The Reel Rejects - STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON (2015) MOVIE REVIEW!! FIRST TIME WATCHING!!

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Starting point is 00:01:00 Don't worry, though. Sierra also has yoga gear. It might be a good place to find your zen. Discover top brands at unexpectedly low prices. Sierra, let's get moving. This video is brought to by Rocket Money and Babel. And you're ready to get out of Compton. Let's get into it. Off topic, but because it happened today, rest in peace, car, we love you. We love you. We're recording this. I'm not this is getting uploaded, but yeah, is it cool if we turn down to. just a little sorry just a little more um by the way if you guys are listening to this on apple or

Starting point is 00:01:35 spotify uh if you don't mind giving us a rating we would really appreciate it really does help us out oh giff gary gray played a character in this movie damn and you realize it um well first of all as we mentioned at the offset i didn't know too much i mean obviously i know who ice cuban and uh dr dr dr drey were but i didn't really know much about nwa or the group or anything like that or how they broke apart but i thought this was a very riveting uh an interesting film and i just thought the story was just extremely interesting and just there was a lot of great themes uh going on too just about uh you know just about uh who you led in your life in terms of managers and obviously these guys you know they came you know from a rough uh time in terms

Starting point is 00:02:21 of where they grew up and all that and obviously they had to deal with racial profiling in terms from the police and all that, which they integrated into their songs in such a great way. But they didn't understand how the business world works, which I get. I still don't even understand how that works. And I just felt bad, especially for, I mean, EZE was so easily manipulated by Jerry, because that was Jerry's domain. And, you know, these guys were so happy. Oh, my God, we got deals. We're getting, I mean, I mean, these guys were worth 50 times more than what they were getting.

Starting point is 00:02:51 and, you know, basically ego and, you know, skimming off the top was what broke them apart. You know, they didn't get their fair share of worth. And it sucks. They were just such a great group. And it's really sad. And I was so glad that they were, I mean, again, if this is really what happened, that they were going to get back together. But obviously, with what happened with EZE, so sad, so devastating. Obviously, you know, in real life, too, you got to be so careful who you sleep with and have, you know, unprotected.

Starting point is 00:03:21 relationships with in terms of uh but um again very very riveting and compelling story and just the group i was very invested in all these characters i loved watching what you know how they uh just how they form their group and just like especially easy e like i love like what you said at the beginning it was kind of laugh about just hearing him at the beginning when we heard him rapping and then just i love the way uh dray you know was directing him uh to his strengths and then you know how we saw them become what we see and then uh yeah just uh really really good the acting was so great um i thought all they were all fantastic for me personally if i had to pick one who stood out amongst them all was the actor who played dray i thought he was beyond outstanding yeah he was

Starting point is 00:04:07 just unbelievable they were all great but he was just the standout for me um but i got a lot more to say what did you think of the film man i love this movie i absolutely love this movie i absolutely love this movie. And, you know, it's one that's been on my list for a while, you know, because, you know, I'm a poet myself outside of doing this stuff on the YouTube channel here on Abreel Reject. So, you know, I definitely resonate with, with a story of artists coming together and, like, artists speaking their voices. So, oh, man, there's just so much about this movie that I really enjoyed. First of all, the acting performances from, I don't know all the actors' names, but the guy who played EZE, incredible.

Starting point is 00:04:49 from top to bottom Corey Hawkins's is Dr. Dre amazing his O'Shea Jackson I think this is acting debut he did an amazing job playing his father Well he grew up with it

Starting point is 00:05:02 But he was still very good Yeah he grew up with him But he still had to audition for the role Of course His acting is still acting And he did great Yeah yeah This movie as of recording this in 2024

Starting point is 00:05:11 This movie came on 2015 It was almost 10 years in the making And yeah This was a movie definitely worth the weight I'm very grateful that we have the chance to experience it with you guys

Starting point is 00:05:25 so I will say just a couple of quartiques out the way before I get into the positive stuff I really enjoy the fact that this movie will know cortiques first I wish we'd have got to spend more time with the other members of NWA because really this movie is focused on

