 2 Fast 2 Furious 2003  PG-13, 100 min.
Genre: Action
Director: John Singleton
Cast: Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, Eva Mendes, Cole Hauser, Ludacris, Thom Barry, James Remar, Devon Aoki, Amaury Nolasco, Michael Ealy, Jin Auyeung, Edward Finley
Now making a living in the street racing community, former Miami cop Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) joins forces with another ex-cop, Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), to go undercover in a sting operation. Their job is to catch shady businessman Carter Verone (Cole Hauser) in his laundering of drug money schemes. Fast money and fast talk–but most of this movie is fast cars.
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Baby Boy 2001  R, 128 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: John Singleton
Cast: Tyrese Gibson, Taraji P. Henson, Omar Gooding, Tamara Bass, Candy Brown Houston, Anthony Johnson, Ving Rhames, Angell Conwell, Kareem Grimes, Tracey Cherelle Jones
Complex characters are presented in this companion piece to "Boyz N the Hood." Tyrese Gibson takes on the role of man-child Jody, an African-American, who still lives with his mother despite fathering two babies by two different women: Yvette (Taraji P. Henson) and Peanut (Tamara Bass). Events take a turn when Yvette's boyfriend, Melvin (Ving Rhames), moves in, and Yvette decides she has had enough of Jody's "baby boy" ways.
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 Boyz N the Hood 1991  R, 111 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: John Singleton
Cast: Cuba Gooding Jr., Morris Chestnut, Ice Cube, Laurence Fishburne, Nia Long, Tyra Ferrell, Angela Bassett, Lexie Bigham, Hudhail Al-Amir, Lloyd Avery II, Mia Bell, Kenneth A. Brown, Nicole Brown, Ceal, Desi Arnez Hines II
South-central Los Angeles in the 1980s and 1990s is a war zone. This film attempts to show that there are choices in life through the story of Ricky Baker (Morris Chestnut) who sees an escape from the neighborhood via a football scholarship.
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Four Brothers 2005  R, 108 min.
Genre: Action / Drama
Director: John Singleton
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, Andre 3000, Garrett Hedlund, Terrence Howard, Josh Charles, Sofia Vergara, Fionnula Flanagan, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Taraji P. Henson, Barry Shabaka Henley, Kenneth Welsh
After their foster mother (Fionnula Flanagan) was killed in a grocery store, grown sons Bobby (Mark Wahlberg), Angel (Tyrese), Jeremiah (Andre 3000), and Jack (Garrett Hedlund) reunite for her funeral and decide to investigate the murder and hunt down the killer themselves.
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Higher Learning 1995 R, 135 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: John Singleton
Cast: Omar Epps, Kristy Swanson, Ice Cube, Jennifer Connelly, Tyra Banks, Michael Rapaport, Laurence Fishburne, Jason Wiles, Cole Hauser, Bradford English, Regina King, Busta Rhymes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kari Wuhrer, Randall Batinkoff
The Black vs. White, men vs. women issues are exploited in this film about college students in the 1970s. Freshman Malik Williams (Omar Epps) is confronted with conflicting views of senior Fudge (Ice Cube), his Black Professor Maurice Phipps (Laurence Fishburne), and his new girlfriend Deja (Tyra Banks) who becomes his tutor. Meanwhile, after naive Kristen Connor (Kristy Swanson) suffers a date rape, she becomes involved with lesbian Taryn (Jennifer Connelly). And then there is Remy (Michael Rapaport), a confused young man, who joins local skinheads carrying out violent acts. The stories intertwine in this lesson about hypocrisy in institutions of higher learning.
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 Poetic Justice 1993 R, 110 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: John Singleton
Cast: Janet Jackson, Tupac Shakur, Tyra Ferrell, Regina King, Joe Torry, Roger Guenveur Smith, Billy Zane, Khandi Alexander, Maya Angelou, Lori Petty, Michael Rapaport, Tone Loc
After her boyfriend is murdered, young Justice (Janet Jackson) becomes an L.A. hairdresser and retreats into the world of poetry. Later, she meets postal worker Lucky (Tupac Shakur) and must decide if she is ready to fall in love again. The poetry in this film is that of Maya Angelou who assumes the role in this film of Aunt Jane.
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Rosewood 1997 R, 142 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: John Singleton
Cast: Jon Voight, Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, Bruce McGill, Loren Dean, Esther Rolle, Robert Patrick, Michael Rooker, Akosua Busia, Paul Benjamin
The recreation of the tragic 1922 race riots in Rosewood, Florida, goes beyond the actual event and insightfully uncovers the story of how racial hatred takes years to teach, and–once learned–it has the potential of leading to violence.
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 Shaft 2000 R, 98 min.
Genre: Action / Drama / Thriller
Director: John Singleton
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Vanessa Williams, Jeffrey Wright, Christian Bale, Dan Hedaya, Busta Rhymes, Toni Collette, Richard Roundtree, Josef Sommer, Philip Bosco, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Lynne Thigpen, Pat Hingle, Lee Tergesen, Daniel von Gargen
Shaft is back–this time Samuel L. Jackson takes on the title role, and all the action of the original 1971 film returns. Throughout his investigations, Shaft receives advice from his Uncle John Shaft (Richard Roundtree who starred as the original "Shaft"). Shaft arrests Walter Wade, Jr. (Christian Bale) for killing a young Black student, but Walter flees the country to avoid prosecution. Two years later, Wade secretly returns, and Shaft arrests him. With help from his wealthy father, Walter Wade, Sr. (Philip Bosco), Walter posts bail and has a mission: get drug king Peoples Hernandez (Jeffrey Wright) to kill Shaft and find Diane Palmieri (Toni Collette) who was the only witness to the murder. Meanwhile, with Hernandez closing in, an angry Shaft, with help from police colleague Carmen (Vanessa Williams), tracks down Diane only to learn that there is more to Diane than meets the eye.
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| 1. 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
2. Baby Boy (2001)
3. Boyz N the Hood (1991)
4. Four Brothers (2005)
5. Higher Learning (1995)
6. Poetic Justice (1993)
7. Rosewood (1997)
8. Shaft (2000)
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