'Boyz 'N' The Hood'

Boyz 'N' The Hood is John Singleton's first film. It shows.

This tale of the coming of age of four black boys in the rough and tumble streets of Compton is by far the worst overall movie in the 1,001 list.

It did not age well. It is not good.

How bad is it? Ice Cube is far away the best actor in the film. Or he gives the best performance. Larry Fishburne is obviously the best film.

How Cuba Gooding Jr. continued to get jobs after this film in which he portrayed a good-looking robot is inconceivable. I kept watching Gooding Jr. and waited for some sort of emotion to overtake him. When Ricky's shot, I never felt that Gooding Jr.'s Tra was sincerely sad about it. Like he was laughing. I dare you to watch this film and not get uncomfortable over Gooding Jr.'s acting.

In general, Singleton's not had a very good run of films. Whether it's true or not or whether he likes the idea, Singleton is probably propped up quite a bit for his race and his subject matter.

If he were making films about African American doctors and lawyers, we wouldn't be talking about him right now.

By the way, did Denise Huxtable make Tra's yellow shirt?