Omar & Pete (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)Omar and Pete is a poignant look at these two longtime friends that have spent a considerable portion of their lives in and out of the prison system. Before examining the world outside, as Omar is about to be released from yet another stint in the correctional system, he reveals his thoughts and fears regarding his past and his uncertain future of freedom once again.
Upon re-entering society, this story begins by following Leon `Omar' Mason in his sometimes difficult and painful journey to start a new life. Despite the best of intentions and making decent strides to improve himself, Omar eventually suffers from multiple relapses due to a drug addiction, he deals with the agony of a death in the family, and his battle with other personal problems threaten to consume him altogether.
Pete Duncan, a resident manager at a transition house where Omar is placed, is a recovering drug addict who has been out of prison for 10 months now and he helps others to repair their broken lives. Time is spent here looking at Pete and his rewarding efforts and it is evident that he has found the correct mindset to keep himself productive and healthy in society.
I'd like to say that the ending to Omar's story ended up being a happy one but I can't do that. After failed attempts at detox programs and counseling plus new felony offenses, Omar was once again incarcerated and he faces a long prison sentence. Pete, on the other hand, is still going strong these days. He is drug free and out of the transition house and was subsequently promoted from a drug counselor to a residential supervisor.
`Omar & Pete' is a well produced documentary in my opinion and emotional in its content. There aren't any easy answers or quick fixes regarding transition from prison back to mainstream society but this story looks at the struggle from several distinct perspectives and it does an admirable job in that regard.

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A "vivid, sobering portrait" that "packs considerable cumulative punch" (Variety) OMAR & PETE is a compelling and highly personal film that examines the social, economic, and personal barriers two ex-offenders face as they try to reintegrate into their communities and families. In and out of prison for more than 30 years, Omar and Pete are determined to change their lives. Upon release, both participate in the Maryland Reentry Program, which is designed to help long-term repeat offenders stay out of prison. This intimate and penetrating film follows the two long-time friends for several years after what they hope will be their final prison release. In that time, their lives take divergent paths as one wrestles with addiction and fear while the other finds success and freedom through helping others. Their story boldly exposes the many barriers to successful reintegration and the complex, often frustrating challenges that men who were formerly incarcerated face when reentering society. Written, produced, and directed by Academy Award nominated and Emmy award-winning filmmaker Tod Lending, OMAR & PETE provides an honest and unflinching portrait of how challending life on the outside can be for men who have lived much of their lives behind bars. DVD Features: Deleted Scenes; Filmmaker Interview; Filmmaker Statement; Filmmaker Biography; Interactive Menus; Scene Selection [NOTE - Aspect ratio 16:9 Widescreen]

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Bad Lieutenant (1992) Review

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(More customer reviews)I had heard, by word of mouth over the years, that "Bad Lieutenant" was truly extraordinary, but nothing could really prepare me for the sheer visceral impact of the film, or the electrifying, career best performance, given by Harvey Keitel, in fact I watched the film 3 days ago, and have deliberately waited `til now to write this review.
After much thought I have to say that "Bad Lieutenant" really is a monstrous train-wreck of a movie, but what keeps you watching, utterly mesmerized, unable to look away for an instant, is Keitel's performance as the titular character. He's never given a name in the film, or even in the credits, he's just the "Lieutenant," and "Bad?" "Bad" doesn't even begin to describe this guy, as the front of the DVD case puts it, "Gambler. Thief. Junkie. Killer. Cop."
After surviving on the mean streets of New York for 20 years, he has seen, and pretty well done, it all; the "Lieutenant" is a man who exists in a nihilistic Hell of his own making, and we watch as he roars headlong towards his own destruction, along the way, plumbing the very depths of abject human depravity.
A lapsed Catholic, he is still wracked by guilt for the truly awful deeds he commits, whether it's doing and/or selling drugs, booze, sex, gambling, thieving, killing, the "Lieutenant" is a soul in torment. Unable to find a way out, he is sinking deeper and deeper into a morass of yet MORE drugs, MORE booze, MORE bets he can't cover, and more, meaningless, cold, emotionless, and depraved, sexual acts.
Yet somewhere deep inside this blasted shell of a man, there still exists a spark of humanity, so lost in the wretched, savage squalor of his life, that even HE doesn't know it's there. Then one day he becomes involved in the investigation of a crime that shocks even him... the brutal rape of a Catholic nun. Initially coldly dismissive of what the young woman had been through, he listens in on her conversations with her superiors and is shocked to his core to discover that even though her bruises are still fresh, she has already forgiven her attackers. She knows their names but won't pass them on to the police.
The "Lieutenant" can barely comprehend how can such a thing can be, how can she forgive such a terrible act... such a terrible sin? If she can forgive so much, then maybe, just maybe, he himself can find some kind of redemption, maybe someone - God? - can forgive him HIS sins. After his confrontation with the nun, howling out his characters pain, and anger, and hurt, and fear, Harvey Keitel gives the most searingly honest, desperate, and emotionally raw performance of his career.
Bleak, brutal, depraved, and honest, are some of the words that I would use to describe this film, which is NOT easy to watch, especially this NC-17 version, but it's a film that SHOULD be watched by anyone who is serious about Cinema as an art form. Between them, Ferrera and Keitel have produced an extraordinary cinematic experience, unbending and uncompromising in its exploration of the human condition, powerful and unforgiving, it forces you to actually THINK about the subject matter, and to face the rotten darkness in the heart of this particular human soul.
I would like to end this review with a bit of trivia concerning Keitel's performance. Regardless of whether you love this film or hate it - like "2001," this film seems to generate extreme reactions - no one can argue about the power, and sheer gut-wrenching truthfulness, of Keitel's performance. Depending on exactly when the film was released, Keitel would have been eligible for a shot at either the '92 or '93 Oscar for Best Actor. So who won? Well, I looked it up, and Keitel "lost" to, either, Al Pacino in "Scent of a Woman" in '92, or, God help us, Tom Hanks in "Philadelphia" in '93! Next time I find myself getting even mildly curious about who's taking home one of the gold statuettes, this little bit of trivia will kind-of put the whole tawdry circus into perspective!

