That was an excellent one.

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

i grew up on this movie, its really funny. i love the Crooklyns. its funny,joyful, and a family movie to watch. its about family and growing up. singing and dancing fighting with your family. its a great movie and i love it. I HOPE THE COME UP WITH A NUMBER TWO AND ADD ME. THEY NEED A NUMBER TWO TO BETTER THE FILM.i grew up on this movie, its really funny. i love the Crooklyns. its funny,joyful, and a family movie to watch. its about family and growing up. singing and dancing fighting with your family. its a great movie and i love it. I HOPE THE COME UP WITH A NUMBER TWO AND ADD ME. THEY NEED A NUMBER TWO TO BETTER THE FILM.

Following a brilliant streak of socio-politically charged movies such as "Do the Right Thing", "Jungle Fever" and "Malcolm X", "Crooklyn" comes as a Spike Lee joint in the same vein than "Mo' Better Blues", a lighthearted slice of African-American life in New-York neighborhood centering on a protagonist coming to terms with his personal demons and in the same time, inspiring us in our own real-life situations… another gem that makes me believe that, directing-wise, Lee's "gotta have it."And Spike Lee movies never imitate one another and "Crooklyn" works on its own level, a "N" that evokes both Nostalgia and Neighborhood, Brooklyn where Spike Lee grew up in the 60's and 70's, a Brooklyn misled by that pun in the title, for there's no crook in this Brooklyn, the closest characters to criminals spend time sniffing glue, the closest moments to confrontations are family arguments and the closest to an act of violence is an accidental punch in the face of a noisy neighbor. I don't think I'm spoiling the film by inviting you to lower your guard and stop being afraid, this is a nostalgic film, a coming-of-age story whose heroine is 10-year old Troy (Zelda Harris).It seems like a decade starts to induce nostalgia when it's 20 years old, and like "Dazed and Confused" one year earlier, the 70's started to tickle the mind of nostalgic film-makers, "Crooklyn" is set in 1973 according to some researches, a time where soul music, TV sitcoms, in fact TV and candies defined the most of childhood culture. In one strike of film-making simple genius, the opening credits feature all the games kids were playing at that time and the trivia says that none of the child actors knew how to play these games anymore … these are the devastating effects of the video game generation, to which I belong. But being born in the early 80's, I remembered some of these games and I don't think I got interested in video-games that early, there is more to explain their sinking into oblivion.And the reason has to do with my preconceived ideas about the film, being a Spike Lee movie set in a African-American neighborhood, I expected scenes of violence to punctuate the film, I expected seeing one of the children being confronted to drugs or the use of a gun, I thought that Troy shoplifting and lying to her mother would ultimately lead her to a dangerous descent into crime, I thought the father would be an abusive alcoholic man who'd abuse his wife, and if one thing, it was Alfre Woodward, as the mother, who got on my nerves more than the cool and surprisingly sweet and tender Woody, played by a great Delroy Lindo. No disrespect to Alfre, she just reminded me of my own mother, you have fun with your Dad but not moms and apparently this was still true in Lee's years.Once again, Spike Lee comes with a surprise and shows his capability to be warm and tender, funny and sweet, conveying the real feelings of childhood, but it's not the kind of magic resuscitated through childhood memories, Spike Lee was a teenager in the 70's and didn't sugarcoat his memories or those of his sister Joyce who co-wrote he film, those were really innocent times where kids could be left near the home without fearing getting a stray bullet or something else, kids could play outside, could dance, their only homemade distraction were eating and watching TV, which left plenty of room for imagination. Times have changed, and video-games and violence-oriented TV programs say more about the changes of mentalities and environment that confined kids in the TV room.A film like "Crooklyn" can appeal to any kid who's grown up in any neighborhood, basically, all of us, because it simply tells the story from a grown-up's perspective of how great were these years, when family made one, when our parents were young, where each year featured a new step forward into life. I remembered when I was a kid, each birthday, each number had something special 7, 8, 9, 10 etc. etc. Now, I'm 32 and I couldn't care less … I guess childhood is the magical part of our lives because we can't be nostalgic as kids, we don't have any references from the past, and the future is like in light-years, like stuck forever in childhood, we cherish the present and embrace life with all the fun and all the greatness. And this is what Troy' story is about.Troy is a little girl who tries to make her place in a family full of boys, she's bullied but she always has a comeback, she's sweet and curious, and through her journey, we turn the pages of all inner childhood diary, remembering these days where adults were untouchables or when we had to spend time in a stranger's house. The film features a chapter set in the South where Troy spends some vacation I her Uncle's family, we take a cool breath of fresh air with a cute friendship with a girl. Spike Lee would shoot the scene in a panoramic views but I agree that was unnecessary for the film didn't need these stylistic tricks, it was a novelty on its own. Anyway, after that vacation, you'd expect things to change for Toy, it will but not as you expect, and again, Spike Lee knows how to surprise you.The film is served by a wonderful casting, a great soundtrack reviving all the classics of the 70's, some nice supporting performance, from David Patrick Kelly as the constantly bullied neighbor weirdo to Isaiah Washington and a scene-stealing Aunt Queenie …I still have a soft spot for the performance of Delroy Lindo as a sweet and caring father.

Ahhh who can forget the good Ol' days of Spike Lee films that had heart as well as insight? Who can forget this gem? Crooklyn is loosely based on Spike Lee's life growing up. Its mostly a story that mostly details the struggles of a family growing up in Brooklyn as seen through the eyes of Troy(played by Zelda Harris). There are beautiful performances to be seen here. Alfre Woodard's presence is felt as the stern but loving mother of four kids and Delroy Lindo's is great as the father who is also dealing with pressure as a struggling musician and trying to pay the rent on time. They go through the normal strife that any black family has to go through in poor areas but they still find a way to maintain. I remember as a kid that the last scene with the mom passing on had me choked up. Troy and her brother holding hands at the reception for the funeral was a touching scene too. They drove each other crazy but it was still love in the end. Crooklyn has brief moments of awareness like one scene in particular: Troy's aunt comparing troy's hair to her adopted child's hair saying that the adopted child's hair was good hair and that Troy's hair was rough was a subtle form of self-hatred but most people wouldn't pick up on that. Of course Spike Lee has to make an appearance in the movie. He plays a junkie who chases kids around trying to steal money from them. In short Crooklyn stands out as one the best dramas of all time and one of Spike Lee's best work. The characters are ones that you care about, their struggles are real and anybody who has been there can also relate. Two thumbs up for Spike Lee's work of art on film.

Crooklyn is an engaging film that stands out in Spike Lee's filmography, not only for Lee's seamless storying of everyday life in 70's Brooklyn, but also because of his interesting and innovative cinematic imagery. The cinematography Lee employs in Crooklyn helps to create fantastic -sometimes even cartoon-like- environments in which his characters spring to life and thrive. His dollying techniques (placing actors on dollies), lens choice, and manipulation of color conspire to add special characteristics to this film. This is a great film to watch not only for Lee's ability to highlight the beauty of the quotidian in his storytelling, but also for the aesthetic qualities that Lee produces with his rich filmic vocabulary.