Menace II Society (DVD)

Well another day and another review, this one is actually on a film that I watched when I was a lot younger. Having an older brother who was always interested in rap and hip hop, we occasionally watched the odd gangster film here and their. This review is on the 1993 film Menace to Society, directed by Allen and Albert Hughes. Now I have many friends who hate these types of films, the argument being it's to violent, degrading, racists and just plain stupid. However, for me these films give a reel understanding of what it must be like on the streets of some of the toughest neighbourhoods in America. What the struggle for young kids is and how temptation can cost you ...  Read the complete review

The premise to Menace II Society is pretty much identical to that of Boyz N' the Hood: one guy talks shit about some other guy's mother, gets capped, then a bunch of bigger, badder American Americans serve justice via the bullets of their UZIs, and so on and so on. The Hughes brothers' 1993 picture portrays a vicious circle of violence within the black community, and how absurdly difficult it is for the youth to overcome it. ("This is the truth. This is what's real.") And there's no doubt this has been an influential picture, since being widely imitated in video games like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and various skits on Hip-Hop ...  Read the complete review

Introduction ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Menace II Society first reached our screens back in 1993. Written and directed by the Hughes Brothers, it was a taste of life in the hood and how it affects the people who live there. The film centres around Kane and his boy O-DOG. Kane has just graduated high school with his diploma while O-DOG, well nobody knows. It follows the two friends through one summer Watts LA, with all the mess they get into. Why I Enjoyed The Film ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I enjoyed the film because it was real. The characters in the film played their parts extremely well, Kane knowing he's doing wrong but ...  Read the complete review

Menace 2 Society is an awesome film. Set in Watts, L.A. it follows a lad called Caine through his summer holiday. He narrates the whole film himself. It starts off with him and his friend, O-Dogg, going into a shop to go into buy some beers, but Caine comes out with 'accessorry to murder and theft of money'. His friend O-Dogg shot the shop owner for talkin about his mama. Caines mum and dad are both dead - his dad was shot and his mum od'd on heroin - so he now lives with his grandparents. Having just graduated, he goes to a party with his cousin and then they move onto another one. On the way there though they become the ...  Read the complete review

There is something deeply satisfying about 'Menace2Society' which I just can pin point. The story line is quite vague and there in no real message or subtext, I can't really work out what the film is trying to say, it doesn't have any politics which you would expect from a 'ghetto' movie, but it is still overwhelmingly enjoyable. If you want guns, violence and general Hollywood action type stuff its apealling, if you're into films with a bit more substance its also appealing. The films sountrack is superb featuring all the classics from the rap greats which adds a booming sountrack to the pumping narrative. I reccomend it for watching ...  Read the complete review