Starting point is 00:05:45 easy on EasyE Dr. Dre and Ice Cube and from all the accounts it was like five sometimes more members of the group and you know we see them in the background like luckily we some of these actors have gotten more notoriety since this movie came out right more specifically um aldous hodge and could you remember his name exactly so you know they didn't really get a lot of fair point of face time in in the movie and there are just other things because i'm just someone who's naturally curious about people and obviously the nature of this being a film and this is focused on NWA, the group, and then I guess the splintering off of their different lives and endeavors after the fact of their initial breakup. So I would have

Starting point is 00:06:28 liked to know more about Dr. Dre's life and the fact that he had a daughter, which I had no clue about prior watching this movie. He had daughter before all of the fame and notoriety. And, you know, I would have liked to dive more into Ice Cube in his career, the fact that he went from this a rapper who was in another

Starting point is 00:06:44 rap group to NWA to then breaking off to his own music, which I didn't even know there was this rap beef between them goes to show my hip-hop knowledge in the early days which was great

Starting point is 00:06:55 and also yeah what happened to him in the elevation of his career what inspired him to go off into acting I think these are just things that weren't central

Starting point is 00:07:04 to the narrative but me as a viewer were curious about and that's just a testament to the film of how well it's able to get you invested

Starting point is 00:07:11 in these characters in these real people yeah I really like how just now to get into my podcast I really liked how this movie was shown from the perspective of the NWA in their relationship to the police. You know, obviously, you know, there's, this is a film, so things are a little bit heightened, but there definitely was that police brutality going on, both with Rodney King and their individual experiences with it living in Compton. So I like that this movie painted the perspective of what their experience was because it really put you,

Starting point is 00:07:49 in their shoes to get you behind their music, you know, because even that one cop who I said looked like Mr. Potato Head was, they made reference to that in the song because, yeah, you'll have these, these, uh, these officers trying to, you know, upstand with their, uh, predominantly um, palm colored, uh, comrades. That's a, I was trying to say. Uh, but anyway. I really enjoyed the fact

Starting point is 00:08:22 that we had to see their perspective and we got to explore that and I liked that it didn't shy away from the authenticity of the experience in their history

Starting point is 00:08:32 because they produced this movie I believe Dr. Dre and Ice Cube you know so granted I feel like they never painted them directly in a bad light

Starting point is 00:08:44 but I do I do like how they honored the authentic of the division that happened between them in their youth. I also would have liked to have seen because you you see that as they kind of spread apart, Ice Cube goes in his direction, Dr. Dre goes in his direction, EZE is doing his thing. And we know that Ice Cube and EZE have this beef together.

Starting point is 00:09:06 We know that EZE and Dr. Dre were having contention in their relationships after Dr. Dre found out what was happening with the finance aspect of things. But I would have liked to know what Dr. Dre and Ice Cube's relationship was like at that time were they still cool in spite of the fact that they went off in different directions because he didn't go to his record label with priority. No, what was it priority? Was that the priority records?

Starting point is 00:09:29 I think so. It started with the P. Yeah, so there was that aspect of things. And yeah, like I said, I was on the ride from start to finish and obviously he died at 31 and Ice Cube and Dr. Dreis still around with us. And this is a two and a half hour

Starting point is 00:09:46 movie. You can only display so much of the totality of somebody's lives and experiences within a two hour film, two and a half hour film, but I feel like it did a great job of putting us in there with NWA and doing it from an authentic place. They didn't try to paint them as heroes.

Starting point is 00:10:02 Like they got down and dirty and they acknowledged that. They didn't try to paint Ice Cube as this this whining, this shining piece of of glory or in like a pure light.

Starting point is 00:10:16 Like he went in there and he stood up for himself. He set up for himself. He smashed and stuff when he wasn't getting his proper money. And I was like, yeah. I feel like some people would look at that and be like, whoa, like, what are you getting hostile for or whatnot? I feel like I mean, he was, he was in his right, you know, because he stood up for what he knew was right. I feel like this movie definitely displays that Ice Cube is always been a man of integrity and a business. And I really, I really like and respected.

