Rating: 
Summary: Dark AND Funky
Review: Larenz Tate plays Anthony Curtis. In the 1960's, he ships off to Vietnam full of idealism, only to return to "The World" as a bleery eyed and completely discouraged vet. He's seen man's-inhumanity et al., and now finds himself jobless and surrounded by need. He's not really looking for a piece of the supposed American dream, as much as he is looking for some food for the hungry mouths of his family. Hooking up with a group that includes some friends, some more ambitious types, and some white-boy revolutionaries who know a thing or two about explosives, Curtis is embroiled in a hijacking of an armored car loaded with "Dead Presidents" - the Presidents being Jackson and Grant, with a few Franklins tossed on top. It's no surprise that nothing goes right (why change Curtis's luck when his bad fortunes are more entertaining?) The Hughes Brothers sketch their elaborate explosions to the tune of late 60's funk but are never ruled by the sound - it's uplifting but never forgetful of their inevitable doom. (If the Hughes' "Menace II Society" was an answer to "Boys in the Hood", then "Dead" is like a "Soul Train" come-back to the 1950's gospel of Spike Lee's movies.) Like a slow-motion car-wreck, you know what's coming but can't tear yourself away. I love the cinematography of bleak, post-Vietnam NY, where it's always winter, and cops in their 1970's uniforms and six-guns blaze away like each one think's he's the last man standing. Tate's character is maybe the only hole in this movie - he goes from being wide-eyed to dead-eyed, but never seems to connect with the violence that brings him down. Instead, the flick relies on Kieth David (Platoon) as Kirby, and Chris Tucker (that's right, Chris Tucker) as a junkie on his way out - a role that seems more poignant now.
Rating: 
Summary: Gloom, despair, and agony on me!
Review: Aside from the early scenes in 1960s Harlem, this film is unrelentingly grim. You may wanna take some valium after seeing this horror show. Tate goes to Vietnam and (understandably) faces a blood and guts fest that is unsparingly depeicted to the audience. Nothing left to the imagination here, folks. Then he comes home to nothing but gloom, despair, and agony on me of the worst kind ( a pimp supporting his wife, unemployment, shellshocked flashbacks, misguided Black power revolutionaries, a foiled bank robbery, death of friends, being sent to jail, etc. etc). This ain't the Brady Bunch, folks.Of course, few people rent videos to watch such miserable and wretched commentary. If you want to learn about the Vietnam War or it's effect on civilians, check out a documentary.
Rating:
Summary: Got a little more than I bargained for here...
Review: I rented this movie because it was recommended to me, and I love the Hughes Brothers. I saw it in October of 2001, and I wanted to see a little action that might takemy mind off the news lately (boy, did I get a wrong number there) and be at least mildly entertained. SPOILERS AHEAD, WARNING! Yeah, they definitely mis-marketed this-- it is not a 'heist' movie, or a simple 'action' movie. There is a heist, but only the last half hour of the film (and it's a 2 hour film) is spent on it. It starts out in the late 60's-- I was thinking please God, let this not just be a short prologue and have the whole movie take place in the 60's and 70's, and I got my wish. Tate's character hangs out with his friends, wants to have fun and get laid, and go to Vietnam and 'make a difference' since a local poolhall owner and his father are both vets, he looks up to them. The first 1/3 or so takes place in 1969, shows what a dangerous but fun lifestyle (not to mention, great music and great wardrobe) Tate's character is living it up with his friends (including Chris Tucker, who has more depth than I thought; too bad he's now typecast as the Streetwise Guy who fast-talks his way out of trouble). By the first 15 minutes, I was glad the movie was mis-marketed, because I was enjoying the kind of coming-of-age story and characters. The next 45 minutes or so--there's a great transition talked about in the other reviews, switching from Tate's character (sorry, blanked on the name!) sprinting over fences and backyards after he almost gets caught with his pants down, to him literally dodging bullets in Nam-- are spent showing his tour of duty in Vietnam. Things get ugly there, I mean really gory and disturbing- BIG switch in tone. I feel like all the most gruesome, disturbing moments and scenes from hours of Nam movies were all crammed together, and the 45 minutes or so in this movie still tops them. Do NOT eat while watching this.Just skip the whole segment if you are easily disturbed. All the violence and nightmarish scenes are not just for the sake of being violent, they are essential