Fantastic!

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

Nic Cassavetes follows in his father's footsteps in as much as attempting to make unconventional movies, but like his dad he is simply turning out product that mainstream audiences and box office returns have little use for. Mr Cassavetes tells us he regards the 'Notebook' as his worst movie (perhaps it was just a vehicle for his talented actress mom Gina; 'Lonely are the Brave' 62). While I was not overly impressed with the Notebook, it somehow looks reasonably successful compared to this appalling effort. The only redeeming aspect of Alpha Dog is the idea of it being loosely based on a factual case. If a movie maker is going for shock value he needs to consider the audiences he is out to shock (more like alienate) it could be those he needs to have on his side. Any left watching might be the very ones this miserable show is supposedly criticising. Unnecessarily and relentlessly foul mouthed to the point of making Mr Cassavetes look like he's exposing us to his own morally corrupt side - this wretched work simply becomes grossly uninteresting and a bulk audience put-off. It's not often so many IMDb user reviewers all have the same warnings and complaints but, they are remarkably revealing in their unanimity.Any good performances along the way are eventually reduced to overacted screaming matches - cancelling out much interest in any of the characters. It also features too many story elements that trail off into territory more along the lines of the writers own suppositions. Much of the titling captions that keep popping on screen are a feeble attempt to add a 'documentary' feel and come off looking amateurish. If we were talking about ugly movies that deserve to be banned this would be high on the list. Grow up Nic and re-evaluate your life's calling before you fully destroy the family name.Closing thought: Looking back, John Cassavetes, like Orson Welles, was also a better actor than movie maker. Maybe they should have concentrated on what they did best.

I honestly didn't think any of this would ever work again after I had seen scattershot 2003 Canadian film "11:14", a film about young adults and their cars; partners; sex and shenanigans which was decent-'n'-everything, but in the wake of Pulp Fiction (and, to a lesser extent, Doug Liman's "Go") couldn't help but induce a reaction from any sane film-watcher that was along the lines of: Enough is enough. For the uninformed, the approach is to boil a series of strands and stories about a number of lowlifes down into a singular set urban zone and have them fall over one another during the ensuing hijinks, etc. that kick off as a result of a backfiring routine singular occurrence. The good news about Alpha Dog is that it works an absolute treat, a deeply distressing yet inherently moving film about people who amble into certain circles; quickly find their feet and then come into access the sorts of cars, houses and wealth that ought to be beyond them at this early stage in their lives.Where the likes of "11:14" was something like eight vignettes crammed into an 88 minute run time, and my criticisms were that if Pulp Fiction was by its own admission "three stories...about one story", and was an involving; burning drama which struck us as adult, why would you want to up the story quota and shorten the runtime in order to create something inferior and merely childish? To this extent, Alpha Dog's approach of covering two or so strands about several thugs falling out over loans, drugs and kidnaps told over two hours-plus is a welcome relief of taut drama and engaging genre frameworks. Crucially, 11:14 crammed its narrative(s) into its runtime – Alpha Dog more-so manoeuvres its narrative(s) into its runtime.The film unfolds in 1999 (almost a wry 'nod' to "Go", released in '99) and we're on the outskirts of Los Angeles, more specifically an affluent part of the state of California wherein the first generation of boys and girls in their early twenties have grown up as the kids of the gangsters and drug dealers who've come to possess these abodes in these neighbourhoods and are now old enough to have influence over these surroundings. Two of these people are a marijuana dealer and a neo-Nazi skinhead and the crux of the film revolves around a debt and consequent falling out between these two people. The dealer is a certain Johnny Truelove (Hirsch), a man whose introduction is very masculine in that he occupies a garage; possesses a number of weight machines and generally hangs out with a large group of other men who enjoy their swearing, etc. One boy, a smaller and younger kid named Elvis (Hatosy), is in debt to Johnny but we sense he doesn't mind so much as he gets to hang out with these guys. We sense that Johnny could most likely break Elvis in half at any moment should he so wish.Hence, the film's central burning conflict is thus allowed to carry with it a more agonised; more excruciating and more explosive dynamic when Johnny is placed up against the aforementioned Nazi figure, a man of Johnny's age and aggressive stature named Jake (Foster) who doesn't take any stick from anybody but who gets mixed up in proceedings on account of the fact he himself owes Johnny money. Persistent failure to pay up results in Zach (Yelchin), Jake's fifteen year old brother from one of his step-parents' other marriages, being taken from the side of a road one evening and held under ransom until the debt is paid. Jake makes for an interesting entity, someone who seems to enjoy getting Zach into trouble at home but is remorselessly violent in his attempts to find his brother when he goes missing and answers do not arise; he seems restrained and almost vulnerable, but at once evil and even psychopathic. The actor, Ben Foster, does a remarkable job in darting back and forth and really being able to depict all of sadism and desperation tinged with a hint of sadness.I don't think, like British film Kidulthood from the same year in its dealing with youths out of control across numerous strands, there will be those who will embrace the film as much as I did. It will not be for all, whereas the idea that it strikes us a somewhat watered down version of Larry Clark's "Bully" from several years earlier, I think misses the point. While equally strong-a piece, I took to Alpha Dog more out of its attention to narrative and its indelible attitude to depict the victim at the centre of its story, a teenager who suddenly finds himself in a web of sex; nauseating affluence and thuggish machismo whose own tale of being a prisoner sees this young creature teeter on swaying either into the drug-swamped mire or carrying on as he was before. He is at once his own character entity while systematically acting as a supporting act to what is essentially a gang war that kicks off because of him on the outside. In tune to "Bully", this is a humid-locale set tale of young adults living off a diet of drugs and hedonism as their parents watch on from the touchlines, suspicious but not strong enough to act. In spite of the tightly woven story and good eye for dramatic crime scenarios, it wouldn't be so tragic if practically every frame of it wasn't what really happened to several juveniles some years ago.