Starting point is 00:10:42 Yeah, for sure. Again, I have no idea if that was just dramatization. or whatnot. I am not in any way, shape, or form of violent human being. And obviously, he did not cause violence. He was just messing up the office without physically touching the executive. But he already had been previously screwed over by Jerry. And in essence, I guess, EZE, because EZ was just letting Jerry do whatever he wanted. So Paul Giamide was great too. Yeah, Paul J. Mai was fantastic. And that was cool to, again, see him and F. Gary work again together after they had done 1998's negotiator. But

Starting point is 00:11:15 I understood why Q was so damn I mean he had that conversation with that executive again and he gave him his word at that point I would have said dude we need a contract after what happened the first time

Starting point is 00:11:28 but again a man is only as good as his word again I really like that they were shining a fact on just like and I kind of already spoke about this a little earlier at the beginning of this review but you gotta be so damn careful not only who you light in your life just in general but just especially on the business

Starting point is 00:11:45 side. I mean, especially when you're worth so much, you can just get screwed over so badly. I mean, you had two different sides of it. You had obviously what Jerry was doing to the group. I mean, you had what he was doing to Easy and the other guys in the group. And then also you had, like, once Dre broke apart and he had Shug, right? Yeah. Now, Shug, it didn't seem like he was screwing him, like, financially, but he was creating a hostile environment. And, you know, I got to say one of my favorite lines in the film, which I believe I displayed during the reaction, you know, there's no price for peace of mind. And that was such a powerful damn line. I mean, because it also, too, like when he was trying to, you know, be in a relationship and have Nicole move in with her, with him, Dr. Dre. And she said, like, I know all about, like, the crap that goes on outside of our relationship.

Starting point is 00:12:37 And it's like, you know, that made Dre, like, look within himself, like, what other kind of environment. my being around that's you know outside my work and that wasn't cool with him and like he wasn't okay with that and um you know that was just such a damn power you know you had the scene where a cube like came in and broke a smashed up the the executive's office but i love that scene too with with dray and shug like just like hey i'm not afraid of you you can have everything i don't care i believe in myself same with cube like hey i don't need a 75000 dollar check i believe in myself and I love that theme of believing in yourself because they were, I mean, these guys were worth so much

Starting point is 00:13:18 and they're so damn talented. They were. And they love their music. Yeah, they believe in what they do. And they know that the money, people love them and the money's going to be there. So whatever, you want to have, you know, my clients and my money, it's all good.

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Starting point is 00:16:52 We shall conquer the world of communication. Or as they say in Spanish, communication. We're done with this ad. So. Yeah. I also like how the movie displayed the, there's two sides of it I liked how

Starting point is 00:17:10 they weren't afraid to speak their authentic truth to their experiences no matter how much pressure from either side that they were getting they were going to say what they had to say because that's what they believed in that's what was right and I feel like as artists

Starting point is 00:17:23 it's important to display to display that that authenticity yeah I think it's your your duty you know as a creative to display your experience in an authentic light and because those things that you are able to share

Starting point is 00:17:42 that that's going to resonate you know that those things are going to help somebody in ways that are not foreseen you know yeah and so there's there's that aspect of things and I liked the the

Starting point is 00:17:56 authenticity and the way that their group for the culture was kind of an anthem during this time because, you know, they, we needed somebody to, I guess, corral or, like an anthem, I suppose, in this time of, of abuse, in this time of unjust behavior. Yeah, it was terrible. And also kind of just piggybacking a little off what you just said, where how much they

Starting point is 00:18:29 were able to squeeze into two and a half hours, which I thought was they did a great job. It's also kind of the Harry Potter thing where there's only so much of. the book you can fit into two and a half hours you know what i mean people's lives yeah yeah exactly so my point i'm trying to make is i would love i'm sure there's documentaries and youtube videos i i i'm gonna make it a point of contention that after we you know finish this uh i want to watch some documentaries on this and again to explore more time because i i'm so fascinated by this story obviously again i've watched many ice cube films um and i've heard you know a few songs of uh dray so i i know a little bit about those guys, but just this story and the group and everything. It's just, I'm so much more