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He\'s a gambler...a thief...a junkie...a killer and a cop. Now he is investigating the most shocking case of his life and as he moves closer to the truth his self-destructive past is closing in.System Requirements:Starring Harvey Keitel Leonard Thomas Paul Calderone Paul Hipp Victor Argo Victoria Bastel Zoe TamerlisDirected by Abel FerraraRunning time: 96 minutesCopyright Artisan EntertainmentFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre:ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating:NC-17 UPC:012236114307 Manufacturer No:11430

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The Wackness (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)Yo! Don't be whack!
The award winning film (Sundance Audience Award) "The Wackness" is now out on DVD and it's definitely one of the coolest and more pleasant coming-of-age films to come out in a long while and a DVD with features that embraces that non-traditional style courtesy of writer/director Josh Levine.
"The Wackness" stars well-known legendary award winning actor Ben Kingsley and "Drake & Josh" actor Josh Peck who appears to have shed his young teen Nickelodeon image for the character of 18-year-old Luke Shapiro. Both playing roles so different from what we have seen of them and both delivering an exceptional performance.
The year is 1994, A high school teenager in New York who doesn't have any friends but spends his time selling marijuana using his disguise as a person who sells ice in the park, while saving up all his money.
But all is not cool in the life of Luke, his parents are having some financial problems and in danger of being evicted, his mind is on getting laid and losing his virginity and the only person he can communicate his emotions to is one of his clients, Dr. Jeffrey Squires (Ben Kingsley). He wants some anti-depressants but Squires tells him to embrace his pain and more or less, he needs to find a girlfriend and get laid.
Dr. Squires is not exactly a role model for Josh. He's a product of the 60's, loves doing cocaine and marijuana and somehow, is able to connect with Luke and provides him professional advice for drugs. But like Luke, his life is not at all going that great. His relationship with his wife Kristin is not at all going so great and all they have is their memories of sex and doing drugs. Meanwhile, he notices that his step-daughter Stephanie (Olivia Thirlby, "Juno") is getting closer to Luke. But realizes that it's not love that she has for Luke, it's just a sexual fling.
Luke doesn't have much experience with people, love and thus he discovers himself while hanging out with Stephanie. Dr. Squires as a father doesn't want his stepdaughter to be around a drug dealer but at the same time, as his psychiatrist, he doesn't feel that Stephanie is good for Luke. But after their passionate time together, he develops feelings for Stephanie so strong that when he says the words of "I Love You" to her, Stephanie realizes that this fling has gone so far and ends their romantic fling and all communication with Luke. Around that same time, Dr. Squires wife Kristin decides to leave her husband.
Both men are obviously heartbroken but somehow, they find comfort in talking with each other and thus Luke and Dr. Squires form a friendship that would interestingly introduce Dr. Squires to Luke's world and for Luke, getting the needed therapy from his shrink. So, the story pretty much focuses on a young man (Luke) who is guided by an older man (Dr. Squires) but then the story starts to shift of the younger guy guiding an older man.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
The film is featured in anamorphic widescreen ala 2:35:1 ratio. The film is shot in different parts of Tokyo but oviously scenes such as the Twin Towers had to be put into the film. When you do a period piece, especially if it's 1994, with a busy city like New York, unless you have a huge budget, you got make do what with what you have. And thus a lot of the scenes are shot indoors but you do have some outdoor scenes with Luke and Stephanie at the beach or areas where Luke is dealing drugs.
As for audio, you get a English and French 5.1 Dolby Digital track and the film is primarily a dialogue driven film. But audio-wise, what makes this film shine is the fact that it's 1994 and the old school songs, especially the hip-hop songs of that time are what comes blaring out your speakers. Bass and all courtesy of artists such as Notorious B.I.G., a Tribe Called Quest, KRS-One, Nas, Biz Markie, etc.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The DVD shines in its amount of special features offered. Included are:
* Commentary with Director Jonathan Levine and Actor Josh Peck - A very casual and cool commentary and you learn important tidbits about the film. From Ben Kingsley giving advice to Josh, having to work with Mary-Kate in the amount of hours they had to work with her and how hard it was for Josh Peck to do his lovemaking scene with Olivia Thirlby. Levine and Peck have cool and fun commentary talking about blunts, the music, it's typically a commentary that is like hanging out with friends. Especially at the end when they talk about hanging out after the commentary and playing XBOX 360, you don't hear that on director's commentary, so it's all good.
* Keeping it Real: A Day in the Life of Writer/Director Jonathan Levine - For this eight minute feature, Jonathan Levine is traveling around the country and London to promote "The Wackness" at film festivals and interviews at radio stations. Jonathan is joined by the cast and his girlfriend, production designer Annie Spitz and his brother and his girlfriend.
* Time in a Bottle: Behind the Scenes of The Wackness - An 18-minute featurette featuring behind-the-scenes on the making of the film. Levine explains that the film is not 100% autobiographical and a screenplay that was based on an idea he had during filmschool. Also, featuring Levine's staff and how they were able to get that 1994 setting.
* The Luke Shapiro Show Episode 1 & 2 - These are five minute short episodes that were created for cable access featuring Luke Shapiro and his doorman Miguel. The first featuring Luke, Miguel (on keyboards) and his super Tony. The second featuring Luke, Miguel (on keyboards) and a dancer.
* Deleted Scenes - This scene features four deleted/extended scenes from the film. The total amount of deleted scenes is about five minutes long featuring "Luke Works in Cap and Gown", "Extended Squires Vacation", "Squires in Stephanie's Room" and "Dad's Walkman Scheme".
* The Wackness Trailers - Featuring all five theatrical and teaser trailers
I have to say that "The Wackness" is a pretty cool coming-of-age film and yes, there have been many of these type of movies but a definitely, unique film. Having the film set in 1994, having the main character as a drug dealer, having his psychiatrist as one of his clients and also a hardcore drug user and just how everything just comes together is quite enjoyable.
But the performances by Ben Kingsley and Josh Peck was well done. Two roles by talents that I would never see coming. Ben Kingsley in so many serious roles in "Ghandi", "Schindler's List", "Rules of Engagement" to name a few and then Josh Peck who stars in the Nickelodeon teen show "Drake & Josh", these two taking on roles so different and to see them drinking alcohol and doing/dealing drugs, definitely it's quite a bit of a surprise. But the unique thing is that these two talents had tremendous chemistry and everything worked out quite well.
And there are also a good number of talent in this film. Olivia Thirlby did a great job as Squire's daughter Stephanie and Luke's love interest. Did a great job playing a sexual teen and then you have Mary-Kate Olsen as a pothead who just makes out with Ben Kingsley. Famke Janssen as Dr. Squires sexy wife, Method Man playing the character "Percy" as Luke's supplier and much more.
There are just these small moments in the film, from mannerisms to the small things that a character does, it really makes this film seem quite realistic and make it all work. Of course, the early 90's nostalgia and the music plays a big part in the film. When Luke and Olivia are making love, R. Kelly playing on the boom box to Luke playing Zelda on his NES, these small things are what many people who grew up at the time and listened to the music can related to. So, definitely a nice touch!
And the DVD, just makes you love the film even more with cool commentary, the featurettes and more. It's not all business-like and professional. You have Levine and Peck quite casual and as I mentioned in the commentary section, it's like hanging out with a few friends and just everyone having a good time.
Now granted, perhaps I may be a bit biased having grown up with the pop culture of the 90's and hearing the songs and the style from those years boosting my appreciation for the film but for an indie film, I have to admit that the overall presentation was quite non-traditional. Again, there are a bunch of "coming-of-age" films out there but this one was really thinking outside of the box and instead of getting a "revenge of the nerd" happy-feel good storyline, each of these characters have flaws but it's all about discovering one's self.
All in all, a solid DVD with a lot of humor, a lot of soul and all out fun!

