I'll tell you why so serious

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

The acting in this movie is really good.

I think the reason people have such a hard time relating to this movie is that they don't understand that this movie represents the lives of real people. Its such a contrast to how people who aren't in the hood live there lives that it comes off as a joke to them. This movie embodies some of the lifestyles led by gangsters in America. DMX is a questionable role. He is erratic, high strung and was probably high while making the movie. But the scene where he forces himself on to high partner is profoundly deep and all too real in life. Now ask yourself, who could have done it better? Nas is a poet. His closing lines were artful. Method man is just great in any movie. The cinematography and sound track were amazing. Hype Williams really never got the credit he deserved for making such a masterpiece.

I loved this movie. I saw it years ago and I still think about it and am inspired. While many of the scenes were setup masterfully, some were needlessly graphic (otherwise I would have given it a 10). I look forward to the sequel: Beast. My mind is particularly drawn to the spiritual undertones in this film. They are refreshing when so much of Hollywood's take on this culture, looks more like minstrel shows and race propaganda. I want to see more films like Belly without having to sift through a lot of Black Exploitation Television. So I have turned to IMDb. Unfortunately, IMDb rates this movie low (~3.8) while rating crappier movies higher. This makes my task of finding a movie I like difficult, because many of the 3.5-4.0 IMDb rated movies really are crappy. I have no way of distinguishing between the good and the bad, so for some genres this scale is rendered useless. I understand not everyone shares the same tastes. But does anyone know of other movies that have similarly well-thought-out, intense, thought provoking plots and a low IMDb rating. With your help, I can enjoy those films without spending time looking at crap.

I can't really give you a plot outline for the film, since I was beating myself in the face with a blunt object every ten minutes. Although, I can tell you the little bits that I got from it. Two gang members are living the high life, with sex, booze, drugs and money. Soon they both realize that they are heading down the wrong path, one wants to go back to Africa to get in touch with his roots, and tries to convince his girlfriend to join him, while the other gets all religious.I was told to watch this film because it was, and I'm quoting, "The Black Scarface". Let me say that this is not anywhere near the calibre of Scarface. The one and only way I can ever see someone making this strange comment would be because in one particular scene, they directly ripoff Scarface. It involves a man who is on drugs seeing on video cameras strangers entering his house. He grabs guns and then goes on a killing spree. Exactly like Pacino in Scarface. The guy doesn't even make it out alive, he dies, like Pacino from behind.Nothing in this movie is worth commenting on, I'm hurting right now trying to write this review because I have to think about the film. Why is it that rappers think they can have an acting career? LL Cool J can pull it off because he is actually decent at acting. The people involved in Belly give Busta Rhymes a run for his money as worst rapper actor. DMX, who is in random martial art flicks (Cradle to the grave, Exit Woods) is playing the exact same character he does in every other movie. Seen one, seen them all. Nas for some random reason wants to go back to Africa in the film, I found myself on the floor in tears, both fro laughter and sadness. I don't think he raises his voice once in the entire movie.Hype Williams, is a music video director. He directs rap videos, which is evident here because this movie is just one big overly long rap video. If Williams were to have more films under his belt, he may be able to reach Uwe Boll's credibility. Yes, this movie is worse then House of the Dead, or even Alone in the Dark. I rank Belly as the second worst film I have ever seen, the worst goes to the atrocious Carnivore.There is no substance to Belly, it tries to be all style. The opening sequence isn't ALL that bad, but it isn't good either. My entertainment level went from mediocre to negative zero after the first robbery. It never recovered and I'm kind of ashamed to admit I've seen this trash. Belly gives Showgirls and The Matrix Revolutions a run for their money for the worst sex seen in cinema history. It's over before it begins and you can't make out what is even going on.With a horrible script and director that has no credit to his name, you'd think the movie would be bad...but this goes beyond that. It's as if when the director had nowhere else to go with the movie he would throw in random shootout scene, simply to add more minutes to the already too long running time (which isn't even that long, but it sure as hell seems like it). Nobody in the cast makes an effort to entertain us or even try to be remotely believable. Here's a suggestion for Williams and his future film making, if there is any future film making. Get real actors, not your friends. Also, try filming a movie with a decent script that is easy to follow. Belly goes all over the place with random events. More then once I was sitting there wondering who this person was and why they are on the screen.So if you happen to see this sitting on the shelf at your local video store, do yourself a favour and rip out your eyeballs for even looking at the box cover. The only thing that this is good for is taking a bat to it, or flushing it down the toilet, maybe even leaving at a friends house in hopes it will never come back. I was haunted in my dreams the week after watching Belly and every now and again I get a headache when someone mentions the film. I'm taking Tylonol Extra Strength right now finishing this review up. Let's just hope the so called sequel never sees the light of day.

