Best movies like Straight Out of Brooklyn
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A Special Jury Award winner at the Sundance Film Festival, this drama stars a then-19-year-old Matty Rich (who also wrote and directed it). Rich plays Larry, a troubled teen living in the rough Red Hook section of Brooklyn who decides he wants out and turns to crime to fund his escape. But his plan involves scamming the neighborhood's biggest drug kingpin, a heist that's dangerous at best.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 659
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: hood, independent film, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Best tv shows and movies like Straight Out of Brooklyn (1991):
Similar in 86%
Before I Self Destruct (2009)
Plot Summary:
A coming of age story about an inner-city youth raised by a hardworking single mother. When his dream of becoming a basketball player fails to materialize, he finds himself employed in a supermarket. After his mother is tragically gunned down, Clarence (played by Jackson) is consumed by revenge and takes up a life of crime in order to support his younger brother.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 79 min
Plot tags: hood, rough, serious, realistic, crime drama, independent film
Similar in 85%
Clockers (1995)
Plot Summary:
Strike is a young city drug pusher under the tutelage of drug lord Rodney Little. When a night manager at a fast-food restaurant is found with four bullets in his body, Strike's older brother turns himself in as the killer. Det. Rocco Klein doesn't buy the story, however, setting out to find the truth, and it seems that all the fingers point toward Strike & Rodney.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: hood, detective, grim, neo noir, realistic, dark, social, controversial, crime drama, tense
Similar in 81%
Caught Up (1998)
Plot Summary:
Daryl gets out of jail after 5 years. His mother has died, his girlfriend is married, and he can't find a job. His new girlfriend Vanessa, whom he meets when a gunman opens fire on them, gets him a job as a car driver. Hitmen are still after them, and Vanessa tells Daryl that this is her former lover Ahmad who wants revenge.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: hood, rough, realistic, serious, suspenseful, neo noir, independent film, fast, cult film
Similar in 86%
The Wrecking Crew (2000)
Plot Summary:
A high-level government hit squad is sent into the streets in order to complete a deadly mission.
IMDB Rating: 2.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: rough, realistic, suspenseful, serious, stylized, hood, crime drama, independent film
Similar in 85%
Strapped (1993)
Plot Summary:
Ex-con attempting to go straight runs across serious problems. His girlfriend gets arrested for dealing crack to an undercover police officer. In a desperate attempt to get the charges dropped against his woman, he strikes deal with weapons cop to turn in local gun dealers. How ever, the D.A. is not satisfied with the results, resulting in some serious game playing and double crossing.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: hood, crime drama, grim, rough, bleak, serious, realistic
Similar in 83%
My Crazy Life (1993)
Plot Summary:
Mousie and Sad Girl are childhood best friends in a contemporary Los Angeles poor Hispanic neighborhood. But when Sad Girl becomes pregnant by Mousie's boyfriend, a drug dealer named Ernesto, the two become bitter enemies. While their dispute escalates towards violence, the violence of the world around them soon also impacts their lives.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: realistic, talky, serious, hood, cult classic, independent film, bleak, hispanic, crime drama, sincere
Similar in 83%
Laws of Gravity (1992)
Plot Summary:
Jimmy and Jon are a couple of Brooklyn guys who somehow never found their way into workaday society; they never found their way into big-time crime, either.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: neo noir, independent film, tense, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, neorealism, cult film
Similar in 89%
Corrupt (1999)
Plot Summary:
After decades of terror, two deadly street gangs reach a delicate truce and young MJ (Silkk the Shocker) sees a way out of the hood once and for all. Only Corrupt (Ice-T) stands in MJ's way, resulting into a violent and brutal roller coaster ride of action!.
