Alpha Dog (STRONG LANGUAGE & ADULT CONTENT)

domesticelefant · 12 Jan 07 :: 13:29

I can't wait to see it. You know, I'd watch the movie even if the hacky sack scene was the only scene he's in ... LOL
I'm going to scan all the movie theaters around Stuttgart if they'll show it undubbed somewhere.

R2Roswell · 12 Jan 07 :: 15:23

Oh don't worry, I don't expect to see him much. I had kind of been wanting to see this movie before I found out he was in it, so he's kind of like an added bonus. I'm mostly looking forward to seeing Anton.

TheCentralScrutinizer · 12 Jan 07 :: 16:20

Hey, I hear ya about Anton, don't worry. Love that kid! Ever since Taken. He's fantastic in the movie. You're really gonna love his performance. Did you ever get around to watching our Huff clips with Chris and Anton? If not, you might wanna do so after you see AD. Just really fun to see those guys working together again about a year after AD was shot.

Deb

R2Roswell · 12 Jan 07 :: 16:29

Sisterdebmac wrote:

Hey, I hear ya about Anton, don't worry. Love that kid! Ever since Taken. He's fantastic in the movie.

Yeah, that's when I started liking him too! He was awesome as Jacob Clarke.

You're really gonna love his performance. Did you ever get around to watching our Huff clips with Chris and Anton? If not, you might wanna do so after you see AD. Just really fun to see those guys working together again about a year after AD was shot.
Deb

Yeah, I saw a few clips all though I don't remember them much so I'll have to go find some clips to do so. After AD of coarse.
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Onto other news. Anyone see this report? I stopped reading by the 4th paragraph because by the 5th it started giving things away and I really didn't want to know much.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/ … index.html

TheCentralScrutinizer · 12 Jan 07 :: 17:18

No SPOILERS! The reviewer doesn't mention any plot points, just the aesthetics...

ALPHA DOG FILM REVIEW, responses, arguments, anybody?
by abilities420 3 hours ago (Fri Jan 12 2007 03:31:03) Ignore this User | Report Abuse

UPDATED Fri Jan 12 2007 03:33:50

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Just saw a midnight show of the film at the Arclight. It got a round of applause at the end, only laughing at the intentional parts, aside from one or two.

I have been looking forward to this film for 2 years now. I am not dissappointed in the least, but I will say I do think Universal tweaked the film from it's original cut. Anybody who saw the bootleg trailer will know this for a fact. The dialogue is not cliche teenage dialogue that would never be used in a normal teenage conversation. It's actually pretty damn accurate, being a teenager myself.

The first hour and 15 minutes is actually quite brilliant in it's own way. Ben Foster is quite brilliant himself as an over the top meth addict. But the thing a lot of people will realize about Foster's brilliant performance is that his character is indeed supposed to be over the top...And he nails it with perfection. His scene getting fired from his job is sheer genius. Justin Timberlake is FAR better than I ever expected. I was never a hater to begin with, but I didn't expect this much of a tour de force performance. He is the most likeable of the "thugs" portrayed in the film, the most interesting, the most developed, and he makes an extrordinary character choice. Shawn Hatosy is also exceptional even thought he doesn't have what you would call the most developed character. Chris Marquette is also amazing in the film, nailing every detail of his character. In fact, every other performance is quite exceptional. Especially the best of all...Anton Yelchin. What a unique and amazing young actor. This kid is going places and deserves every bit of attention and recognition he receives. What a powerful, subtle, and heart-wrenching performance. This one of the greatest performances I have ever seen from an actor this young. I was brought to tears by his climactic scene.

But...Emile Hirsch was plain terrible. At first I liked where he was going with the role and before I say what I am about to say, I even considered this to be a fault of the screenplay. But with further not, I know for a fact it is not. Hirsch does not show one remote sign of why these guys are all scared *beep* of losing him as a friend or not obeying him. Yes, Jesse James Hollywood was small and physically unintimidating, like Hirsch. But there was something the real Hollywood did obviously, and it is NOWHERE to be found in Hirsch's boring, unconvincing performance. In fact, the whole time I was thinking how perfect Joseph Gordon-Levitt would have been in the role. Hirsch just plain agrivated me, but luckily, it did not even remotely kill the film for me. The screenplay was great, the direction, cinematography were all pitch perfect...

