Genres

Visitors Review

jadavis-ca 2013-06-15 17:06:21

Shockingly Perfect

This movie is so good, I remember specifically the first time I saw it.I was 17 years old, hanging out with friends, doing the things 17 yearolds and the characters in the movie do, in a friend's backyard. On ourway out to a movie theater, I ran up to the entertainment room to grabmy jacket. As I entered, I heard the first line of "Menace" from atelevision which had been left on. In the 30 seconds it took me to puton my jacket, I was drawn into the flick.As the first scene came to a close, my buddies came looking for me. Itdidn't take long for them to realize that we wouldn't be goinganywhere.At such an age this movie shocked and excited me. It left me in awe andon the edge of tears.In my early twenties (and after I'd seen it several times), the moviemade me laugh out loud. The clever dialog, even in tenuous situations,is genius. Cheeseburgers, anyone?Now in my late twenties, I consider this a classic. Take your othergang movies and throw them out the window. Boyz n the Hood is the onlyone that comes close and that takes itself way too seriously.Everything else is just an imitation of this perfectly woven tale.As long as you can tolerate the violence and not-so-clean language,check this one out. It's simply brilliant.

KJMill25 2013-06-15 02:25:58

9 out of 10

Ok let me be honest. When I saw this in the theatre I wasn't impressed.But I couldn't stop going back to see it. And then it dawned on me thatthis movie is indeed a great movie.Compared to all of the other "hood" movies this is the best. It containsamessage that indeed hits home. Your actions will come back to haunt you.Tyrin Turner and Larenze Tate played great and believable roles.Of course everyone won't get this movie. But for those who do watch it Ihope you get the message.

random_guy85 2013-06-15 06:40:40

man enough to take a life but not man enough to take care of one

-Growing up in the Watts section of California two childhood friendsboth grow up in the wrong lifestyle surrounded by drug dealers andmurderers. they grow up to fall into that same horrible life with oneof them going to the extreme by getting involved in everything fromdrugs to killing innocent people. the other friend tries his best tobetter his life by finishing high school and trying to quit the hardlife but he makes really bad choices and in the dog eat dog world ofthe LA gang war one can't afford to make slip ups like that. hisbiggest mistake and what becomes his downfall is getting a girlpregnant and refusing to take responsibility for it.-At the risk of enraging the Scorsese fans this movie has a lot ofsimilarities to "Goodfellas" in the sense that it's about a person whothinks the grass is greener as a criminal than leading a straight life.Both movies briefly show the rewards of that lifestyle but also greatlyshows just how wrong it is and why it is a bad choice to make in thefirst place. This movie is in no shape as great as "Goodfellas" buttheir themes are very similar so that's what I mean by thesimilarities. The Hughes brothers must have grown in either the wrongpart of the world or be really close to people who did because eventhough the movie's fictional it feels real. Stuff like that happenedback then and sadly it still happens now which is why a lot of us getupset at these gangster rappers that glorify that kind of life. Being athug is not a good thing nor is being a hustler. 50 cent bragging aboutit will only lead some poor kid to think that if his idol made it inthe thug world then so can he. Kinda makes one ashamed to actually like50 cent back in the day.-The movie is a lot better than "Boyz in the Hood" in a lot of respectbecause this one actually goes a lot deeper than that movie ever wantedto. Sure Singleton did a fantastic job with that but when you stack thetwo against each other there's no question which is more superior. Thebiggest difference between both movies for me is the story and thismovie was just better written, although that's not been fair toSingleton since the Hughes brothers had help with this one where asSingleton wrote his by himself.-the movie's main character is Caine who is played wonderfully by TyrinTurner and whiles he does a good job the one that really steals theshow is Larenz Tate as O-Dog whose probably my 3rd favorite moviecharacter of all time behind Bill the Butcher and Gandalf the Grey. Thecharacter is an evil a**hole but he's so much fun to watch on thescreen that you forget you're suppose to hate the guy. It really showsthe range that Tate can play because if you see him in his other rolesthey are world's apart from the hardened gangster he plays in thismovie. If anything people should give this a movie a rental just tocheck him out in it, he is that good in it. Jada Pinkett Smith also hasa part in the movie as a love interest but what I love about hercharacter is how she's not the clichéd love interest that thinks lovecan change the world. She grew in this hardened world and knows all towell how it can destroy people's life so she like Caine also wants tomake something better of her life. Sam Jackson has a minor role playingthe bad ass with the afro as usual but mostly it's Larenz Tate thattakes the cake in this movie. It's only a couple of hours long but itdoes make you feel like you just lead the life and death of a gangmember. we see everything from how they interact to in the case of"O-Dog" how proud they are of themselves when they kill someone andeven make tapes of it to show people which in the end comes back tobite him the bum.-I won't recommend the movie to anyone and dare people to watch attheir discretion but despite the subject manner it does have moments oftenderness and even some fall of your couch laughing moments courtesyof Larenz Tate.