IMDB Rating: 2.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 69 min
Plot tags: hood, independent film, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 87%
Hot Boyz (2000)
Plot Summary:
Injustice begets a criminal. Kool is an artist without prospects, a black belt in karate, and in love with LaShawna, poised and college bound. One night she witnesses a stabbing and discovers the victim is a cop as he dies in her arms. She's jailed for murder by the infamous Ramparts Division of the LAPD. Kool wants to prove her innocence, and Tully, the cynical detective in charge, ignores LaShawna's case but uses Kool to break up an incipient crime operation. She's in danger because the guilty parties fear that the officer talked before he died. While in jail awaiting a hearing and legal help, she's beaten to death by a rogue cop. Kool vows revenge: the Hot Boyz are born.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: hood, realistic, suspenseful, rough, serious, crime drama, independent film, bleak
Similar in 85%
State Property: Blood on the Streets (2005)
Plot Summary:
Three gangsters vie for control of the streets of Philadelphia.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Musical, Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: hood, tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, bleak, rough
Similar in 90%
The Mack (1973)
Plot Summary:
Goldie returns from five years at the state pen and winds up king of the pimping game. Trouble comes in the form of two corrupt white cops and a crime lord who wants him to return to the small time.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, hood, funny, cult classic, independent film, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, stylized
Similar in 78%
Thicker Than Water (1999)
Plot Summary:
In Los Angeles, two rival gang leaders are also trying to be music producers. When DJ's equipment shorts out and Lonzo is cut out of the action by a record producer, the two join forces, which also requires a tentative peace between gangs. With backing from Gator, a smooth New Orleans drug king, DJ and Lonzo start dealing, organizing their gangs into pushers. Just as their finances are looking up, one of Gator's team pulls a double cross and two of DJ and Lonzo's gang bangers start a shooting war. Can the erstwhile music producers salvage anything of their bond or their plans?.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 689
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: hood, crime drama, independent film, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, cynical, surprise ending
Similar in 86%
LUV (2012)
Plot Summary:
Over the course of one day, a shy 13-year-old forms a bond with his troubled uncle.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, captivating, rough, realistic, hood, crime drama, independent film
Similar in 78%
First Time Felon (1997)
Plot Summary:
Inspired by the true story of Greg Yance. In the film, Yance (Epps) is a hood who goes to jail for possession of drugs. He is given a choice: 5 years in jail or a couple of months in boot camp. He chooses boot camp and finds out it is tougher than he thought it would be. He braves it through and comes home a better man. He then has to deal with the real world, and never gives up no matter what the odds.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: hood, inspirational, tense, rough, serious, realistic, black cinema
Similar in 87%
Willie Dynamite (1974)
Plot Summary:
Willie Dynamite is a pimp who operates in New York City. Willie was a big success as a pimp, but now, just as fast as he rose to the top, he has hit bottom. A former prostitute who has become a social worker tries to get Willie to clean up his life while it is still possible.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: hood, crime drama, grim, rough, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, disturbing, detective
Similar in 79%
Sugar Hill (1993)
Plot Summary:
In the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, the Mafia steps in when a drug dealer quits his partner brother to lead a straight life with his girlfriend.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: hood, serious, suspenseful, tense, realistic, crime drama, independent film, black cinema
Similar in 88%
Blood Brothers (1993)
Plot Summary:
Blood Brothers- While coming of age in the inner city, Darryl Crawford, a young African-American man, witnesses a gang-related murder and is horrified to discover that his beloved older brother Sly is one of the perps. Darryl grapples with his conscience over informing on Sly -- but this fear becomes secondary when the remaining gang members close in on both brothers and threaten their lives.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 98
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: crime drama, independent film, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 84%
Strays (1997)
Plot Summary:
Rick (Diesel) is frustrated by the repetitious grind of one-night stands and aimless hustling. Whilst looking for more to his life he meets Heather (Lanza), a neighbour. Rick takes the opportunity to escape his boring life style with her, but soon finds that his volatile behaviour threatens to finish their relationship before it even really begins.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: cult classic, tense, serious, realistic
Similar in 80%
Blue Hill Avenue (2001)
Plot Summary:
A child of a middle class home with solid moral values is lured into a world of crime and corruption.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: hood, rough, bleak, realistic, serious, crime drama, beautiful
Similar in 86%
Fresh (1994)
Plot Summary:
Michael is a 12-year-old drug pusher who lives in a crowded house with his cousins and aunt. His father has become a street bum,but still meets with Fresh on occasion to play chess. Fresh is rather quiet in a crazy world. Fresh's sister is a junkie who sleeps with the dealers that Fresh sells for. As the story progresses Fresh realizes that he doesn't want to sell drugs anymore - he wants revenge.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, France
