Light It Up (1999)

one of my absolute favorites!

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Best movie of this year hands down!

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

I started watching this movie expecting to see another rapper trying to be an actor, and ruining a good story. How wrong I was.The storyline was well played out, as were the actors. While some have been saying things like Not having textbooks, Nor teachers, Nor a Window in a room, Nor a working heater are so impossible. Ill be graduating from a NYC Public School similar to Lincoln soon enough, and I know none of these are impossibilities. I've had classes with no teachers for days, broken heaters in classes, shattered windows in classes in the middle of the winter. And lack of textbooks, thats a constant.Another thing-- don't discount a Police Officer in a school with a firearm. Much like was shown in this movie, this is accurately depicted, Police officers backing up SSO (School Security Officers), so Police can roam schools with firearms.All in all, this movie makes a good call to present day students, which might not be seen the same way to adults.

Everyone seems to be putting this film down, but I honestly cannot get enough of it. Not only does this film have a strong message behind it, but it also strips away every defense that people can possibly have for inner-city life (some city areas, not all), and shows the unbearably real lives of teenagers today. The characters are real. Usher Raymond (Lester) gives a believable performance of a young adult, simply doing whatever it takes for Ziggy (Robert Ri'chard), a perfectly portrayed teen, escaping from his father and himself through his talents. Forest Whitaker (Officer Dante Jackson) seems to have captured the confusing officer, who was only out for himself at first. Sara Gilbert (Lynn) is without a doubt perfect in her role as an outcast teen who only wants to be wanted, and silently begs for understanding. Stephanie and Rivers (Rosio Dawson and Clifton Collins, Jr.) are well played and well rounded characters. Stephanie, counting the days until graduation and Rivers, who's motto is "the rules are meant to be broken". The only character flaw in my opinion was Rodney (Fredro Starr), a painful stereotype. As the movie goes on and the plot becomes more intense, we are slowly exposed to the raw lives of the teens. Ziggy (Ri'chard) is severely abused by his father and has taken refuge in the attic of the school. Lynn (Gilbert) only wanted a kiss from the jerk who got her pregnant. He never kissed her or talked to her after. Lester (Raymond) witnessed police officers shoot his innocent father to death. And Officer Jackson (Whitaker) lost his wife and son. The messages in this movie are clear. Stand up for what you believe in. Give everyone a fighting chance despite their age or race. The darkest people have the darkest secrets. These are messages our country desperately needs to hear, especially now.

I recently saw light it up with my friend and i just had to comment on it as it was a really inspirational movie that showed the audience the causes, problems and solutions to racial discrimination and how teenagers cope with problems to do with this topic.I think that Lester (Usher Raymond) played an inspirational leader type character that held the place together when things became tense. I admired Lynn's (Sara Gilbert) courage and attitude towards her own troubles such as being used by someone she thought she loved and dealing with a teenage pregnancy.Light it up is an emotional story of the lengths some people will go to, just to get the attention they deserve. I fully recommend this film to anyone in search of a tale of inspiration that will guarantee to have you crying by the end. A real 10/10!

Granted, this movie isn't particularly true-to-life, but that doesn't make it any less interesting. This is a surprisingly good movie with some superb performances. My conscience wouldn't let me sleep if I didn't take time out to mention that Usher gives a fantastic performance, restoring hope in a world where musicians try hard to be actors and fall miserably short of the mark. This movie is well worth your time; go see it.