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WACKNESS - DVD Movie

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Chungking Express (The Criterion Collection) (1994) Review

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(More customer reviews)Located in the heart of mainland Hong Kong, the Chungking Mansions loom huge and ramshackle over Nathan Road. Wags and scoundrels haunt its gates, along with a ragged assortment of Indian touts, whores and long-term transient workers from Africa. Restaurants, tailors, psychics and a whole host of other occupations - some undoubtably illegal - infest the bottom floors in tiny, grimy compartments. Chungking is also the backpacker ghetto of Kowloon: guesthouses offer rooms as cheap as $10 a night, and the loose, chaotic atmosphere is appealing to the more adventurous traveler. When I visited Hong Kong for a week in 2002, there was no other realistic option, for finance concerns and the `lust for life' drive, than the infamous Chungking: intrigue seemed to lurk around every corner. While staying there, my guesthouse manager suggested I rent and watch the *Chungking Express*, a 1994 film by Won Kar Wai, loosely connected around the building. I never got around to it...until three years later...and in a way I'm glad I waited to watch this delicious romp about love, obsession and betrayal, for it sparked the nostalgia cylinders and left me in that awed, giddy state that only the best of films can do.
Made on the quick by Won Kar Wai as a means of rejuvenating his creative energy, *Chungking Mansions* originally consisted of three interlocking stories, but one met the axe (to resurface as its own film) to give proper attention (i.e. running time) to those that remained. Of the two stories, only the first has any relation with the Chungking Mansions: a hard-luck dame scours the sleazy corridors for drug-mules, and I must say that the general ambience of the Mansions is faithfully captured. The second story occurs in Kowloon and on the Island, and is connected to the first by one chance encounter (~a brilliant means of transitioning chapters) and the underlying themes of loneliness, disconnection and desire.
In the first tale, undercover cop He Zhiwu (Takeshi Kaneshiro) broods over the disintegration of his relationship with `May,' pining for his lost love with a rather unrealistic `period of absence' scheme and, after a time, seeking comfort from any chance encounter. "I'll fall in love with the next woman I see," Zhiwu vows in a fit of desperation; and who should come along but Brigette Lin, a mysterious figure whom we've already seen in dire straights in the bowels of Chungking. This story has the visual glamour of noir - red-lit bars, blur-motion fragments of violence, a femme fatale betrayed and subsequently `saved' by the gentleman Zhiwu - yet the dialoge really makes it stand above more typical entries into the genre, especially Zhiwu's internal narration, which ranges from clueless to insightful to downright hilarious. Slight but charming, with enough visceral action and mystery to keep the pace from flagging.
The second story is by far my favorite of the two, and most audiences agree on this, taking into consideration critical acclaim and the reviews on this page; it is easy to see why. A cop (Tony Leung) stops at the same deli every day for his coffee and chef salad, where he meets and slowly develops a relationship with Faye (Faye Wong), a not-quite-sane nymphet who promptly falls in love with him. Acquiring a key to his apartment, Faye begins to sneak in and rearrange her secret love's living quarters while he is gone. Leave it to the Chinese to make stalker-obsession cute and poignant! Yet it works, due in large part to the natural sounding and psychologically keen dialogue of the script, and therein made effective by the acting of the two leads. Faye Wong, perhaps the biggest pop/rock star in China, makes her screen debut here, and what a debut! It is practically impossible to not fall a little in love with her furtive, wild-at-heart character. Wong articulates more with a mere look or throwaway gesture about the titanic struggle of repressed desire than most professional actors seem capable of. Tony Leung, a veteran of Hong Kong's silver screen, shines as usual as the lonesome, half-oblivious cop, and his energy with Wong feels right, so natural. This is very important in the later climax of the film, when the director stretches the tension to a breaking point and even manages to milk some well-earned trauma from these circling, faraway (so close) lonely souls.
Watching *Chungking Express* brought back a lot of memories. In the background and seeping through the surface, Hong Kong glitters and roars, and the film itself eventually feels like an organic growth of the city, in tune to its rhythms and real-life atmosphere. But one not need be acquainted with the City of the Nine Dragons to appreciate the quality of *Chungking Express* - this is movie magic in its finest form, infectious and reflective, a paramount example of Asian cinema at its most illuminating. Five stars.

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The whiplash, double-pronged Chungking Express is one of the defining works of nineties cinema and the film that made Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai an instant icon. Two heartsick Hong Kong cops (Takeshi Kaneshiro and Tony Leung), both jilted by ex-lovers, cross paths at the Midnight Express take-out restaurant stand, where the ethereal pixie waitress Faye (Faye Wong) works. Anything goes in Wong s gloriously shot and utterly unexpected charmer, which cemented the sex appeal of its gorgeous stars and forever turned canned pineapple and the Mamas and the Papas California Dreamin into tokens of romantic longing.SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES: New, restored high-definition digital transfer DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Audio commentary by noted Asian cinema critic Tony Rayns U.S. theatrical trailer New and improved English subtitle translation PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by critic Amy Taubin and excerpts from a 1996 Sight and Sound interview with Wong by Rayns More!

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Degrassi: The Next Generation - Season Five (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)I love the cheesy escapism of this Canadian teen soap, in which every episode is A Very Special Episode. Watch Manny pursue acting, Emma struggle with anorexia, Liberty and J.T. deal with possible parenthood, Craig make it big in music, Spinner try to redeem himself, Jimmy struggle with his identity post-parapalegia, Paige explore a different aspect of her sexuality, and Marco come out to his Dad. And more. The stories seem a little better fleshed out this season, perhaps because of the back work done in season 4. In addition, the writing seems snappier and funnier, but I could have just been tired from being up all night with the baby;) Pure escapist fun. A guilty pleasure for those of us far past our high school days.

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In case you thought that Degrassi High couldn't get any more intense…think again. This season, the challenges get harder, the lessons get tougher and the path to self-discovery becomes more dangerous than ever. Emma goes to exremes to lose weight. Manny makes a decision that tarnishes her reputation. Paige questions her sexuality. Relationships will begin or rekindle...and some couples were meet their bitter end. This 4 disc set includes:
19 Director's Cut episodes
Bloopers & deleted scenes
Original auditions
Character & cast bios
Cassie Steele interview
Degrassi yearbook and much more...

