10 Hood Movies On Hulu To Unwind On Weekend

This epic crime film, City of God, is adapted from a 1997 Paulo Lins's novel of the same name and is somewhat based on actual events.

It follows the expansion of organized crime between the end of the 60s and the start of the 80s in Rio de Janeiro with the conclusion of the dealer and vigilante-turned-criminal war.

In a fierce neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, two boys growing up take diverse routes; Li'l Ze picks photography, and Knockout Ned becomes a drug dealer. It is pretty courageous, uncompromising, and contests the viewer.

The movie gained positive appraisals from critics and was even listed as the 21st century most remarkable film by numerous critics and viewers while nominated for five honorable titles.

The audience thought the characters really made this movie come alive with their thrilling personalities shining through in the backdrop of overpowering conditions and constant brutality.

• IMDb: 8.6/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
• Stars: Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Da Hora, Jonathan Haagensen
• Director: Fernando Meirelles
• Runtime: 2h 10m

American Gangster is a biographical crime movie loosely based on Frank Lucas, a gangster who was more influential than his Mafian brethren force in Harlem in the late '60s and early '70s.

This Mafia movies on Hulu focuses on the story of a man driven to become great out of his issues with the abuse of being a 'black' man.

Robin Hood gangster Bumpy Johnson's right-hand man, Frank Lucas, takes over the business when Harlem loses its leadership with his boss's demise and becomes a powerful gangster importing drugs straight from the Southeast Asian jungle source.

In his criminal profession, he encounters Richie Roberts, an honest cop, mob boss Dominic Cattano, and Trupo, who directs a group of crooked cops reselling seized dopes back on the street.

It's a vast, interconnected crime drama with deep, complicated, well-written characters acted by some of the best actors like other mob movies on Hulu. It received critical acclaim and even grossed over $266 million against the budget of $100 million.

• IMDb: 7.8/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 81%
• Stars: Russell Crowe, Denzel Washington, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cuba Gooding Jr.
• Director: Ridley Scott
• Runtime: 2h 37m

This French coming-of-age drama, Girlhood, focuses on the life of an African-French 16-year-old, Marieme, who resides in a rough neighborhood in a working-class Paris suburb.

With the tragic life ahead without friends and often left in the care of her abusive older brother, she drops out of vocational school. She is involved in a gang lifestyle, leading to ruthless, bare-fisted battles with other women in remote urban areas.

This movie emphasizes young women who are handicapped, be it by finances, personal obligations, poor academic performance, or what-have-you, to the end, where entering a pack of dangerous women seems to be the only logical thing to do.

The director Céline Sciamma's purpose was to grab the stories of 'Black' teenagers. It received an admiringly positive reception from critics as they believed it presented a fresh stance on a familiar cinematic environment.

Viewers believed Girlhood is as much an emotional journey with strength and is socially relevant in the way it poses the character's environment. Overall, it is a satisfying film from beginning to end.

• IMDb: 7/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
• Stars: Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh, Mariétou Touré
• Director: Céline Sciamma
• Runtime: 1h 53m

Crime Thriller film Juice follows the day-to-day life of four youths in the street of Harlem. It tells how far people will go to get respect in the neighborhood and the possessive need to be appreciated.

Growing up in Harlem, four friends who call themselves The Wrecking Crew are trying to endure what they have in a dangerous town. In the process, they spend most of their time at a record shop, being bothered by the police or a gang.

One day, Bishop buys a gun and persuades the other three boys to stick up with him for robbing the store. From that moment, things go from bad to worse for them.

It gained a favorable reception from critics. The audience believed this movie has generated many classic quotes for them and displays how challenging the street can be for kids who have no idea what they are doing.

It was compared with popular hood movies like Straight Out of Brooklyn and Boyz n the Hood. If you are into the mood of funny, tense, gritty, and emotional genre, it's a good solid hood film with the leading performances from Tupac and Epps.

• IMDb: 7/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 79%
• Stars: Omar Epps, Jermaine Hopkins, Tupac Shakur and Khalil Kain
• Director: Ernest R. Dickerson
• Runtime: 1h 35m

The coming-of-age comedy movie Dope follows a geek, Malcolm, whose life changes after a chance invitation to an undercover party, which leads him and his friends to a Los Angeles adventure.

Malcolm is a 'black' teenager carefully enduring in his crime/drug-ridden area of Inglewood, California. In the century of the modern era with the internet and Bitcoin, he involved himself in hip-hop alongside his two closest friends, Jib and Diggy.

Although he is a straight-A student, he sets an impossible mission to apply to Harvard and generate a successful career path post-high school.

However, while taking his SAT and noting his college entrance essay, Malcolm gets hooked up in the underworld of illegal anesthetics and crime in the most peculiar way possible.

After being invited to a party thrown by a dealer, he leads a crazy adventure littered with bad choice after bad alternative.

It gained positive feedback from critics as they loved the original point of view of the story.

