TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

SoftInloveRox Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

SincereFinest disgusting, overrated, pointless

vchimpanzee I am a white man over the age of 50, so this film wasn't really made for me. That doesn't mean there wasn't anything here, and I could see that this was a quality production.This film had occasional laughs, which was good because it could get very depressing at times.I really liked the family reunion, where the movie's main characters pretended to be part of the family just to get some free food and found themselves being accepted rather than questioned. I got the impression they might come back someday just because they liked being with these people. This is also where Maya Angelou delivered an elegant performance. Yes, this film was worthy of her, and she added something to it.As for her poetry, not my style. Janet Jackson did a great job reading it offscreen, but again, not by sort of thing. For many people, this will be a wonderful part of the movie.One of my favorite parts of the film was the scene at the gas station/convenience store, one of the few places I heard recorded music that appealed to me (Tammy Wynette's "Stand by Your Man").Actually, a lot of the background music was smooth jazz with violins or synthesizers that pass for violins. It was actually kind of pleasant compared to the rap and other styles the main characters liked.Family was important here. Although Jackson's character didn't seem to have anyone except her cat, at least she had friends and a job. I did like the cat and its friends, in the one scene.Chicago was probably my favorite character. He was funny and likable, most of the time.Janet Jackson has a nice smile and she can have a nice personality when it is called for. Sometimes here, she had to be depressed or angry. That's fine. She did it well.And this is my third or fourth time seeing the talents of 2Pac, who was taken away too soon. Although it was not necessarily his finest work, he did a good job here.I mostly know Regina King from "227". Has it really been that long? She was so much older even here, but she did a good job. Beautiful mountains and magnificent bridges added to the scenery. Some scenes, and not necessarily pleasant ones, let us enjoy these longer.These people live hard lives and have tragedy all around them. That's why this is not an easy movie to watch. But having family around means a lot.It may not be for you, but if you need to get outside your comfort zone, this will be a worthwhile experience.

nadia-31 I read the other review and simply had to comment on it. This was a great movie. Perhaps not filled with action. But it takes the poetic point of view and happily surprises you. It's in my DVD - shelf at home. Janet is showing a great acting and so is Tupac. My boyfriend weren't that crazy about it, so I've come to realize that it take a special kind of person to want to see and understand the movie at it's fullest. Since i write poetry in my spare time maybe that explains my passion about this movie. In all, I think you should rent it if the review at the back cover tempt you, it's pretty much what you get.

bob the moo Justice is in love, sadly in Compton things happen and her boyfriend Markell is killed at a drive in. Since then she has worn black and stayed away from men and just written her poems. However when she is taken on a road trip by her friend Iesha she finds she has been set up with her boyfriend's friend Lucky. At first the two don't get on but over the course of the trip the four fight, make up and learn.Singleton was always going o have a hard time with that `difficult second film' but at least he had honourable intentions. This sees him step away from the easy ghetto flick and goes for something deeper. And it is a good try but it's deeply flawed. The overuse of swearing may be necessary and realistic but it is overdone here and spoils many scenes – he could have toned it down a bit and kept realism. Also the plot is very broken down – we have a trip that never seems to get dark but has too much in it for just one day surely? Also each stop is supposed to show us another aspect of `the black experience' other than the protagonists ghetto existence. However this doesn't work as it makes the film feel aimless and episodic.The main failing is sadly, Janet Jackson. On one hand it's not her fault – the poems are those of a more mature woman (Angelou – who plays aunt June) and they don't fit with her. The clearest example of this is watching her stare into space, rubbing her chest as she `writes' `Phenomenal Woman'. But also she is really poor – she doesn't have the range to make the character believable and the rest of this falls as a result. Continuing the musical theme Tupac is a talent sadly missed. He shines here and, although the swearing etc isn't hard for him he does the more emotional stuff much, much better than Jackson. I can't sing his praises enough – for me he made this watchable when I was getting bored of it. Other musicians include Tone Loc and Q-Tip…..was this some sort of label push? Regina King is poor – her constant talking like a Jerry Springer guest etc is really tiresome and her `partner' Torry is just as bad – whose idea was it to have he constantly brushing his hair for no reason? Was it the only way we would get that he's vain?I will give credit to Singleton for trying. I especially liked the way he brings the `black urban experience' into contrast with the white idea of cities in movies in the first 5 minutes. We open with shots of a lit up and pretty cityscape of LA with Gerswin-esque music playing a la Woody Allen's Manhattan. However this image of how Allen views his city is revealed to be a movie in a drive through in Compton – this, he's saying, is the black reality. A very clever start I thought (and props for Billy Zane and Lori Petty for agreeing to be in yet another bad movie – even if it's a fake one!)Overall I wanted to like this as it was a brave step for Singleton. However the plot needed more work – and the whole ` black experience' stops could have been removed or toned down to just be `stops' without the agenda. However the casting of Jackson sounded time on this project – she really can't even get near the ability needed for this role – with a better actress, who knows?

frank56 I applaud John Singleton for being brave enough to film "Poetic Justice" -- it's a real triumph in presenting a story that looks beyond Hollywood's usual stereotypes of urban youth. If you are looking for a typical gang-bangin' shoot em up angry urban film...look elsewhere, because that genre is miles away from Singleton's storytelling. This film has precisely what black audiences say they are looking for - depth, real characters with a number of real layers....and yet people say they cannot get into this film. I say watch it and simply feel the messages being conveyed through the hearts of the characters. Tupac Shakur's performance saddens my heart....because he had so much potential as an actor as proven with his performance here. I was fortunate enough to actually meet and compliment him on this performance, which is at turns skillful and all his own. He had that quality that film actors envy in that the camera loved him. Janet Jackson gives a skilled performance as well, and the two have a natural chemistry that works here. This film is worth watching...it's one of my favorites.