Once Upon a Time in the Hood (2004)

Powerful

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This movie made Teenage Space Vampires look like Citizen Kane. To those that have actually seen Teenage Space Vampires, it was really that bad. The producer's strategy of hiring line cooks from the Taco Bell on Crenshaw & Slauson to star in the movie obviously backfired. I watched this movie for a good laugh, knowing it was going to be terrible. Unfortunately, it was bad beyond laughter, leaving me praying for a power outage. You're better of alphabetizing your spice rack than sitting through this train wreck of a film. For those who reviewed this movie positively, I must have seen a different version than you. This movie did not contain one interesting or sequential plot line. It now claims the title of the worst movie I have ever seen in my life. Congratulations!

My taste in movies in not exactly what one would call mainstream, for the most part. However, I do appreciate the fact that there is no principle in which horrible films cannot also be awesome films, for the fact that they transcend bad cinema into the realm of "great bad cinema." The prime example of this would be Point Break. A movie with an utterly ridiculous premise that spirals into absurdity as the film progresses, but does so in such a fantastic manner that it is easily one of the best horrible films ever. Anyway, this was the premise under which I decided to watch this movie, hoping that it had potential to be so bad that it was horribly good. That did not happen. It was simply awful. First, what was the plot of this movie?It's as if the screen writer just decided to throw as many shitty and pointless ideas as possible out there, filmed all of these ideas, and then cut them together and released a "film." Secondly, I must applaud the casting director for finding the dregs of the minority acting community, and casting them ALL in a single film. Not one of these people could act, and generally, that hurts a film. Beyond these points, the major plot "twist" at the end of the film was not only ludicrous, but it was a total disconnect from the movie. Suddenly the blame for everything just gets shifted to one certain character for the reason of......oh, right, no reason given. Furthermore, could the effects have been any cheesier? Short answer: No. Finally, the ultimate question, and point is this: who cares? I can't believe anyone could honestly feel a connection to these characters, or even care even to say that the hated them. Indifference pretty much seems like the appropriate attitude. Unless you are some magical combination of an age old even to handle the violence, and the mental capacity of a raisin, this movie doesn't even approach anything close to tolerable.

I really liked this film. It is set in the gang infested neighbourhood nearby Chicago's Little Village. Raul's destiny as a member of the Latin Crowns street gang seems predetermined, more out of circumstance rather than making the choice to be a gang banger. Raul (Mauricio Mesa) seems to simply be following in the footsteps of his older brother Freddy.The film moved along at a steady pace. It kept you hooked and there was never a moment that I felt bored. In particular the lasting images that I have of the film are that of blood and gore and tormented teenage souls.Raul's relationship in the film is touching because it is so pure and seemedly unaffected from his gang banging lifestyle, where women are their lifestyle are treated merely as sex objects (a gang bang in exchange for coke is one of the scenes that comes to mind.In summary I say watch it. There is the blossoming love story, betrayal, deceit and lots of shooting. Ingredients for any good film.

This is one of the most surprising urban films I've seen so far. The quality of the acting, the production design and the cinematography of this film is truly impressive for a low budget film. Mr. Frausto, I congratulate you on your achievement as an independent filmmaker. This film really pulled me into the world of gang life on the streets of Chicago. It observes you into the story completely and it doesn't let you go. It is raw and it surely felt real.That's the power of this film. It reminded me of "Mean Streets". Also, I have to mention the original music. It was superb. The hip-hop music was right on target. I truly recommend it. It's a must see film!