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Ghetto Freaks/Way Out (1970) Review

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(More customer reviews)Something Weird's typically garish sleeve design and sensationalistic copy don't really do these two topical films justice. In fact, in the case of WAY OUT (1967), based on a stage play by reformed junkie John Giminez (who also plays a role in the film), it would seem history itself has also not done the film justice, consigning it to the dustbin of reformed junkie pictures until Something Weird rescued it from an undeserved oblivion.
Though ostensibly the second feature on Something Weird's double bill, WAY OUT is actually the more important film cinematically and perhaps historically, utilizing as it does a largely Puerto Rican cast of real-life former heroin addicts who, surprisingly, are extremely capable performers. Their experiences clearly inform the characters they play, and while we're only given small hints about the kind of socio-economic conditions that might lead a young man (or woman) to start mainlining (the dingy New York boroughs in which the film was shot are a fairly obvious visual clue), we're spared no grisly detail of the chronic addiction cycle experienced by them once they do, and the lives and families they often destroy.
This is a film that would probably stand up to inclusion in the Criterion Collection, not so much for what it "says" (heroin is bad; nothing new there) but for how it dared to say it with an amateur cast in 1966, a time when most exploitation pictures dealing with drugs adopted one of two crackpot philosophies: a) junkies and hippies are evil and only the law, the government or the church can stop them (in films made by conservatives); or b) junkies and hippies are pacifist heroes, screwed over by the law, the government, the clergy or all three (films made by liberals). WAY OUT has no such agenda beyond illustrating in often graphic detail the day-to-day existence of the addict, the circle of lowlifes he must traverse in search of another elusive "fix", and the people he hurts on his way down.
This is raw meat for 1966, often downright painful to watch and never preachy until the heartfelt coda where the performers all break character, confess that Jesus saved them, and march down the street in unison belting out a gospel tune! Yes, this is, at its heart, a Christian film, though one probably made more with neighborhood rehabilitation clinics and missions in mind than grindhouses or drive-ins or even churches. Where "churchy" pictures, then as now, tended to be downright laughable in their conservative moralizing and wrongheaded portrayals of sinners of all imaginable stripes, WAY OUT doesn't look down on its lost souls. It simply shows you how they live, the bleak, almost microcosmic worldview they embrace, how they hurt, and how difficult it really is to break the vicious cycle. Remove the invitation to Christ from the last five minutes and this is still a harrowing journey, and the fact that it's not enacted by a cast of famous Hollywood method actors slumming for awards makes it all the more believable.
Though director Irwin S. Yeaworth (better known for THE BLOB and the 4-D MAN, but a Christian filmmaker before and after his dalliances with sci-fi) is no longer with us, many in the cast and crew still are, as is Yeaworth's wife Jean, who served as co-writer and music supervisor on the picture, which makes one pine for some kind of audio commentary that would enlighten us about the production of what it probably the first realistic anti-drug picture to headline an ethnic minority cast.
The other film in this two-fer is GHETTO FREAKS, retitled from the original LOVE COMMUNE and SIGN OF AQUARIUS after some clever distributor inserted an incongruous two-minute sequence of a black shaman leading a bizarre love cult ritual. Surrounding that dopey sequence is the episodic tale of a group of hippie pals protesting, panhandling, consuming and loving their way through an ugly Cleveland winter while sharing a run-down pad. Into their free-for-all comes a sweet young thing from the suburbs who doesn't take long to dig their vibe, imbibe their goodies and get it on with their leader (Paul Elliot). Along the way they're hassled by the police for unlawful public assembly, and frowned upon and argued with by Cleveland's blue collar conservative element that wishes they'd just get jobs, haircuts and baths. Eventually, Elliot's former drug dealer bosses squeeze him to rejoin the circuit, and his refusal leads to tragedy, placing GHETTO FREAKS squarely in the second philosophical category of drug films I mentioned above: the hippie stoner as harmless hero, bullied by society above and the "real" vermin below.
More a series of vignettes than a cohesive plot, GHETTO FREAKS moves like molasses - most sequences run longer than necessary, but two of them are verite gold: one sees the cast panhandling FOR REAL on the streets of Cleveland, recorded covertly from some distance away; the other sees them debating their very existence with an arguably "real" working class stiff in a public square, filmed both from afar and by a "news camera" flitting about the crowd. As with nearly every other sequence in the film, both of these doses of realism overstay their welcome in hindsight, but their fascinating time capsules while they play out.
Something Weird goes a little light on the extras this time around, with five sensationalistic trailers for other junkie films of the period and a short classroom scare film, in color, called NARCOTICS: THE INSIDE STORY, which explains the dangers of drugs and exalts the virtues of being young, white, beautiful and frolicking on the beach. Good times.

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Hanging out at a late-sixties rock club, stoner-freak Sonny watches as a wealthy mother tries to "rescue" her daughter from the corrupting hippie environment. Acting quickly, Sonny slips the girl the address of his nearby House of Hippies and, moments later, she's taking her first LSD trip and having group sex on the floor! Sonny then shows her the joys of panhandling and the thrill of protesting in the park before some drug dealers remind everyone that reality really sucks.... Originally released as both Sign of Aquarius and Love Commune, this stoned-out slice of hippie life -- filmed in Cleveland of all places -- was rereleased as Ghetto Freaks courtesy of a bogus blaxploitation ad campaign and the addition of two minutes of new footage featuring the black leader of a kinky love cult. Plus: From Irvin S. Yeaworth, the director of The Blob, 4D Man and Dinosaurus, comes Way Out, an intense and surprisingly affecting story of Puerto Rican drug addicts in the Bronx. Frankie and Jim are best buddies who enjoy getting high until their addiction to heroin forces them to burrow through a harrowing underworld of fellow junkies, crime, and violence where their only goal is "to get that fix, get that fix...." With a cast comprised entirely of real-life former addicts -- who break character at the end to provide a startling and hopeful coda -- "this is a crazy Way Out world which squares just won't believe...."

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Skins, Vol. 3 (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)Excellent season, different from the previous 2, but pretty good. Great themes BUT do not get the BBC America because scenes are deleted and the music is completely different--you're better off watching it on youtube.

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Skins is back, and the critical darling now has a brand new cast! It’s another year at Roundview College and it brings with it a new class of drug-fuelled, party-seeking, sexually inquisitive teenagers. The new queen bee is the beautiful and mysterious Effy. The charming but volatile Cook and his best mate Freddie have fallen under her spell, leaving their friend JJ caught in the middle as they fight for her attention. Identical twins Katie and Emily aren’t as similar as they look – Katie wants to gain her individuality, and when Emily is abandoned by her, she finds a friend in the beautiful idealist Naomi. Kooky Pandora is the group’s sweetheart, she finds love with Thomas; but is their relationship over before it has begun?
DVD Features:BEHIND THE SCENESFeaturetteInterviews

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Californication - The First Season Review

