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Planet B-Boy

Retire the breakdance, already
By GERALD PEARY  |  April 2, 2008
2.0 2.0 Stars
Planet_Bboy2_inside
Planet B-Boy

Breakdancing seemed over and done in the ’80s, but hip-hop culture has pumped it alive, combining the original head-spinning street maves with rap, gymnastics, kung fu, MTV, and Broadway. Since 1990 in Germany, there’s been an annual Battle of the Year featuring B-boy squads from countries around the globe. Benson Lee’s documentary centers on the 1995 contest. Among the participants: South Koreans, French, Japanese, and, from the USA, Knucklehead Zoo, who hail from Las Vegas. Planet-B-Boy adheres to the formula of countless competition films: backstage interviews, pinches of biography of various contestants, snippets of dancing. The formulaic approach gets wearying, and the breakdancing all starts to look tediously alike, to the point where one wonders why this retro dance shouldn’t be retired, along with the pony, the jerk, the Charleston, and the cakewalk. 101 minutes | Kendall Square
Related: Taking the B-boys to School, Breaking it down, Stamping grounds, More more >
  Topics: Reviews , Entertainment, Hip-Hop and Rap, Music,  More more >
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Comments
Re: Planet B-Boy
This review does not do this documentary justice. First off, I have to say I am not a b-boy or b-girl or dancer at all. But I LOVED this documentary. It may be "formulaic" but it's still a terrific documentary that is highly entertaining. The soundtrack, cinematography, and storyline are brilliant. By the end, you'll be rooting for at least one of the teams, high emotional level.  I have seen two doc's recently about b-boying, one being Planet B-Boy, and the other was Inside the Circle. If you enjoyed Planet B-Boy, you'll also like Inside the Circle. The documentary focuses mainly on a couple b-boy's in Austin, TX rather than b-boy's all over the world.  You can find more info about Inside the Circe at http://www.insidethecircle.comEveryone should see both of these documentaries, you won't regret it!!!
By lindzspinz on 12/31/2008 at 2:30:36

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