8 Mile

Eminem is in nearly every shot of the movie and he is mesmerizing to watch. In a way, it helps that the material is familiar on two counts; the story is almost cliche and for the most part the public knows Eminem's persona. Everything is dark and in muted colors, and Rabbit and friends wander around crumbling buildings and lower class everything. Everything fits well together, and 8 Mile is a lot of fun for something so dark and moody. In the end, it relies on the story itself, which retains its inspirational theme despite being cloaked in dirt. Yes, it's familiar, but well done, so it is actually a lot of fun. And although the outcome of the final rap battle is blatantly obvious, but watching it still evokes feelings of excitement and suspense.

The cast of this movie is alright. Of course, only Eminem can play himself, but I thought that Kim Basinger played a convincing trailer trash mother, and Mekhi looked comical in dreads. And the Murphy chick will never get respect from me, but she played the slutty girlfriend well, too. I wonder why?