Belly (1998)

The Suspiria of 90s hood movies.

COBRARocky

"Born by myself, die by myself." Remixes a decade of American crime cinema (including Ferrara, De Palma and Bill Duke) with a form of experimental hip-hop expressionism. A blaxploitation purification story told in idiosyncratic compositions drenched in passionate colors…

Josh Lewis

Had tickets to see this in 35mm back in the fall but couldn't make it for reasons I completely forget. Having finally seen it I can now say I definitely wouldn't have forgotten about that night if I ended up going. I've never seen lights used like this before, felt like I…

Karsten

“Black literature is taught as sociology, as tolerance, not as a serious, rigorous art form.” - Toni Morrison

Eli Hayes

After a Kubrick-on-speed diamond heist at a neon-blacklit strip club, Nas walks into DMX's crib, turns on the plasma TV and confusedly watches GUMMO as DMX angrily plays billiards by himself, frustrated that his cohort isn't shutting up and appreciating the movie. …

Cevin Kookman

Superb blaxploitation with the additional jolt of having metabolized 20 years of crime films and rap videos, constantly placing you as a secret observer in a culture simultaneously of everyday detail and almost apocalyptic weirdness. This thing will zip from an empty…

matt lynch

convinced the 16% rotten tomatoes was racially charged

clem

Saw this on 35mm for the first time tonight and it was even more of a thunderclap sensory explosion than I’d expected. Gorgeous, proud, brilliantly lit and staged, sometimes incoherent, funny, tragic, genuinely apocalyptic and end-of-the-millennium poetic. As bad as Nas is,…

Sean Fennessey

Had a little trouble following the plot at first, then realized it's more about vibe.

Will Sloan