KICKS

Plot:

Growing up on the gritty streets in Oakland, California can be rough and especially if you are a small underprivileged teen like Brandon (Guillory) who just wants to be noticed like his two best friends Albert (Wallace) and Rico (Meyer). One of the things that can give him some of the attention he seeks would be a fresh pair of kicks to replace the battered and worn pair that adorns his feet. So after finding his mom's hidden stash he finds a local street vendor who sells fresh kicks from out of his car and so he purchases a pair of the Nike Air Jordan Ones and he immediately starts to get noticed, but his fresh kicks also gets the attention of the neighborhood street thug Flaco (Siriboe) who robs him of the sneakers. Unable to accept going back to being an unnoticed nobody again he sets out on a dangerous adventure to reengage Flaco to take back his kicks, even if it risk his life or the lives of his friends.


Reel Talk:

"KICKS" is a raw and gritty depiction about the urban streets of Oakland where crimes, either by robbing or drug dealing is a common practice. The violence is brutal which merits the R rating so this is not a kid friendly movie. Don't let the fairly newcomer Jahking Guillory's baby face fool you because he becomes a gangster quick and Kofi Siriboe as the ruthless street hood Flaco is menacing. This low budgeted movie although not a great film and somewhat predictable was entertaining and will keep you interested but the major highlight of the film is the awesome soundtrack that bumps some serious throwback hip hop classics. This will make for a good matinee movie to save you a few bucks.

Starring: Jahking Guillory, Christopher Jordan Wallace, Christopher Meyer, Kofi Siriboe, Mahershala Ali and Molly Shaiken
Directed by: Justin Tipping
Rated: R

I give it 2 and a half corn dogs.

By: THE REEL HUSTLER