Starting point is 00:19:09 fascinated now after watching this movie. And last thing I want to say, I really love that F. Gary Gray put into meta things in the film, which obviously we know happened in real life, one of them, which was a cube coming up with the script for Friday, and then he was writing that line. And I just love that F. Gary Gray is directing that, and then he directed Friday as he's directing this. And then obviously have the bifelisha line which again was in friday which again if gary great director i just i love that meta stuff it's i'm always so appreciative of stuff like that but uh overall great film great acting uh the songs just again resonated with the time that they were in it's disgusting the display that uh you know what was happening with the police just racial profiling uh stuff

Starting point is 00:19:52 we still got to deal with today just awful stuff um and uh yeah just overall great film uh just amazing story and I really enjoyed it yeah no I really enjoyed it as well that it was an authentic experience and display of what it was like during that time I wish we would have gotten more time or more focus on other members of NWA yeah but ultimately

Starting point is 00:20:14 the people that we did focus on they did a really good job of portraying them so yeah that those small criticisms aside I would give this movie an 8.5 at a 10 I absolutely loved it and I'm so happy that I've seen it and yeah I can't wait to talk about it with the people I have who

Starting point is 00:20:30 people I know who have seen it and really do my own deep dive of NWA Say you've finally seen it now I don't believe you know like I'll show you it's on the internet I can show you I've seen it now All right so we got some fun little trivia facts here Aaron That we're going to read off from straight out of Compton

Starting point is 00:20:47 So the letter that the FBI sent to NWA Can be seen at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame In Cleveland Ohio Really? Yes oh that's dope Yes okay it's authentic I feel like that was That was something that was true. Yeah, of course. I'm sure there was a good amount of the film.

Starting point is 00:21:05 That was probably, I mean, you know, there's always, like you said, a certain thing that's dramatized. But when Ice Cube is complaining to Brian about not yet having received his money, he exclaims that he has a baby on the way. Cube was in fact talking about O'Shea Jackson, Jr., who was his first born in 1991, being that O'Shea Jack. He was talking about himself during that scene. Oh, true. I was even thinking about that. That's amazing. That is so meta.

Starting point is 00:21:31 This movie is more meta than it realizes. I love it. Oh, my God. That's awesome. That's so trippy and awesome at the same time. That's great. The original cut of this film was three hours and 30 minutes. The cutscenes included Dr. Dre's infamous beating of journalist Dee Barnes.

Starting point is 00:21:48 What? The incident where Dre was shot four times in the leg. What? And a graphic flashback of his younger brother's death. Yeah, okay. Obviously, we were told about his younger brother, but I did not know about the other two events. I had no idea that he did that in real life.

Starting point is 00:22:06 That I did not know either. They should have put that in the movie. I don't know where would it fit in, but they should have been in there. I'm sure there's, if you bought the Blu-ray or the DVD, I'm sure those deleted scenes were possibly included. Let us know in the comments section. The actual scratching when Dre is on the turntables was done by DJ Jazzy Jeff. Oh, that's awesome.

Starting point is 00:22:28 Yeah, because they were also around during that time, but making very different kind of music. Let's see. Not a gangster rap. Making a fun rap about how parents don't understand. And the summertime. Well, that came a little later. Yeah, a very different kind of vibe than N.W.A. was putting out.

Starting point is 00:22:47 So this movie inspired Dr. Dre to secretly record his first album in 16 years, set to release on August 17, 2015. the album's name is Compton, a soundtrack, and he tweeted it as his grand finale. Wow. Just needed a little inspiration, I guess, right? I wonder if that was true. Did he actually have a grand finale after that?

Starting point is 00:23:12 Did he make music after that? I don't know. I should know more about Dr. Dre. I know that he made beats, and this movie taught me a lot, but, yeah, I'm looking at up too. Oh, you got to hear this one. You ready for this one? Hit me with it.

Starting point is 00:23:24 Easy, E, son, Lil. Lil E.C. Easy. Did I say that? L-I-L. L-I-L. Where is it? With the fact. L-I-L. L-A-L. L-E-E-E-E. Yeah, Lil E-E-E-E. Had auditioned for... I know. Sorry, guys. Lil E.E-E-E had auditioned for the role of his father, but according to Ice Cube, it just didn't work out. Lil E. was upset at first, but eventually became involved in coaching actor, Jason Mitchell, who portrays his father in the film. Lo, Easy, let's look him up. I'm sure it would have been, like... You know, amazing for him to be in the role.