• IMDb: 7.2/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
• Stars: Shameik Moore, Tony Revolori, Kiersey Clemons, Kimberly Elise, Chanel Iman
• Director: Rick Famuyiwa
• Runtime: 1h 43m

This crime drama flick Fresh follows Michael, aka Fresh, who comes from a broken home while living in poverty with 11 relatives in his aunt's house and runs illegal drugs for the dealers in the mean streets of NYC.

To survive in that world, he learned quickly at a young age to step ahead of the drug dealers and their henchmen. Although he does illegal work for a living, he is looking for a better future despite what he sees around him.

However, he slowly gets trapped deeper in the world of illegal activities in which all his loyalties get tested.

This film provides viewers with a deep, gritty, yet utterly lifelike portrayal of a youth's mentality on the streets with perfect acting, the right blend of drama and action associated with tension, and a story that keeps viewers glued to their seats until the end.

The movie was sold as a hip-hop hood film that shares the realistic life of street kids in New York City. With receiving critical acclaim, fans loved the plot and performance of Sean Nelson.

They thought the flick was inspirational and proved the age-old phrase that you should never judge a book by its cover.

• IMDb: 7.5/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
• Stars: Sean Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito, Samuel L. Jackson, N'Bushe Wright
• Director: Boaz Yakin
• Runtime: 1h 54m

New Jack City is based on the original story centered on rising drug lord Nino Brown and detective Scotty Appleton, who swears to destroy Nino's illegal activities.

A vicious drug dealer, Nino, and his gang discover a new method for making drugs even more addictive and become dominant dealers on the street in New York City. In the process, the police want to corral him and assign Decetive Stone to nail Neno once and for all. 

This movie was Van Peebles' first big screen directing outing, and it's a hugely remarkable debut.

It is an example of an early 90's Blaxpilotian flick, directly up with other greats like 'Boyz n the Hood.' Its storyline has many unpredictable twists and turns with a brutal and uncompromising look at the drug scene in New York.

It received favorable reviews for its acting, cast, story, and soundtrack from film critics. Against the budget of $8 million, this movie grossed $47.6 million worldwide.

Reviewers mentioned this movie delivers a vital message, and at the same time, it's riveting and hilarious.

• IMDb: 6.6/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 80%
• Stars: Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, Chris Rock, Judd Nelson
• Director: Mario Van Peebles
• Runtime: 1h 41m

This bubby cop action-comedy movie Bad Boys for Life is the Bad Boys franchise's 3rd installment and the sequel to Bad Boys II.

The story follows the widow of cartel kingpin Benitio, Isabel Aretas, who flees from a Mexican prison to save her son Armando. She asked her son to retrieve the money his father had concealed and assassinate the person accountable for his dad's arrest.

As a result, detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett join the Miami police department to look after the vicious Miami drug cartel leader Armando.

This movie lived up to the hype of Bad Boys 1 and 2, while Will Smith and Martin Lawrence steal the show in this third installment and still get it with their hilarious interactions. It will make you laugh while the action series keeps you on the edge of your seat.

It was well received by critics and even grossed $426.5 million against a budget of $90 million. Fans say it's an instant classic, a modern action buddy-cop Masterpiece.

• IMDb: 6.5/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 76%
• Stars: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig
• Director: Adil & Bilall
• Runtime: 2h 4m

Monster and Men is a 2018 drama film inspired by the Eric Garner killing incident and tells the story of three 'black' men. First, it follows Dennis, whose car is pulled over for no apparent reason, and other police officers question him while off duty.

After the cops check his driver's license, they let him go, but what the cops don't know is that Dennis is a cop himself.

Meanwhile, Manny shot a video of a killing unarmed man by cops in Brooklyn but struggled to release the footage as it would put his future in jeopardy.

At last, the story surrounds a high school baseball phenom, Zurich, who was forced to join the protest against brutality.

It shows the righteous message about police brutality and the daily humiliation of young New York City 'black' men in the white-dominated procedure that assembles justice unreachable for him and his peers.

The movie has received a positive response, and fans feel it has a reasonably balanced expression of this highly charged subject people see all too frequently in today's headlines. 

• IMDb: 6.1/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 83%
• Stars: John David Washington, Anthony Ramos, Kelvin Harrison Jr.
• Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green
• Runtime: 1h 36m

Hype Williams directed Belly, centered around life in New York's crime underworld. It follows the troubled adventures of two New York street criminals, Tommy and Sincere. They spend their nights cracking cars and robbing nightclubs to fulfill their basic needs for some time.

Nevertheless, the big break for them came at the turn of the 2000s, when drug prices were rapidly increasing, and the business was becoming a profitable experience for anyone willing to take the gamble.

However, one of the friend's lack of discipline and tendency to push buttons makes things more risky than they need to be.

This fascinating street drama is more than a rap video/gang-banger movie. It is also one of the best gangster movies on Hulu, as it is one of the better urban movies to come out in the 90's.

The character development, acting, and storyline are pretty engaging and worthwhile. It received average reviews from viewers while poorly taken by critics for its plot. 

• IMDb: 6.2/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 23%
• Stars: Nas, DMX, Taral Hicks, T-Boz, and Method Man
• Director: Hype Williams
• Runtime: 1h 36m