Poetic Justice
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DVD details
Actor: Ché J. Avery, Khandi Alexander, Kimberly Brooks, Lloyd Avery II, Maya AngelouBrand: Sony
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Letterboxed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 109 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-03-30
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Reviews of Poetic Justice
DVD Review: Fans of 'hood' movies should already know that this is a little different from the others.
Summary: 3 Stars
I clearly see that Singleton had honorable intentions for this film. He stepped away from the easy ghetto flick and goes for something softer but yet deeper. The film is good but it wasn't that great due to it's flaws. When I was younger I thought it was great but now seeing it again I don't know what I was thinking. The overuse of swearing may be necessary and realistic but it is overdone here and spoils many scenes - he could have toned it down a bit and kept realism. Also the plot is very broken down - we have a trip that never seems to get dark but has too much in it for just one day surely? Also each stop is supposed to show us another aspect of `the black experience' other than the protagonist's ghetto existence. However this doesn't work as it makes the film feel aimless and episodic.
The main failing is sadly, my girl Janet. Her infamous smile and corn-rows and floppy hats couldn't really save her, On the other hand it's not her fault - the poems are those of a more mature woman (Angelou - who plays Aunt June) and it just didn't fit her. The clearest example of this is watching her stare into space, rubbing her chest as she `writes' `Phenomenal Woman'. But also she is really poor - she doesn't have the range to make the character believable and the rest of this falls as a result. Continuing the musical theme Tupac is a talent sadly missed. He shines here and, although the swearing etc isn't hard for him he does the more emotional stuff much, much better than Jackson. I can't sing his praises enough - for me he made this watch able. Other musicians include Tone Loc and Q-Tip.....was this some sort of label push? Regina King is poor - her constant talking like a Jerry Springer guest etc is really tiresome and her `partner' Torry is just as bad - whose idea was it to have he constantly brushing his hair for no reason? Was it the only way we would get that he's vain?
I will give credit to Singleton for trying. I especially liked the way he brings the `black urban experience' into contrast with the white idea of cities in movies in the first 5 minutes. We open with shots of a lit up and pretty cityscape of LA with Gerswin-esque music playing a la Woody Allen's Manhattan. However this image of how Allen views his city is revealed to be a movie in a drive through in Compton - this, he's saying, is the black reality. A very clever start I thought (hands up for Billy Zane and Lori Petty for agreeing to be in yet another bad movie - even if it's a fake one!)
Other than that, I feel it was a brave step for Singleton. To me it's just another "Singleton Addition" that I can say that I own.
Description of Poetic Justice
Superstar Janet Jackson makes her stunning film debut in director John Singleton's (Boyz N the Hood) street-smart love story, Poetic Justice. A mismatched pair pushed together on a road trip from South Central L.A. to Oakland, Justice (Jackson) and Lucky (Tupac Shakur) have only one thing in common: they can't stand each other. But as their friends Lesha and Chicago (Regina King and Joe Torry) fight and make up in the back of the van, Justice and Lucky find themselves reluctantly drawn together. After a surprising detour toward romance, the two travelers are confronted once again by the shocking violence they thought they'd left behind. Featuring the music of Naughty by Nature and Tony! Toni! Tone! and the poetry of Maya Angelou, Poetic Justice is every bit as intense, original and unforgettable as Boyz N the Hood.Director John Singleton (Boyz N the Hood, Rosewood) made an earnest effort in this, his second, film to say a great deal that is true and relevant about living and loving in a violent, difficult time in American history. Janet Jackson plays a beautician and poet who withdraws into herself after her boyfriend is murdered by gangsters. The late Tupac Shakur plays a postman who tries to get through to her, and the two travel on a course through urban America, connecting with family and community. Singleton has so much on his mind that the film comes out a terrible muddle, but there is a certain integrity peeking through the fog. Shakur makes a startlingly good impression in his film debut, and Jackson strips away her star veneer to play something like a real person--and entirely succeeds. Maya Angelou wrote the poems that pass as those penned by Jackson's character, and she also appears in the film. --Tom Keogh
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