sixerzpac3 2013-06-14 23:00:26

You can't just leave the ghetto..

:::SPOILER WARNING:::One of the few ghetto films to be funny, sad, and violent all at the sametime. Kevin 'O-Dog' [Larenz Tate] and Caine 'Kaydee' Lawson [Tyrin Turner]are 2 hustlers growing up in California. One day while going into a storefor liquor, the Chinese owners start following them around like they'regoing to steal something. After buying the liquor, one of the Chineseownersmakes a comment about O-Dog's mom. What's the price? Death. Both of theChinese owners are killed by O-Dog and he takes the store tape so therewasno proof. Kaydee was in shock.Kaydee grew up around drugs. His father, Tat Lawson [Samuel L. Jackson],wasa dealer. He saw his dad murder someone at the age of 10. His dad waslaterkilled in a drug deal gone bad. Kaydee went to live with hisgrandparents.Kaydee and his cousin Harold are out cruising one night and they're carjacked. Harold dies. O-Dog and Kaydee strike revenge on the killers bykilling them at a burger joint. It was the first time Kaydee hadmurdered.Kaydee falls in love with Ronnie [Jada Pinkett Smith]. She has a 5 yearoldson who reminds Kaydee of himself when he was young. Ronnie gets a job inAtlanta and he agrees to go with her. Pernell [Glenn Plummer] is thefather.However, he is in jail for life with no chance of parole. Pernell was likeafather figure to Kaydee when he was young. He told Kaydee to go to Atlantawith Ronnie and keep his son out of what they had become. But, before hefound out about the Atlanta trip, Kaydee has sex with Llena [Erin LeshawnWiley]. When she tells him she's pregnant, he says it's nothis.Kaydee and his friend Chauncy [Clifton Powell] get a in a fight and Kaydeebeats him up pretty good because Chauncy was harassing Ronnie at a party.For revenge, Chauncy sends in the tape of the murder at the liquor storethat O-Dog had been showing everyone.When Llena's cousin [Samuel Monroe Jr], confronts Kaydee about Llena beingpregnant, he beats him up saying it's not his. Just when Kaydee and Ronnieare getting ready to move, DRIVE BY! Kaydee is shot dead by Llena's cousinfor revenge. O-Dog is sent to jail because of the tape.This story shows you that "you can't just leave the ghetto." You can'tignore what's going around you. You need to be in a gang or affiliatedwithdrugs to live. If you don't belong with anyone, they will all be afteryou.They aren't scum. They're trying to make a living so they can get out oftheghetto. But by the time Kaydee was ready to leave, it was too late. He haddone to many things to turn around and fix, and he had done too manythingsto move on. -Pat9/10

2013-06-10 09:27:57

Great movie, even greater on Blu Ray

This review is from: Menace II Society [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) This is one of my all time favorite movies from the 90's / high school. I was surprised to see it released on Blu Ray so soon. I had the standard DVD which didnt give it justice in my Blu Ray player. Great picture, great sound. Highly recommend this movie on Blu Ray.

2013-06-09 22:40:10

Great movie !

