Turn It Up

Turn It Up is a hip-hop downer that makes the high-risk high-life of contempo gangstas seem glumly routine.

Surprisingly, for a movie about music, the sound is lousy. Some of the songs sound distorted because they have so much bass. In other moments, the dialogue is so low, it's hard to understand what the characters are saying.

As both writer and director, Adetuyi doesn't bother bringing any emotional or psychological twists or nuances to these familiar character types; he gives them no depth whatsoever.

This is one of those pictures that is at its best when illustrating a certain kind of life in a certain kind of place at a certain point in U.S. history. In 40 years, it might make a valuable period piece.