Until the ending. I really hope this was a fault of Universal because what could have been an engrossing, nail-biting, "Goodfellas" style downfall of an ending, resulted in a lazy, MTV style True Life episode. The inevitable climax was horrifying as expected and honestly, one of the most difficult scenes I've ever witnessed on celluoid. But after that, things just take a turn for the worst. It's either Universal tweaked the finish copy WAY TOO MUCH, or unfortunantely, Cassavetes devoted too much screen time to partying. The climax happens a bit too late and we're left with an abrupt, unsatisfying ending. I would love to see a director's cut on DVD. So other than that and the unncessary use of split screen, the film was pitch perfect. Better than I could have imagined, and trust me I had HIGH HOPES. I just wish the end would have been the powerful and moving experience I expected. I highly reccomend the film because of everything amazing I listed about it before. It was shocking, revelatory, beautifully acted and shot, and somehow still entertaining through it's disgusting story.

Mr. Cassavetes, I think you did an incredible job and if you wouldn't mind, I'd love to hear what your explanation on what you did or did not do with the final 20 minutes. Perhaps, you felt it was a powerful and bleak way to end the film, because this is after all just MY opinion. I respect you as a director and what you did with this film, and I'd love to see a response from you.

OVERALL: B+

domesticelefant · 12 Jan 07 :: 17:21

R2Roswell wrote:

Yeah, I saw a few clips all though I don't remember them much so I'll have to go find some clips to do so. After AD of coarse.

Just have a look at our media section.

EDIT: Great review, Deb, thanks for posting.

TeeJay · 12 Jan 07 :: 18:33

Oh, Abbie is going to hate the part about Emile, isn't she? But other than that, a great review. Thanks for posting that. I'm so glad people love the movie. I wish March would approach faster!

-TeeJay

TheCentralScrutinizer · 12 Jan 07 :: 18:50

The reviews so far are very mixed. And yes, Abbie will hate that part. But hey, any review that mentions our boy is gonna get praise from me!

And SW, a few of the Huff clips in our media section are even cut together in nice little featurettes by TeeJay.

Deb

domesticelefant · 12 Jan 07 :: 19:09

TeeJay wrote:

I'm so glad people love the movie. I wish March would approach faster!

Me too.
Yeah, the reviews are very mixed. But I will still have my own opinion after I've seen the movie.

R2Roswell · 13 Jan 07 :: 15:22

Yummy pics of Chris!

Wahoo, it's Saturday!!! Hopefully my 3 hrs. of taks tutoring will go by fast that way I can have the after noon off and then it's off to the movies!!!

One of my friends might go with me but if she can't I'll just go alone. The upside of being 18.

TheCentralScrutinizer · 13 Jan 07 :: 19:38

Yeah, I'm going in a couple of hours too. Full report when you get back SW!!!

Deb

TheCentralScrutinizer · 13 Jan 07 :: 21:23

Check this out, Abbie got a personal response to her review from Matthew Barry, the casting director of AD. It's not spoilery because it's again about aesthetics. Gotta run out to the theatre now:

by csa-2 10 hours ago (Sat Jan 13 2007 00:26:07)
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ABBIE: Man-oh-man, whose GENIUS idea was it to pair "Somewhere over the rainbow" with the REAL actours (and, actresses!) Kiddie Home Videos?

MATT: Mr. Nick Cassavetes - I believe it was about 1/3 of the way through the editing process when he came up with the idea - brilliant I might add

ABBIE: Also, FABULOUS idea to simply LIST the male actours of this thing, in alpha (dog?) order rather than to bill folks in the normal fashion:

MATT: Thanks!We felt that way, too

ABBIE: Where was Emile? I kept my eyes peeled on the look-out for him , but think I saw him being ... Barmitzvah'd!