This movie was on hit! The director did a wonderful job portraying the hood in the projects of Watts, Calif. The harsh reality of growing up around violence and drugs was displayed in this movie by the actors great, seeing this movie when it first came out was like so hype because I'm from Los Angeles and when it was over it was like D@*%! Basically because that's how it is in the hood,so many young black men get caught up in that life and even though it's aviodable it's inevitable. This movie really hit me (even though I was young when it came out 14) because I saw so many brothers I know end up how Caine did. This is a must see movie, go rent it if you haven't seen it!

uffe-5 2013-06-01 03:13:24

Violent, brutal, most realistic and interesting ghetto-film. Very good.

-Sorry for a few spelling mistakesIt's hard not to find 'Menace II Society' interesting, even entertaining away. The Hughes brothers has captured the ghetto-life perfect, and the movie getsmore and more frightening for every minute that's ticking away. I must say Iwas impressed by this movie. Acting was more than ok, all from Turner andPinkett to memorable cameos from Samuel L. Jackson, Charles S. Dutton and80's B-actor Bill Duke. This film is definitly not recommended for those whocan't stand harsh language, blood and violence. Maybe it's understoodright?The movies moral is quite clear, and it might get just a little bit slow inthe turns but still it is worth the rating soon below.MENACE II SOCIETY suprised me. It was way better than I've ever couldimagine it to be. And the life in the ghetto actually entertained me. Idon't know if that's good or bad. An extra plus is the music. That gangsta & hip hop tunes matches in just asperfect as it you've might suspect. Dialuoge is nothing special, but theopening scene is a 90's classic. And the ending is powerful. When thecredits starts to roll, you're not really recovered after the shock from aconfession of the true ending that hits you in the face just before thecredits shows. Don't miss it. 9/10

gatyngaj 2013-05-31 22:09:58

There IS hope, you just have to work for it

There is always one light of up in just about any given film, with afatal flaw that bogs the quality of it down. In Menace II Society there*is* none. Or maybe the actors or the direction could have saved it,but nothing, and I mean nothing, can overshadow the storyline. It'sabsolutely dreadful.The film centers on the milestones and many idiotic mistakes of Caine,the main character who lives in a predominantly black area thatunfortunately is inhabited by equally morally deprived residents. Ifyou haven't guessed what his fate is from the very beginning, he endsup getting shot, deserving every bullet that penetrates his body.Seriously. Caine, his friend, and nearly all the people in his 'hoodminus the little children and Ronnie appear to have no moralswhatsoever. They are all caught in a vacuum of moral depravity. Becauseof this, Caine continuously takes every golden chance to improve hislife and throws it away until he finally gets what was coming in theend. Being arrested and even having a baby has done nothing to make himstep back and think before he finds himself throwing swings and makingyet another fatal action. Because he and many of the characters are socorrupted, there is absolutely no sympathy radiating from me.The film is not in any way "powerful." Maybe in a bizarre world wherethe more violence there is in a film, the better the message comesacross. If you look past the scenes that are supposed to have a strongmessage (for instance, the end where Caine is shot at least eighttimes), you realize that this boy had EVERY bullet coming! I don'tbelieve it takes that many mistakes to realize that one has to clean uphis act. The story had some potential, but if the writers injected justa bit of morality into the main character, and directed him so that hewas more of a dynamic character, then I would have had sympathy forhim. Halfway through the film, there's no other action to take but tothrow in the towel on Caine; the boy will never learn.I decided to review this years after it was released, after variousattempts to appreciate this film for its critical acclaim and itsattempt to show that throwing away every chance life gives you isdeadly. After years of trying to see what made this film so popular, Istill don't know why some people even put it a mark above Boyz N TheHood. I still say that the graphic violence, which appears almostglamorized in this film, tricked people into thinking Menace was up anotch from Boyz.I stand by my opinion, this is an overrated dud.

