Poetic Justice: BOYZ N THE HOOD writer-director Singleton suffers the
sophomore jinx in this ambitious but fatally pretentious saga of a melancholy
South Central L. A. beautician (Jackson), who has retreated from the world after
her boyfriend's murder; mailman Shakur attempts to break through to her, with
predictable results. Implausibly, the poetry this otherwise ordinary woman
composes actually is the work of Maya Angelou (who appears onscreen as Aunt
June). Jackson is OK in her screen debut.
Higher Learning: Provocative drama of life at a big university where problems
tend to break down along racial and sexual lines. Epps plays a young black
athlete searching for direction and, sometimes blindly, raging at injustice.
Fishburne is a political science professor who tries to help him see the world as
it is. Credible, well-acted film goes awry when writer-director Singleton steers it
toward melodrama, and foregoes student relations to focus on a group of
extremist skinheads.
Boyz N the Hood: Sober, thoughtful look at life in the black section of South
Central L. A. A divorced father strives to raise his son with values--and steer him
away from the ignorance and aimlessness that has led to an epidemic of
senseless violence in the neighborhood. Impressive debut for 23-year-old
writer-director Singleton; longish, and not always on-the-money, but overall quite
potent and effective. Singleton has a bit part as a mailman.