PickUrFeetInPoughkeepsie

Off the Hook tells the true story of two aspiring rappers who have formed a duo called PosNeg. One of the men, Walter Velasquez, is the Positive side. His rap lyrics have uplifting themes and he has focus and determination in his everyday life to keep things peaceful, stay out of trouble, and succeed.

The other rapper, Lorenzo Lewis, is the negative side, not only in lyrical content but in his lifestyle. He is always having to prove how hard he and can't stay away from legal troubles involving drugs and such.

The look and sound of the film make it obvious that this was done on a very low budget, and considering that, the acting is top-notch. There are many brilliant performances here by complete unknowns. I found myself very sucked in to the world of PosNeg. It's a shame that so few people have seen this film.

Off the Hook tells the true story of two aspiring rappers who have formed a duo called PosNeg. One of the men, Walter Valesquez, is the Positive side. His rap lyrics have uplifting themes and he has focus and determination in his everyday life to keep things peaceful, stay out of trouble, and succeed.

The other rapper, Lorenzo Lewis, is the negative side, not only in lyrical content but in his lifestyle. He is always having to prove how hard he and can't stay away from legal troubles involving drugs and such.

The look and sound of the film make it obvious that this was done on a very low budget, and considering that, the acting is top-notch. There are many brilliant performances here by complete unknowns. I found myself very sucked in to the world of PosNeg. It's a shame that so few people have seen this film.

I found this film to be incredible. The performances are outstanding, and most of the violence in it is impeccably realistic. I found that it was very easy to forget that I was watching something that was acted and scripted. Being a big fan of hood films like Boyz N The Hood, Menace II Society, Colors, Juice, etc., I found this film to be a total reinvention of the genre. Through the video camera, we become Kris, an young teenager who aspires to be like the older husslers he looks up to. Many of the scenes in this wouldn't work if the film was shot like a normal film and worked on a more conventional dramatic scale, but because it has the home movie feel, we are allowed to just see little moments here and there that provide a great deal of character development w/o even trying. While the hood movie has been done over and over again, this one really made an impact on me, mainly because of the performances. There's plenty of humor, action (but not glossy flashy Hollywood action), drama, and cursing. Enough for the whole family to enjoy.