to the plot, and I'm not complaining (though something tells me I'm in for some really bad dreams tonight) but I was totally unprepared. I'm surprised Fangoria didn't do a story about all the splatter effects. There's twice as much gore as all 3 'Scream' movies put together. We're talking heads chopped off with machetes, said heads carried around by insane soldier as a 'souvenier' (As he was shoving the head into his pack with difficulty, I was thinking that if he was going to start taking souveniers, he should pick a much smaller body part if he wants to get a collection of souveniers going) keeping it around until said head is rotting with maggots, people being blown into smithereens, body parts all over the place, characters with their guts strewn everywhere but still alive, people's genitals chopped off and shoved in their mouths, and this is all **on-camera** and in daylight-- really, really graphic. Tate manages to get through this without developing a serious drug habit or going insane (not an easy task). He comes home after a 4 year tour of duty, so the last third takes place in 1973. He goes back to the old neightborhood to find some unpleasant surprises-- not the least of which is money problems, so that's when he and his surviving buddies- who are not in the greatest mental or financial shape themselves-- start to work out the heist. The movie got the message through without hitting me over the head-- black men fighting a white man's war, coming home and finding things much worse, little respect. The character understandably ends up joining a revoluntionary group. I guess I was dissapointed when he decided his only option was to pull a very ill-advised heist (hmmmm, at least one of the guys in on it hasa serious drug habit, a few of them don't get along, another has totally lost it and just wants to blow up things and people just for the hell of it, could this possibly have a happy ending?) but considering all the atrocious, hideous experiences in Nam (he has very graphic and disturbing nightmares and flashbacks) then coming back to all the depressing [stuff] that he does, I guess I don't blame him for having bad judgement or doing something desperate. Not a cheerful movie. But grim as it was, I was very impressed, especially considering how young the directors were-- they pay homage to other directors but don't rip them off. It is too bad the studios didn't market it to be more of the themes of war, struggle, and survival the movie really focuses on. I'm pretty sure that the Hughs wanted to market it that way, but the racist studio heads took it out of their hands and figured that all audiences expected to see a black cast doing was shooting and robbing people, so they geared it towards that. Too bad, the movie deserves a better campaign and a wider audience. (A note on the DVD-not much in the way of extras:no commentary, deleted scenes, production notes. I think there might have been a trailer, but that was about it. But if you're looking for this DVD to be packed with specal features, you won't find them here.)
Rating:
Summary: Another triumph from the Hughes Brothers!
Review: I consider the Hughes' Brothers first film "Menace II SOciety" to be one of the best films of the 90s. ANd its best actor Larenz Tate comes back to star in the Hughes' second film "Dead Presidents". In "Menace" Tate was spectacular as the 16 year-old trigger-happy killer O-Dog. In "Presidents" he portrays Anthony a plain young black kid who decides to go to Vietnam to become a man. THis film is basically the Hughes' interpretation of the black experience in and after Vietnam. We watch Anthony go to war and become a disciplined and efficient soldier who keeps his mind far away from home just to stay alive. When he comes back to the Bronx he finds that society has moved on without him. His girlfriend has had their daughter and Anthony finds her living in a roach-infested apartment and being supported by a pimp. Anthony is forced to take a low-paying job as a buthcer since he can't find anything else. But Anthony is frustrated by his lack of opportunities. Then some of his war buddies get together and cook up a scheme to rob a bank. The heist is a bloody encounter that leaves two of Anthony's friends dead. And when Anthony tries to escape with the money he is captured and put away..."Dead Presidents" is a well-executed movie, well directed and beautifully acted. Tate in my opinion should be a HUGE star by now. He has incredible charisma and he just makes you care about any character that he portrays. Also, Chris Tucker and Bookeem Woodbine(as two of Anthony's Vietnam buddies) add some solid support to the cast. I won't go so far as to say that this movie is as good as the Hughes' debut but it makes for an interesting and worthwhile sophmore effort.
