“Went into the store just to get a beer. Came out an accessory to murder and armed robbery. It’s funny like that in the hood sometimes. You never knew what was gonna happen, or when. After that I knew it was gonna be a long summer.” – Caine
Number of Times Seen – 1 (26 Aug 2015)
Brief Synopsis – A teenager growing up in the ghetto tries to better his life and escape the life of crime.
My Take on it – This is a movie I had heard a bit about over the years, but never had much of an interest to see it until I saw that both Siskel and Ebert had this as part of their top ten for 1993.
I must admit that this movie is in no way easy to watch because it is both gripping and explicit in the way it tells its story of growing up in the slums of LA in the 80’s and early 90’s.
The images of this movie are sometimes horrific to watch and I’m not sure if I would ever watch it again because of the way it is presented to us in a very realistic fashion.
The way that the camera shoots (pun intended) many of the scenes is done so well that you truly feel that you are experiencing what the characters are feeling.
I can’t say that I enjoyed watching this because if even a part of it is truly how things were back then, it’s scary to think about life for people growing up in these kind of situations.
I really liked the way it was told via narration which helps you to get a better understanding of it all as the movie moves along.
Bottom Line – Very gripping and explicit movie about the horrors of growing up in the LA slums. Liked the way it was told thru narration and via very realistic looking and hard hitting shots. It’s actually scary how true to life this is suppose to be, at least for ghetto teens in the 90’s. Recommended!
MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Production was shut down for 2 days when members of the Hacienda Bloods gang shot up the set in Crip territory (From IMDB)
Rating – Globe Worthy
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MovieRob 
Yes! I love this movie. Thanks for reviewing it. It’s definitely edgy. I saw it when it first came out as young teen and enjoyed it more than Boyz N The Hood. Singleton’s Boyz was Disney in comparison, while Hughes Bros.’ Menace is like Scorsese.
Great acting and directing makes this well worth the watch. Unfortunately, this movie is still just as relevant, with impoverished dangerous communities still existing. While gritty and realistic, this is a must see. It helps if you like movies like Goodfellas and Scarface.
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Tnx Dan. Appreciate ur thoughts on it. I actually liked BITH a bit more but I do see what u mean
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