Vultural ~ Graffiti artists Malcolm and Sophia labor all night on a new mural, only to see it completely tagged and defaced the next day by rival gangs. Their newest "exhibition" entails sneaking into Mets ballpark and tag the home run sign. Oh, yeah, and they need $500. Needing proves far different from getting. Bleak comedy trails the rather amoral pair as they steal cans of spray paint, only to get robbed and hustled themselves. Great sense of place, especially for those who think New York is Sex And The City, or other such candy floss. Gimme The Loot is a refreshing dose of reality. Quite a fun show. Note: Might want to get subtitles. Bits of the dialogue hard to follow sometimes.

Bruce Walton Jr What I loved most about this film is that it didn't take anything extra or special to make the film great. There wasn't a lot of special effects etc. it was just raw. Almost felt like a documentary. I was able to get very involved with story. I was also able to get a real feel for the characters. They definitely grew on me. Stories like this make you start rooting for the characters whether they are wrong or right and also teach you about some of the small things in life. It brings you back to that old Hip-Hop feel. I love everything about this film. One thing that I heard about this film is that the director waited about a year or so before he got the character for Sophia. That says a lot about how he in visioned the film and who he wanted the characters to be. The more reason to know that this film is not just telling a story but it is moving art. I don't know why but I was just blown away by the realness. Thanks to everyone involved. I hope to some day make a film like this. Definitely a must see.

politic1983 Sometimes, it's not always good to read too much about a film before you go to see it. When entering the cinema, I was already at the point of expecting a film with some good graffiti action, with a plot thrown around it. But, as the film went on, I became more and more disappointed.The plot is simple: Adam Leon starts with a clip from 'All City Hour', in which writers talk about tagging the Mets' apple at Shea Field, sorry Citi Field. Seeking revenge on a rival gang, two writers, Sofia and Malcolm, look to make a name for themselves by achieving this very feat. Needing $500 for a blind eye to be turned to gain access to the stadium, the pair take to the streets to try and hustle up the money.What follows is a two-day journey around the city in a similar style to 'Kids', as the duo repeatedly struggle to raise the cash. This is where my expectations went missing. What I'd read about the film made me expect a lot of graffiti, a bit of a tagging war and maybe a bit of Notorious B.I.G.. Instead, the film is more about the failings of the two leads – and for me, this is the film's failing.The two leads, Sofia, played by Tashiana Washington, and Malcolm, by Ty Hickson, don't particularly live up to their image: Sofia, while described by Malcolm as being hard and tough, spends a lot of her time naively getting scammed and played for a fool by people of all ages, with whiney shouting her only reaction; Malcolm, among fellow taggers, seems to command respect and sometimes fear, as if he got the juice – to use a Nineties phrase – though again spends much of the film foolishly, coming across as a bit of an idiot. Being that this is such a character- led story, it needed some stronger characters.Though, with this, perhaps Leon is trying to create more realistic characters, full of flaws and inconsistencies, making them seem like the ordinary idiots you know. With the cast and director not having the longest careers in film on their CVs, there is a slightly amateurish feel throughout, that gives it a charm, but also some drawbacks. 'Gimme the Loot' is not a bad film, and has its moments, though by the end it's not wholly satisfying and leaves one feeling of 'gimme a little more.'politic1983.blogspot.com

Dfree52 I just saw this yesterday in NYC at MOMA, invited by a friend. This is a good effort by first time director (and screen writer) Adam Leon. (The Following Contains Spoilers)It follows a young (late teen age to early twenties) pair of graffiti artists efforts to make the big time by 'bombing' the NY Mets Big Apple Homerun attraction at Citifield. Bombing means to graffiti it. The problem is they need to raise $500 to bribe a security guard. Their efforts are further complicated by a lack of planning and a mixture of dumb/bad luck.The young duo are Malcolm (Tysheeb Hickson) and the tomboyish, street tough Sofia (Tashiana R. Washington). We follow them throughout the hot summer days of the Bronx, downtown Manhattan and Queens as they try to reach their goal.This is told in a straightforward, stripped down style by director Leon. It's refreshing in it's not hokey or trying to make a statement. It's done so with a great deal of humor as both leads are endearing. It's also not a coming of age tale. The characters act and react within their world and since they know little else the time we spend with them is their norm. Also of note is Zoe Lescaze as Ginnie; the fleeting object of Malcolm's desire.All of them, Leon, Hickson, Washington and Lescaze are very talented and it's hoped that this is a fine jump off to successful careers.