Rating:
Summary: A powerful film of the 90's
Review: This movie is one of the most powerful films of the 90's because it is so realistic and unique. It's about a man who leaves his girlfriend, goes to Vietnam, then plans a robbery which does not turn out too well. It really shows you how people changed over things and what they can become. At the begining there is a sex scene. It shows them kissing, whispering to each other and it shows her bare foot touching his bare foot. The sex scene isn't why this movie is rated R. It is rated R because of how graphic and realisic the violence is. Go see this movie if you too see something unique.
Rating: 
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: Dead Presidents is one of the best films I have seen in the 90'es. Its brillent the film follows the life of a young man who after high school goes to the vietnum war. (The scenes in vietnum are brillent even better than most war films)After vietnum he comes back home and things fall apart even more than when he was in vietnum. Can't find a job has a kid he just has a really hard time and gets cought up in a armed robbery you will know why when you which the film. This is one of the most under appershated films in the 90'es which you will love it. But a word of Warning the violence in the film is some of the worest I have ever seen and is very strong and graphic this film is for adults only. Warning: This Film Is Rated R for Extremely Graphic Violence Including A Sex Scene,Drug Use,And Strong Language.
Rating:
Summary: Dead Presidents
Review: This is a look at talented actor, Larenz Tate, and an early Chris Tucker. The movie is a reality based drama of African American males returning home from the Vietnam war to poverty and desperation. Well put together and riveting sound track. A must see for baby boomers.
Rating:
Summary: Suggestive but ultimately disappointing
Review: There's a really good movie just behind the surface of this suggestive but ultimately disappointing film. With a richer, more insightful script, this could have been a canonical story - an African-American equivalent of Chinua Achebe's novel "Things Fall Apart". But whatever serious ambition the Hughes Brothers brought to this project is undermined by their (commerically motivated?) overindulgence in violence. Don't get me wrong: the shootings and beatings are the best thing in "Dead Presidents" - authentic-looking and exciting. But by failing to smoothly integrate them into the narrative, they become mere set-pieces - like big dance numbers in a musical. The most telling example of this comes when one person pops up and begins blazing away with an automatic pistol in each hand. Sure, it's a nice visual kick but it instantly makes the character into a cartoon. (As any firearms expert will tell you, *no one* can accurately fire two guns at once.) The H.B.s would have done better to leave that sort of thing to John Woo and worked harder on making us care about their people.
Rating:
Summary: ABSOULTELY SUPERB.
Review: This movie kept me glued in my seat until the final minute,I thought it was so well made,acted and with a top soundtrack to go with it.This movie has it all, war ,a heist,romance,and humor.A fine cast of stars all different to each other the movie has you choosing which one to root for.
Rating:
Summary: Larenz Tate is a genius!!!
Review: Tate breathes life into Anthony Curtis, a well-rounded, young man who decides to become a "man" and go into the military against his parents wishes. He steps over into foreign land to witness unspeakable acts of terror and longing to come back to the "real world." He returns to the Bronx, where life has dealt him a cruel hand. He is out of work, and has mouths to feed, and is struggling to carve out an existence with the only scraps that he was given. When one of his friends talks of robbing a armed truck, loaded with unmarked "dead presidents", the idea explodes into an plan to save themselves. Curtis, Skippy (played by Chris Tucker) Cleon,(played by B Woodbine)Kirby and his other war-buddies decide to pull off a heist of a lifetime. Or so they thought. Things run haywire and the plan fails. This movie was excellent. A little gory, but good to the last scene.
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