Rocco and His Brothers (1960), Crash (2004), Malcolm X (1992), Wattstax (1973), Fresh (1994), The Crow (1994), The Commitments (1991), Sleepers (1996) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Inner City movies.
Storyline: Because of scoring exceptionally high on a statewide standardized exam, and being an exceptionally good basketball player, Jamal Wallace is sent to a prestigious prep school in Manhattan. He soon befriends the reclusive writer, William Forrester.
Plot Keywords: school, racism, famous line, brooklyn new york city, two word title, recluse, mentor ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Eleven year-old Akeelah Anderson's life is not easy: her father is dead, her mom ignores her, her brother runs with the local gangbangers. She's smart, but her environment threatens to strangle her aspirations. Responding to a threat by her school's principal, Akeelah participates in a spelling bee to avoid detention for her many absences. Much to her surprise and embarrassment, she wins. Her principal asks her to seek coaching from an English professor named Dr. Larabee for the more prestigious regional bee. As the possibility of making it all the way to the Scripps National Spelling Bee looms, Akeelah could provide her community with someone to rally around and be proud of -- but only if she can overcome her insecurities and her distracting home life. She also must get past Dr. Larabee's demons, and a field of more experienced and privileged fellow spellers.
Plot Keywords: scrabble, mentor, child prodigy, courage, inner city, neighborhood, precocious child ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Jaime Escalante is a mathematics teacher in a school in a Hispanic neighbourhood. Convinced that his students have potential, he adopts unconventional teaching methods help gang members and no-hopers pass the rigorous Advanced Placement exam in calculus.
Plot Keywords: los angeles california, authority, coming of age, examination, false accusation, passion, robbery ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Father O'Malley, the unconventional priest from 'Going My Way', continues his work for the Catholic Church. This time he is sent to St. Mary's, a run-down parochial school on the verge of condemnation. He and Sister Benedict work together in an attempt to save the school, though their differing methods often lead to good-natured disagreements.—Greg Helton <ghelton@airmail.net>
Plot Keywords: nun, catholic priest, tuberculosis, boy, family relationships, orchestral music score, comic relief ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: In 1999, Ken Carter accepts the job of basketball coach for his old high school in a poor area of Richmond, CA. As much dismayed by the poor attitudes of his players as well as their dismal play performance, Carter sets about to change both. He imposes a strict regime typified in written contracts that demand respectful behavior, a dress code and good grades for players. Any initial resistance is soon dispelled as the team under Carter's tutelage becomes a undefeated competitor. However, when the overconfident team's behavior begins to stray with too many doing poorly in class, Carter takes immediate action. To the outrage of the team, the school and the community, Carter cancels all team activities and locks the court until the team shows acceptable academic improvement. In the ensuing debate, Carter fights to keep his methods, determined to show the boys that they need good values for their futures and eventually finds he has affected them more profoundly than he ever expected.
Plot Keywords: female removes her clothes, premarital sex, based on true story, abortion, drug dealing, gang violence, single mother ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Young Caucasian Dan Dunne teaches history and coaches the girls basketball team at a Brooklyn high school populated primarily by black and Hispanic students. To the chagrin of his superiors, Dan bucks the outlined curriculum of historical facts in favor of the philosophy of historical events, generally discussing the concept of dialectics. As such, he captures the imagination of his students, at least in the classroom. Outside of the classroom, Dan's life is in shambles. He has a distant but cordial relationship with his family. He uses illicit drugs rampantly. Although his former girlfriend Rachel was able to clean up her drug habit, Dan believes that rehab will not work for him. Due to a combination of these issues, he treats women poorly. Thirteen year old Drey is a student in his class and a player on his basketball team. Drey has her own problems. Her parents are divorced, with her father a virtually non-existent figure in her life and her EMT mother generally absent as she is ...
Plot Keywords: classroom, teacher, basketball, class, drugs, student, brooklyn new york city ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: 4 Harlem teens, Q, Bishop, Raheem and Steel, are out skipping school one day when they find out an old friend was killed in a shootout at a bar. After this, Bishop tells his friends that they have no respect, or juice. To get some, they rob a corner grocery store, but things take an unexpected turn. Only the four friends know what happened, but one of them is out for himself.
Plot Keywords: blaxploitation, gay slur, f word, black comedy, machismo, 1990s, brooklyn bridge ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Disturbing, dark, low-budget independent film about teen-agers in New York City. The story focuses on Telly (Leo Fitzpatrick), a teen who has a goal to de-flower as many virgins as he can. When one of his old encounters discovers that she is H.I.V.-positive, after only one encounter with a guy, Telly remains undaunted.
Plot Keywords: virgin, female frontal nudity, sexual promiscuity, coming of age, first time sex, sexual abuse, swimming in underwear ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Based on the true story of journalist Gary Webb. The film takes place in the mid-1990s, when Webb uncovered the CIA's past role in importing huge amounts of cocaine into the U.S. that was aggressively sold in ghettos across the country to raise money for the Nicaraguan Contras' rebel army. Despite enormous pressure not to, Webb chose to pursue the story and went public with his evidence, publishing the series "Dark Alliance". As a result he experienced a vicious smear campaign fueled by the CIA. At that point Webb found himself defending his integrity, his family, and his life.
Plot Keywords: based on true story, crack cocaine, media manipulation, drug smuggling, cover up, investigative journalism, reporter ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: This action film, directed by the Hughes brothers, depicts a heist of old bills, retired from circulation and destined by the government to be "money to burn." However, more broadly, it addresses the issues of Black Americans' involvement in the Vietnam War and their subsequent disillusionment with progress in social issues and civil rights back home in the United States, during the 1960's.
Plot Keywords: vietnam war, based on true story, neo noir, new york city, 1960s, fired from the job, beating ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: A black uniformed policeman is recruited by a devious drug enforcement agent to infiltrate a smuggling organization seeking to expand into designer drugs. This 'ugly side of the war on drugs' explores the context of race, identity and hypocrisy within a brutal and alienating investigation.—Keith Loh <loh@sfu.ca>
Plot Keywords: neo noir, racial slur, police, black cop, undercover, drugs, government conspiracy ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: A day in the life of a group of troubled 15-year-olds growing up in west London.
Plot Keywords: liar, lie, machismo, marijuana, microphone, mirror, money ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: High school teacher Trevor Garfield is stabbed by bad-boy student. Fifteen months later, he moves to Los Angeles to the unruly, predominantly Latino school. He has to tame wolf-like students.
Plot Keywords: number in title, video camera, graffiti, russian roulette, hollywood sign, asthma, mirror ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: A picaresque tale. Odd Horton is dependable and contained: he's a train engineer retiring after 40 years of service, living a simple life. His idea of adventure is to fly from one city in Norway to another. Starting on the night of his retirement dinner, Odd has a series of dislocating experiences: a boy insists that Odd sit by his bedside while he falls asleep; misadventure causes Odd to miss his last run; he witnesses an arrest; he assists an old man and makes a friend; he takes a trip with a blindfolded driver; he adopts a dog; he takes stock late one night at the roundhouse; he revisits his mother's disappointment in him. How should he live the rest of his life?—<jhailey@hotmail.com>
Plot Keywords: retirement, mother son relationship, restaurant, loneliness, inner city, dream, surrealism ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Story of Kyle-Lee Watson, a promising high school basketball star, and his relationships with Birdie, a powerful drug dealer, and Birdie's brother, Thomas 'Shep' Sheppard, himself once a promising high school star at Kyle's school, now employed as a security guard.
Plot Keywords: basketball, high school, african american, high school athlete, gangster, friend, family relationships ...
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