Watch The Carter For Free

Sadly Over-hyped

Memorable, crazy movie

Absolutely brilliant

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

In essence, I think Lil' Wayne is a genius. And an idiot. And by mixing those two elements - sadly by drinking a lot of cough syrup and smoking a lot of weed - Wayne claims to have recorded over a thousand songs, dabbles in all types of genres, his home has been raided by the FBI because of charges that his record company made, he's released mix-tapes into the Internet and made his record label furious... The list goes on. And his music, as this documentary makes clear from the start, does really say all about his life. What's really remarkable about him is that he mostly doesn't care about what other people think, and tries to break out from himself. He goes beyond rap. At the same time, he's entwined with all the stereotypes that make rap what it is; by no coincidence does he state that he never drinks, only to in the next sentence say "Only a champagne now and then", true to all the stereotypes that follow Baby and Cash Money Millionaires. All in all: inspirational, tragic and genial. Definitely worth seeing, and be sure, Wayne will prevail.

I'll begin by saying that this documentary is for anybody and everybody -- doesn't matter if you're into hip-hop/rap/Lil Wayne or not. This is what documentaries are meant to be: a glimpse into a fascinating slice of life otherwise unavailable to the viewer; an account that's unbiased and without agenda.My knowledge of Lil Wayne was minimal before my first viewing of "The Carter." Personally speaking, I was blown away. My respect and admiration for Mr. Carter and his work ethic (and his work) sky-rocketed. The experience was heartbreaking, hilarious, upsetting, inspiring; full of the complexity inherent in life, as one would expect, especially from such a polarizing figure. Spending some time in his world made it clear: Lil Wayne is the result of lifelong dedication and endless hard work; an artist to the core, a living legend -- an American treasure, no doubt, rough around the edges or not -- on my daddy's soul.

I was completely unfamiliar with Lil Wayne's rap music before I watched this movie. While I can't say that I am a newly converted fan, I feel that he is undoubtedly an artist in the truest sense. He exists in his own world, makes his art pretty much for himself because he has to, and is utterly dedicated to his art, whether or not anyone else considers it art. The fact that he is a commercial success is just cake. This guy could be doing any other sort of art and be the same person as far as I can tell. He reminds me of another great unique artist, Syd Barrett. I have no idea how harmful his Syzzurup is, I just hope it doesn't kill him and leave the world with another brilliant casualty. He is definitely an "out there", bizarre person, and who knows what he'd be doing if he didn't find a creative outlet. I find him completely fascinating and I was moved by at least a couple of his pieces. I don't care for the p***y and drugs stuff, and I don't know that he really does either, but he sure knows how to apply them to his art. The guy is just a bottomless creative force, and I think it's great that he has an audience. I will definitely try to stay informed about his career.

When going into a documentary about Lil' Wayne, one of America's most popular rappers today, it wasn't at all surprising to see that most of the people at the premiere, even though it was at Sundance, were mostly in the age range of about 15-25. And it was probably a good thing too, because if you're not a fan of rap or hip-hop, and you're not really sure who Lil' Wayne is, then this movie is definitely not for you. If you don't like Lil' Wayne then this movie certainly won't change your mind. In fact, it will probably only make you hate him more. But if you do like him, then this is definitely a movie worth seeing.The film basically follows the life of Wayne for several months, capturing concert footage, interviews, recordings, and everything in between. And the everything in between usually includes smoking large quantities of pot and constantly drinking cough syrup mixed with A&W. While I certainly enjoyed the footage of watching him spit, the concerts, and all the good music that goes along with it, it was hard for me to really care about Wayne. Not that this was the fault of the filmmakers, but rather Wayne himself constantly says and does things that are incredibly arrogant, self-centered, and naive. From blaming George Bush for Hurricane Katrina (he suggests that it should be called Hurricane George), to sporting his ridiculous amounts of diamond studded bling, to saying that he doesn't care at all what anyone thinks, to wearing his robe which says "The Greatest Rapper," it's hard to care about someone who seems so wrapped up in himself.But it's hard to deny a lot of the creativity that has earned Wayne his fame. Last year, he recorded over 250 songs. For Wayne, it's a necessity to take his mic with him everywhere, just in case he gets an idea or needs to let a song flow out, he has it with him, as he never writes down his lyrics. He just turns the mic on and starts rapping. The footage of this is great, and the director managed to get a lot of personal insight into Wayne's life. Wayne's daughter also made several appearances in the film, and she was very cute, but it felt like the director was trying to inspire sympathy by adding her in. And none of the footage even showed the two of them together, so we never really get to see if he's actually a good father or not. Wayne is also very contradictory at times, saying that alcohol is bad for you and that he never drinks it, but then openly supports cocaine and ecstasy. The film also tended to get a bit repetitive, but for the most part it was fun to watch. So overall, if you enjoy Lil' Waynes music, then i would recommend seeing this to get some insight into his life, but otherwise the movie might seem like a more in-depth version of MTV Cribs, in which you can either envy or be disgusted by the excesses of Lil' Wayne.