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: hood, bleak, realistic, suspenseful, atmospheric, disturbing, harsh, tense, rough, touching
Similar in 75%
Squeeze (1997)
Plot Summary:
Ty, Hector, and Bao are close friends in a tough section of Boston, where they're called "the PG-13 crew." They're 14, decent kids with few skills who've bailed out of school. A small gang of older tough guys, led by Marcus and Tommy, menace them, and when the PG-13s fight back and rob one of the gang, Marcus and Tommy vow to kill them. They seek protection from Derick, a drug dealer, who agrees to help if they'll sell drugs. Meanwhile, Ty is recruited to work at a community center by J.J., its quiet leader. Ty and his friends are in a squeeze: surrounded by violence, drugs, and no opportunities, is there any way out?.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 344
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: crime drama, independent film, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 76%
Gang Tapes (2001)
Plot Summary:
When a brutal carjacking yields a videocamera, a teenage boy decides to document his life and the lives of his fellow gangbangers.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, hood, tense, suspense, crime drama, realistic
Similar in 89%
Bullet Boy (2004)
Plot Summary:
Ricky is just out of a young offenders institute, heading home to Hackney and determined to go straight. Instead, he heads straight for trouble when he becomes involved in a street confrontation, siding with his best friend Wisdom against a local rude boy. The trouble escalates into a series of tit-for-tat incidents that threaten to spiral out of control. Ricky's 12-year-old brother Curtis, hero-worships Ricky, though he appears smart enough to know he doesn't want to follow his example. Yet, despite the stern warnings from his mother and support from her friends in the community, might Ricky's bad boy allure be too attractive for Curtis to resist?.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: psychological, rough, serious, realistic, hood, bleak, gloomy
Similar in 79%
New Jersey Drive (1995)
Plot Summary:
New Jersey Drive is a 1995 film about black youths in Newark, New Jersey, the unofficial "car theft capital of the world". Their favorite pastime is that of everybody in their neighborhood: stealing cars and joyriding. The trouble starts when they steal a police car and the cops launch a violent offensive that involves beating and even shooting suspects.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: realistic, hood, brutal, melancholic, rough, serious, suspenseful, disturbing, cult classic, independent film
Similar in 86%
Belly (1998)
Plot Summary:
Tommy Brown and Sincere are best friends as well as infamous and ruthless criminals and shot-callers in the hood. Respected by many but feared by all. As the police are closing in on them and new players are looking for a come up, will their reign last?.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: hood, independent film, stylized, crime drama, bleak, serious, realistic, gloomy, fairy tale, neorealism
Similar in 85%
Boyz n the Hood (1991)
Plot Summary:
Boyz n the Hood is the popular and successful film and social criticism from John Singleton about the conditions in South Central Los Angeles where teenagers are involved in gun fights and drug dealing on a daily basis.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 151000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: disturbing, tense, thought provoking, hood, cult classic, brutal, bleak, independent film, rough, suspenseful
Similar in 79%
South Central (1992)
Plot Summary:
A man is put to prison for 10 years. Coming out of prison he wants to live a normal life and stop with crime but his son has yet followed the criminal path of his father.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: hood, captivating, social, sexual, crime drama, tense, rough, serious, realistic, independent film
Similar in 87%
Hustle & Flow (2005)
Plot Summary:
With help from his friends, a Memphis pimp in a mid-life crisis attempts to become a successful hip-hop emcee.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 43000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: touching, bleak, realistic, hood, emotional, intense, sincere, rough, uplifting, serious
Similar in 80%
Kids (1995)
Plot Summary:
A controversial portrayal of teens in New York City which exposes a deeply disturbing world of sex and substance abuse. The film focuses on a sexually reckless, freckle-faced boy named Telly, whose goal is to have sex with as many different girls as he can. When Jenny, a girl who has had sex only once, tests positive for HIV, she knows she contracted the disease from Telly. When Jenny discovers that Telly's idea of "safe sex" is to only have sex with virgins, and is continuing to pass the disease onto other unsuspecting girls, Jenny makes it her business to try to stop him.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 83000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: disturbing, depressing, psychedelic, independent film, bleak, teen, rough, erotic, sexy, realistic
Similar in 84%
Sucker Free City (2004)
Plot Summary:
The film follows three young men as they are drawn into lives of crime. Nick (Crowley) uses his entry-level corporate job to commit credit card fraud and deals drugs on the side. K-Luv (Mackie) is a member of the "V-Dubs", an African-American street gang. Lincoln (Leung) is a rising figure in the Chinese mafia. Gentrification forces Nick's family to move out of their home in the Mission District into Hunter's Point where they are harassed by the V-Dubs. K-Luv's side business of selling bootleg compact discs leads him to enlist Nick's help to bootleg CDs and to negotiate a truce with Lincoln. Lincoln conducts an affair with his boss' daughter Angela (Carpio), a Stanford student engaged to a medical student classmate.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, tense, bleak, crime drama