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(More customer reviews)It took me a few episodes to warm up to "Californication." At first I wasn't quite sure what the show was trying to be...maybe "Sex and the City" for men? But it's actually much more than that. The show revolves around Hank Moody (David Duchovny), an author who's been in a bit of a writer's slump ever since his last novel was published seven years ago. Hank longs to return to his hometown of New York City, but remains in California because his former lover, Karen (Natascha McElhone), lives there, along with their teenage daughter, Becca (Madeleine Martin). Hank is still very much in love with Karen, and it's pretty obvious that she still loves him, too. Unfortunately, Karen's engaged to stuffy Bill (Damian Young), and Hank unwittingly has sex with Bill's 16-year-old daughter, Mia (Madeline Zima), who eventually ends up blackmailing Hank and trying to take credit for his latest manuscript. What a mess!
"Californication" also boasts a strong supporting cast. Evan Handler plays Hank's best friend and agent, Charlie. Poor Charlie and his wife, Marcy (Pamela Adlon), experience some problems in the bedroom that lead to both of them cheating on each other with Charlie's hot young assistant, Danni (Rachel Miner). Handler and Adlon are amazingly funny on screen, and they play off each other very well: They're the funniest television couple since Lucy and Ricky Ricardo!
By far, the best thing about this show is its sense of humor. There are some incredibly funny scenes in "Californication" that definitely are among the most hilarious moments in TV history, and that's saying a lot. From Hank throwing up on Bill's priceless painting to the office dominatrix scenes to the three-way/orgy culmination, there are plenty of great scenes to go around. I don't remember the last time a TV show made me laugh so hard.
The first four or five episodes of the show were a little bumpy, but then "Californication" evolved into a great program about love, relationships, and self-discovery. The entire cast is brilliant, and most of the episodes are incredibly touching. I especially loved the last scene of the final episode, which came as a complete surprise and resulted in a very happy ending, at least for now.
Overall, "Californication" is a surprising success. I can't wait for the second season.

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Sophisticated and unique, this comedy centers on novelist Hank Moody (David Duchovny) who struggles to raise his 13-year-old daughter, while still carrying a torch for his ex-girlfriend. His obsession with truth-telling and self destructive behavior -- drinks drugs and relationships -- are both destroying and enriching to his career.

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Half Nelson (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)For several years now I have been waiting for Ryan Gosling to fulfill the promise that he exhibited in his revolutionary performance in "The Believer." Films have come and gone and in most of them he has been giving good performances ("Murder by Numbers") and problematic ones ("The Notebook") but always with a sense of who he is as an actor and more importantly how he can use his talent and his very being to bring the story of the character he is playing alive.
Now with his Dan Dunne, Gosling has finally fulfilled that promise and his Dunne is complicated (a terrific, human, enabling and encouraging high school teacher who is also a cocaine free-baser), sensitive to a fault, sexually aware...basically a talented, educated, addicted man from a loving family that can't help but fall victim to the baser parts of his nature. He is upright, strong, smart, loving but can't help but call on the appeal of drugs to douse the raging fire of indecision and self-hatred burning deep inside of him. A fire that director/writers Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden choose not to explicitly reveal, though after a Dunne family dinner we are perhaps given some hints into Dan Dunne's upbringing and politically committed family and therefore the genesis of his addiction.
Fleck and Boden give us expositional information in a very interesting way here particularly the juxtaposition, the flipping back and forth of the images between the Dunne family dinner (ex-hippie parents, socially and politically committed brother and his girlfriend... eating, drinking bottles and bottles of wine) and Dunne's student and friend Drey's evening home with family: filling small plastic bags with cocaine, chatting about her brother in jail...all polite and ordinary. But honestly: which family situation is best, which family situation is the most comforting for Dan and Drey. This masterful scene goes on for quite a long time and yet Fleck and Boden refuse to comment, refuse to put one family in a better light than the other.
Besides Gosling, there are a couple of actresses here that deserve special note. One, in a small role, though she appeared in both "Six Feet Under" and "Taken," Tina Holmes as Goslings ex and a former addict's very presence on the screen brings a certain weight and gravity to this film and of course to her role. Holmes is all sly, shy smiles, small gestures (she does more with an eye crinkle than do most with long involved scenes) and an inherent honesty and vulnerability that makes your heart hurt. She actually steals her very first scene with Gosling by under acting and the sheer luminosity of her performance.
Secondly, Shareeka Epps as Drey is amazing: she has an old soul, and like Holmes a gravity and a basic honesty that sets her apart from others in her family and the other students in this film. As her jailed brothers friend Frank (the excellent Anthony Mackie) says of Drey's friendship with Dunne: "It is inappropriate." But you know what, as presented and implemented in this film...it isn't. It's strange, it's rife with possible problems, it's audacious for sure but it's also the life preserver that saves both Dunne and Drey... it's their redemption.

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Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) is a young inner-city junior high school teacher whose ideals wither and die in the face of reality. Day after day in his shabby Brooklyn classroom, he somehow finds the energy to inspire his 13 and 14-year-olds to examine everything from civil rights to the Civil War with a new enthusiasm. Rejecting the standard curriculum in favor of an edgier approach, Dan teaches his students how change works ' on both a historical and personal scale ' and how to think for themselves.
Though Dan is brilliant, dynamic, and in control in the classroom, he spends his time outside school on the edge of consciousness. His disappointments and disillusionment have led to a serious drug habit. He juggles his hangovers and his homework, keeping his lives separated, until one of his troubled students, Drey (Shareeka Epps), catches him getting high after school.
From this awkward beginning, Dan and Drey stumble into an unexpected friendship. Despite the differences in their ages and situations, they are both at an important intersection. Depending on which way they turn ' and which choices they make ' their lives will change.

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Kids (1995) Review

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(More customer reviews)My pets behave better than this. And yet, this is what kids are doing. This is not an exaggeration or a class statement; these are real kids in real neighborhoods strolling the streets with no moral direction.
It really was almost like watching a documentary on a primate species, how the males and females gather in separate groups to chirp and chatter at each other until it's mating season. Then they all get together in a big pile and have at it with whoever is handiest.
The plot? A day in the life of aimless kids: virgin conquests, shoplifting, public urinating, drinking, smoking, getting high, breaking into a pool for a skinny dip, street fighting (complete with a brutal, perhaps deadly beating for a simple transgression), raves, public fornication, and one girl's discovery that she has AIDS.
There are two scenes that stand out in the movie, the first being when Telly briefly comes home, and his mother is sitting on her hinder, smoking, nursing her new baby, and watching TV. She barely notices Telly is in the room, except to tell him to be quiet so he wouldn't wake the baby. Parenting at its very worst, and you just know that little baby will grow up the same as Telly.
The second is the scene where Casper wakes up after the party. He moves from the tub he passed out in, past his friend who is unconscious over the toilet, to the kitchen where he immediately drains the dregs of the leftover beer bottles and lights a cigarette. He then goes on to take advantage of a girl who is passed out. Wow. Another morning in hell.
Larry Clark has done pretty well with Kids, though his work with 'Bully' was better, smoother, less raw while still being on the cutting edge. The performances from Leo Fitzpatrick (Telly), Justin Pierce (Casper), Chloe Sevigny (Jennie), and Rosario Dawson (Ruby) are more than acceptable. Clark certainly has a talent for bringing teenage angst and degradation to the screen, and for using brutal scenes to hone his dagger of truth home to those brave enough to watch his films. Enjoy!

