Movies like Light It Up
If you like "Light It Up" you are looking for hood, tense and rough movies about / with high school, urban, black, school, coming of age, hip hop and die hard themes of Drama and Thriller genre shot in USA.
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Light It Up (1999)
4K
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min.
Story:
On a winter day in a southside Queens high school, events collide and six students are suddenly in an armed standoff with the NYPD. At the school, classrooms freeze, teachers come and go, resources are scant.
Style:
hood, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, inspirational, thought provoking, feel good ...
Audience:
teens, girls' night
Plot:
high school, urban, black, school, coming of age, hip hop, die hard, swat team, conspiracy, hip hop culture, discrimination, danger, blaxploitation, pregnancy, youth, hostage, life is a bitch, society, law enforcement, down on your luck, juvenile delinquency, city life, attic, kids in trouble, police ...
Time:
year 1999, 90s
Place:
new york, usa, new jersey
Movie in categories
Most similar movies to Light It Up
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out serious, realistic, rough and independent film films with plots about society, urban, life is a bitch, urban ghetto, black, hip hop and gang mostly in Drama, Crime and Thriller genres. Some movies like Light It Up: Corrupt (1999), Straight Out of Brooklyn (1991), Thicker Than Water (1999), One Eight Seven (1997), Riot (1996). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 69 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
hood, independent film, serious, realistic, suspenseful ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
ghetto, gang, urban, hip hop, hip hop culture, underworld, discrimination, urban setting, gangster, urban ghetto, drug dealing, criminal heroes ...
Time:
90s
Place:
new york, usa, bronx new york city
Similarity:
95%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
hood, independent film, serious, realistic, bleak ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
urban, gang, black, hip hop, african american, black gangster, blaxploitation, downbeat ending, hip hop culture, thug life, villain, thug ...
Time:
year 1991, 90s
Place:
new york, usa, brooklyn new york city
Similarity:
94%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
hood, independent film, cynical, realistic, serious ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
hip hop, urban, ghetto, rapper, black, discrimination, hip hop culture, gang, drug dealing, partner, gangster, friends ...
Time:
90s
Place:
south america, los angeles, new orleans, california, usa ...
Similarity:
91%
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min.
Story:
After surviving a stabbing by a student, teacher Trevor Garfield moves from New York to Los Angeles. There, he resumes teaching as a substitute teacher. The education system, where violent bullies control the classrooms and the administration is ...
Style:
hood, cult classic, suspense, realistic, disturbing ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
teacher, high school, urban, hip hop, revenge, gang, gangster, vigilante, vengeance, mentor, teaching, mexican gang ...
Time:
year 1997, 90s, 20th century
Place:
los angeles, new york, usa, manhattan new york city, new jersey ...
Similarity:
50%
Movie in collections
418
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
In April 1992, following the notorious Rodney King verdict, the streets of Los Angeles became a battlefield, the backdrop to four personal intertwined stories.
Style:
independent film, anthology, serious, realistic, tense ...
Plot:
racism, die hard, black lives matter, discrimination, hip hop culture, hip hop, nypd, civil rights, drug addiction, rebellion, violent content, chaos and mayhem ...
Time:
20th century, 90s
Place:
south central los angeles, america, los angeles, usa
Similarity:
90%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
hood, realistic, rough, serious, suspenseful ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
murder, betrayal, urban, chase, vengeance, criminal's revenge, law enforcement, crime gone awry, life is a bitch, femme fatale, rivalry, criminal heroes ...
Time:
year 1998, 90s
Place:
california, usa, los angeles
Similarity:
89%
2K
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
Over the course of one day, a shy 13-year-old forms a bond with his troubled uncle.
Style:
serious, captivating, touching, realistic, rough ...
Plot:
boy, family relations, odd couple, dysfunctional family, friendship, black, life is a bitch, orphan, danger, african american, hip hop culture, urban ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
maryland, baltimore, usa
Similarity:
89%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
rough, realistic, serious, bleak, tense ...
Plot:
urban ghetto life, gangster, juvenile delinquency, racism, social decay, dishonesty, city life, dysfunctional family, police investigation, interracial relations, drug dealing, law enforcement ...
Place:
usa, san francisco
Similarity:
88%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min.
Story:
Colonel Casey discovers what appears to be plans by General Lloyd to use fake military excercises to assist Jack Giddings in his plans to remove President Foster from office. Colonel Casey, and President Foster must find evidence that there is a ...
