The Hughes brothers' debut is an exhilarating urban nightmare.
Menace II Society (1993)
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Reviews Counted:34
Fresh:29
Rotten:5
Average Rating:7.4/10
Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: When Caine and O-Dog, two handsome boyz-from-the-hood, breeze into a Korean grocery, the anxious grocer and his watchful wife find their imposing presence troubling. Resentful of the sharp-eyed... When Caine and O-Dog, two handsome boyz-from-the-hood, breeze into a Korean grocery, the anxious grocer and his watchful wife find their imposing presence troubling. Resentful of the sharp-eyed survelliance and air of suspicion around them, Caine and O-Dog yell epithets at the mom-and-pop owners. Angered by the shouting match and a remark about his mother, trigger-happy O-Dog shoots the grocers. On his way out, Caine grabs the videotape from the store's security camera. Back in the 'hood, O-Dog makes a boastful ritual of showing the tape to friends who find his recklessness funnier than amateur night at the Apollo. But it's just a matter of time before the cops catch up with Caine and O-Dog, especially since Caine's fingerprints were on the 40-ounce bottle he dropped at the scene of the crime. [More]
Starring: Tyrin Turner, Jada Pinkett, Bill Duke, Charles S. Dutton
Starring: Tyrin Turner, Jada Pinkett, Bill Duke, Charles S. Dutton, Vonte Sweet, Larenz Tate, Glenn Plummer, Christopher M. Brown
Director: Allen Hughes, Albert Hughes
Director: Allen Hughes, Albert Hughes
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Reviews for Menace II Society
An impressive first feature from the 21-year-old twin brother directing team of Albert and Allen Hughes.
A more honest and better made movie than any of the other group of films made about black neighborhoods in the early 90's.
To be sure, it's in an influential and powerful story -- but it comes off as considerably more shallow than the reality it claims to portray.
It's maddening and enlivening. It's brilliant and tacky. It's funny and horrifying. It will gratify the worst elements in the crowd; it will engage the very best.
The most stunning feature debut in the new African-American cinema, even more so than Boyz N the Hood to which the coming-of age feature bears thematic resemblance.
This film is the mourning of the death of promise. Each of the young people who is struck down is one more nail in the coffin of the American Dream.
It won't be a fun time -- at least not in the conventional sense -- but you'll sit through a ninety-seven minute odyssey that won't be quickly forgotten.
In the end, it's about life and death, and all the choices we make in between.
Don't let the silly styling of the title put you off; this is a powerful, convincing, and terrifying look at teenage crime in contemporary Watts.
An important American film, in the way it's both artistically achieved and representative of a reality.
Fierce, violent and searing in its observation, the film makes previous excursions seem like a stroll through the park.
Latest News for Menace II Society
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November 02, 2006:
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| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 67% 67% | Public Enemies |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 95% 95% | The Cove |
| 85% 85% | World's Greatest Dad |
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