With 2011 officially in the books, it’s time once again to look back and reflect on some of the best films that have come out in the past year. As with all movie writers, coming up with a list like this is usually expected, but also damn near impossible. To me, reading and writing these types of articles are only beneficial in spreading word about titles that really had an effect on me, while stirring up debate between those who strongly agree with my choices, or vehemently disagree. No one list is ever truly definitive; what is considered great to one may not register the same way to another. The only real truth is that 2011 had a wide range of very interesting and fascinating films, and just like every year, there’s always a good handful worth noting.
Film Review – Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest
We open in 2008, in Seattle. A Tribe Called Quest, the influential and highly respected hip-hop group, may have played their very last show. In a small, cramped trailer, one of its members pace saround as the camera nervously follows to see what he’s going to say. The man is Q-Tip, arguably the band’s most well known and recognizable face, but as Michael Rapaport’s documentary Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest (2011) shows us, his face harbors a disappointment and frustration that has had been building for years. Dissent has entered the group, ego and pride has gotten in the way and threatened to end a lifelong friendship full of excitement, creativity, and good music. The film explores the foundation of this band, the era in which they came to be and how they influenced countless other musical acts that followed after them, and the animosity that grew between two of its key members.
