Dope

All the clichés of the African-American 'hood movie are turned on their head in this joyously fast-paced crime caper, in which three friends from the mostly black area of Inglewood, Los Angeles, horrify their posturing peers with their squeaky-clean behaviour and such nerdy interests as BMX biking and collecting cheesy, old-school hip-hop - preferably on vinyl. The two clans connect at a birthday party for drug dealer Dom (rapper A$ap Rocky), where bright student Malcolm (Shameik Moore) is unwittingly saddled with a stash of top-grade narcotics after an attack by rival gang members. Now in fear for his life, Malcolm and his two quick-witted cohorts, Jib (The Grand Budapest Hotel's Tony Revolori) and Diggy (Kiersey Clemons) must negotiate between the gangsters trying to steal the drugs and the mystery Mr Big who wants them back. The stakes are high, but Dope is far from grim: it's a fast, funky and good-hearted take on the urban heist movie.