Initially, I wasn't impressed with this film. There was a bunch of young drug dealers, trying to be overly rad and slick, with Bruce Willis giving a very tired performance and with unlikable main characters. But, as the main story started to unfold and we truly got to know these characters, I was actually pulled into their world, their point of view, their personal ideas and personalities. It wasn't a pleasant world and not one I'd want to live in, but I got to understand it a little bit better. In addition, this movie understands that in order for us to sympathize with a character, we first have to understand that character. We have to see where he's coming from, what has happened to him before the actual conflict that has put him under duress. We may not agree with the character despite all that, but we will at least understand his perspective, his point of view. The world of young, idiotic and foolhardy drug dealers is explored in great deal in this film, with some excellent role performances from Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake and, most of all, from Anton Yelchin, who really made us feel for the character of Zack. All in all it's not a bad film. The beginning is kind of off-putting, but as the stakes start to get higher with time passing, so does the quality of the film rise. And by the time of the third act, I found myself immersed into this film.

First of all I have to say I love Justin Timberlake in films. He is such a better actor than singer. He is great in this. Loved him in Snake Moan and Social Network but he is great in this - almost the good guy, without giving too much away. Yeah the film starts off slow and by the time the deed that the whole film is based upon as stated in the summary happens, i almost lost interest and couldn't decide whether or not to continue with the film. But boy in that instance with that scene my interest was captivated and i was completely engrossed with the film. By the end of the film you will have warmed to two characters the most and when the unspeakable happens at the end it really pulls on your emotions and you feel absolutely gutted. I did. How well acted by these two characters one of which is the fore mentioned JT. It is one of them films that i really want to watch again. Well done to everyone involved in this, it certainly left me feeling like the film had touched me. I love that. I will say though that the language is dire. Don't get me wrong i am not in anyway prude - goodness i went to see The Inbetweeners movie - but i have never known how to get so many swear words into one sentence before!! :O)