Fifth Ward

To the "more the same" dork obviously it's gonna look like the same old same old to some lame whose watching purely from a entertainment standpoint every hood has guns drugs and woman but not every hood has pimps playas and hustlers get educated more and then come back nobody asked u to fall in love with gangsta films u just got no references so u act like this the same old same what a bum.

When I first saw the opening 10 minutes I thought I knew exactly what I was getting , but after the end of the second act I knew this was something special.

I've seen a lot more polished hollywood productions (Belly) with big names however they don't seem to have the sence urgency that the director was able to convey in this film.

Unlike most coming of age in the ghetto stories the protagonist is dealing with more than the typical "get out or die" themes. There was real heart in this cerebral multi-generational family narrative. The main character, James, is trying to bridge the divide between where he's at and where his dreams of being an artist are trying to take him. James is guide by his Uncle Earl (Thomas Webb), a EMT at the neighborhood fire dept. sub-station.

A secret relationship with Mi Haan, the daughter of the store owner where he works blossums. Both oblivious to the pain around them as they find peace in each others caress. This bliss is shattered as James' home life crashes him tragically back into reality, as domestic violence issues involing his mother, Mina and her live in boyfreind Toney come to light.

The director did a great job with weaving the narrative, although there were some technical problems, probally due to the films low budget.

Stellar performaces were turned in by Comedian Thomas Miles (BET Comic view, Showtime at the Apollo)as Toney and Donna Wilkerson as Mina, as well as newcomers Kory Washington as James and Junie Hoang as Mi Haan. Definitey "Fifth Ward" is one to see.

While not in the same range as "Boys in the Hood" or "Menace to Society", a movie that is down to Earth. It featured two things that most movies of this design do not. 1) filmed somewhere other than the standard inner cities that we hear about. It was done in Houston, Texas. 2) The cast of unknowns do a great job of acting. I really dug the the romeo and juliet thing between the vietnamese girl and the young brother. I would rather see movies like this than big budget movies with no plot, overrated directors and booming soundtrack (Belly-anybody?).

...old same old. This story sheds no new light on what has become a tired genre. It's a shame because there's so many stories to tell about inner city life and African-American relationships, but the writer/director of this movie had no imagination and chose to preach the obvious.

The look of the movie is muddy at times because of its low budget. The acting at times good, but most of these unknowns were out of their reach with emotional scenes that felt forced.

Like most movies in the modern ghetto genre, it steals from other films, like Pulp Fiction and Menace 2 Society. The use of "voice over" has become the standard for ghetto movies, because the director feels the need to explain everything to the audience instead of doing the work visually.

When will a director with vision come along and capture African-American life as it is today, without preaching, and pandering to the audience for sympathy for a movie that is poorly made and without any goal other than getting your hard earned cash. Buy this video at your own risk, it's better to catch it on cable.

Viper was in it 10/10. His acting was so beautiful and I loved it. Viper you'll always been in my heart!!