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Caught Up (1998) More at IMDbPro »

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15 comments in total

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Bad luck and poor choices, 19 March 2003
Author: IrockGswift (IrockGswift@aol.com) from east orange, new jersey

This is got to be one of the most confusing urban thrillers I have ever seen. A young man did a five year bid after being involved in a bank robbery thanks to his coke-head buddy. Daryl plans were to open a nightclub and had a major set back that sent him to prison because of the bank robbery. But when he got out he hooks up with a fortune teller that maybe change his life around. Though whenever they were together someone was out to kill him. Daryl played by Bokeem Woodbine had only wanted to get his life together so he can get back into his son's life and presume to open a nightclub. Through all the mayhem in the movie he still achieve his goal. Not a bad ending for a hood movie without the star dying.

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5 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Best One-Liner Ever, 25 November 2000

Author: hchiu from Redwood City, CA

"Caught Up" had that low budget feel but the low key and well paced mystery kept my attention. Bookem Woodbine (Daryl) was refreshing as a ex-convict trying to go straight but every turn in the road ahead seems to lead him closer back to jail. Bookem Woodbine has a very deep baritone voice like Earl Jones, and his delivery is rough at times but he was genuine. I thought this movie was going to be a yawner early on until the part where Daryl barks "I ain't going down like no punk!" That was a delivery of a one-liner comparable to "I'll be back" by Arnold. Cyndia Willams (Vanessa) was very pleasing to the eye as the mysterious, seductive woman that plays Daryl as the fool. She is the other reason to watch this movie. Also, some other notable guest cameo is made the Candy Man, Snoop Doggy Dog, and Ll Cool J of "Deep Blue Sea" (who didn't go down like a punk).

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Painful, 17 January 2003

Author: asherh (asherhuey@gmail.com) from Bethesda, MD

I went to this movie because i have been a long time fan of Tony Todd and Jeffrey Combs. They had two of the smallest roles in the film. The film was poorly written and poorly directed. I can sit back and watch a stupid movie if it is entertaining, but this one wasn't. I had to fight sleep in the theater. I didn't expect much from Bokeem Woodbine so i was not disappointed with him. Cynda Williams was dreadful. I would have to say that she delivers one of the worst performances I have ever seen. Joseph Lindsey was the only enjoyable part. His performance was hilarious, and yet he has gone on to do nothing else. So in short if you are thinking of seeing this movie, it would be less painful to castrate yourself.

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4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Another dust-collector on videostore shelves., 12 November 2002
Author: FeverDog from Center of the Universe

A poorly written urban crime drama that would have worked better as a sketch in HOLLYWOOD SHUFFLE, CAUGHT UP stars Bokeem Woodbine as an ex-con trying to go straight. Shortly after his release from prison, he meets Trish (Cynda Williams, whose mediocre performance is in sharp contrast to her impressive work in ONE FALSE MOVE), who's, of all things, a psychic being pursued by an evil Rastafarian from whom she stole a huge diamond. Instead of staying the hell away from this apparently high-maintenance love interest (she's beautiful, you see) and trying to reconnect with his former squeeze, he agrees to help her. Every stereotype and cliché is used, as well as howlingly bad dialogue ("Nobody was waiting for me but a dude named destiny") and the perfunctory hip-hop cameos. This film seems to have been made solely to promote its accompanying soundtrack, but with hardly any rap music included in the movie, what exactly was the point of all this?

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Screwed Up, 9 December 2008

Author: Newsense from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Caught Up is bad..really, really bad. It looks like it was done by amateur and with the exception of competent cinematography everything else about it blows.

The story: Darryl Allen(Bokeem Woodbine) is having the worst luck ever. He loses his moronic friend to a high speed chase accident. He meets a mysterious woman named Vanessa Dietrich(Cynda Williams) who gets him in the middle of a scandal involving pilfered diamonds from a Jamaican mobster. He is forced to work for a fruity and shady limousine owner named Wild Bill. He befriends one of the guys at this job who ends up being an undercover cop named Frank Lewdon(Clifton Powell)posing as some unfortunate bum named Herbert. On top of all that he keeps getting shot at by somebody(who I will reveal later in this review).