Jakealope 2013-05-30 20:30:39

Like Clockwork Orange

it avoids the "we're victims of the man" attitude that most mainstreamblaxploitation films spout as some sort of social conscious to paperover the action, this one presents the character and action raw. Itreminds me of clockwork orange where you are invited into the private,sick world of the "protagonist", You kind of like him, in spite of thefact that he and his friends are despicable and self centered louts ofno redeeming social value. It doesn't fall for the usualsocio-rationalizations; these guys didn't have it so bad and theydeliberately turned their backs on society and morality. The worsething about their lives are the role models, most of them despicablebut his kind Xtian grandparents, friends and sensible girlfriend make afutile attempt to get him to turn his life around. The men chose thewrong path and were willing to face the consequences. The action wasintense and senseless; murders over stupid insults or petty theft. EvenKayDee, goes from bad to worse after being the first in his family tograduate high school, as a functionally illiterate drug dealer though.He does a small stretch in county jails then carjacks a man for hiscar, jewelry and then makes him buy him a burger, at gunpoint. Ole Dog,his murderous og friend, was played by Larenz Tate with a fine fury.The characters are presented as human beings, evil ones, notstereotypes, ones you could sort of care about but never excuse oradmire. That alone makes it worth watching.

hi 2013-05-30 06:38:08

bomb

this movie, the people, the story changed the world as we know it. Everything you see today evolve around this movie from: jokes , music, movies, people to everything you can think of.

2013-05-22 18:03:22

ANOTHER WELL-DONE HOOD MOVIE

THIS MOVIE IS ABOUT A YOUNG MAN [TYRIN TURNER] WHO LIVES IN THE WATTS SECTION OF CALIFORNIA. DESPITE THE FACT THAT HE KNOWS RIGHT FROM WRONG, HE IS TOO CAUGHT UP IN THE GHETTO LIFE TO GET OUT. DARK, VIOLENT, AND EXTREMELY PROFANE LOOK ON LIFE IN THE GHETTO. VERY STRONG PERFORMANCES FROM EERYONE INVOLVED. THE HUGHES BROTHERS MADE THIS FILM AS A RESPONSE TO ''BOYZ N THE HOOD'', WHICH THEY THOUGHT WAS SOFT AND MORALISTIC. WHILE IT JUST CAN'T COMPARE TO ''BOYZ N THE HOOD'', IT'S A GREAT MOVIE IN ITS OWN WAY. IT REALLY SHOWS THE VIEWER WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES COULD BE FOR TRYING TO LIVE THE THUG'S LIFE. THIS MOVIE FEATURES APPEARANCES BY MC EIHT, YO YO, TOO SHORT, AND POOH-MAN. GET THIS ONE NOW IF YOU DON'T ALREADY HAVE IT!

kasso187 2013-05-22 01:21:30

best movie ever

This is the best gangster-genre movie I have ever seen. I came across it while researching gangster-based films in my film class in high school . I watched this movie along with, Boyz N The Hood, Scarface, and The Godfather. Those are all great movies, but something about Menace II Society got me hooked. Definately an A+ movie along with the others I listed.

2013-05-18 10:29:10

IT WAS OFF THE HOOK.

THIS SHOW SHOWS HOW THINGS IN THE HOOD REALLY ARE. LIFE IN GHETO. NON-STOP MIND BLOWING ACTION FROM BEGINING TO END.

Dawayne 2013-05-17 14:53:38

THE BEST MOVIE

I like the movie because when u see it and u live in the ghetto you will know how to survive the killings by doing the oppisite of what o-dog and Kane did but the acting was alsome

2013-05-16 22:47:05

This is my favorite movie ever!!!!!

man this movie is like one of the best ever, well to me.. i mean it like keeps it gangsta and real and its kind of funny... i know all the words.... its been my favorite movie since like 8 and im 15 now and i still love it... ya gots to love it for real... watch it, it has a good message to it too...