MATT: That was Ben Foster. But who was that little baby in the crib staring at the Mobile? I'll never tell, you'll have to wait for the DVD

ABBIE: IF and when, I ever meet Ben Foster, I will first back the HELL away from him, and then, a bit later on, ... I will motion him toward me, and whisper in his ear: "Soooo, seriously ... how much time did you do? It's just be between us, Ben, I swear!" --

MATT: Never did time, just an incredibly FOCUSED actor - did you ever see him on "Six Feet Under?"

ABBIE: Justin's GOT, as Nick Cassavetes stated "Presence", and was hired for the manner in which "he carries himself" in real life --

MATT: We felt that way, too. The reviews justify what we knew DESPITE the haters on the board

ABBIE: How come, at the age of 15, Anton was allowed to strip onscreen (albeit out of direct camera range) and bare his bottom, yet ... Emile, at the age of 17 in TGND, HAD to have a Bod-Double?

MATT: 1) He's emancipated and 2) His very cool mom had no problem with it

ABBIE: Shout out to Shawn Hatosy! Wow, from his first par-tay scene, to the '86-the-kid' one, uhhhhhhhhh ... Hatosy really played the Hit-Man to Da Hilt!

MATT: That's why we always hire Shawn. I thought at first he might be too old, but Nick quickly talked me out of THAT one. Whew! Glad he did!

ABBIE: The incessant F-Bombs!: Hmmmm, no prude in Abbie, Guys, but did EVER OTHER WORD out of almost everyone's mouth have to be "F*u*c*k"? Seriously, after awhile it felt a bit ... contrived, you know?

MATT: We watched hours upon hours of the REAL guys and this is how they talked (I'm not sure, but I think it winds up on the DVD)

ABBIE: Yup, I have already mentioned Harp, doing much more than a walk-on, in this movie, but that frosted-blonde Dude, we first see onscreen with Emile? (the one whose "Do" looks like Vanilla-Ice's?) was excellent as is (always!) Harry Dean Stanton, and the Mexican who played one of Emile's/ "Truelove's" cohorts ...
Man, what's his name, cuz he looked familiar too!

MATT: I saw the film tonight with Harp and he was smiling from ear to ear when he got a laugh - The "dude" is Alex Solowitz ("Bobby 911"and he's ALSO the guy in the kids footage at the beginning doing the karate kick - The Mexican was professional boxer Fernando Vargas who was hired because he looks EXACTLY like the character he played

ABBIE: Chris Marquette: Funny, funny, funny! This guy is a GREAT (along with Paul Dano) comedic side-kick and foil [ [[yes]] ] [ [[yes]] ] I laughed my A$$ off whenever he was onscreen.

MATT: We hired Chris on "Freddy Vs Jason" and knew he was perfect for the role. Introduced him to Nick who (hired) him on the spot. Chris thanked me at the premiere for allowing him to take a chance like this as an actor - I will always try to hire him in everything I cast - Love him!

ABBIE: Amanda looked .... LUMINOUS! OMG, can she purr a line and/or does the camera love her, as well?

MATT: I'm old enough to be her father so I can't really say what I want to say - She just turned 21 and is as beautiful as ever

ABBIE: Olivia is... NOT as voluptuous as I had thought, but then I ain't top-heavy either,

MATT: Gotta disagree with you here - As a male... she is sexy beyond your wildest dreams. I think she's "perfect"

ABBIE: Olivia was interviewed in COMPLEX magasine and asked some verrrry candid questions about working with Emile in THAT scene. She said Emile was verrry serious about NOT allowing himself to get aroused (TOUGH? One can only just imagine, hehe! ...) in that scene and that Emile was "so serious" between takes.

MATT: When you watch it again, the master shot of the WHOLE SCENE was done in ONE TAKE! It was absolutely unbelievable and BRAVE of BOTH actors who had to strip down to their birthday suits. It was also a way for them to get "comfortable" since the scene was shot over 3 days.

