pencil can take you a hell of a lot farther than a gun.” –  Lucinda Valencia   (Eiza Gonzalez)
  • “Money’s a funny thing…can make any man feel like a king.” – Jackson Symms   (Ethan Hawke)
  • “Katrina’s always been with us.  It just had different names.” – Blink  (Shameik Moore)

 

OTHER HEIST MOVIES I LIKED WAY BETTER:

 
      
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Coming soon!

 

@TrinaBoice

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Author, university professor

Author of 23 books, university professor, mom of 4 awesome sons, movie critic, ice cream lover. Check out her world travels and tips at www.EmptyNestTravelHacker.com

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