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Powerful and passionate, colorful and compelling, Larry Clark's KIDS is 24 frenetic hours in the life of a group of contemporary teenagers who, like all teenagers, believe they are invincible.With breathtaking images from one of the world's most renowned photographers, KIDS is a deeply affecting, no-holds-barred landscape of words and images, depicting with raw honesty the experiences, attitudes and uncertainties of innocence lost. KIDS gets under the skin and lingers, long after it is viewed.The kids at the core of the story are just that: teenagers living the urban melee of modern-day America.But while these kids dwell in the big city, their story could, quite possibly, happen anywhere.

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The Corner (HBO Miniseries) (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)Before viewing this miniseries, I had only read the book (of the same name) by David Simon and Edward Burns published in 1997. Still, the world of decaying neighborhoods, the havoc of street drugs and hopelessness among the disadvantaged has deepened in the Bush era. It took an ingenious director like Charles Dutton to recount one family's troubled history gripping miniseries that doesn't miss a beat. And he's selected a cast of relative unknowns who assume their roles with dead-on realism
The film follows a year in the life of one impoverished family against the backdrop of their neighborhood during the 1990's a drug-ridden quarter-mile from Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Dutton, like Simon and Burns, dwells on the humanity of his cxharacters and the universal themes of their day-to-day struggles. You needn't have been an alcoholic or drug addict to enter the hearts of these people or understand how they swing between hope and hopelessness.
As political commentary, THE CORNER couldn't be more timely, especially in its grasp of urban education, inner city commmunties, underage pareenthood and America's Dickensian juvenile justice system. Viewing what these potentially gifted people endure, viewers may ask how many good people we discard because of our cultural myopia, institutional racism and apathy.
The core performance here is T.K. Dutton's "Gary" -- the father of his broken family. The ways in which he struggles to overcome present shame in light of past success is something most of us will recognize -- race aside -- if not today, then tomorrow.
There is no score to speak of except for Corey Harris's blues track which occurs on splash screens and during the credits for each of six episodes. Dutton frames each episode with interviews of different principal characters to evoke the feel of a documentary, and he more than succeeds.
Dutton understands the lives of these characters because he grew up in their neighnorhood and experienced first-hand the dissolution of life on these corners -- where red tops and spider bags are the basis of life and death. He knows that the pain of addiction is potent, but not always as devastating as the cruelties of the real world "clean."
Every facet of this production suggests HBO should rebroadcast THE CORNER on its tenth anniversary. You wil laugh, weep, wince and cheer; and when it's over, you will hate to leave these good people.
While there are segments that are bleak, Dutton didn't intend to shock. He wanted to remind us that these men and women are fully human, and that --like Gary-- we have the potential to stumble, too. We might be doomed to the Corner but for the grace of God.
Five glowing stars for the DVD set -- and the book on which it's based.

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Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson Review

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(More customer reviews)On February 20, 2005, the end of an era was blown out not with a whisper but with a bang. Dr. Hunter S. Thompson chose that day to end his own life by committing suicide with one of the many guns he owned. It was a loss for a generation that grew up reading him in Rolling Stone Magazine, a loss for fans and a loss for journalism.
While two films (WHERE THE BUFFALO ROAM and FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS) were made about his life, it is only now that Hunter reaches the screen in his own words, in his own actions via the newly released documentary GONZO: THE LIFE AND WORK OF DR. HUNTER S. THOMPSON. And what a treat it is to see and hear him speak for himself.
The film looks back at the entire life of this maverick that changed the face of journalism by making it not just about looking at issues from the outside in, but from the inside out. Gonzo journalism often placed the writer into the scene of what was being written about since that writer was actually there. Gonzo journalists write as participants as opposed to voyeurs. And Hunter was a definite participant.
The film begins with his youth covering the usual biopic necessities of what possibly made him choose the direction he did. But it moves forward to his youth when he chose to be a writer and pursue that dream. Not only did he pursue it, he got involved in it.
The first break Hunter found was when he commingled with the motorcycle gang the Hells Angels to find out just what they were all about. The pieces he put together on the gang were wrapped up into a book titled HELLS ANGELS that was considered the quintessential source of information on gangs. A falling out with the gang led to Hunter's moving on to another topic.
Those topics were wide in range but always confronted with the brutal honesty as seen through the eyes of Thompson. Be it the Democratic convention in Chicago where the peace and love generation was beaten down by those in power or the great American dream demolished in his eyes as the city of Las Vegas, Hunter took typewriter ink to paper and using wit and a skewered sense of words defined the world for his generation.
Hunter's involvement in politics is shown ranging from his own run as sheriff of Aspen to his following the campaign trail in 1972 elections. Having been alive to witness the end of an era with the assassinations of both Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, Hunter found hope in the form of George McGovern. But that was never to be.
But all things change. And this is where the truly sad part of the story of Hunter S. Thompson slopes downward. The involvement with drugs and alcohol combined with the glory brought on by celebrity status took its toll on Thompson. No longer able to blend in without being recognized his ability to cover a story changed as did his life.
The movie is an examination of a writer whose works are still read today. The director uses interviews with people who knew Hunter intimately like his wives, son and business partner to those who got to know him while he covered their stories. Sonny Barger of the Hells Angels, Ralph Steadman, George McGovern, Jimmy Carter, Pat Buchanan, Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone and more all find screen time discussing this amazing author. Each has their own personal vision of who Hunter was and how he affected them.
What we are left with is the story of a man who wanted to change the world only to have the world change him. In some ways for the better, but not always. The words of Thompson describing flying bats and lizard people during hallucinogenic experiences were perhaps nowhere near as frightening as the real life demons he confronted as his life changed. Perhaps it was one of those demons that urged him on to commit the final deed of his life.
What one walks away with after watching this film is perhaps a little more understanding of the man. Perhaps you walk away with an interest in finding those items that he wrote. But more than anything you walk away with a feeling of loss at never having appreciated him to his full extent while he was here with us. A dynamite film that informs, entertains and shines a light on a true talent.

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Oscar® winning director Alex Gibney presents a probing look into the uncanny life of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson inventor of gonzo journalism and author of the landmark Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Accompanied by an iconic soundtrack, this fast moving, wildly entertaining film addresses the major touchstones in Thompson s life from his intense and ill fated relationship with the Hell s Angels to his deep involvement in Senator George McGovern s 1972 presidential election.

