generationofswine Pretentious. Unrealistic. Awful. Crap. I'm actually shocked this came from the writer of "Boyz in the Hood" & "Higher Learning." I had a hard time figuring out the plot of this one, on the surface level it was evident enough, but no, I thought there had to be more to it...It turns out I was wrong, all there is is the surface level. It doesn't stand as a romantic movie, it doesn't stand as a road trip movie, it doesn't stand as buddie movie. I'm actually depressed that Maya Angelou was in it,but I am comforted in the fact that she doesn't have to make a living as an actress. But it does strike a cord in me. I once dated an artist in university, I spent a lot of time with her and her friends, the film reminded me of them: shallow, pretentious, and totally awful.

josh-hall I saw this film after becoming addicted to 'Boyz n the hood'and 'Higher learning', I think John Singleton is one of the greatest filmmakers working today and Poetic Justice is a great example of a truly dedicated and talented filmmaker. The story starts off with Justice (played brilliantly by Janet Jackson, what a surprise)who witnesses the slaying of her boyfriend at a movie, justice becomes very depressed with life and feels nothing but loneliness. She expresses this by writing poems in a notebook to reveal her pain for her lost love and for the pain of living in America's South central l.a district. Lucky (again played greatly by Tupac Shakur in i feel his most personal and greatest role from 'Juice' right up to 'Gang Related')is a postman with nothing to look forward for in his life except to look after his daughter and a dream of rapping his pain for the hood. Together they go on a road trip with two other friends and learn on how to live again and to find their way in life. The performances are great, Singletons direction is wonderful. If your a fan of other 'hood' movies than this you might find a little different from the others. But nonetheless a deep hearted gem. 9/10

bob the moo Justice is in love, sadly in Compton things happen and her boyfriend Markell is killed at a drive in. Since then she has worn black and stayed away from men and just written her poems. However when she is taken on a road trip by her friend Iesha she finds she has been set up with her boyfriend's friend Lucky. At first the two don't get on but over the course of the trip the four fight, make up and learn.Singleton was always going o have a hard time with that `difficult second film' but at least he had honourable intentions. This sees him step away from the easy ghetto flick and goes for something deeper. And it is a good try but it's deeply flawed. The overuse of swearing may be necessary and realistic but it is overdone here and spoils many scenes – he could have toned it down a bit and kept realism. Also the plot is very broken down – we have a trip that never seems to get dark but has too much in it for just one day surely? Also each stop is supposed to show us another aspect of `the black experience' other than the protagonists ghetto existence. However this doesn't work as it makes the film feel aimless and episodic.The main failing is sadly, Janet Jackson. On one hand it's not her fault – the poems are those of a more mature woman (Angelou – who plays aunt June) and they don't fit with her. The clearest example of this is watching her stare into space, rubbing her chest as she `writes' `Phenomenal Woman'. But also she is really poor – she doesn't have the range to make the character believable and the rest of this falls as a result. Continuing the musical theme Tupac is a talent sadly missed. He shines here and, although the swearing etc isn't hard for him he does the more emotional stuff much, much better than Jackson. I can't sing his praises enough – for me he made this watchable when I was getting bored of it. Other musicians include Tone Loc and Q-Tip…..was this some sort of label push? Regina King is poor – her constant talking like a Jerry Springer guest etc is really tiresome and her `partner' Torry is just as bad – whose idea was it to have he constantly brushing his hair for no reason? Was it the only way we would get that he's vain?I will give credit to Singleton for trying. I especially liked the way he brings the `black urban experience' into contrast with the white idea of cities in movies in the first 5 minutes. We open with shots of a lit up and pretty cityscape of LA with Gerswin-esque music playing a la Woody Allen's Manhattan. However this image of how Allen views his city is revealed to be a movie in a drive through in Compton – this, he's saying, is the black reality. A very clever start I thought (and props for Billy Zane and Lori Petty for agreeing to be in yet another bad movie – even if it's a fake one!)Overall I wanted to like this as it was a brave step for Singleton. However the plot needed more work – and the whole ` black experience' stops could have been removed or toned down to just be `stops' without the agenda. However the casting of Jackson sounded time on this project – she really can't even get near the ability needed for this role – with a better actress, who knows?

moonspinner55 Rarely have I seen a modern movie about romance that was so angry and bitter--and all without purpose. The Maya Angelou poetry seems out-of-place in a story about a beautician's rocky courtship with a troubled postman in South Central L.A., and yet it practically sounds like music next to all the "F--- you"'s and N-words. Some may argue this constant foul language is "realistic", but the majority of the film is unconvincing in its relationships (which are puzzling, to say the least). Janet Jackson has a sweet smile, and looks attractive in her corn-rows and floppy hats, but the mercurial tone of the picture is up and down, back and forth, and finally we just give up on 'Justice' and all her scowling friends. And what about that ratty beginning at the drive-in? ** from ****