TV Show Reviews
"The
Get Down" review by Suzanne
8/13/16
Airs on Netflix
This is a very intriguing show. It's part fact and part
fantasy. A successful rap artist, Ezekiel (who goes by the
name "Books" at times) flashes back to his start as a
lovesick teen in the South Bronx, in the 1970's. We learn
about his friends, his family, and the world around him of
poverty and gangsters. There's a lot of great 70's music.
Some of it you may recognize, but others are more obscure.
At the heart of the show is the love story between Books
and the girl Mylene, who desperately wants to be a disco
singing star. Her father is a disco-hating preacher who
tries to control her. Books and his friends do a lot of
grafitti all over their city while they try to avoid teenage
gangs. Besides the kids, we have a bunch of real
gangsters, including politician Francisco Cruz (Jimmy
Smits), who wants to completely renovate the South Bronx. He
also happens to be Mylene's uncle. Caught between all of
these people is young Shaolin Fantastic, who works for
rapper Grandmaster Flash.
The story is really not so important as the characters
and how they relate to each other, but the story does move
along nicely and draw you in. Check it out, especially if
you love the 70's or Hip Hop.
MORE INFORMATION:
Check out the new official
trailer for the
Netflix original series The
Get Down:
https://youtu.be/usv442G6H8A. Part
One of
The Get
Down,
comprising six episodes, premieres Friday, August 12 on
Netflix around the
world.
From Baz Luhrmann and a team of collaborators including
four-time Oscar® winner and fellow executive producer
Catherine Martin, legendary MC and executive producer
Nas, associate producer Grandmaster Flash, Pulitzer
Prize winning playwright, co-creator and executive
producer Stephen Adly Guirgis; and expert collaborators,
including hip-hop historian and supervising producer
Nelson George,
The Get
Down
is a mythic saga of how New York at the
brink of bankruptcy gave birth to a new art form. Set in
New York in 1977, this music-driven drama series
chronicles the rise of hip-hop
and the last days of disco -–
told through the lives, music,
art and dance of the South Bronx
kids who would change the world
forever.
The cast of the
The Get
Down
includes Shameik Moore (Shaolin Fantastic), Justice
Smith (Ezekiel “Books” Figuero), Herizen Guardiola
(Mylene Cruz), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Cadillac), Jaden
Smith (Dizzee Kipling), Skylan Brooks (Ra Ra Kipling),
Tremaine Brown Jr. (Boo Boo Kiping), Mamoudou Athie
(Grandmaster Flash), Jimmy Smits (Francisco “Papa
Fuerte” Cruz) and Giancarlo Esposito (Ramon Cruz).
The Get
Down
is produced by Sony Pictures Television for
Netflix. The
series is executive produced by Baz Luhrmann, Catherine
Martin, Nas, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Thomas Kelly, and
Paul Watters.
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