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Breaking Bad - The Complete First Season (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)I think many, when looking at the main star of this show (Bryan Cranston) will have only really been familiar with him from Malcolm In The Middle. He played Hal, a simple Dad with simple values and an unbeatable love for his family. Who would have thought that he can take a character with the same basic love of his family and create something incredibly unique from that. In Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston plays Chemistry professor Walter White who's married with a handicap son who suffers from Cerebral Palsy and a child on the way.
One day Walter is hit with the ultimate bombshell as he finds he has inoperable lung cancer and has little time left to live. Walter realises that he can't assure his families financial security for the little time he has left being a teacher. He hears about a raid on a crystal meth lab that seizes millions of dollars worth of drugs which he decides that he must be a part of that. He knows how to make the best crystal meth ever seen, but not how to get it on the streets which is why he must enlist the help of his former student and drug pusher Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul).
I honestly didn't have high hopes for this show as, although I'm a huge fan of Bryan Cranston for his work on Malcolm In The Middle, I struggled to believe he could pull off such a train wreck of a character. The family is a typical middle class American family struggling to take care of their disabled son trying to make him have as normal a life as possible. In a way I can relate to the situation as I'm disabled myself and know how much of a strain it can be on parents. Sure, it's not the same disability, but the family struggling through it is definitely displayed well and R.J. Mitte as Walter Jr. is an excellent fit. Although I'm betting he was only cast because he too has Cerebral Palsy, he still fits the bill and plays the character brilliantly.
Fantastic, fantastic show. I don't want to tell you much about the seasons events as it is quite short and risks spoiling certain events. I have to tell you that there are times in which this show doesn't hold back. It has no qualms about showing you the brutality of a broken man fighting against his own sense of morality, joining the drug world and even dealing with the fact that he killed a guy. Oh and obviously he's dying and is reminded of that from time to time but it's certainly gelled together brilliantly.
Just to wrap it up I can only really say this TV show is amazing in every way and I would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. Bryan Cranston is a very underrated actor, but he's determined to prove himself for which he does a terrific job. When this DVD set comes out in the UK I'll certainly be one of the first to buy it.

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Popular water-cooler drama about an unremarkable and uncharismatic chemistry teacher, Walter, who discovers new passion in his life after he learns he has terminal cancer. Once a successful chemist, Walter now teaches apathetic high school students and works part-time at a car wash to help support his family - wife Skyler, who earns a modest income buying and selling items on eBay, and son Walter, Jr., a strong-willed 17-year-old suffering from cerebral palsy. Realizing he has nothing but his family left to live for, Walter's new sense of purpose reinvigorates him into a man of action as he turns to an exciting life of crime to provide for the ones he loves.

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Over the Edge (1979) Review

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(More customer reviews)Over the Edge is as relevant today as it was when it appeared in 1979, maybe even more so. It's a teenage rebellion movie in the best tradition of films like Rebel Without a Cause and The Blackboard Jungle. I can't think of a movie that better depicts the boredom of the American teenager in a sub-divided suburban wasteland where nothing to do becomes a full time activity.
New Granada is a planned community in the middle of nowhere. It's a resounding success. At least the adults want to believe it is. They make money, make deals, and want to attract business and create something in the middle of nowhere, a shiny happy place to live, away from the big city. Meanwhile the kids are stuck in limbo with nothing to do and nowhere to go save a Rec center run by an older hippy woman who lets the kids drink, smoke, toke, and generally make a science out of boredom.
Carl is a good kid from a good home, but he's beginning to fall in with the wrong crowd of kids, one of whom is Richie (Matt Dillon in his first film), a rough and tumble teen who sparks the now all too believable climax. The photography is beautiful and lends the film an eerie quality as it depicts New Granada as an ambitious moral failure, a new but already rotting development. The money to build a promised shopping mall and bowling alley has run out, leaving the kids with a Rec center that is eventually shut down by a police force (led by Dough Boy from Taxi Driver) that puts the pressure on until something has to give.
It's supposedly based on a true story, but which true story is unimportant. There are countless New Granadas in America, and the film was shot in a planned community in Aurora, Colorado. The landscape is bleak, with a consistently gray and grainy sky. The 70s trappings, the promise of 'Tomorrow's City...Today' and the grim reality of its cultural bankruptcy all create a depressing and desperate atmosphere. The powder keg finale probably seemed unlikely and over the top in 1979. Not so today as we're reminded of another Colorado suburb named Littleton.
Like Kids, the cast of Over the Edge actually look to be the appropriate age they are depicting (not your typical Hollywood 25 year olds playing high school students). This film is a sharp contrast to the popular teen films of the 80s such as the John Hughes oeuvre and even Fast Times at Ridgemont High. While kids today are more plugged into the outside world (literally) with computers, the internet, video games, and a greater exposure to mass media, the themes of alienation, frustration, and parents who are trying to save their kids but more concerned with property values are still relevant. Today, however, the more kids have to do, the more scapegoats people can find for their actions in the wake of events like Littleton.
Highly recommended, if you can find it. This is screaming for a proper DVD release.

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"Tomorrow's city...today" is how the planned suburban paradise of New Granada promotes itself, but something has been left out of the plans. No one is paying attention to the town's teens. Jonathan Kaplan directs this hot-blooded cult classic (a 1979 London Film Festival Outstanding Film Award winner) about kids left to discover their own values and coming up with enough drugs, booze and discontent to push everyone Over the Edge. Fourteen-year-old Matt Dillon makes his screen debut as the kids' charismatic, doomed leader Richie. The anthemic soundtrack by Van Halen, The Ramones, Cheap Trick and others provide the film's rock-n-roll heart. DVD Features:Audio Commentary:Commentary by Director Jonathan Kaplan, Screenwriters Charlie Haas and Tim Hunter and roducer George Litto Theatrical Trailer

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Factory Girl (Unrated) (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)This film got an exceptional amount of poor reviews by people who had a faint idea of who Edie Sedgwick was and the effect she still has on people today. She was the underground, self-indulgent, addict version of Audrey Hepburn. Everyone wanted to be her. She couldn't help herself, but everyone wanted to help her until they realized the enormity of that task. Edie was a poor little rich girl, yes, but she was raised to be that way. She was someone who was heavily medicated from a young age, someone who was taught to go to others for your problems. She wanted to escape, but the foundation of who she was was never solid enough for her to make it on her own, hence her inability to be completely independent. Enter Andy Warhol, the sychophant who relished in her beauty, charm, and complete lack of self-awareness. She was everything he wasn't, and vice versa. Once Warhol had capitalized on her and milked her dry, he left her wanting, so she found other means. Therewithin is her demise.
Knowing Sedgwick, and especially the nuances of this film, makes you look at it in a different light. The too-fast pace marked by subtleties such as "is the salmon fresh?". If you don't know that era, those people, the Warholian group, you'll dislike this film. Simply because you won't appreciate how much went into developing the characters. Any press will show you that Sienna worked on the role well over a year, Guy lost loads of weight, and Miller had to master a voice that crept away from the person who possessed it in a very short time. Not an easy task.
It's a fantastic film. If nothing else, appreciate the artistry of it.

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(Drama) "Factory Girl" tells the story of the rise and fall of the original "IT GIRL" Edie Sedgwick.When Edie meets famed artist Andy Warhol, she is thrust into a life of glamour, parties and ultimately…tragedy.