Having been in those types of scenes as an actor, with a crew and a camera and several people LOOKING at you... it's actually not as easy as you think to get aroused. I can't remember which actor said this, but before a nude scene he turned to his female star and said "I'm sorry I get aroused and I'm sorry if I don't. - thanks again for everything you have brought here - hope I was able to give something back

Matt

How cool is that?!?

domesticelefant · 13 Jan 07 :: 22:28

Sisterdebmac wrote:

ABBIE: Chris Marquette: Funny, funny, funny! This guy is a GREAT (along with Paul Dano) comedic side-kick and foil [ [[yes]] ] [ [[yes]] ] I laughed my A$$ off whenever he was onscreen.
MATT: We hired Chris on "Freddy Vs Jason" and knew he was perfect for the role. Introduced him to Nick who (hired) him on the spot. Chris thanked me at the premiere for allowing him to take a chance like this as an actor - I will always try to hire him in everything I cast - Love him!

HA! I swear, I knew that since I watched that documentary about casting directors in Hollywood, where I found out that he was the casting director of Freddy vs. Jason too! That is FRIGGIN COOL!!!

TeeJay · 14 Jan 07 :: 00:54

Oh wow, amazing. Man, Chris really got some credit for this one, huh? Well deserved, I'd say. I hope he gets lots of good projects to come from these guys.

-TeeJay

TheCentralScrutinizer · 14 Jan 07 :: 02:02

Well, as it happens ladies, Matt starts a new casting gig this Tuesday (though he didn't say what it was). Keep your fingers crossed that we may hear about a brand new project for Chris any day now...

Deb

R2Roswell · 14 Jan 07 :: 03:40

Just got home seeing Alpha Dogs. Let me know if you want to see my review that way I can PM it to anyone.

TheCentralScrutinizer · 14 Jan 07 :: 05:27

I certainly do! Send it on. :-)

Deb

TheCentralScrutinizer · 14 Jan 07 :: 07:12

NO SPOILERS, MORE AESTHETICS

Great regular person review, mentions Chris glowingly...

Re: I HAVE JUST SEEN THIS MOVIE + THE VERDICT IS IN ;-) YESSSSS!
by EccentricBanshee 4 hours ago (Sat Jan 13 2007 16:45:33)
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***ABBIE: Some Youngin', wearing a Yarmulke, was being celebrated, and because Emile's last name is Jewish and his Dad is a Jew I figured the kid I was eye-balling, musta been him!***
Yeah, that was little Ben Foster... I'd recognize him anywhere, any age. I know you've already been told but I wanted to say it because I was melting in my seat. He was absolutely adorable.
I'm a bit biased, as he's my favorite actor, but I think Ben gave the best piece of acting in the movie. I adore the man and I was still terrified of him... sort of grimacing whenever he lost his temper (all the time) and sitting there thrilled during the fight scene. I don't think he could have given a better performance-- the dilated pupils, the twitches and incoherency... he did his homework by lurking in a den of meth addicts, and it shows. I loved the times when he would yell-- very often-- because his raw, sort of screeching voice suggested a psychopath on the edge of cracking. It was awesome!
Christopher Marquette was the surprise for me! I didn't know much about him and wasn't expecting too much, but he did so well! He was sort of a spaz, but sweet at heart... and I have to say, he was the only one that made me cry. Ben made me laugh and cringe and say, "You go, boy-- tell that kidnapper!" but Christopher holds the prestige of having made me cry.
Emile... well, I love the man (not quite as much as Foster) and I respected the way he handled the character all throughout the movie. Johnny was despicable; every time I saw him I wanted to punch him in the face (or let Jake get ahold of him... heh heh...) but all that goes to say is that he did his job! He acted the crap out of that part.
And now I feel obligated to mention Justin-- I have no beef with Justin. In fact, I'm rather fond of him because of his stints on SNL, though I've never really liked his music (but the boy can dance). I must say that he seized this character and never let it go. Not once during the course of those two hours did I think of him as Justin Timberlake; he was always Frankie for me. Screw all those other little singers-turned-actors, he did a wonderful job. If he ever wants a career as an actor, if he can get past all those people who just hate him, he could have it.
Oh, yes, dear Anton... I didn't know Nick Markowitz, but I think that Anton embodied him (or the idea of him, at least) perfectly. The attitude was perfect-- any little sibling can tell you how frustrating it is to be smothered by parents and not allowed to fit in with the cool, older crowd. Anton portrayed Zack's naive eagerness brilliantly.
---
Burn it.

