April 7, 2011

Pardon our ramblings: New Jack City (part The Last)

In which we close out the classic...at this point, I'm fed up with this film...

Remember, all clips are . You have been warned.



White cop just dropped stammerer three stories or so. Stammerer didn't, of course, die and is about to gun down Ice T until White cop shoots Stammerer from above.

Ice T smirks his approval.

'Cause he's like dat.

...

Nino did say that if Ice T's character turned out not to be genuine, he would kill G-Money.

He did say that.

He did warn us.

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When Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell have a confrontation like Nino and G-Money are having on the riverside, there was four seasons of weight behind it. We had been through the wars with these characters. They had held each other up and betrayed each other in equal fashion.

When G-Money and Nino have the same conversation, there's a whole eighty-minutes of weight behind it.

I'll shut up about The Wire now.

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Wesley Snipes kissed G-Money.

I'm glad I don't kiss guys because clearly I would have to kill them if I did. That's what the movies have taught me.

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The shot that kills G-Money...

Oh, spoiler alert...

The shot that kills G-Money is the worst faked shot in the world. No recoil...no flash...no puff of smoke...no bullet wound...no recoil...no blood...just a sound effect and G-Money falling over saying 'doh'...

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Nino's still watching Scarface with the "never come between us" girl kissing around on him. Why can't he figure out that she's trouble?

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White Cop just climbed down from the roof and got the attention of the black bodyguard by saying, "Yo, Buckwheat."

I swear I am not making that up. Apparently Mario van Peebles thinks white people are all outwardly racist because every white character (there's White Cop and...um...) is outwardly racist but inwardly down with his bruthahs.

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Ice T swung into the window of Nino's apartment carrying the body of a different bodyguard as a human shield. That's brutal, man.

And strong...

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I want Nino's haircut - flat-top with a wide front-to-back ridge on top. It's like a stubby shark fin.

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Nino just got thrown out of the window onto the fire escape where it's dark. At least it's dark from inside the apartment. Outside, however, it's the middle of the day.

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Wise Old Black Man appears for the third time, watching Ice T beat the snot out of Nino.

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Ice T: "Man, that teacher you kill[ed]. That was my mother!"

I told you that was going to come back.

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Ice T's about to shoot Nino. He's clearly wigged out because he's making his whole face shake. It's kind of creepy (7:03 into the above clip).

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I can't quote Ice T's line at 7:10 because this blog is linked from my school page, but it's the best line in the whole movie.

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Suddenly Nino's deposed girlfriend is on the scene saying that she'll testify. Nice timing, chicka.

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White Cop reaches past Ice T to help Ice T take back the gun that's pointed at Nino.

White Cop is wearing bedazzled, fringed, black leather biker gloves. Clearly he and Ice T have an interesting relationship.

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Fifteen degree angles are back for the wrap-up. I'd really missed them.

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Why would Ice T show up to testify in court wearing sneakers, his Kangol hat, sunglasses, and a velour track suit?

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Nino's final soliloquy: "I'm not guilty; you're the one who's guilty: the lawmakers, the politicians, the Colombian drug lords...all you who lobby against making drugs legal....just like you did with alcohol during the prohibition. You're the one who is guilty. I mean, c'mon, let's kick [?] the ballistics here. Ain't no uzi's made in Harlem. I mean, not one of us in here owns a poppy field. This thing is bigger than Nino Brown. This is big business. This is the American way."

I'm still not quite clear how van Peebles feels about drugs.

Nino continues after being asked if he was the head of the CMB: "Yes. Yes, I was a member, but I was forced into this way of life. Hey look, I've been dealing drugs ever since I was twelve years old. See, I didn't have the chances that you had, Ms. Hawkins. I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth, Ms. Hawkins. I wanted to get out, but they threatened to kill my mother."

...

Nice...Nino is claiming that smart, middle-class black guy (the computer guy, the one who recognized Ice T) was the brains behind the CMB.

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Wise Old Black Man makes his final appearance, calling Nino an idolater.

See, he's bringing it full circle.

...and pulling otu a gun to shoot Nino...who then falls - theatrically - three stories while White Cop smiles and laughs and Ice T puts on his sunglasses.

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O'Jays, sing us out..."For the love of money..."

Nevermind, it's another remix with somebody rapping about how money ruings things.

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Words on the screen to make sure Van Peebles makes his point in case you missed it...

"Although this is a fictional story, there are Nino Browns in ever major city in America. If we don't confront the problem realistically -- without empty slogans and promises -- then drugs with continue to destroy our country.

...

So, that's New Jack City. It's a spectacular time capsule of the early 1990's and an example of how to eschew all pretenses of subtlety in a movie.

Word.

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