Blue Hill Avenue (2001)

SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

The producers, directors, actors, everyone relating to this film have all been robbed of their Oscars!! This film provided me with everything I love to see in a movie. The storyline was superb, the plot, the twists, everything and everyone was excellent. So why have this film not leveled the scales with New Jack City, Sopranos, American Gangster, The Godfather or any other gangster movie out there? What does it take, because as far as I am concerned, this movie has all of that and more. So why have so few people viewed this film? I guess sometimes a movie falls under the radar and this is definitely THAT MOVIE. I loved the dialogue, the deliverance and the acting. Wow!!! Allen Payne, you've been robbed.

I believe that there is an industry-wide conspiracy to deny theatrical access for independent films, particularly those with multi-cultural casts and themes. Blue Hill Ave. reinforces this suspicion in my mind. Of course, I've seen better movies, but I've certainly seen much worse movies in theatrical release and I cannot believe that Blue Hill Ave. could not merit at least a moderate theatrical release on about 500 screens. I would have certainly paid $8 to see this film rather than to see "Soul Plane", "You Got Served", "Baby's Daddy", etc. Perhaps the Justice Dept. needs to step up their investigation into the anti-competitive practices of the mega conglomerate-owned film production and distribution entities. This was supposed to have been resolved in U.S. v Patamount back in 1948! Anyway, I digress. I though Craig Ross, Jr. and his cast and crew did an exceptional job with this film, especially on such a low budget!If films like Cappuccino (an earlier quality film from this same writer/director) and Blue Hill Ave. can't make it to theaters and the previously mentioned vapid works are able to, why should intelligent Black folks pay $8. at the theater? I hope Mr. Ross' investors were able to profit on this one!

I've been waiting to see this movie ever since it won several awards at various film festivals. Well, it was worth the wait! It's playing in theaters in just 3 cities so far, so make sure that you keep your eye out and catch it when it comes to your town. The other reviewers here give an idea about what the film is about, so I won't duplicate their efforts. I think that the consumer ratings (averaging 8.3 so far) let you know that this is a high quality product. It'll be interesting to see if Blue Hill Avenue gets any Academy Award nominations this year.

This was one of those films that came across like an attempt to create a "respectable" Black gangster film, but falls somewhere short of the mark. Centering around the drug-dealing activities of a group of childhood friends, led by "Tristan" (Allen Payne), the film fails to adequately show how Payne's character evolved into such a materialistic and brutal drug lord. Reared in what is portrayed as a happy, loving, two-parent, middle-class family, Tristan suddenly emerges as an adolescent--barely out of puberty--capable of blowing the head off of anyone who would thwart his drug-dealing enterprises. The neighborhood drug kingpin "Benny" (Clarence Williams III), who initially invited these young boys into his fold, becomes engaged in a battle for turf with his former protégés when they reach adulthood. Only Tristan, the story's protagonist, survives and leaves the drug business after having discovered that his drug-addicted younger sister is in the hospital struggling for life after having consumed an overdose of crack cocaine, the very substance with which he has built an empire.This film is action-packed & filled with plot twists (too many), and should be a hit with a significant portion of the twenty-something-and-under audience, mainly those accustomed to heavy doses of film violence. Yet many viewers may find something almost comical, and probably disturbing, about the inexplicable personality traits of the character Tristan (Allen Payne) and the seedy and aging Benny (Clarence Williams III). Additionally, viewers familiar with Blaxploitation-era films will notice that this feature seemed to lean heavily on the film-industry-demanded formula for Black films of the 1970s, which portrayed most Black female characters as weak &/or morally deficient &/or expendable (Pam Grier excluded). There are no well-defined female characters in this film. Tristan's wife tries to appear long-suffering and wants him out of the drug business, but is attached to the luxury that his criminality affords her. Benny's girlfriend is attached to him primarily for his financial support. These factors are sure to ruffle some feathers. Other viewers, however, may see this film as an action-packed adventure and a genuine Black contribution to the genre of gangster films where audiences identify with, respect, and sometimes sympathize with characters that they wouldn't go near in real life (Can You Say "The Godfather"?) These various impressions, however, leave you wondering exactly what "Blue Hill Avenue" is trying to say or do.All of the actors in this film, most notably Allen Payne and Clarence Williams III, breathed life into characters that we are never quite sure we believe, which says more about the immense talent of the cast than about the film itself. A sophisticated audience, however, will wonder whether some pertinent scenes are laying on the editor's floor.