Director: Rick Famuyiwa
Year Released: 2015
Rating: 1.5
Self-professed "90's geek" Malcolm (Shameik Moore) - along with his outcast friends Jib (Tony Revolori) and Diggy (Kiersey Clemons) - live in a bad part of Los Angeles ("The Bottoms") and play pop-punk and get good grades but get into trouble when they end up with a ton of drugs - Molly! - because of an unfortunate encounter with a kingpin (A$AP Rocky, usually dressed in Rick Owens and Raf Simons). Tone is a major issue here: on one hand it wants to be this technologically astute movie for Millenials featuring some likeable kids who collect old school gear (Gameboys!) and vintage clothes who come out ahead in life ... on the other hand it wants to touch on the drugs-and-crime aspect of the society they live in (sex! pills! gang warfare!) without turning it into something grim like Menace II Society. Challenges credibility as it goes on - not sure how kids can get away with chopping up dope in science class, not sure what Blake Anderson's 1337 h4x0r is talking about (Bitcoins!) - and no one, for their misdeeds, gets in serious trouble (shoe incident: forgiven! all it took was a handgun) and Malcolm heads off to Cambridge, Massachusetts (Blackmail!).
