Hey_Sweden

"Juice" is an engaging early-90s urban drama of four streetwise young black men looking for that elusive thing known as "juice" - meaning power and respect on the street. Q (Omar Epps) thinks he can rise above his situation by achieving success as a DJ. But his pal Bishop (Tupac Shakur) is willing to resort to more ruthless methods; specifically, robbing a convenience store at gunpoint.

"Juice" is a good film of its type, even if it doesn't have quite the impact of "Boyz N the Hood" or "Menace II Society". It benefits from its authentic location work, and a cutting-edge and catchy hip-hop soundtrack. The young cast does creditable work, with Shakur rating as the MVP: he has natural screen presence as the unhinged member of the crew who ultimately gets much too trigger-happy. Also turning up in solid supporting performances are Cindy Herron (from the singing group En Vogue), Queen Latifah, Samuel L. Jackson, and Vincent Laresca. There are also cameos from various hip-hop celebrities.

Co-written by Ernest R. Dickerson, who was Spike Lees' regular cinematographer at the time, this saw the talented D. P. making his directing debut as well. And it does bear his stamp, as it is a stylish film with a particularly memorable interrogation scene.

Overall, "Juice" is worth a look for fans of the cast and the genre.

Seven out of 10.

In Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963, the black 16th Street Baptist Church was bombed, resulting in the death of four innocent children - the little girls of the title. As horrible as this event was, it served as a wake-up call to white America just how prevalent racial hatred was in the nation, and it also served as a catalyst to further accelerate the Civil Rights Movement.

Foregoing the use of a narrator, producer / director Spike Lee wisely lets his many interview subjects speak for themselves, and the results are riveting. The film paints a very vivid picture of these individuals whose lives were shattered by that event, as well as a vivid portrait of a turbulent time and place in Americas' history.

All in all, the effect that "4 Little Girls" has on the viewer is quite potent - especially as we think about how hatred & bigotry continue to be prevalent in the modern world. (It's mentioned during the course of the film that black churches were still being targeted in the 90s.)

While the results may elicit strong emotions from the viewer, there's no denying that there's also some real strength of character among the people being interviewed - people determined to fight for what they believe in.

Among those interviewed are grown-up friends & siblings, other family members, activists, politicians, and the prosecutor who was finally able to help convict the key perpetrator 14 years after the fact.

One of Lees' finest efforts, this was made for HBO initially, but received a theatrical release as well.

Eight out of 10.

J. D. continues to pay a price for typically bad judgment when he's implicated in murder. So he must work to clear himself & save his career. Neal is livid when all of the rookies involved in that hazing party are fired, including Officer Garfield, whom Neal had convinced to come forward with the truth. Renko is badly embarrassed when news footage of him shows him repeatedly stuffing his face; fortunately, he comes off much better for the evening edition when he & Bobby are able to subdue a suspect.

The title stems from a new Indian restaurant in the area; several of the main characters decide to check it out, only to soon learn the unfortunate truth about the place.

One point driven home by this typically solid episode is that sometimes there IS no true justice; sometimes miscreants WILL either get away scot-free or otherwise just get a slap on the wrist. And cops simply have to accept it, no matter how unappealing the situation may be.

Some comedic aspects (a woman with a missing cat continuously nags at Jablonski to do something about it) as well as some good action & suspense scenes make this more agreeable entertainment for HSB fans. It's also nice to see a late scene with Leo & Officer DeRoy (Ellen Blake, "The Last Starfighter"), although ultimately it goes nowhere since he's incapable of moving on after the dissolution of his marriage.

Michael Biehn is once again great as the unapologetic, remorseless Buttman, and Mykelti Williamson is excellent as Garfield; his scenes with Taurean Blacque are compulsively watchable. Mr. Blacque has a number of great scenes as he is determined to do right by the young rookie, who felt betrayed when he got fired even after telling the truth.

Eight out of 10.