After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This is my favorite independent film. The simplicity in the storyline is refreshing and the idealistic dreaming of inner-city youth is inspiring. It takes you back to a more simple time when hardships didn't get in the way of the big picture. Brendan Sexton III shines as the ambitious Marcus. Kit Carson's character brings wild imagination and hope to Marcus' life. The acting is very natural and the heart of the story lies within each of these characters. Sure, it would be nice to learn more about each one. It's the ambiguity that has kept at least one person interested from start to finish. For anyone who has ever dared to dream and think outside the confines of the area you grew up in, "Hurricane Streets" will take you on the joyful (but bumpy) journey of youth. Beautiful film by the wonderful Morgan J. Freeman.

OK class, let's review: successful screenplays usually have at least three things in common – a beginning, middle and end. Within this basic framework, we are supposed to be introduced to the main character, observe his or her conflict and, hopefully, learn how he or she resolves it. Unfortunately, Hurricane Streets starts out at the end, has too many characters and fails to resolve much of anything.Written and directed by newcomer Morgan J. Freeman (not the famous actor), this film traces the descent of an inner-city youth gang into increasingly serious crime. We first meet this group of 5 disenfranchised adolescent boys in their headquarters -- a glorified sewer hole -- where they regularly reconnoiter to inventory their stolen merchandise and plan their next heist. Up till now, the group's leader, a boy named Marcus (Brendan Sexton III), has been wisely steering them away from high profile crime. Then one of the boys suggests they go after some real money. This perfectly acceptable plot could have been the basis for a decent, if not cliché story.The problem is, there is no real story. Instead, the film loiters too much around its central character, Marcus. We eavesdrop on Marcus' relationship with his parentally-abused girl friend, monitor his visits with his incarcerated mother and wonder why this angry, fatherless kid hasn't completely gone off on someone. Meanwhile, the gang keeps on swearing and posturing its way through a number of theft and sewer-hole sequences until an unexpected tragedy occurs. This "stagy" event is strictly deus ex machina (theater talk for introducing an obvious, last-minute plot device), but it does have a devastating effect on the gang. Unfortunately, by this point we are basically too numb to care.Director Freeman does know kids however, and has a good ear for dialogue. And, despite a somewhat unstructured, unresolved story, manages to elicit some poignant moments from his young actors whose performances, overall, are quite good. If nothing else, we see how painfully vulnerable these kids are -- despite their bluff facades. Given a more disciplined screenplay, we might even have cared.

I rented this one on a whim, and really enjoyed it. It's the first movie I've seen since Kids that gave a realistic portrayal of teenage life. All the actors are believable as 15-year-olds (I especially enjoyed Brendan Sexton and the girl who played Melena), and the dialogue was realistic. Up until very late in the film, all of the plot twists were things that could have happened in real life. Also, the film showed the downside of a life of crime without coming off as preachy. I'm looking forward to seeing more work from everyone involved in this film.

Hurricane Streets was one of the most powerful, realistic movies I have ever seen. Marcus was on the outside who every teenager is on the inside. I should know, I'm 16.