Menace to Society or Boyz in the Hood: Which is the Better Movie?

I love ‘hood classics’ and both Menace II Society and Boyz n the Hood fit the bill.  If you are unfamiliar with ‘hood classics,’ see the following: Juice, New Jack City, Paid in Full, among other great movies.  In my opinion, ‘hood classics’ tell important stories about inner city life in various ghettos across the country.  By ghetto, I mean an impoverished, crime ridden neighborhood.  Which movie is better?  I will attempt to solve that question based on the following: (1) Plot, (2) Acting, and (3) Favorite scene.

Menace II Society is a movie about a group of young, inner city friends growing up Los Angeles during the turbulent, violent 1990’s.  The movie follows the intertwined lives of the friends as they finish high school.  Some of the group members planned to go to college, while others planned to stay in their neighborhoods.  Other members, still, planned to leave California and start their lives anew elsewhere.  Some were successful in their quests, while others were not so lucky. 

Boyz n the Hood is another 1990’s movie chronicling the lives of a group of teenage friends from South Central,Los Angeles.  The friends had different perspectives on life and how it should be lived.  The one constant fact among the friends seemed to be that each person understood how prevelant discrimination  was during the 1990’s.  The movie even touches on police brutality and intra-race discrimination.  Again, some members experienced success, while others were devoured by the mean streets of South Central, Los Angeles.

The plots in both movies are really good, but I have to give the edge to Boys n the Hood.

Menace II Society: 7/10

Boyz n the Hood: 9/10

Of the two movies, Menace II Society employed the least inexperienced cast.  That said, I think the Menace cast did an excellent job.. Larenz Tate played O-Dog, and I think he absolutely owned his performance.  He is an underrated actor, but he has yet to land that breakthrough performance that can catapult his career to the next level.  This role was a long way from his role in Inkwell, but he managed to pull it off with flying colors.  MC Eight also did an excellent job portraying his role as A-Wax.  Ironically, or maybe not ironically, MC Eight is a former gang member and  an older hip hop artist.  He is an OG in reality, and I think that authenticity made his performance that much more believable.  Tyrin Turner played the role of Caine, who was a man torn between the street life and a life with beautiful Ronnie, played by Jada Pinkett.  He is another actor who has not been able to land roles in big time movies.  His character in Belly is memorable because of that ridiculous wig he wore.  In Menace, his character represents what happens when people “live by the gun.”  This tragic role has been played out on the big screen in so many movies including: Scarface, Carlito’s Way, Goodfellas, New Jack City and so many more great movies.  Caine is my favorite character in the movie.

Boyz n the Hood had the more well known, polished cast.  Cuba Gooding Jr. played Tre Styles who represented a guy who grew up in ‘the hood,’, but wanted more for himself than the hood could offer.  He was blessed in the sense that he had a strong father who kept him on the right track. Furious Styles, played by Laurence Fishburne, represented the educated man who still lives in the hood, not because he has to, but because he believes he can make a difference in his community.  He taught Tre how to become a man in an environment filled with gang violence, police brutality and overt racial discrimination. Angela Bassett played Reva Styles, who was Tre’s mother who was educated, sophisticated and loving.  She made the hard decision of allowing Tre move in with Furious as he was becoming a teenager because she could not “teach him how to be a man.”  She is one of my favorite characters as well.  Ricky is played by Morris Chestnut and he was Tre’s best friend and big time high school football star.  His character represents a good guy who dies in the hood because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  That happens too often (See Trayvon Martin).  My favorite character, however, is Doughboy who was played by Ice Cube.  Doughboy represents that person who lives and breathes the hood.  He is my favorite character because he was also probably the most loyal, caring person in the movie.  As hard as he was on Ricky, he protected him in his own way and he did what he believed had to be done to avenge his death.

The acting in both movies is good, but I give the edge to the Boyz n the Hood cast.

Menace II Society: 8/10

Boyz n the Hood: 9/10

  

Both movies have great scenes, and it was very difficult to choose just one from each movie.  That said, here is my attempt:

From Menace II Society.  This scene symbolizes the point of the movie when Caine's life changed forever.

From Boyz in the Hood.  This scene foreshadowed one of the most famous, and saddest scenes in recent history.  RICKY!!!!!!!!

Both movies have many great scenes.  I think this a tie.