I am not sure what words to use when describing Belly to another person. It just feels totally incomprehensible. Even though the movie really is not on par with some of the absolute garbage that Hollywood consistently pumps out (don't get me wrong, it's almost on par), I just cannot find the words to describe the film to another human being.Belly opens up with an "interesting" monologue from the main character Tommy (DMX), about his thug life and how he sold his soul to the devil as a child. Does it have anything to do with the rest of the movie? Not really. Just a nice touch to try to entice viewers into watching the rest of it. A stylish heist in a club follows, and basically sets up for the film to fall down hard from there on.The film revolves mainly around two childhood friends, Tommy and Sincere (Nas). They grew up together like brothers and gained the lives they lead through various robberies, despite Sincere turning into a family man with a wife and child. After seeing a newscast on a new type of heroin, Tommy decides randomly that they should get into drug dealing. From this point on, the film changes direction from a one-note crime film, to a half-assed morality tale. Of course, with this new direction comes way too many characters and sub plots to count. After a bit of sifting through meticulously placed useless pieces of exposition and action, you may feel you fully understand the film and can see where it's headed. But then, it adds something else into the mix and continues being dragged into a deep hole of filth.The main problem with the movie is the totally uneven script. The film is totally unsure of itself, and adds in useless action and dialogue at every turn. The acting in the film suffers heavily, even to the point where the actors do not seem sure of themselves either. It begs the question of who would greenlight such a film, with a decent premise that never fully materializes. It has the moments within it that makes it feel like the urban thriller/drama it attempts to be. But these moments are totally glazed over by the crappy script and even crappier directing. If Hype Williams wanted to make a music video with acting, he could have done it for MTV and it would seem pretty good. He does an extended one here for a full length feature, and the film falls flat on its face.It almost seems at times that the rappers in the film (yes, I forgot to mention the lack of real acting talent) are just rapping off their preachy lines, and not acting them out. Maybe someone forgot to enroll them all in Acting 101, since it is clearly not in the same room as Rapping 101. Yes, for many, it probably is their first feature film role. But it's no excuse for why some film executive could not have paid a few extra dollars to have them learn how to actually act. Eminem did not have a problem with 8 Mile (even though the rest of the movie did), so why are DMX, Nas and the rest of the gang not acting the same way? If the script and acting problems were not enough, the editing takes a beating too. Hype, this is not a damn music video! You cannot just have the film run around in circles until it's eventual conclusion, just adding, killing or removing characters as you go. Adding them into random scenes does not help either. Even if you really do not feel the need, you may need to repeat a few of the scenes over again, just so you can fully understand the film. Is it even remotely worth wasting your time doing this? Of course not. Hype just adds more as he goes, to make you even more confused. The entirety of the film becomes a convoluted and confusing mess as a result of this, and again, becomes a question of who greenlit the script to become a movie. Did they really think an urban music video director and a bunch of silly rappers could pull something like this off? With a better script and a heightened sense of acting flair, the movie probably could have been much greater and made an impact on the world of urban films, and cinema in general. it may seem like a little bit of a higher call for a film like Belly, but it's something that could have happened. When the acting and action is good, the movie isn't half bad. But when the movie becomes the convoluted mess it eventually becomes, it's downright terrible.And by the way, who in God's name would greenlight a sequel, after this? 2/10.(Portions of this review originally appeared on http://www.dvdfanatic.com).