My taste in movies in not exactly what one would call mainstream, for the most part. However, I do appreciate the fact that there is no principle in which horrible films cannot also be awesome films, for the fact that they transcend bad cinema into the realm of "great bad cinema." The prime example of this would be Point Break. A movie with an utterly ridiculous premise that spirals into absurdity as the film progresses, but does so in such a fantastic manner that it is easily one of the best horrible films ever. Anyway, this was the premise under which I decided to watch this movie, hoping that it had potential to be so bad that it was horribly good. That did not happen. It was simply awful. First, what was the plot of this movie?It's as if the screen writer just decided to throw as many shitty and pointless ideas as possible out there, filmed all of these ideas, and then cut them together and released a "film." Secondly, I must applaud the casting director for finding the dregs of the minority acting community, and casting them ALL in a single film. Not one of these people could act, and generally, that hurts a film. Beyond these points, the major plot "twist" at the end of the film was not only ludicrous, but it was a total disconnect from the movie. Suddenly the blame for everything just gets shifted to one certain character for the reason of......oh, right, no reason given. Furthermore, could the effects have been any cheesier? Short answer: No. Finally, the ultimate question, and point is this: who cares? I can't believe anyone could honestly feel a connection to these characters, or even care even to say that the hated them. Indifference pretty much seems like the appropriate attitude. Unless you are some magical combination of an age old even to handle the violence, and the mental capacity of a raisin, this movie doesn't even approach anything close to tolerable.

What a piece of garbage. I'm willing to put my paycheck on the fact that all these "positive" ratings so far have been from the actors or the "director" of this sorry excuse of a film. The acting is horrible. The only actor that's OK is the "Raul" guy, and his little love interest... other than that... wow, what a waste of time. Did the director absolutely HAVE to include those two idiotic sex scenes in the movie??? I'm sure he thought it would add to it, but it didn't. What's up with the chick that "gets it" in the "out house" by the train tracks? Whaaaaaat???? Or the scene where they go purchase drugs from the black dude in the ghetto...I'm sure in real life, you go pick up the drugs, then walk back to your car and then walk BACK to the building with the cash in your hand to pay, yea OK....This movie is so below par it enters the comedy realm at best. Skip it, unless you want to have a good laugh. This is by no means a true depiction of the "street life" in Chicago. Not even close. You can just imagine how GREAT "Drive by" must be......my goodness some people really should just stick to their day jobs, and if this is their day job, maybe they should look for a career change!

This is one of the most surprising urban films I've seen so far. The quality of the acting, the production design and the cinematography of this film is truly impressive for a low budget film. Mr. Frausto, I congratulate you on your achievement as an independent filmmaker. This film really pulled me into the world of gang life on the streets of Chicago. It observes you into the story completely and it doesn't let you go. It is raw and it surely felt real.That's the power of this film. It reminded me of "Mean Streets". Also, I have to mention the original music. It was superb. The hip-hop music was right on target. I truly recommend it. It's a must see film!

Once Upon a Time in the Hood is a movie true to reality and a storythat carried me from beginning to end allowing me to feel thepurpose of each character in the movie. There was some greattwists and surprises throughout the story that really caught me bysurprise. The action scenes also kept me at the edge of my seat. Ireally enjoyed this movie and I highly recommend it. It is a greatindependent movie and I hope to continue to see more of Juan J.Frausto's work. I also had the opportunity to see his movie, "DriveBy" are very heartfelt movie. Chicago is a city with a lot of talent and with great Latino movies,lets support it.