Please don't skip the movie just because somebody else tells you so. Give it a shot and you won't regret it. I promise.

excellent performances from an all-star cast.Set in the Depression Era of 1930s Harlem, The only way people could make money was through the "Numbers racket which is ran by Stephanie St. Clair Cicely Tyson also known as " The Queen". An arrogant and brash gangster called Dutch Schultz wants to take control of the numbers game and ends up bumping heads with Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson Laurence Fishburne who is just released from jail. These two get into a series of wars and everything starts to get out of control. Laurence Fishburne as well as Tim Roth were great in this film. Andy Garcia played it mellow as Lucky Luciano but he was better here than he was in 8 Million Ways To Die. There are also some solid performances here by Cicely Tyson, Loretta Devine, Chi Mcbride Illinois and Vanessa Williams Bumpy's love interest . As far as complaints I have none. Hoodlum is well written and well acted. It pays homage to gangsters but doesn't glorify them. I tip my hat of to Bill Duke for this one. Two thumbs up as high up as they can go.

genre.What makes that especially interesting to me is that "Goodfellas" works by being almost obsessively realistic about organized crime - it is too much of a 'real life' to dismiss as pure psychopathology, yet clearly not enough of a living to want to throw one's self into it after learning something of its gritty details such as the lack of any retirement other than a grave or a prison cell ."Hoodlum", on the other hand, is the quintessential Hollywood genre film - more the legend than the fact, but hoping the legend can make the case better than the fact. The central protagonist presents just the right balance of determination, ruthless violence, and moral ambiguity, including a softer side or undeniable richness and complexity. The heroes and villains are clearly defined; the justification for the heroes to find themselves on the 'wrong side of the law' is unarguable. The gangster film has long been a genre in which Americans could work through their worst fears of living in a nation of many ethnicities; it just makes sense that the perfect gangster film would be about African Americans - the one ethnic group that is still denied total participation in our culture.The period detail is excellent and the direction is solidly professional; so is the acting; in fact that is a major point in favor of this film, and all such films, that all the participants approach their work with as careful and as a skilled a professionalism as possible. They were clearly determined right from the start to make a good movie, and they did. Surprisingly, very few Hollywood films are made with this attitude, since it's assumed there that most audiences don't care. well this audience member certainly cares, and I both admire and respect the professional when it appears.Beyond the richness of its issues, the film is also very entertaining. Yes, it is violent; it is also humorous, romantic, dramatic, and even, at times, philosophical. Much like "The Godfather" which is a bit over-long to my taste , "hoodlum" is a 'complete package' gangster film that will leave you with a sense of having experienced life a little deeper than if you hadn't seen it.

performance here is one you can watch over and over again. Of course the movie may have been exaggerated but what movie isn't?! It is a very stylized presentation and the obvious attention to detail to create the look and the feel of the period help intensify the viewing experience.I am quite proud of the production and highly recommend it become part of your movie collection. Notwitstanding that is a worthy project, there are treasures of performances here that warrant attention.

movie then there is no reason why you would not like this one. I love the story behind this movie and the subplot of his relationship with Vanessa Williams. and I must admit that I do like this movie because I love crime family dramas and it is nice to see one with black people starring in it showing what part they played in that world back in that time frame. I would suggest to anyone who likes gangster and mafia movies to go see this one. If you want to learn about the history of organized crime back in the 20's and 30's then this is a great way to get a feel for that time! This movie gets nothing but rave reviews from me :

uses the force, or maybe a future crime prevention device. Well, you won't find this here. It's a wonderful, semi-true story about the way things were in Harlem and the surroundings areas back then. Fishburn turned in a wonderful performance, and Roth played a great villian as he always does. Just relax, and take it for what it's meant to be. Entertainment.

and one of the best state Governors in American history. Once again, if you are a Republican and a W.A.S.P, you can be accused of anything.

Fishburne was excellent as the charming, and wise Bumpy Johnson who shows us an educated black man not afraid to stand up for what he believes in, Tim Roth was excellent as the unstable Ducth Schultz although I found my-self comparing him to Joe Pesci at times , and Andy Garcia as Lucy Lucoina was good with his screen time however I felt the stand out performance was Cicley Tyson who portrayed a very strong, elegant , proud Black woman. The movie rolled on fast and got into the swing straight away , there was good use of make-up , wardrobe and scenery which gave us a feel of 1930's Harlem. The interaction between characters is good as it gives us a real feel of what life was like back then. However the problems with Hoodlum are that the script seems a little superficial and characters which can have real depth to them normal end up being well quite flat. The film was supposed to be about real life events but it just seems to way to far fetched to the point where it does feel like a no brain action movie and the action it-self seems to be tit-for-tat repetitive although Fishburane's performance keeps you guessing how will he strike back and thusly the second half of the movie just feels messy and rushed. To conclude Hoodlum is probably not one of the best gangster movies about the black era to come I mean it is over shadowed by the likes of American Gangster but it does however manage to entertain on a big scale and is not a waste of time , its just a shame with a few clear faults in it however I would recommend as a rental and worth a check out for fans of the gangster genre.HOODLUM : 8.1 OUT OF 10POWER IS MEASURED IN ENEMIES...