Starting point is 00:23:59 Okay. I'm sure it would, again, I'm sure it would have been heartfelt and nice, but at the end of the day, you still got to act. It's not an easy thing to do. And O'Shea Jackson Jr. was fantastic. Don't really look like his dad. No? No.

Starting point is 00:24:16 All right. We'll read you a couple more, guys. Let's see. Oh, damn. O'Shea Jackson Jr. prepared for two years to portray the, the role of his father, partially because Ice Cube didn't want the appearance of nepotism in casting. Hey, fair deal. I mean, you got to, hey, you want this, you got to work for it.

Starting point is 00:24:37 I love that. That's a good lesson for family. Yeah, he's a great career sense. I mean, look, like, Ice Cube didn't get anywhere on nepotism. So it's like, hey, I didn't get anywhere in nepotism. You're not going to. I like it. I like that. He's a man of integrity. Yes. Man of honor. Dre breaking down from hearing his brother's death was one of the first scene shot in the film. According to F. Gary Gray, the real Dr. Dre broke down and left the set after the second take. Oh, man.

Starting point is 00:25:04 Jesus. Yeah, I'm sure that brought back memories for him that he didn't want to. I mean, because we were talking while we were reacting that, you're like, I wonder if Dre's like gotten peace from him, because he felt obviously guilty about not bringing him out to Miami and not watching over him. So I wonder if he feels a sense of like, hey,

Starting point is 00:25:20 I've forgiven myself, I don't feel as as guilty or guilty anymore. It's my, yeah, but. His brother's always going to be his brother. course, but then watching that scene being films like, oh my God, this is bringing back memories right now. All right. We'll give you guys, what, two, should we do two more? Sure, yeah, two more sounds good. Okay, we'll do two more. Let me find some good ones here. All right, this one seems good. F. Gary Gray, who we all know directed Friday, also directed

Starting point is 00:25:47 the video to Ice Cube's most famous song. It was a good day alongside Friday, which was written by Ice Cube as well. Okay. So they obviously. They have an amazing relationship. That's good. I didn't know that. Oh. All right. Everyone's favorite person, Jerry Heller.

Starting point is 00:26:06 Jerry Heller, I don't know if it's, here, let's read this. Jerry Heller described how he viewed EZE's thug persona as self-forged armor in his book, Ruthless, a memoir. Heller's description of Compton where EZE and the other NWA group members lived was that no one survived on the street. without a protective mask. No one survived naked. You had to have a role.

Starting point is 00:26:29 You had to be thug, player, athlete, gangster, or dope man. Otherwise, there was only one role left to you, victim. Wow. Sad. Yeah. The infamous role by Felicia was just an ad lib, along with Ice Cube forcefully pushing her out. That's awesome. Okay.

Starting point is 00:26:54 I got one more, I think we got. do one more okay let's see so this was the highest grossing music biopic until 2018 when a film i have not seen bohemian rhapsody grossed over nine hundred and one million dollars i think this movie's better than bohemian rhapsody i haven't seen it so i i will just say okay this movie is great he's good though romey mackleck was really good in the role we had this movie damn last one o'shae jackson junior had to consume 1,200 calories a day and lost 15 pounds in 22 days. Wow.

Starting point is 00:27:31 That's 15 pounds and 20. I don't know. That's quite a lot to accomplish. Not saying he didn't do it, but that is quite a lot. Anyways, let us know if there's any other cool fun facts that we didn't read. Yeah, because there's a bunch more we could have read off. It just might have taken another 20 minutes. But yeah, let us know if there's anything other cool that we did not mention.

Starting point is 00:27:52 Thank you so much for watching and being part of this journey with us. greatly appreciate it and yeah let us know what is your favorite NWA song in the comments there and hope you have a good day

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The Reel Rejects - STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON (2015) MOVIE REVIEW!! FIRST TIME WATCHING!!

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