Turn It Up

Real life hip hop stars Pras and Ja Rule star as an ambitious young rapper and his violent best friend/producer, respectively, in a film inspired by Pras' song "Ghetto Superstar." While these two recording artists do a sincere and effective job of both making their characters feel true-to-life and depicting the ugly side of the rap label biz, the movie unfortunately adheres to a formula of "money, drugs and hos" (to quote Ja Rule's character) that has nothing fresh to say. Since the main characters are murderous, part-time drug couriers (not dealers, mind you) looking to find their way out of this life, the message here seems to be that it doesn't matter how low you sink while following your dream, as long as you're a little remorseful about it once you get what you want. Not a necessary purchase. (R. Blackwelder)