EMINEM AND OSCAR? - If you've been ignoring or simply refusing to believe the buzz surrounding rapper Eminem and his upcoming movie 8 Mile, well, it's time to hop on board the hype train. In his report yesterday from the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), where 8 Mile debuted, Movie Poop Shoot's Jeffrey Wells praised the first-time actor's portrayal: "Is Eminem's performance as good as tipsters have been claiming? He's better than good -- he's got the kind of natural, unforced charisma that makes you want to study him every moment he's on-screen. But the movie doesn't give him a wide range of emotions -- he mostly plays either angry and guarded, or guarded and angry -- or ask him to dig deeply within and reveal the inner needy child, so the likelihood of acting awards isn’t all that high." Roger Ebert similarly assessed Eminem's performance, though with considerably less glowing prose, in his midterm report on the 27th annual TIFF: "Eminem emerges from the film as a grungy, sympathetic proletarian, although in his next film he could stand to lighten up a little." The movie is based on Eminem's own rough upbringing and ultimate escape from a lower-middle class section of Detroit; the title refers to the road that divides the black part of Detroit from the white suburbs. Eminem's alter ego is named Jimmy Smith (a.k.a "Rabbit"), and the movie starts with him moving back into his destructive mother's (Kim Basinger) trailer. Wells says the movie "rigorously avoids those emotional, spirit-lifting plot turns that movies about kids with musical talent have been known to resort to – i.e., ending up with a record contract, winning the heart of a girl who worships him, etc." I'll be honest, I was initially skeptical about this movie when I first heard about it six months ago or so. Not being a huge fan of Eminem's music, I wasn't all that excited about seeing him act. And what about Curtis "L.A. Confidential-Wonder Boys" Hanson opting to direct? It seemed to me a terrible career move at the time. Then something interesting happened -- I saw the first trailer, and, frankly, it blew me away. (Judging the book after reading a few pages and not from the cover, what a novel idea?) Eminem's acting (for what a few glimpses in a trailer are worth) seemed solid, and the overall tone was gritty and unflinching. It also featured one of the best uses of a song in a trailer -- "Cleaning Out My Closet," a track off Eminem's new album that is also his latest single. It's one of the darkest, unsparingly angry articulations of childhood anger I've ever heard -- and it's catchy to boot. Imagine Sylvia Plath recording a rap album with Dr. Dre as her producer. The second trailer only encouraged my enthusiasm for 8 Mile. It focuses more attention on Jimmy's musical talents than the first one, and showcases an even better track called "Lose Yourself," which will be featured on the movie's soundtrack. 8 Mile opens November 8 and also stars Brittany Murphy and Mekhi Phifer.

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