Menace II Society: 9/10

Boyz n the Hood: 9/10

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End of Watch: Different Perspective on a Movie about Police Officers

This past weekend, I decided to go to the movies and see End of Watch.  To be completely honest, I was not even sure what the movie was about.  But, based on the previews, it appeared to be an action packed movie.  If you have not seen the movie, but plan to do so, continue reading with caution.  I will not spoil the ending, but I will discuss certain scenes from the movie.        

The movie is about the friendship of two police officers who are assigned to protect and serve in the mean streets of South Central, Los Angeles.  Officers Brian Taylor (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) and Mike Zavalo (played by Michael Pena) are the officers’ lives chronicled in the movie.  David Ayer directed End of Watch and he also directed Training Day.  As much as I enjoyed Training Day, End of Watch is completely different on almost every level.  The Los Angeles Police Department (“LAPD) has been the subject of many scandals over the course of U.S. history.  LAPD officers were implicated in the Rodney King beating, the O.J. Simpson trial, and even in the murders and arrests of countless other innocent people.  That said, I am not surprised the LAPD is portrayed negatively on the big screen.  This movie does not take that view.  It shows two officers who are men of high moral standards.

This movie is not a typical police “buddy” movie like Lethal Weapon, Bad Boys, Beverly Hills Cop, Die Hard, 48 Hours and The Last Boyscout.  Those movies are good, but each movie is not realistic in terms of the partnership between the police officers.  This movie showed us how Taylor and Zavalo were friends and also why they were close.  I think both officers represent the norm, in that they are honest, hard working, non-corrupt professionals.  They both had differences, but their core values were very much aligned.  Both officers loved their families, believed in doing the right thing (not the easy thing), would risk life and limb to save a person and really believed in the concept of brotherhood.  Some people claim to be brothers, but never treat each other that way.  These two cops “talked the talk” and “walked the walk.” 

This movie made me think about police officers in a way I never had done before.  It increased my appreciation for the tough job police officers have to do.  It made me appreciate police officers’ spouses, who know that their wife/husband can be killed in the line of duty any given day.  Sometimes people become frustrated with police officers.  How many people get mad at police officers when they get speeding tickets for going five miles over the speed limit?  We often ask ourselves the rhetorical question: Don’t you have something better to do than give me a speeding ticket?!  Why don’t you fight “real crime” and leave me alone!?  Bad police officers are often portrayed by the media and movie directors.  But, just as attorneys are often portrayed as dishonest people, I believe an overwhelming majority of police officers are good, honest people.

Regardless of how you feel about police officers, it would be very difficult to deny that they have an extremely difficult job.  They are charged with protecting and serving the public from the bad element that certainly exists.  Also, they do this job, while being grossly underpaid and underappreciated.  David Ayer does an excellent job bringing together the “other side.”  He truly showed how police officers can be heroes.  It kind of made me think of the way firefighters are often portrayed as fearless, selfless heroes.  Good police officers should be seen in the same light.

My favorite scene from the movie occurred when Zavalo and Taylor responded to an emergency call about a house being on fire.  They arrived at the house, after being on duty all day, and saw a woman running from her burning house.  She was screaming and crying hysterically that her children were still in the house.  Instinctively, Zavalo charges into the house, with Taylor following behind him.  The scene was particularly powerful because Zavalo’s wife was pregnant with their first child.  He did not think about himself, or family.  He was only interested in doing the right thing and saving the children.  Zavalo and Taylor climbed the stairs to the childrens' bedroom, as the house was becoming even more engulfed by flames.  They grabbed the children from the burning house, but as soon as they brought the kids outside, the mother said that her daughter was still inside the burning house.  Again, Zavato and Taylor darted back into the burning house, which by that time, was literally a ticking time bomb.  They saved the child, but narrowly escaped death.  The scene embodied the selflessness with which many police officers perform their jobs.  It is truly a powerful scene.      

This movie discussed many serious topics, including human trafficking.  In one scene, the officers found themselves following a lead that led them to a house full of slaves being trafficked for money.  It also discussed the problem with drug trafficking and the impact South American drug cartels have on the drug trade in the United States.  There are even a few scenes in the movie that discussed the importance of the union of marriage and discouraged infidelity.

If you have not seen this movie, you should definitely check out.        

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