5/5 Fantastic
  by Jennifer E. Crowley (Columbia, MO)
This movie is great! Gritty underbelly sort of story. Typical Spike Lee "real life" story played by guys you believe. Not a happy ending kind of movie but well worth the watch!

3/5 Only half way there
  by Seth J. Frantzman (Jerusalem, Israel)
This movie tries to show the 'real' life of San Francisco's communities, white, black and Chinese and the 'gangs' within them. The idea here is to do a sort of 'Snatch' where three sub-plots are interwoven. However the great failing here is the terrible acting of the white and asian 'gangs'. It turns out that the only portion of the film that is portrayed in all its grit and tragedy is the black community. For some reason it is as if the director was out of touch with the white and asian communities, which was probably the case and couldnt write for those actors or direct them. Thus the movie get sby on being a 'Spike Lee Joint' but fails in two out of three story lines. Despite attempts to get away from stereotypes regarding the Chinese in fact the film reinforces them and the characters are bland. The only truly honest character in the film is the father of the white family whose liberal pacifist 'the bars on our windows offend our african-American neighbors and force them to break into our house' truly mirrors what takes place among a certain class of people in America. However it doesnt ring true that such a person would end up living in a 99% Black ghetto, just another unrealistic twist. Also unrealisitc is why the white protagonist is working at an investment bank and living with his family. His sister is described as a 'hippie' but isn't one. There are virtually no female characters portrayed in the film and the three that are only seem to fulfill the roles of being promiscous. There is only one line in the entire film devoted to a young black female actress.

Basicaly a film that only gets half way there. It supposedly portrays attempts at 'coexistence' and the trouble people have breaking out of their community and stereotypes but fails in many respects to depict reality. There is no racism portrayed among the Asian 'mafia' and yet this is obviously another terrible fallacy. At least the film depicts in brutal honesty the racism among Blacks towards whites entering 'their' community.

Also it leaves one wondering where the hispanic-latino community is in all this. Hispanics now make up 50% of California and there are many Latino gangs and yet they dont seem to have a role in this film apparently, again, because no one knew how to write their part into it. The only hispanic role in the film is of the police investigator, which is better than nothing one supposes.

Seth J. Frantzman



5/5 Solid movie - accurate potrayal
  by Ken McCarthy (New York)
As someone who lived in San Francisco for ten years and spent time in the Mission, Chinatown, and Hunters Point, this movie is not only entertaining, it's also an extremely accurate portrayal of life in these particular neighborhoods.

If you're a San Franciscan, you've got to see it. If you're not from SF, but are curious about what's beyond the tourist brochures, this movie is it.

The only thing missing is documentation of the insanely corrupt political culture of the city, but hey, the film maker covered a lot of ground.

5/5 Great movie if you keep in mind it was a pilot
  by E. Banks (MSP, MN)
Great movie about three guys, black, white and asian growing up in the streets of San Francisco and how their paths cross. This was supposed to be an ongoing series comparible to The Wire but Showtime dropped it. The story is therefore unresolved and leaves you waiting for the next episode. Hopefully someone at HBO reads this and they pick it up.

5/5 Awesome! - Real! - Exceptinal film making!
  by M. Maharajh (USA)
I'll keep it short and sweet: This movie is a must see. I'm not really a Spike Lee fan but he really nails the social/racial conflicts that exist in America today, as the three main characters(a White, Black and an Asian guy) cross paths.

A must have for any dvd collection!