Bill Cosby: Himself (1983)

Starring:

• Bill Cosby:

IMDB.com
"Himself" is one of Mr. Cosbys standup routines with parts about the weekends children going to the dentist and many other normal situations.

Absolutely hilarious, you won't be able to stop laughing. Bill Cosby is a comic genius! I grew up with this movie, and it's one that will live on in my family forever. Brilliant! Whether he is talking about dentists, parenthood, or his own childhood, Mr. Cosby draws us into his stories, and enthralls us with his tales of "brain-damaged people." His stories touch our hearts and remind us of the good times of our own childhood, adolescence, parenthood, and life in general. This is definitely a show that everyone should see, if not own for their own collections. I've shown it to countless people, and not a single one has not liked it. Usually we go around quoting it for a few days. There is so much goodness in Mr. Cosby's humor, and it's something I think that we need more of in the world today.

Pimps Up, Ho's Down (1999)

Directed by:

• Brent Owens

IMDB.com
This HBO documentary looks at the lifestyle of the modern day pimp, without any condemnation or real depth. These swaggering men (and one woman) discuss how they control their 'hos' as if they were regular businessmen. Although no regular businessman would dress in their flamboyant style which seems a parody of those 'Blaxploitation' characters in the 1970's movies. We see them preparing, with great seriousness of purpose, for 'The Pimp of the Year' competition, while guest star Ice-T tells of how proud he is of his pimp background, which he sees as little different to the record or film industry. Pointedly, violence towards the women is never addressed. All we see is a troupe of apparently adoring (and often skanky looking ) acolytes. As far as we learn from this, the prostitutes need a good pimp to look up to and 'take of them'. These fellows wax philosophical about their calling while seemingly lacking any moral view. Having said all that, the pic is lively and colorful, with a lot of amusing characters on display. Remember---never make eye contact with your pimp.

Hood 2 Hood - The Blockumentary (2005)

Directed by:

• Aquis Bryant

Wiki.org
The documentary takes a tour through American neighborhoods with high crime rates. Street gangs allowed Rich Kid Entertainment to capture the day-to-day actions of life in gang-ridden neighborhoods. Rich Kid Entertainment traveled to over 29 different cities and neighborhoods which included the hoods that many music artists grew up in, such as Jay-Z, Eminem, Nelly, Suge Knight, Mac Dre, Michael Jackson, 3-6 Mafia, Juvenile, T.I. and Nas.

The documentary was used by police to help in investigations. A Las Vegas man, an alleged member of the Gerson Park Kingsmen, has been charged with murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.