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A Scanner Darkly (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a movie you definitely want on DVD - because you'll want to watch it first with just the movie playing, and then after that with the audio soundtrack that includes director Richard Linklater, actor Keanu Reeves and most importantly the daughter of Philip K Dick. The insights that she provides into the movie and the storyline are priceless.
It's important to realize that Philip K Dick usually wrote about characters, not action sequences - and specifically, he wrote about those in society who did not "fit in" well. If you look through his stories, you'll find they often feature people who are misfits, who society overlooks or forgets. In A Scanner Darkly, the featured 'oddballs' are druggies hooked on Substance D - a drug that is never really described, but apparently causes paranoia and hallucinations.
The key here is to sit down with a glass of wine, a big bowl of popcorn and settle back for a character-driven story. This isn't a Rambo or Dirty Dozen story - it's about how people relate to each other, in many subtle ways. It's a study of interactions.
I really appreciate that this was done in a combination of real life acting and animation. It floors me that in modern times anyone might look down on this because it is a "cartoon". Is a Renoir less worthy than an Ansel Adams because a Renoir was done by hand? Animation isn't inherently kiddie. Hand drawn works can contain quite mature topics. In this case it is *ideally* suited to the story - because a main aspect of the tale is that the characters never quite know what is real and what is imagination. Are the bugs really there? Can he trust what he sees? All signs point to NO. The viewer is caught up in this same confused world. If this had been live action, then 'odd things' would have instantly stood out. But the point of a drug haze is that everything seems 'unreal' - and so odd things fit into that flow much more smoothly.
If you don't know druggies, rest assured that characters like this are quite average - and this story is in essence an autobiography of Philip K Dick's life in the 70s. He lived in a house just like this with his two brothers after his divorce. He lost his wife and two young girls. He was very paranoid that one of his house-mates was a narc, spying on their druggie activities. One of his friends did think bugs were crawling on him. At the end of the movie is Dick's actual ending to the story - a list of his friends who were damaged or slain by drugs. Included on this list are his ex-wife and himself.
So what you have in the movie are the druggies at turns being nice to each other, being very cruel to each other, mistrusting each other, and turning to each other for help. One of the druggies - Bob - is actually a narc cop code-named Fred. He's gone undercover to figure out who is supplying Substance D to the area. Unfortunately, he's gotten himself hooked during his undercover work. Even worse, part of what Substance D does is to destroy your brain - so he's developed in essence split personalities. The Bob-Druggie part forgets most of the time he IS a narc. The narc half of him, when he's in the police station, knows he's spying on this group of druggies but forgets that he is one of them. So when the narc is told to specifically spy on "Bob", he literally doesn't realize that this is him.
Here's where the movie - trying to stuff a dense book into under 2 hours - has some problems. If you haven't read the book, it's not clear at all that Narc-Fred forgets who he is when he goes undercover as Bob. It's a big twist in the book, but in the movie it seems clear to the watcher that it's the same person, and it's not made clear in the story that he's forgetting his "other half".
Other than that, the story is really pretty straightforward, plot-wise. The druggies are paranoid about the world around them and plug on with their lives. The cops are trying to figure out who the supplier is, so they bug the house and try to get that information. Like most Dick stories, there's a twist, although to be honest I thought it would be a much larger twist. Also, like most Dick stories, there's little female presence and the ending is only slightly hopeful. These aren't happy-go-lucky romances that he writes - they are dark warnings about where society is heading when it marginalizes those who don't fit in perfectly.
If you're confused about the movie, I definitely recommend reading the novel. That might be easier to grasp and give you more insight into the characters. Then go back and watch the movie again - taking it slow. Pay attention to the nuances of what they say, and how the characters relate. See how they feel society is treating them - and then take a look what society actually does with these people. Maybe they aren't quite so paranoid after all - maybe there is some resaon for how they feel.

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Set in a not-too-distant future where America has lost its "war" on drugs, Fred, an undercover cop, is one of many people hooked on the popular drug, Substance D, which causes its users to develop split personalities. Fred is obsessed with taking down Bob, a notorious drug dealer, but due to his Substance D addiction, he does not know that he is also Bob. Based on a classic novel by Philip K. Dick. Starring Keanu Reeves ("Constantine," "The Matrix" trilogy), Academy Award-nominee and Golden Globe-winner Winona Ryder ("Girl, Interupted," "Mr. Deeds"), Academy Award and Emmy-nominee and Golden Globe-winner Robert Downey Jr. ("Good Night, And Good Luck" "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang"), and Academy Award and Golden Globe-nominee and Emmy-winner Woody Harrelson ("North Country," "The People vs. Larry Flynt"). Directed by Academy Award-nominee Richard Linklater ("Before Sunset," "Dazed and Confused"). Filmed in live-action, and then animated using the same critically acclaimed process that Linklater used in his previous film, "Waking Life."

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We Own the Night (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)WE OWN THE NIGHT is the quote from the lower portion of the badge on the uniforms of NYPD police family Deputy Chief Bert Grusinsky (Robert Duvall) and one of his two sons Capt. Joe Grusinsky (Mark Wahlberg): the other son Bobby (Joaquin Phoenix) did not follow the family tradition of police work but instead is involved in nightclubs - and yes there is a schism of resentment. Bobby has distanced himself further from his family by changing his last name to 'Green', living with a Puerto Rican girl Amada (Eva Mendes), and bonding to a wealthy Russian family who owns the nightclub where Bobby works - a front for a drug dealing business. Writer/Director James Gray ('The Yards' and 'Little Odessa') has a feel for this underbelly of New York City and captures the 1988 mood of life in the city and beneath the city with style. The problem with the story is that it has been done so many times that it is simply stale yesterday's lunch. Two brothers at opposite end of the family spectrum require a major tragedy to bring them together, and to offer any more information to this fairly thin plot would be a disservice to those who plan to see the film.
The cast is strong, partly because each of them has played similar roles countless times and have the ideas down pat. It should be noted that two of the producers of the film are Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix, probably a reason the film was made... There are some exciting moments and enough surprises and tense times to keep the adrenaline rolling, the smaller roles are very well cast, and one of the shining attributes of the film is the gorgeous Russian liturgy inspired musical score by Wojciech Kilar. It is not a bad film; it is just too much in the same mold as countless other New York police dramas. Grady Harp, February 08

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What if your own family stood in the way of everything you worked for? Bobby Green (Joaquin Phoenix) has forsaken his name to escape his family and their tradition in law enforcement to pursue his ambitions as a Brooklyn nightclub owner. As he turns a blind eye to the drug dealers around him, he comes face to face with the family he abandoned when his brother (Mark Wahlberg) and father (Robert Duvall) crack down on the club. Now Bobby must choose a side. Is he going to turn informant or will he help run the biggest crime ring in New York history?

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