guyfromjerzee The whole idea of taking such film noirs as "Double Indemnity" and "The Postman Always Rings Twice" and giving them a modern urban twist sounds quite intriguing. Unfortunately, in the case of "Caught Up," the execution is poor. First issue: the casting of Bokeem Woodbine as the lead. Woodbine has been in other urban films like "Menace 2 Society" and "Jason's Lyric," and he wasn't bad in some of those supporting roles. He just isn't cut out for being a leading man. I can tell he wasn't perfectly comfortable with carrying the film on his own two shoulders. The problem with his flat performance is that his face rarely changes expression and he delivers every line like he's constipated. His emotions don't come naturally to him, and as a result his performance is totally strained. The rest of the cast is pretty good. Cynda Williams is beautiful to look at. Jeffrey Combs has an amusing cameo. The script is ludicrous, as it's full of way-too-odd coincidences and implausible plot twists. I can tell that the director Darin Scott was very passionate about this project and very much inspired by those great noirs of the past, but his direction is over-the-top. He explains, in his DVD commentary, that he used a hyper-realistic approach since it's narrated by the main character and people tend to embellish details when telling stories - especially ones as spectacular as this one. His reasons are understandable, but the film still didn't work for me. If there's anything good I have to say, "Caught Up" is worth some good laughs - mind you, you'll be laughing at it, rather than with it.

IrockGswift This is got to be one of the most confusing urban thrillers I have ever seen. A young man did a five year bid after being involved in a bank robbery thanks to his coke-head buddy. Daryl plans were to open a nightclub and had a major set back that sent him to prison because of the bank robbery. But when he got out he hooks up with a fortune teller that maybe change his life around. Though whenever they were together someone was out to kill him. Daryl played by Bokeem Woodbine had only wanted to get his life together so he can get back into his son's life and presume to open a nightclub. Through all the mayhem in the movie he still achieve his goal. Not a bad ending for a hood movie without the star dying.

sable sky A very typical set up - ex-con with a kid, wants to make a new start. The main character's complete lack of bravado makes him an amiable enough lead, but it's not enough to save the film from clunky dialogue, and some clunkier acting. However, there are some cinematically nice moments, and it's worth the rental price just to see Jeffrey Combs' hysterical, and very... memorable... cameo.

will-105 Director Scott's debut leads us through a well paced maze of mystery. He keeps our interest by injecting unpredictable twists and turns throughout. A brave effort that goes against the formulaic grain of the majority of Hollywood releases.