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Light It Up
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
I wanted to catch "Light It Up" when it was in theaters, but the film recieved a short theatrical release and a limited marketing campaign from 20th Century Fox. I found the performances to be engaging, and the drama and situations to be serious; the emotions honest and intense. The film revolves around a group of teens in an inner-city high school in Queens; their school is run down and tension runs high in the halls.
When a popular teacher (Judd Nelson) is suspended from his job, things begin to reach the breaking point. The combination of tension and a new security guard(Forest Whitaker) ends up in a situation where the guard is taken hostage by a group of students, including Lester(R&B star Usher Raymond). Soon enough, police and hostage negotiators surround the building, and the situation instantly is raised to a higher level.
The film offers a number of solid performances; Usher Raymond, who has previously been in a number of roles in light comedies such as "She's All That", provides an emotional, dramatic performance that's engaging and impressive. Judd Nelson also suprises with a solid performance as the teacher who cares about the lives of his students. Director Craig Bolotin keeps things going with solid pacing, keeping tension very high from the opening moments until then end.
The film is smart and enjoyably written, focusing on the issues at hand in the school and only occasionally becoming a little bit cliche now and then. The camerawork by Elliot Davis is definitely a positive element of the film, providing a tone and look for the movie, and also keeping the camera moving during conversation to keep the energy level high. One thing it never lacks though, and what makes it as engaging as it is, is the amount of intensity the film packs. It's not a perfect film, but I think it's certainly a good one and it deserved a bigger audience than it recieved in theaters; I hope it will find that audience on video.
The DVD
VIDEO: The cinematography of Elliot Davis("Out Of Sight", "Forces Of Nature"), with its cold blue tone, also helps the emotional intensity of the film, with images on this presentation that do justice to his work. Images are consistently sharp and clean on this anamorphic transfer, with excellent clarity and detail. Looking as if part of the intent of the look and tone of the movie, colors are subdued and rarely make much of an impression beyond the cold blues; but it works towards the tone of the film. Flesh tones are natural and accurate, and black level is solid as well.
Aside from one or two blink-and-you'll-miss-it instances of shimmering and minor marks on the print used, this is an excellent transfer from 20th Century Fox. Some of their first efforts since they've improved were a tiny bit rocky, but recently, they've shown what they're capable of, and that's excellent work.
.
SOUND: I really liked the choices that were made for the audio of this film. There are some instances where music comes into the soundtrack, but the majority of the dramatic scenes are allowed to play out on their own strengths. The music is effective when used (and it sounds very good), but it's not overused, and that helped along the tension, but that's my opinion.
This is a strong soundtrack that goes between having scenes that are simply conversations to some very good, very active scenes where the room comes alive with sound; surrounds get used often and effectively, and bass is very good. Subtle sounds of the environment also make for a good sense of dimension and space. Again, the music maintains a very pleasing presence when it does come into play. Dialogue is also a successful element, sounding clear and easily understandable.
MENUS:: An animated clip leads into a basic main menu with images from the film; easily navigated and film-themed.
EXTRAS: a full-frame trailer, music videos by Master P and JaRule, a short featurette and a music video promo spot.
Final Thoughts: With powerful performances and only a couple of small faults, "Light It Up" is a solid movie worth at least a look as a rental; Fox's DVD may lack in the extras department, but the audio/video quality is quite good. Recommended.
I wanted to catch "Light It Up" when it was in theaters, but the film recieved a short theatrical release and a limited marketing campaign from 20th Century Fox. I found the performances to be engaging, and the drama and situations to be serious; the emotions honest and intense. The film revolves around a group of teens in an inner-city high school in Queens; their school is run down and tension runs high in the halls.
When a popular teacher (Judd Nelson) is suspended from his job, things begin to reach the breaking point. The combination of tension and a new security guard(Forest Whitaker) ends up in a situation where the guard is taken hostage by a group of students, including Lester(R&B star Usher Raymond). Soon enough, police and hostage negotiators surround the building, and the situation instantly is raised to a higher level.
The film offers a number of solid performances; Usher Raymond, who has previously been in a number of roles in light comedies such as "She's All That", provides an emotional, dramatic performance that's engaging and impressive. Judd Nelson also suprises with a solid performance as the teacher who cares about the lives of his students. Director Craig Bolotin keeps things going with solid pacing, keeping tension very high from the opening moments until then end.
The film is smart and enjoyably written, focusing on the issues at hand in the school and only occasionally becoming a little bit cliche now and then. The camerawork by Elliot Davis is definitely a positive element of the film, providing a tone and look for the movie, and also keeping the camera moving during conversation to keep the energy level high. One thing it never lacks though, and what makes it as engaging as it is, is the amount of intensity the film packs. It's not a perfect film, but I think it's certainly a good one and it deserved a bigger audience than it recieved in theaters; I hope it will find that audience on video.
The DVD
VIDEO: The cinematography of Elliot Davis("Out Of Sight", "Forces Of Nature"), with its cold blue tone, also helps the emotional intensity of the film, with images on this presentation that do justice to his work. Images are consistently sharp and clean on this anamorphic transfer, with excellent clarity and detail. Looking as if part of the intent of the look and tone of the movie, colors are subdued and rarely make much of an impression beyond the cold blues; but it works towards the tone of the film. Flesh tones are natural and accurate, and black level is solid as well.
Aside from one or two blink-and-you'll-miss-it instances of shimmering and minor marks on the print used, this is an excellent transfer from 20th Century Fox. Some of their first efforts since they've improved were a tiny bit rocky, but recently, they've shown what they're capable of, and that's excellent work.
.
SOUND: I really liked the choices that were made for the audio of this film. There are some instances where music comes into the soundtrack, but the majority of the dramatic scenes are allowed to play out on their own strengths. The music is effective when used (and it sounds very good), but it's not overused, and that helped along the tension, but that's my opinion.
This is a strong soundtrack that goes between having scenes that are simply conversations to some very good, very active scenes where the room comes alive with sound; surrounds get used often and effectively, and bass is very good. Subtle sounds of the environment also make for a good sense of dimension and space. Again, the music maintains a very pleasing presence when it does come into play. Dialogue is also a successful element, sounding clear and easily understandable.
MENUS:: An animated clip leads into a basic main menu with images from the film; easily navigated and film-themed.
EXTRAS: a full-frame trailer, music videos by Master P and JaRule, a short featurette and a music video promo spot.
Final Thoughts: With powerful performances and only a couple of small faults, "Light It Up" is a solid movie worth at least a look as a rental; Fox's DVD may lack in the extras department, but the audio/video quality is quite good. Recommended.
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