Film gridlock5/7/2023 ![]() Racing on the Long Island Rail Road was Senior Editor Tanner Saunders, who paid just $5 (£4) for a train to Jamaica and then $8.25 (£6.68) for the AirTrain. Senior Editor Tanner Saunders described his Long Island Rail Road journey as 'quick and easy' But construction, an accident or just a busy traffic day on the roads can cause serious delays.' The pair added: 'Sometimes, you can make excellent time because the roads are clear. It's definitely a more expensive way to get to the airport compared to taking public transportation or a train.' And New York traffic is prone to put a spanner in the works. They said: 'We did pay nearly $100 when all was said and done. They added: 'You're alone in a taxi rather than being crowded into a train, giving you room to spread out and be comfortable on your ride.' They stressed: 'Once you hail a taxi, you'll be dropped off right in front of your terminal.' Plus, they said, 'you are on your own timeline because you don't have to get to a train or subway station at a specific time, nor do you have to wait for trains or make multiple stops along the way'.Ĭomfort is a factor, too. The positives, they said, included the taxi being 'incredibly convenient, especially if you have luggage', with 'no additional walking required'. Just like airport-bound Steve Martin's character Neal Page in classic 1980s movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles, they had a few issues securing one of NYC's famous yellow cabs, but it was smooth running once they got underway. In the taxi was Madison Blancaflor, Global Features Editor, and Liam Spencer. Gridlock'd is rated R and contains profanity, drug use, nudity and violence.Liam and Madison paid $98.16 (£79.48) via ride-hailing firm Curb Still, Hall draws solid performances from everyone and there is a painful humor to Spoon and Stretch's quixotic quest for rehab. Even in flashbacks, the beautiful Newton isn't really given much to do, though the filmmakers find two excuses for her to disrobe. The wiry, wily Roth looks the part of the reprobate junkie and plays well against Shakur's solidity. If he had lived, perhaps film would have allowed him to evade the gangsta rap typecasting forced on him by the music industry. His Spoon is the more thoughtful and sensitive of this pair, the one more likely to kick the habit. In his last performance, Shakur is thankfully free of the gangsta image. And it's clear that no one cares, not even Spoon and Stretch themselves. Whether Spoon and Stretch are shooting up next to the body of a friend or relieving themselves in a cramped bathroom before a performance, it's clear that heroin has destroyed their morality, ambition, energy and humanity. He also reflects the reckless machismo and indifference that make rehab itself a pipe dream. First-time director Hall (Mercutio in "William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet" and Dennis Hancock in "Chicago Hope") captures the perpetual regret that nonetheless succumbs to desire. Though the end suggests a sort of Keystone Krooks, "Gridlock'd" is closer to last year's "Trainspotting" in capturing the junkie life, particularly at the stage where the junkie's aim is no longer to get high but simply to keep from getting sick. The sudden impulse to reform is quickly replaced by the survival instinct. They go up against an indifferent, sometimes hostile welfare bureaucracy, and evade psycho drug dealers they've inadvertently ripped off and cops who mistake them for cold-blooded killers. What they don't know is that their bad day is about to get worse. When Stretch and Spoon finally deposit her at a hospital, they make a guilt-ridden New Year's resolution to get into rehab and kick their habits. Two of the three are hapless junkies and the third, Cookie, almost winds up in the morgue when she overdoses on New Year's Eve. Written and directed by Vondie Curtis Hall, "Gridlock'd" follows a bad day in the lives of Stretch (Roth), Spoon (Shakur) and Cookie (Thandie Newton), who make up a spoken-word jazz trio in Detroit. ![]() ![]() Where the first film is clearly a vehicle for Shakur and actor Tim Roth, the latter is. The second, "Bullet," is a straight-to-video movie that crassly overstates Shakur's presence in its advertising and promotional materials. Finished just two months before Shakur's death, it succeeds precisely because it plays to his acting skills rather than trading on his gangsta-rap reputation. "Gridlock'd," by far the better of the two, opens today at area theaters. Shakur reappears today in two films, one that shows what potential his life held, and one that tries to cash in on the tragedy that struck him down. Nobody who saw him in "Juice" or "Poetic Justice" would deny that. 'Gridlock'd': Tupac Shakur's Lasting Image By Richard Harringtonīefore being shot to death in Las Vegas last year, Tupac Shakur had shown he possessed a riveting screen presence. ![]()
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