NO SPOILERS!!
Director: John Singleton         
Year: 1991                   
Recommended: Yes!

This movie is a classic! Everyone should watch it. This story makes a difference to the way you think about drugs and gangsters. The film has an exceptional direction and high-calibre cast. The acting skills of everyone in the movie are just sublime. 

It recreates a gang-banging neighbourhood in the US where kids are brought up in an environment surrounded by blood, death, misery and drug addicts. A zone where people have to sleep next to a gun to protect themselves and their families, in case criminals break into their houses in the middle of the night. Kids learn from an early age that they must survive despite the hostile habitat, they need to pretend to be strong because if they are perceived as weak, “the streets” will kill them. It would be impossible to dream about escaping because poverty will keep them in that place for the rest of their lives. Intentions are not enough, and the same desperation to flee could involve them deeper and deeper.

The movie shows good things as well; it shows how powerful self-motivation is and how strong the ties of a good friendship are. Also, how kids with responsible parents have a chance to escape; and finally, it shows that even in that awful situation, there is still hope. 

Great movie!