vaughn_cornell-1

Hailed by movie critic, Roger Ebert, as one of the best gangster classics of all time alongside "The Godfather", and "Scarface", "New Jack City" is an instant and extraordinary classic. Though many movie critics in the past and now have failed to see the true art of this film, other movie critics have understood the film's powerful message about the crack epidemic that became rampant during the late 80's. In addition, this film not only struck a cord in Hollywood with it's shocking message, but helped to establish the careers of actors Ice-T and Wesley Snipes and definitely put successful black films on the map, which helped to usher in the new black film movement paving the way for other "hood" classics that would dominate the screen during the early 90's. Moreover, director, Mario Van Peebles, though never given any credit for his work, is an excellent filmmaker doing what he does best by displaying his excellent camera work while, at the same time, teaching the African-American youth the dangers of drugs and how it leads to a person's downfall. The message of this film was plain and simple: Crack can lead a person nowhere in life and can damage the lives of others. If we do not continue to fight the war on drugs, then drugs will continue to destroy our country. This message along with the film, itself, should deserve mention in any film that has a positive message, and "New Jack City" will always be an extraordinary gangster classic that will continue to teach people about the choices that we make and how it will determine whether or not we will reach our downfalls.

"Three The Hard Way" starring Jim Brown, Jim Kelly from "Enter The Dragon", and Fred "The Hammer" Williamson, is an excellent action flick about three black action heroes who go up against a racist (fascist)organization, who are out to kill the black population. Gordon Parks Jr., who is the son of "Shaft" director Gordon Parks Sr., does an excellent job in directing the memorable action sequences throughout the film, and should be remembered as one of the few African-American directors who has made history in directing action films. In addition, Jim Kelly, Jim "Slaughter" Brown, and Fred Williamson do an extraordinary job displaying their action hero skills, and should always be remembered as the action heroes who came before Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, when I had seen this movie on video, the lighting in some of the action scenes were very hard to see making it very difficult to enjoy throughout the film. Nevertheless, this movie will always be, in my opinion, one of the best blaxploitation films alongside "Shaft", "Superfly", and "Cleopatra Jones".