Style:
serious, suspenseful, realistic, tense, political thriller
Plot:
coup d'etat, conspiracy, terrorism, political corruption, state affairs, betrayal, government agency, undercover, manhunt, special agent, revolution, danger ...
Time:
90s
Similarity:
87%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 78 min.
Story:
Inspired by a true story, this drama is set in 1965, not long after passage of the Civil Rights Act. Despite the Act, the African-American citizens of Bogalusa are still treated like third-class citizens, their fundamental rights as human beings ...
Style:
suspenseful, disturbing, thought provoking, tense, bleak ...
Plot:
racism, politics, injustice, culture clash, state affairs, vigilantism, social decay, discrimination, police corruption, african american, blaxploitation, black ...
Time:
60s
Place:
usa, louisiana
Similarity:
87%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
Tommy, a talented Puerto Rican painter living in the South Bronx, befriends Allen, a white kid who's faced constant harassment since moving to the neighborhood with his single mother, Susan.
Style:
rough, serious, disturbing, realistic, crime drama ...
Plot:
kids in trouble, lifestyle, gang, friendship, urban ghetto life, life is a bitch, prodigy, redemption, drug dealing, vengeance, police corruption, human nature ...
Time:
90s
Place:
south america, new york, usa
Similarity:
87%
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
Avery (Jones) returns to college as a competitive swimmer after getting his life back on track. But his life takes another unexpected turn when he and his two friends (Bonds, Casseus) are wrongly accused of murder and end up in prison.
Style:
disturbing, realistic, serious, hood, crime drama ...
Plot:
prison life, gang, prison riot, life is a bitch, family life, vengeance, dishonesty, false accusation, ghetto, wrongful conviction, murder, criminal heroes ...
Similarity:
86%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 121 min.
Story:
When his mom deposits him at the Red Hook housing project in Brooklyn to spend the summer with the grandfather he’s never met, young Flik may as well have landed on Mars. Fresh from his cushy life in Atlanta, he’s bored and friendless, and his ...
Style:
serious, realistic, touching, captivating, independent film ...
Plot:
church, family relations, fish out of water, life is a bitch, youth, society, clergy, religions or cults, family life, disorder, coming of age, discrimination ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
new york, brooklyn new york city
Similarity:
86%
16K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, France
Duration: 114 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
hood, realistic, bleak, suspenseful, neo noir ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
chess, childhood trauma, coming of age, drug dealing, drug lord, african american, ghetto, father son relationship, drug, hip hop, urban ghetto, blaxploitation ...
Time:
90s, year 1994
Place:
new york, brooklyn new york city, usa, new jersey, africa
Similarity:
85%
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min.
Story:
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.
Style:
hood, serious, suspenseful, tense, realistic ...
Plot:
urban, drug dealing, black, gang, going straight, urban ghetto, life is a bitch, juvenile delinquency, siblings relations, addiction, drug abuse, gangster ...
Time:
90s, year 1993
Place:
usa, harlem, new york, harlem, new york city, manhattan new york city ...
Similarity:
84%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
A fearless cop is taking on a ruthless crimelord. He knew the risks. He just didn't know how far he would have to go.
Style:
hood, entertaining, exciting, rough, suspenseful ...
Audience:
boys' night, teens
Plot:
gang, undercover, gangster, ghetto, police detective, hip hop, adaptation, friendship, brutality, betrayal, mentor, transformation ...
Time:
year 1999, 90s, 70s
Similarity:
84%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
hood, melancholic, brutal, serious, disturbing ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
gang, brutality, ghetto, police investigation, urban, vengeance, hip hop, murder, lone hero, black, teenage life, drug dealing ...
Time:
90s, 70s
Place:
new jersey, new york, usa, california
Similarity:
84%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Sport, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.
Style:
hood, inspirational, independent film, serious, realistic ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
hip hop, basketball, african american, gang, high school, urban, ghetto, black, gangster, violence, coming of age, thug ...
Time:
year 1994, 90s, 20th century, 80s
Place:
harlem, new jersey, new york
Similarity:
84%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
When a brutal carjacking yields a videocamera, a teenage boy decides to document his life and the lives of his fellow gangbangers.
Style:
rough, serious, hood, tense, suspense ...
Plot:
gang, found footage, ghetto, urban, tough heroes, social decay, life is a bitch, juvenile delinquency, drug dealing, society, criminal heroes, going straight ...
Place:
california, usa, los angeles
Similarity:
84%
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
"Breaking Point" is a dramatic tale of corruption and self-realization, in which one man has to overcome a deep seeded conspiracy and his own lingering past in order to gain the redemption he desires.
