Hurricane

R

Released Feb 13, 1997

1h 26m

Drama

List

88%

16 Reviews

Tomatometer

78%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

A stark portrait of kids living on the edge, "Hurricane Streets" focuses on one teenager's fight to change the circumstances of his life. Brendan Sexton III delivers a powerful performance in the central role of Marcus, a street-smart teen who dreams of the day that he can escape the city trap and live with his mother in the wide open spaces of New Mexico.

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No one asks to be a streetwise kid but sometimes that choice isn't made for anyone growing up young One in particular is Marcus, he wants out of the lifestyle To meet someone and leave New York City to spend free time with his mother in New Mexico Lots of the internal conflicts involve being in a gang he's lived his whole life Not to mention Marcus' mother is sitting in prison for smuggling undocumented aliens into the country So for now he resides with his grandmother Then he meets Melena hoping to steer him in the clear path of life free of crime and delinquency Her father is very overprotective of her too But can Marcus easily walk away? This is just an okay coming of age film with a lot of unknown actors and many quiet moments Yet it does feel very gritty and rough dealing with adolescence given the lifestyle these kids have to endure on a daily basis Mainly Marcus and Melena have had the roughest upbringings with broken parental units So of course both of them are dying for a new change in their lives Not the most memorable of viewings but still life-like enough

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A simple and effective '90s realistic street adventure

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Very solid indie from heyday of indies.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

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Audience Member

Possibly the greatest coming of age drama since The Last Picture Show. Half a star is deducted for the horrible acting by everyone except Sexton III.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Loved it. The angst, the drama, and the everyday pressures of life that all of us face whether we know it or not all work together beautifully in this piece.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

Audience Member

There is nothing outstanding about this little film from the late 90s, the director never really went on to make bigger things, the only actor that I recognise as still being "in work" is Brendan Sexton III, hardly a household name and the film is rarely mentioned in lists of any description; underrated, forgotten, minor classics... even where are they now. But for some reason I really like it. Low key and unassuming from first frame to last, Hurricane Streets follows a 15 year old kid and his young mates for a couple of weeks in the unnamed city n which they live. But really this is all about Marcus (Sexton). Marcus has no father and his mum is in prison. He lives with his grandma who owns a scungy bar with seemingly no clientele. We never really see Marcus at home as he is always hanging with his friends either on the streets or in their "clubhouse", an underground cellar type place where they smoke, drink, talk shit and play darts. Being 15 and without any adult guidance the kids get up to some small time mischief, shoplifting mainly for stuff to sell to kids at the local school. One of the kids however, Chip has definitive plans to be "laaaaarge", he feels that their achievements are small time and wants more. (It should be noted that Chip is also a terrible actor and a total tosser - if you don't want to punch him several times in the film you were never a teenager.) Marcus decides one day leave the city to go back to where he grew up, he has no real plans but feels (at 15) that he needs a change. When I was 15 a change meant new shoes or buying a hat - maybe I had no aspirations. With 3 days to go until he skedaddles though Marcus meets a young girl named Melena and the two hit it off. He also gets nabbed for shoplifting and arrested, finds out more about his Mother and her criminal past than he previously knew and attempts to talk the other boys out of escalating their criminal activity to bigger things. Shoulda just bought a hat really. There really isn't too much more to the film that I can tell, there is a convenient yet contrived plot twist that makes practically no sense whatsoever, but it does lead to one of the better awkward endings to a film that I've seen in a long while, one that I mull over each time I see the film. Given that the main 6 actors in the film are school age a certain degree of settling for less is simply a must, 3 of the 6 are especially awful - Glengarry Glen Ross this ain't, but Brendan Sexton III at least showed enough to have suggested that he had a future in film, even if he hasn't yet landed a big role or a lead yet. It's hard to talk up a film that no-one else has heard of; and that you probably couldn't track down nowadays even if you did want to watch it - but Hurricane Streets manages to convince me to see past the flaws and enjoy the film as the simple, uncluttered and unassuming 90 odd minutes that it is. Final Rating - 8 / 10. A low key indie film that aims for little more than telling a simple story well - and achieves that humble goal. If you liked this review (or even if you didn't) check out oneguyrambling.com for over 500 more.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

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Morgan J. Freeman

Director

Brendan Sexton III

Marcus

Shawn Elliott

Paco

José Zúñiga

Kramer

David Roland Frank

Chip

Carlo Alban

Benny

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Lisa Schwarzbaum

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Rated: B+

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Nell Minow

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Rated: 4/5

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Marc Savlov

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Rated: 4.5/5

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Morgan J. Freeman won the Director and the Audience Award (a rare combination) at the 1997 Sundance Film Fest for his impressive debut, an edgy, well acted coming of age tale.

Rated: B

Oct 6, 2012

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Never rises above the very ordinary.

Rated: C

Sep 7, 2011

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Film Threat

Rated: 3.5/5

Dec 6, 2005

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Synopsis

A stark portrait of kids living on the edge, "Hurricane Streets" focuses on one teenager's fight to change the circumstances of his life. Brendan Sexton III delivers a powerful performance in the central role of Marcus, a street-smart teen who dreams of the day that he can escape the city trap and live with his mother in the wide open spaces of New Mexico.

Director: Morgan J. Freeman
Producer: L.M. Kit Carson, Cynthia Hargrave
Screenwriter: Morgan J. Freeman
Distributor: United Artists
Production Co: Giv'en Films, Posthorn Pictures
Rating: R (Violence|Language|Drug Use)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 13, 1997, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $334.0K
Runtime: 1h 26m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo, DTS, Ultra-Stereo

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