MadBluntz 2013-05-16 20:47:33

One of the greatest movies about the ghetto

Rated R for strong violence,drug use and language QuebecRating:16+(should be 13+) Canadian Home Video Rating:R(should be 18A)I had the opportunity of seeing Menace 2 Society yesterday night onIFC.I have heard about the film before but I never actually saw it.Ihave seen Boyz In The Hood and it is hard to choose which film is thebetter one.Boyz In The Hood is more of a dramatic film with more of aplot while Menace 2 Society is more of an action film.Both films aregreat and I recommend either renting or buying both films.Back in 1993this film was considered very violent.Its tame by today's standardshowever.The film starts off with Caine and his crazy friend O-Dog goinginto a store for a beer.However the owners of the store are afraid ofthem and one of them says something bad about O-Dog's mother.Then O-Dogkills both of them,robs the store and takes the tape.We briefly seesome clips of the 1965 Watts Riots.Then we are taken to the late 1970'swhere Caine is a little boy.His father is a drug dealer and his mom isa heroin addict.Caine witnesses his father killing another man.Now wesee the present day.The year is 1993.Caine has just graduated from highschool and the film shows his long summer.The film basically shows usthe life of a teenager living in the ghetto.If you forget about thegraphic violence and profanity you will see that the film has a goodmoral message.Unfortunately most people do not see this message whenwatching the film and think that the film glorifies gang life.Thismovie is in my Top 20 favorites.Menace 2 Society is an excellent movieand I recommend it.Runtime:97min 10/10

2013-04-27 00:59:48

Menace II Society

Menace II Society is the story of Caine (Tyrin Turner) a young man living in Watts, Los Angeles. From the very beginning of the movie we follow Caine with an early flashback to his childhood to start . Caines narrative voice is found all throughout this movie. Things start off violent, and never really stop, from beginning to end there is bloodshed, but theres alot more than just violence in this movie, Caine lives a day to day existence, and its only in the end that he realizes whats important to him- Ronnie (Jada Pinkett), her son, his family and living. Other main character is Caines best friend 0-Dog (Larenz Tate) who is young, black and doesnt [care], his presence in movie is really a powerful one, and his lack of conscience contrasts with Caines. Movie also stars Vonte Sweet, Samuel L. Jackson and Glenn Plummer. Produced by Darin Scott & the Hughes Brothers. Tyrin Turner a still virtually unknown actor is excellent in this movie, and in my opinion deserves alot more credit than he has gotten.To say this movie is just powerful is an understatment, and to compare it to Boyz N the Hood is wrong too. There are some similarities, but Menace II Society is alot darker, and wasnt made to please the masses. Maybe thats why I like it so much, because the story is realistic and the makers dont play down the violence to get mainstream appeal. Would like to talk about some of key scenes but you dont do that when writing a review for people who havnt seen the movie, all I will say is this movie is definetly worth watching, and if your like me and really enjoy it, its worth having in the collection.

kenyada 2013-04-26 13:39:48

MY FAVORITE MOVIE

OH MY GOD I LOVE DIS MOVIE..........I REALLY LOVED TYRIN TURNER.....HE IS SO FINE MANN IF I COULD SEE HIM IN REAL LIFE MANN I SWEAR I WOULD FALL OUT....HE PLAYED THA PART AS CAINE... I REALLY LOVED WHEN HE WAS IN HIS CAR PLAYIN COMPUTER LOVE DATS MY FAVORITE SONG.MANN IF MY WISH COME TRUE I COULDNT HAVE ASK FOR NOTHING ELSE BETTER........WELL TO BE IN A MOVIE WITH HIM............I LOVE YOU TYRIN TURNER I ALWAYS WILL..

2013-04-24 10:42:00

Great for Kids

This is a good movie for any parents with exceptionally rowdy children especially boys .......... it shows how a hard head can really make for a soft bottom....... A thumbs up from Quick !

2013-04-23 16:58:55

Menace II Society

I felt that this movie was very educational, becuase it showed the harsh realities of not using your own good judgement,and having negative people in your life can do to your own personal growth. I felt this film reached a lot of young guys, black guys espceially, becuase it allows them to see how stupid trying to be the badest thing out there does to you. After veiwing this movie it made me a much stronger believer in the saying that what comes around goes around, becuase even though cain was choosing now to make the right decisions in his life he had done so much in his past that he could not go on.