Hustling Gangster Movies during the A to Z Challenge #monday #meme #atozchallenge

“You take me higher than I’ve ever been, just to break me down into a thousand pieces. Boy, you make me wish I was a hustler, so I could move the weight off of my shoulders and I could run away...”

“Hustler” by Keri Hilson is such a stupid song -- but I kinda like it anyway. Screw the whole man/woman relationship vibe that this song oozes though, I'm going straight to the gangster movies, because nothing says Hustler like something along the lines of "Goodfellas," "American Gangster"or "New Jack City" and the list goes on. Since it's Monday and my turn to host following Dale at Smurfin' the Web's enlightening A to Z Challenge feature on the Batman franchise, this week's Monday Movie Meme theme is: Pushin' Weight.

Share on your blog or in the comments section, movies that feature some form of hustling -- from the street corner to the corporate office and everything in between. Anything goes here, drugs, money, sex, jewelry, cars, etc. it’s all fair game. Also, don’t forget to visit the blogs of other Monday Movie Meme participants and check out their picks for the week.

Here are my selections for this Pushin' Weight theme, as we continue the A to Z Challengen with an 'H' for hustling!

1. “We Own the Night”
Our favorite “Contraband” man, Mark Wahlberg stars in this movie alongside Robert Duvall, Eva Mendes and Joaquin Phoenix. The story is about a nightclub manager who goes undercover as a drug smuggler, to help the police capture a local gangster who tried to murder his brother. Truth be told, I only wanted to watch this film because Eva Mendes is in it -- LOVE her! I do, however, think it is a good flick overall.

2. "Belly"

Although I do not like this movie, partly because one of the real actors throughout the whole cast only has small, silly scenes to play in, the guys in here are some straight-up hustlers -- from the U.S. all the way to Jamaica and like the Jay-Z song goes...can't knock the hustle! The main characters, Sincere and Tommy are into a little bit of everything -- pulling heists and dealing drugs. One of the most talked about scenes features Tommy forcing one of his crime partners to strip naked, at gunpoint, to prove that he didn’t steal any money.

3. "Set It Of"

A group of friends working as janitors take a side job, robbing banks....talk about moonlighting!

4. "Fresh"

A 12 year-old boy from the projects uses his proficiency in chess to escape his life of selling drugs for a ruthless kingpin while also trying to help his junkie sister in the process. So yes, he's smart enough to play chess games but, yes, it takes him a while to become wise enough to realize that being a drug pusher is not his only option to survive and build a future for himself. 

Oh, how I want to mention “Catch Me If You Can” starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, but alas -- I already listed it during the previous Monday Movie Meme week, It’s a Fix. 

Honorable Mention Song for today's 'H' post in the A to Z Challenge: Hustlin' by Rick Ross

Although most songs by Keri Hilson often get more play on my playlist, this particular Rick Ross tune fits in line with the overall image of a hustler -- selling drugs, betting on horse races, selling clothes and other merchandise on the side, so it's worth a mention. 

If you never heard either of these songs, I've posted them in the sidebar for your viewing and listening pleasure!

What are some movies that remind YOU of hustling?

Who are YOUR favorite hustlers in film?

Films that Make the Switch

It’s my turn to host the Monday Movie Meme, after Dale at Smurfin’ the Web had us on Pirate duty last week. I spent the weekend trying to move my blog to a new host, which was finally completed yesterday but the process left little time for me to devote to playing around with the topic that I had in mind. So, I’ll save that to work on for a later meme and keep this week’s theme as simple as cake: Turn the Page.

Share on your blog or in the comments section, movies about characters whose lives are changed due to external or internal circumstances. Here are my selections for this Turn the Page meme.

 

Friends with Money

One grumpy main character in this film is lashing out on people for no reason at all due to early menopause while her friend swaps a teaching career to become a maid. All the while, a disastrous home remodeling project alienates the neighbors of one couple who are in an already strained marriage. The drama, however, seems to be overshadowed by the fact that most of the main characters share one thing in common -- insecurity.

I Can Do Bad All By Myself

This Tyler Perry movie starring Taraji P. Henson is about a single woman named April who works as a nightclub singer. April’s drunken, self-centered escapades are interrupted when three young children who claim to be April’s niece and nephews are dropped off on her doorstep. She immediately revokes any sense of responsibility or interest in caring for these children and her life kinda takes a huge turn as they find the whereabouts of a missing, elderly relative.

Despite being a fan of most of Mary J. Blige's music and linking some of Henson's performances in other films, Adam Rogriguez (aka the dude from "CSI: Miami" on CBS) is the only reason why I watched this film -- and paid attention to it all the way through. He is one fine sonofagun!

White Material

Shouts out to Couchfest Films for recommending this movie to me! A woman who manages a coffee plantation in Africa tries to keep her business afloat in the midst of a civil war. After losing the majority of her workforce, the main character hires new laborers but faces resistance from her ex-husband, who is making shady business deals behind her back because he wants to flee the country with everyone else.

She is in danger throughout this whole movie and has a gun pointed at her more than once but still keeps on truckin’ -- I don’t know if it’s because of courage or hope -- or if she’s just too plain stubborn to understand what is happening in the world around her. Add to that, a lazy son who goes off of the psychological deep end, and you have another reminder of why it’s so hard for some people to adapt to new circumstances and how some people deal with pressure well, while others are no help to anyone -- not even themselves, and end up causing more problems than being part of the solution.

What movies have YOU watched where the main characters undergo some type of change or transition?

Movie Pirates on Deck #monday #meme

It looks like we’re walking the plank during this week’s edition of the Monday Movie Meme, as Dale at Smurfin’ the Web randomly offers up the new topic: Pirates. I’m taking a page from Dale’s book and skipping the obvious film franchise that comes to mind, thanks to Johnny Depp. Here are my selections for the Pirates Monday Movie Meme.

Hook
While I’m not a huge fan of the whole Peter Pan craze, “Hook” fits the pirate bill to a tee. In the film, Peter Pan tries to save his kids, who have been kidnapped by Hook. The movie used to creep me out, so I stopped watching it and haven’t seen it in years...but somehow I managed to still take a liking to it. Hmm, I don’t know if it’s because of Dustin Hoffman or Robin Williams or if it means that I’m sorta being masochistic.

Look, I’m short on Pirate characters so yes, I’m going to go there....

Pirates
Known as the most expensive adult film ever made, "Pirates" stars Jesse Jane, Steven St. Croix and some other people who may not be familiar to the average movie goer. It is listed as an adult action-adventure movie and the New York Times describes it as “a relatively high-budget story of a group of ragtag sailors who go searching for a crew of evil pirates who have a plan for world domination.”

Well, I don’t know about all of the drama that went down in this movie because I turned it off. The acting in “Pirates” was so-so and it was quite boring -- but there WERE pirates in this movie that go to war with a crew on another ship, so that counts, right? There was a lot of hoopla surrounding this film when it came out because of the production and it has you know, like, a plot and whatnot -- like regular movies, so I guess it's worth a mention, if for only a moment.

That’s all I have for this week's Monday Movie Meme list.

I saw a movie trailer for “The Pirates! Band of Misfits” when I went to see "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked” a few months ago and not only do I think it’s cute, I also thought it would be a fitting choice for my list but I just realized that Dale already mentioned it on his blog. So instead of posting the trailer, here are some behind-the-scenes tidbits about the making of this movie, that I found for your viewing pleasure!

There has to be other Pirate films out there, so what am I missing?
Can YOU think of any?