Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.
In this movie, we see the world through the eyes of main character Justice (Janet Jackson), a young African-American poet. A mail carrier invites a few friends along for a long overnight delivery run.
Jeff Cole is a recent graduate of the Cincinnati police academy who dreams of working undercover. His wish is granted and through success is given the task of taking down state-wide crack ... See full summary »
Jason and Midget are two young, black teenagers living in Newark,New Jersey, the unofficial car theft capital of the world. Their favourite pastime is that of everybody in their ... See full summary »
Director:
Nick Gomez
Stars:
Shar-Ron Corley,
Gabriel Casseus,
Saul Stein
Follows the lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, dissecting questions of race, relationships, violence, and future prospects.
Director:
John Singleton
Stars:
Cuba Gooding Jr.,
Laurence Fishburne,
Hudhail Al-Amir
Ace is an impressionable young man working for a dry cleaning business. His friend, drug dealer Mitch goes to prison. In an unrelated incident, he finds some cocaine in a pants pocket. Soon, Ace finds himself dealing cocaine for Lulu. Via lucky breaks and solid interpersonal skills, Ace moves to the top of the Harlem drug world. Of course, unfaithful employees and/or rivals conspire to bring about Ace's fall.Written by
Ken Miller <wkmiller704@yahoo.com>
In interviews, Azie Faison Jr., the real life Ace, has repeatedly accused Damon Dash, the film's producer of massively altering and watering down the script for "Paid in Full". According to Faison, the original version presented to Dash was a cautionary anti-drugs tale and social commentary on the destruction drugs have wrought on the black community. Faison has stated that the end result was merely a marketing tool for Dash to promote Cam'Ron a (then) recent arrival to Dash's recording label, Rocafella Records. The rewritten script compresses over 7 years of events into 12 months. Ace is shown becoming a dealer in 1986 but this happened in 1983 after seeing Scarface (1983) and the later events which led to the downfall of all three major characters transpired between late 1989 and 1992. See more »
Goofs
When Mitch and Ace are talking in the red BMW if you look at the background as they are driving by you can see what appears to be a 90s model Ford Explorer and also a second generation Nissan Pathfinder in front of it. See more »
Quotes
Mitch:
A nigga like me man, I love the game. I love the hustle. Man I be feeling like one of them ball player niggas, you know? Like Bird, Magic or something. Yeah you know a nigga got dough, a nigga can leave the league... But if I leave... the fans still gon' love me man? I get love out here in Harlem man, I done sold coke on these streets, man, hash, weed, heroine. As long as niggas is feelin' it, a nigga like me can hustle it. That's my gift in life A... you know?
See more »
Blaze
Written by Melle Mel (as Melvin Glover) & Michael Breunig
(Giant Size Music BMI/Zulu King Ent. BMI/Phoenix Cloak Sounds BMI)
Performed by Melle Mel
Courtesy of ACM Records See more »
I was looking forward to this film..the debut of one of the 3 geniuses of music video who released films this year...Michel Gondry (Human Nature), Kevin Bray (All About the Benjamins) and Charles Stone (Paid In Full). Stone's videos for Public Enemy (911 Is A Joke), The Roots (The Next Movement, You Got Me) and Living Colour (Elvis Is Dead, Funny Vibe) are some of the most vibrant, clever, adventurous and colorful promos to ever be seen, as well as his commercial work and other videos. The answer to why I was so disappointed in Paid In Full's averageness came when I realized that one of the producers was NYU hack Brett Ratner; famous for his generic hits such as Rush Hour as well as his proclamation that "I know what black people want" (in reference to filmmaking and attracting a black audience). Therefore Ratner probably used his clout to smother Stone's genius. The performances and story are fine but it could have been a TV movie. So I'll look for Stone's true genius when Drumline is released later this year.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
I was looking forward to this film..the debut of one of the 3 geniuses of music video who released films this year...Michel Gondry (Human Nature), Kevin Bray (All About the Benjamins) and Charles Stone (Paid In Full). Stone's videos for Public Enemy (911 Is A Joke), The Roots (The Next Movement, You Got Me) and Living Colour (Elvis Is Dead, Funny Vibe) are some of the most vibrant, clever, adventurous and colorful promos to ever be seen, as well as his commercial work and other videos. The answer to why I was so disappointed in Paid In Full's averageness came when I realized that one of the producers was NYU hack Brett Ratner; famous for his generic hits such as Rush Hour as well as his proclamation that "I know what black people want" (in reference to filmmaking and attracting a black audience). Therefore Ratner probably used his clout to smother Stone's genius. The performances and story are fine but it could have been a TV movie. So I'll look for Stone's true genius when Drumline is released later this year.