Just Another Day (2009)

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

This gets it right! All of Peter Spirer's experience with rappers and hip-hop really shines trough on this picture. Its a small movie but a good one. Accurate to a fault this is realistic and gritty portrayal of the life of rappers. The characters are likable without becoming phony or too nice. They are gritty and seemingly real characters. You feel their different personalities very forcefully and the actors are good, no great. The editing is fast and furious. It really moves the story forward and keeps the viewer engaged. There isn't much violence, but what is there has an extreme impact. When some one gets shot you are shocked and horrified, just as you should be. If you like rap, if you like hip hop, if you like movies, this is one for you.Keep it up!

There aren't many good movies made about the world of hip-hop, but this is the best of the lot. The actors seem like actual rappers, and i should know i work with them every day. Not only do they have distinct personalities, but they personas carry over into their music and they way their stories are shot.This is the story of the day in the life of two rappers, one an upstart, one a seasoned professional at the end of his career. The young one is shot with gritty hand held and A-maze (the big name) is shot smoothly in keeping with his status and personality. Both of there stories are interesting and intertwine very believably.The only faults with this movie have more to do with it being low budget rather than any fault of the film makers.I highly recommend.

I've worked in the music industry for almost 20 years, and have spent most of the last decade dealing with urban music, and if nothing else, the filmmakers behind this movie certainly understand this world. The stories being told are very true-to-life, and many of the incidents are clearly based on reality. It is no surprise that almost everything else the director Peter Spirer has done before this has been Hip Hop documentaries. He is obviously an authority on the matter, as his films are some of the most prestigious docs out there on the subject (Rhyme and Reason, the Beef series, Tupac Thug Angel, the Biggie doc). Does this qualify him as a great feature director? Not necessarily, but it definitely gives him a lot of credibility, and a unique perspective from which he has crafted his urban feature debut. This isn't slick Michael Bay or Stephen Spielberg directing... it is raw, honest, totally indie, and has a "fly-on- the-wall" feel, like we're catching a glimpse behind the scenes. The contrast between the two main characters is also evident (albeit subtly) in the filmmaking, as the Young Eastie storyline (that of the struggling rapper) is shot with hand-held cameras and has a more frenetic editing style, while the scenes involving the established, big name rapper (A-Maze) are smoother, obviously shot with dollies, steady cams, etc, and has smoother, more polished editing. This interesting dynamic gets played with as the movie progresses and the lines between their two worlds blends. I don't know if this film will be of interest to those who are not into the music business, or urban films in general, because there aren't any big explosions, sweeping romances, slapstick comedy, or other "blockbuster" elements. But for anyone who has interest in the industry, and especially for those who understand this world, it is a fascinatingly authentic little gem. It is understated and tells a simple but harsh story of the cold cyclical nature of the Hip Hop business.

There is only one good thing about this dumb movie. Avon and Marlo. Kids nor The Player should ever be mentioned in the same breath as this film, and there is a big reason why this went straight to video. It's plain bad.I had no idea what this film was, but I decided to see it because Wood Harris was on the cover. When I saw Marlo Stanfield during the title credits, I became very excited. To have both of these guys in the same film was an opportunity for greatness. To bad a fraud of a director and a weak script failed them both. What a shame.We all know these two actors are very good. Both should have Emmys, but were snubbed. In this film though, both seem like amatures, but this is due to the weak director. I really hope these two can be paired again for something good. For now I'll just watch the greatest show (even better than almost any film) ever made for the eighth time. The Wire.