You know a movie is in trouble when the cameo appearances by Snoop Dogg and LL Cool J are the best thing about it. You know a movie is in trouble when a sex scene involving Cynda and Bokeem is better than the rest of the movie. The acting is awful. Bokeem Woodbine was great in Jason's Lyric, Panther, Strapped, Gridlock'd etc but he stinks here. Its not his fault. The script is a terrible one that causes for him to profusely overact at every scene. The only scene he fared well in was the scene where he talks to his son over the phone. Bokeem's performance elsewhere in this movie was hammy. Now, I love Clifton Powell but he gives the worst performance of his acting career as the unscrupulous undercover Frank Lewdon. The interrogation scene where he spits back in Daryl Allen's face and slaps him around is laughable to a fault. Having Cynda Williams play both Trish and Vanessa made the movie all the more confusing. As a matter of fact that is the biggest flaw of Caught Up: its confusing as hell from start to finish. The film gets hysterically bad and worse as it progresses. It has plot holes big enough to fit the state of Texas in. Let me give you two examples of the huge holes in this story: Vanessa murders Trish and puts her dead body next to Darryl in a motel. Question: How does she know where Trish stays? Plot hole #2: Darryl is constantly getting shot at and in the end it turns out to be the same cop his friend shot in the groin earlier in the movie. Question: how does this wacky cop know where to find Darryl at? These are the few examples of the many plot holes in Caught Up. A movie so bizarre that it makes you wonder if the director and writer was sloshed while he wrote this tripe. There is a reason why Darin Scott fell off the map after this movie. Caught Up is confusing, jumble mess of a movie that adds to the negative stigma attached to low budget movies. Some low budget movies can be good but this movie is not one of the exceptions. Stick with the soundtrack. Its more satisfying than this stinker.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Review is right on, 30 November 2005

Author: from United States

For once, I agree 100% with the review of this movie. It is dead on. It was very poorly written although I was a bit intrigued by the twists and turns. The plot was a deja vu, very similar to some of the old school blaxploitation movies, updated with a modern look, and language. I did expect the soundtrack, which I didn't care for anyway in the extras on the DVD, to play more of a role, but I can't recall even hearing any music in the entire movie. Maybe because the plot was so weak I didn't notice the music.

I purchased the DVD for like $4. It was in a bin with thousands of other DVDs collecting dust. Seeing the beautiful Cynda Williams is worth the $4. Just put the movie on mute and you're good to go!

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Clunky, but it has its moments., 30 November 2001
Author: sable sky from Australia

A very typical set up - ex-con with a kid, wants to make a new start. The main character's complete lack of bravado makes him an amiable enough lead, but it's not enough to save the film from clunky dialogue, and some clunkier acting. However, there are some cinematically nice moments, and it's worth the rental price just to see Jeffrey Combs' hysterical, and very... memorable... cameo.

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Poor plot line; weak acting., 17 December 1999

Author: espile (espile@worldnet.att.net) from Nashville, TN

The general look of the film, set design, locale appear as cheap. That coupled with a poor plot line and weak acting made this somewhat uninteresting, with the exception of the acting of Cynda Williams. The obligatory sex-scene was not necessary. Her acting style was smooth and confident. All of the actors could have done better with a better script. Sorry.

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A fresh take on the traditional "wrong man" theme, 27 September 1999

Author: will-105 from Los Angeles

Director Scott's debut leads us through a well paced maze of mystery. He keeps our interest by injecting unpredictable twists and turns throughout. A brave effort that goes against the formulaic grain of the majority of Hollywood releases.

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Surprisingly well-structured plot; sharp writing overall, 1 June 1999

Author: walt-41

Gems sometimes crop up in the most surprising places. "Caught Up" provides the pleasures of a well-structured plot, especially the payoff one gets when something brought up earlier means something important (even clever) later, e.g. the identity of the hitman. Combine these tasty plot twists with good acting and good dialogue, and you've got a movie worth staying up to watch on cable

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