Style:
suspenseful, rough, serious, realistic, hood ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
murder, conspiracy, dishonesty, law enforcement, uncover truth, partner, unlikely partners, legal investigation, legal, redemption, strong violent content, gang leader ...
Place:
usa, new york
Similarity:
83%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min.
Story:
Malik (Omar Epps) is an African-American student attending on a track scholarship; academics are not his strong suit, and he goes in thinking that his athletic abilities will earn him a free ride through college. Fudge (Ice Cube), a ...
Style:
realistic, hood, intense, serious, emotional ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
lesbian, racism, violence, politics, skinhead, hip hop, university, college life, prejudice, black, stereotypes, corruption ...
Time:
20th century, 90s
Place:
los angeles, california, new jersey
Similarity:
83%
424
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
A tragic tale of an Asian youth's gang life in South East Los Angeles, set during the mid 80's to the early 90s.
Style:
realistic, rough, suspenseful, serious, crime drama
Plot:
juvenile delinquency, gang, best friend, youth, rivalry, urban ghetto life, tough heroes, criminal heroes, prison, murder, society, life is a bitch ...
Time:
90s, 20th century
Place:
los angeles
Similarity:
83%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
ANNE B. REAL is the coming of age story of a young female rapper, who finds her inspiration by reading the Diary of Anne Frank.
Style:
sincere, serious, realistic, touching, contemplative
Plot:
hip hop, introspection, lifestyle, teenage life, youth, juvenile delinquency, life is a bitch, urban ghetto, urban ghetto life, family life, siblings relations, coming of age ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
new york, usa, manhattan new york city
Similarity:
82%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
Chantel Mitchell (Ariyan Johnson), a hip, articulate, black high-school girl in Brooklyn, is determined not to become "just another girl on the IRT" (the IRT is one of NYC's subway lines). She dreams of medical school, a family, and ...
Style:
independent film, realistic, serious, touching, sentimental ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
black, pregnancy, women of color, urban, teenage pregnancy, pregnant teenager, homeless, nudity, poverty, solace, troubled youth, black history ...
Time:
year 1992, 90s, 20th century
Place:
brooklyn new york city, indiana, new york, usa
Similarity:
82%
875
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
Focusing on the bonding between three female (an African American female, a half African American half Latino American female, and a Latino American female) high school members of Brooklyn's "Jackie Robinson Steppers Marching Band" ...
Style:
disturbing, sincere, thought provoking, touching, independent film ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
asthma, friendship, high school, teenager, adolescence, musician's life, lifestyle, against the odds, life is a bitch, youth, hopes, society ...
Time:
90s, 80s, future
Place:
new york, usa, brooklyn new york city, africa, california ...
Similarity:
82%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
hood, inspirational, serious, realistic, tense ...
Plot:
black, urban, blaxploitation, boot camp, thug life, ghetto, prison, prison life, black history, thug, black man, drug dealing ...
Time:
90s
Similarity:
82%
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min.
Story:
A high-level government hit squad is sent into the streets in order to complete a deadly mission.
Style:
realistic, suspenseful, rough, serious, stylized ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
gang, rival gang, working undercover, life is a bitch, undercover, urban ghetto life, rivalry, partners against crime, danger, partner, hip hop, gang war ...
Time:
90s
Place:
usa, detroit
Similarity:
82%
361
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
independent film, serious, realistic, suspenseful, rough ...
Plot:
gang, black, gas station, optimism, urban ghetto, friends, kids in trouble, realism, society, drug dealing, criminal heroes, dealing with death ...
Time:
year 1997, 90s
Place:
massachusetts, boston
Similarity:
82%
641
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
BLACKOUT takes you inside the personal journey of what went down and what it was really like in Brooklyn, NY on August 14. It examines the nature of man to take advantage of his own fellow man outside of normal conditions, in times of weakness and ...
Style:
serious, suspenseful, realistic, rough, disturbing ...
Plot:
society, chaos and mayhem, city life, interracial relations, blackout, lie, danger, violence, nypd, urban, stash, woman
Time:
year 2003, 20th century, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
usa, new york
Similarity:
81%
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min.
Story:
A teen seductress pulls three other privileged Malibu kids into her devious scheme, and unforeseen consequences force the group to face their own fears and mortality.
Style:
serious, tense, realistic, suspenseful, teen ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
sexual content, best friend, dishonesty, dangerous attraction, danger, disorder, teenage life, boy girl relationship, profanity, teenager, manipulation, moral dilemma ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
california, usa, malibu california
Similarity:
81%
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