You should recall 50 Cent's 10-picture, $200 million agreement with George Furla's Hedge Fund Film Partners via his Cheetah Vision Films production company. 

Announced today, via press release, Lionsgate and Grindstone Entertainment Group have renewed their film slate deal with Emmet/Furla and Cheetah Vision Films for an additional 10 films, expanding their overall relationship.

Cheetah Vision Films is essentially a partnership between 50 Cent and Randall Emmett; George Furla's Hedge Fund Film Partners obviously belongs to Furla; however, Emmett and Furla also have a separate banner they both run called Emmett/Furla Films.

Grindstone Entertainment/Lionsgate release the films.

Got all that?

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jun 7, 2012, 2012 -- Partnership Has Produced A String of Successful Features; Crime Thriller EMPIRE STATE, Starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson And Liam Hemsworth, Is Next Film Slated For Release

Lionsgate LGF +0.47% and its Grindstone Entertainment Group and Emmett/Furla Films, a prolific producer of filmed entertainment featuring some of the leading actors and filmmakers in the industry today, have renewed their slate deal for another 10 films and expanded their overall relationship, the companies announced today.

The Grindstone collaboration with Emmett/Furla and Cheetah Vision has generated a string of successful features starring notable A list actors, including: the thriller SET UP, starring Bruce Willis, Ryan Phillippe and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson; the crime drama FREELANCERS, starring Robert DeNiro and Forrest Whitaker; the high octane FIRE WITH FIRE, starring Willis, Josh Duhamel, Rosario Dawson and Vincent D'Onofrio; and the serial killer thriller THE FROZEN GROUND, starring Nicolas Cage and John Cusack. The next film slated for release from Grindstone's partnership with Emmett/Furla is the crime thriller EMPIRE STATE, starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, THE HUNGER GAMES' Liam Hemsworth and Emma Roberts.

"Grindstone has been an important supplier of content for our filmed entertainment business in recent years, and their pipeline of commercially exciting, quality films from Emmett/Furla has been a key element of their success," said Lionsgate Co-Chief Operating Officer and Motion Picture Group President Steve Beeks. "Grindstone's partnership with Emmett/Furla is based on successful film distribution models that have achieved a consistent level of profitability and established Grindstone as an important brand in filmed entertainment."

"Our partnership with Emmett/Furla is on a roll, and we're delighted to extend our agreement for another 10 films," said Grindstone President Barry Brooker. "Randall Emmett and George Furla are among the most prolific producers of films in the world today, and they combine a strong financial sensibility and a natural eye for great filmmaking. The Emmett/Furla name is recognizable among audiences worldwide as a reliable source of exciting and entertaining films and is trusted by our distribution partners as a brand that consistently meets expectations and delivers results."

"We have partnered with the Lionsgate family on films for more than 10 years, and we're thrilled to see our partnership continue to grow with their success," said Emmett/Furla's Randall Emmett and George Furla. "Lionsgate is one of the most exciting, innovative and entrepreneurial entertainment companies in the world, and we're delighted to bring our longstanding relationship with Steve Beeks, Barry Brooker and the rest of the Lionsgate team to the next level."

Emmett/Furla has partnered with Lionsgate on such theatrical films as RAMBO, WONDERLAND, NARC and A LOVE SONG FOR BOBBY LONG, and they are producing the action thriller THE TOMB, starring Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, for nationwide theatrical release by the Lionsgate family next year.

The deal was negotiated by Beeks for Lionsgate, Brooker and Stan Wertlieb for Grindstone and Emmett for Emmett/Furla.

Since it was announced that Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson had launched his own film company 2 or 3 years ago,Cheetah Vision, I've been casually watching to see what kind of work this new venture would yield. Throw in the10-picture, $200 million agreement his company has with George Furla's Hedge Fund Film Partners, and, well, we had to start paying closer attention to the man and his films sooner or later. 

I do it so that you don't have to :)

But seriously, as I said in an earlier post, no matter what we might think of him or his films, we can't ignore what's happening here; well, I guess you guys could, but it's not quite the same for the site. You could always skip over posts about 50 Cent if you don't care.

As the title of this post says, I'll do my best to sort through Fiddy's oeuvre for those of you who are curious; emphasis on the words "breezing through."

The first title under the Cheetah Vision (CV) banner was something called Before I Self Destruct, which was included in his 2009 album release (didn't catch that).

This, I believe was the second CV feature project - the 2010 crime drama titled Caught In The Crossfire, which stars Chris Klein, Adam Rodriguez, and Fiddy himself (albeit in a smaller role than I expected, although pivotal) - a film I watched last night.

I'll skip the foreplay and get right to the grind. Expect these kinds of Twitterized reviews ;)

So, how was it? Well, not bad actually! Or maybe my low expectations were simply met. But really, there was actually enough suspense to keep me mostly engaged for a lot of the film, despite its flaws.

This same script in the hands of say, Michael Mann in the director's chair (I have Heat on my mind), and a higher caliber group of actors, would actually make for a worthwhile watch; it'll more than likely have made it to theaters, as opposed to being the straight-to-dvd release it currently is.

Alas, it isn't Michael Mann (nor Martin Scorsese a la The Departed) behind the camera; and instead of say, comparable young-uns, like Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, or even Christian Bale, we're given Klein, Rodriguez and Jackson - certainly not world-class dramatic thespians, but, each does his job earnestly here (maybe a little too much so), and I wasn't entirely distracted by their performance choices.

It's a crime drama, with police corruption at its center; nothing we haven't seen before, certainly, and this doesn't necessarily introduce us to any radical new ideas; but I don't think it's trying to.

The setup is pretty straightforward - cop gets killed in what looks like a manipulated bust; other cops vow to avenge his death, at any cost; however, several Q&A sessions, and further investigations later, uncover that the killing of the cop may have indeed been an inside job. Dun... dun... dun... duuuuun!

But why?

The unraveling of the truth is what takes up the majority of the film's running time. The answer in the end may surprise you; but if your brain works like mine while watching movies, there's a good chance that you'll figure it all out before it's over, or at least, it'll be on your short list of possibilities.

Is it a mind-blowing piece of work? Obviously not; but, as I said, it's not trying to be, and it's really not a bad flick. It actually does feel like there's a, uh, brain behind Caught In The Crossfire, for whatever that's worth.

It had potential, but in more experienced hands; but, In the end, I'd say my expectations were met; however I wouldn't be in a rush to see it again anytime soon.

Up next will be Gun, which he co-starred in with Val Kilmer; Jessy Terrero (Soul Plane directed it). When I see it, of course, I'll post another Twitterized review here.

Trailer for Caught In The Crossfire below: 

Movie Trailer 50 Cent Caught In The Crossfire by seelteck