2017 Blind Spot Series: Boyz in the Hood

-

What I knew going in: I had seen parts of this film before, but never in order.

 We follow three boys in inner city Los Angeles. There's Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr.), who is raised by his father "Furious" (Laurence Fishburne) to have a strong sense of character and his friends, half brothers Ricky (Morris Chestnut) and Darren (Ice Cube) who are taking two very different paths. 

 For all the times I managed to catch this film on TV, I never realized that it actually started with our three leads as children. Another one of the many reasons I love the Blind Spot Series. 

 Boyz in the Hood still feels very relevant today with its commentary on racism and violence. It's well paced and even though you know something awful is likely going to happen, that's not the point. The violence in that place and time was predictable and that's the saddest thing of all. 

 Fishburne was the standout to me. Furious' name seems like it would come from what lies beneath. He's a very steady character, intimidating, and gives you the instant feeling that you do not want to disappoint him. Gooding, Cube, and Chesnut all do a good job with their roles as well, even if their characters aren't always likable. 

 Recommended: Yes

 Grade: B

 Memorable Quote: "Any fool with a dick can make a baby, but only a real man can raise his children." - Furious Styles (Laurence Fishburne)  

Comments

  1. BirgitJuly 18, 2017 at 8:21 AM

    I have never really wanted to see this film especially since I would always hear rap crap with it...which you can tell, I hate. Your review does truly make me want to see it

    ReplyDelete
  2. thevoid99July 18, 2017 at 1:31 PM

    It is a great film as it definitely has that air of reality of what goes on in the hood as I think the best performances in the film are Fishburne and Cube. I love that line Furious says about being a man.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 18, 2017 at 3:01 PM

      Yes! It was my favorite. It stuck with me throughout.

      Delete
  3. DellJuly 18, 2017 at 10:06 PM

    I absolutely love this movie. So happy you enjoyed it. Fishburne owns the screen every time he appears on it, so I fully agree he is the standout. And THAT line. So much packed into it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. keith71_98July 22, 2017 at 10:00 AM

    And that name...Furious Styles. Gotta love it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Alex WithrowJuly 25, 2017 at 3:38 PM

    One of my favorite films of all time. You're right, sadly, it's still so relevant today. I cannot believe a 22 year old wrote and directed this movie. That's just crazy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 26, 2017 at 8:19 AM

      I love it when young directors/writers do things like this. It's amazing, and he looked so mad when he lost that Best Director Oscar.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by, let's talk movies!
(comments are moderated to reduce spam)

Popular posts from this blog

Random Ramblings: The Radio Flyer Conundrum

-
Image
Recently, I was talking to someone about who I thought were the best child actors when I was also a child.  Two that really stood out to me were Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazello, and one film those two were in together was called Radio Flyer.  Then I was reminded about the uniqueness of this film. Instead of reviewing the film, I wanted to have an open discussion about the ending. It deals with a tough issue; child abuse. What I’ve noticed is the way that the film ends is interpreted many different ways, and the filmmakers never came forward to say what was right and wrong. I’m interested in hearing everyone’s opinions on it. How did you interpret the ending? Obviously spoiler alerts will follow.. For those of you who haven’t seen the film, the basic premise is this: Two young boys, Mikey (Wood) and Bobby (Mazello) move in with their single mother and her boyfriend, who refers to himself as ‘The King’. It doesn’t take long for The King to start physically abusing ...
Read more

Indie Gems: Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

-
Image
Passionate about your profession? I had never heard of this film until it ended up on one of Jason's favorite horror movie lists around Halloween. It immediately sounded interesting to me, so of course I threw it in my Netflix queue. (and if I'm just now watching it after adding it around Halloween, you know how ridiculous my queue is) Taylor (Angela Goethals) is a journalist who, along with a film crew decides to follow around a serial killer named Leslie Vernon. (Nathan Baesel) He plans on doing the typical slasher thing - getting a bunch of drunk teens in an abandoned house and knocking them off one by one. He gets advice from a retired serial killer, Eugene (Scott Wilson) and is threatened by a man who's on to him, Doc Holloran (Robert Englund) Taylor and crew are there capturing it all. Leslie Vernon is fucking hilarious to start with, and clearly very passionate about what he does. He tells Taylor all of his secrets and can barely contain his excitemen...
Read more

My Favorite Movie Youtube Channels

-
Image
Starting around 2018, I started watching Youtube for more than just movie trailers or music videos whenever a new one dropped. Now I'm in full blown subscription mode and don't bat an eyelash at watching a Youtube video that's over an hour long. I watch Youtube for a few different categories of content, but one of them that I love most is movie/TV essays and commentary, and that's what I'm going to talk about today. Below is a list of my favorite movie related Youtube channels. Let me know if you're familiar with them too, or if you have any you'd like to recommend to me.  Double Toasted - I'm honestly surprised this channel isn't bigger. I first came across Korey and Martin when they reviewed War for the Planet of the Apes a few months before it hit theaters and I thought they were hysterical. While their full length videos stream on Twitch, they often upload their movie reviews and commentary on youtube and they're always hilarious. They've...
Read more