DIRECTOR? John Singleton

WRITER? John Singleton

WHO IS IN IT?
Janet Jackson, Tupac Shakur, Regina King, Joe Torry, Tyra Ferrell

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Click Here: Poetic Justice [1993]

DIRECTOR? John Singleton

WRITER? John Singleton

WHO IS IN IT?
Omar Epps, Kristy Swanson, Ice Cube
Michael Rapaport, Tyra Banks, Jennifer Connelly
Laurence Fishburne, Jason Wiles, Busta Rhymes
Regina King, Cole Hause

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Higher Learning is a 1995 action/drama film, starring an ensemble cast. It also featured Tyra Banks‘ first performance in a theatrical film. Laurence Fishburne won an Image Award for “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” for his performance; Ice Cube was also nominated for the award.

The film follows the changing lives of three incoming freshmen at the fictional Columbus University: Malik Williams (Omar Epps), a black track star who struggles with academics; Kristen Connor (Kristy Swanson), a shy and naive girl; and Remy (Michael Rapaport), a lonely and confused man seemingly out of place in his new environment.

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Click Here: Higher Learning [1995]

Life (1999) - Click Here to Watch a LIFE of Laughs

DIRECTOR? Ted Demme

WRITER? Robert Ramsey Matthew Stone

WHO IS IN IT?
Rayford ‘Ray’ Gibson Eddie Murphy
Claude Banks Martin Lawrence
Cookie Anthony Anderson
Jangle Leg Bernie Mac
Can’t-Get-Right Bokeem Woodbine
Sylvia Lisa Nicole Carson
Jake Heavy D
Daisy Sanaa Lathan

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Life is a 1999 comedy-drama film directed by Ted Demme, and starring Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence. The supporting cast includes Obba Babatundé, Bernie Mac, Anthony Anderson, Miguel A. Núñez Jr. and Bokeem Woodbine.

The film’s format is a story being told by an elderly inmate (Babatundé) about two of his friends (Murphy and Lawrence), who are both wrongly convicted of murder and given a life sentence in prison. Life was released in April 1999 and went on to gross over $73 million at the box office.

Life was shot at various locations in California; locations include Locke, CA, Los Angeles, CA, Downey, CA, and Sacramento, CA. Parts of the film were actually shot at a Rockwell Defense Plant in California.

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Click Here: Life [1999]

DIRECTOR? Vondie Curtis-Hall

WRITER? Vondie Curtis-Hall

WHO IS IN IT?
Tupac Shakur, Tim Roth, Thandie Newton

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Click Here: Gridlock’d [1997]

Jason’s Lyric (1994) – Click Here to listen to Lyrics from Jason

DIRECTOR? Doug McHenry

WRITER? Bobby Smith Jr.

WHO IS IN IT?
Allen Payne, Jada Pinkett Smith, Bokeem Woodbine
Anthony ‘Treach’ Criss, Eddie Griffin, Suzzanne Douglass,
Lisa Nicole Carson, Lahmard Tate and Forest Whitaker

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Jason’s Lyric is a 1994 romantic drama film, written by Bobby Smith, Jr., and directed by Doug McHenry. The film marks the directorial debut of McHenry, who co-produced the film with George Jackson. Both Jackson and McHenry have been notably successful as producers with films that include New Jack City.

Jason’s Lyric features an ensemble cast of African American actors that includes Allen Payne, Jada Pinkett Smith, Bokeem Woodbine, Treach, Eddie Griffin, Lahmard Tate, and Forest Whitaker. Set in Houston, Texas, the film is a story about young African American adults learning how to deal with love and maturity.

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Click Here: Jason’s Lyric [1995]

Hoodlum (1997) - Click Here for gang wars, the Italian and Jewish Mafia

DIRECTOR? Bill Duke

WRITER? Chris Brancato

WHO IS IN IT?
Laurence Fishburne, Tim Roth, Andy Garcia
Loretta Devine, Queen Latifah

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Hoodlum is a 1997 crime film that gives a fictionalized account of the gang war between the Italian/Jewish mafia alliance and the black gangsters of Harlem that took place in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The film concentrated on Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson (Laurence Fishburne), Dutch Schultz (Tim Roth), and Lucky Luciano (Andy Garcia).

The film is notable in that it casts Johnson as the ring leader in Schultz’s death, influencing Luciano into committing the crime himself. The accepted viewpoint is quite different: Schultz is believed to have been killed by Murder Inc., a group which is only tangentially related to Luciano, due to his threats towards District Attorney Thomas E. Dewey. Johnson, who freely cooperated with Schultz following his takeover, is not known to have had a hand in his death. While the film also shows Dewey accepting payoffs from the mob, there is no evidence for this, historical or hearsay.

Hoodlum is followed by Ridley Scott’s film American Gangster, which continues the life story of gangster Bumpy Johnson, mainly focusing on the man who eventually took over his operation, Frank Lucas.

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Click Here: Hoodlum [1997]