Rating: Summary: Hoodlum is enlightening Review: A great cast of characters, excellent scenes and Lawrence Fishburne exposes the emotions of a gangster. Just totally amazing in my opinion.
Rating: Summary: Another Great Fishburne Performance! Review: Among other criticisms of this film was that it was a below average gangster flick, well I didn't see it that way. There was a lot of focus on the characters especially Fishburne's character Bumpy Johnson. Of course the movie highlights his rise in Harlem as opposed to Tim Roth's character (can't spell his name). The dialog was well written, I think that people were not ready for a gangster flick set during the era of Lucky Luciano and the Dutchman, involving a significant number of black characters. Yes I think African Americans were doing something during that time period besides wait for Dr.King to have his "dream". Fishburne played a strong character who took his destiny in his own hands and I think that's really what makes this film highly enjoyable to see.
Rating: Summary: Great...But can any body help? Review: Hello all The movie is Just Great but can sombody tell me what was the song that andy garcia was singing or the artist?
Thanks all
Rating: Summary: The Unknown Gangster Review: Hoodlum is based upon the true story of Harlem's most unsung hero. Ellesworth "Bumpy" Johnson was an icon in the Harlems number racket and was a man who helped keep the Italian mobsters from taking over Harlem's underworld sooner than they did. He kept peace between rival Italian gangsters and was well respected by most of them. This man actually lived and Hoodlum portrays an accurate interpretation of his life. I rank it on the same level as the Godfather. It was a well acted and suspensefull movie. It is a must see true story based upon people who actually lived. All gangster film lovers must see this. All people who are interested in the history of Harlem's criminal underworld that kept the people from starving during the Depression must see this movie.
Rating: Summary: FABULOUS SETS, SPARKLING CAST, ORDINARY MOVIE. Review: Hoodlum's sets and costumes are fabulous, the production value is very high, and the movie really conjures up an idea of what life must have been like in 1930s Harlem. I'm no authority, but I wonder if this level of bright sunlit freshness was an accurate depiction of Harlem. The movie gets gorier by the minute, until it draws to a very bloody end. Performances are not bad at all. Tim Roth - an actor I don't usually like - puts in a great performance as the psychotic-racist Dutch Schultz. Andy Garcia is excellent as Lucky Luciano. Vanessa Williams does her jig well. But the one performance that stands out is Fishburne's, very controlled and convincing. The movie is not original after the movies we have been exposed to (good man turns all selfish when he sees the world around him) but it's a pretty decent gangster flick nevertheless if you like this kind of stuff. There's plenty of action -- in all senses of the word.
Rating: Summary: Excellent Movie!!! Review: I just saw this movie last night, and all I can say is wow. All of the actors and actresses did an absolutely wonderful job. As for genre, I'd put this as a cross between Boyz In The Hood/Casino. It's not a rip-off or anything, but the dialogue and characters seem to be cut from the same cloth. This movie is grossly underrated, and deserves to be up there with the likes of Donnie Brasco (another underrated film), and the Untouchables. Really an astounding film.
Rating: Summary: Pleasantly different and original Review: I liked it. This movie stands out as an original in the ganster genre; definitely not a copycat. I thought Andy Garcia was a little weak in his role in this movie(excellent in the Untouchables though), but I easily overlooked that since most everyone else carried their role brilliantly. Vanessa Williams? hmmm, not bad but I think they could have found a better bimbo for the part.
Rating: Summary: AWFULL Review: I love crime movies and this is a disgrace to the genere. It is one of the most un-original, poorly written, and boringly directed movies I have ever seen. I am SHOCKED Tim Roth would ever be a part of this horrible excuse for a gangster movie. Obviously the director was watching the Untouchables and said to himself "This movie is cool, I want to rip it off." Honestly, it shocks me that anyone can say the title of this movie with a straight face. Anyone who likes such movies as Reservoir Dogs, Scar Face, and Goodfellas will be outraged about this film. Anyone else would probably think it was good.
Rating: Summary: A Very Good Movie! Review: I rented and viewed Hoodlum last week and I find the movie very great. It is one of the best movies I have ever seen. It's also very different from the other ganster movies I have seen (which would be "The Untouchables" and "Goodfellas").
Rating: Summary: Below Average Gangster Picture! Review: I was greatly disappointed by this unfocused gangster epic. It had a lot of talent involved; Laurence Fishburne, Tim Roth, Andy Garcia and Vanessa Angel. But the film was simply badly staged and had awful direction. Even the talented cast was underappreciated. Laurence Fishburne, who is a very talented actor as he has shown is in films like `Boyz N' The Hood' and `What's Love Got To Do With It?' and had just recently scored big in as Morpheus in `The Matrix'. But in all those films he was in the hands of good directors and the material was good. In this film he plainly delivers a bad performance that seems all the worse with all that awful dialogue they make him say. Tim Roth is also a very talented actor but boldly ventures into shameless overacting in this film, a very uneven performance but he has a screen presence that is hard to ignore and is really good in some scenes but awful in others. Vanessa Angel is the only person who seems to know that the screenplay is ludicrous and delivers a so-so performance. On the other hand, Andy Garcia delivers a good performance as Lucky Luciano, a bit derivative of his character in `The Godfather Part III' but still he delivers the best performance in the cast and makes the film tolerable. The scenes involving Andy Garcia are the only good ones and the rest of the film is laughable. `Hoodlum' is ambitious but falls short of its ambitions. Basically a Godfather wannabe but set in Harlem, it portrays the rise of `Bumpy' Johnson. Probably the film's biggest flaws are the direction and screenplay, they seem to fake, the dialogue is plain dumb and the direction is awful. Probably the reason I took it like this is because I expected a lot from the film, I saw all the talent involved and expected a good film but instead got mediocre excuse for a gangster film with a dragging pace. If you don't expect much from the film you may find it a tolerable film but I found myself gravely disappointed. From a scale of 1-10 I give this film a 4!
|