TeeJay · 14 Jan 07 :: 11:24

Well, Chris and the tears, that's his thing. We should put all this together, print it out and give it to him at the con. Especially what Matt said about him. I'm sure he'd appreciate that. Did you cry when you watched the movie, Deb?

-TeeJay

domesticelefant · 14 Jan 07 :: 12:01

Sisterdebmac wrote:

Christopher Marquette was the surprise for me! I didn't know much about him and wasn't expecting too much, but he did so well! He was sort of a spaz, but sweet at heart... and I have to say, he was the only one that made me cry. Ben made me laugh and cringe and say, "You go, boy-- tell that kidnapper!" but Christopher holds the prestige of having made me cry.

Great review!

R2Roswell · 14 Jan 07 :: 15:48

Hey everyone here was my review for the film:

Okay first off, what kind of people take infants to go see a rated R movie?Especially one like Alpha Dogs? There must have been at least 3 or 4 infants all screaming and crying which was so annoying. I wasn't the only one that got bothered by the noise; others in the movie kept telling them to be quiet.

I really did enjoy this movie however there were a few things that I didn't like such as these:
1. The cursing. Man it was like they cursed every other word so that really got annoying.
2. The sex. (but no matter, I always looked down when those parts were on. Don't need to ruin my virgin eyes.)

Other than those 2 main things it was an interesting movie.

Gotta comment on Chris' performance, man he was awesome! He can play a stoned dude perfectly. Him acting that way made it all the more hilarious. Gotta admit though, didn't think his character would come to be a serious one seeing as how he helped out near the end; didn't expect that. Gotta love Chris' laugh (even when he's stoned and gotta love those tears too.)

Gotta give props to Justin man he was good. At first I didn't think he would do a good job but he sure had me fooled. Guess it's a good thing this guy never went baddie in RL; he's an intense dude. And he had his charms in the film too, I'll give him that.

Emilie: Wow; man he's hot in this film! Definately played a great character too.

And of coarse there is Anton; such a sweet and innocent kid but cute too. Oh man, it was so sad when his character was begging for his life on that cliff. Loved the clips of him at the beginning when he was a little kid; he was adorable!
Still is too.

I'm rating this movie at a 7.

domesticelefant · 14 Jan 07 :: 16:15

R2Roswell wrote:

I really did enjoy this movie however there were a few things that I didn't like such as these:
1. The cursing. Man it was like they cursed every other word so that really got annoying.
2. The sex. (but no matter, I always looked down when those parts were on. Don't need to ruin my virgin eyes.)

Yeah, well, these thing belong to a movie like that, so if you watch the movie, you have to deal with it. I usually don't like that very much in movies either, like those sex scenes in love movies or something, but I can understand why there have to be scenes like that in movies like Alpha Dog.

R2Roswell · 14 Jan 07 :: 18:03

Yeah I understand it too, I just didn't expect it to be as much as there was that's all so it kind of caught me off guard. But then again I should've known what I was getting into the first place. No big though since I covered my eyes for the sex scenes and what not.

TeeJay · 14 Jan 07 :: 18:35

You covered your eyes for sex scenes? Really? Sorry if I find that a little amusing. I can understand people covering their eyes for things like those ultra-cruel scenes in the Saw movies, but for a sex scene? Well, maybe I'm too old to get that. Or too non-American...

-TeeJay

domesticelefant · 14 Jan 07 :: 19:53

TeeJay wrote:

You covered your eyes for sex scenes? Really? Sorry if I find that a little amusing. I can understand people covering their eyes for things like those ultra-cruel scenes in the Saw movies, but for a sex scene? Well, maybe I'm too old to get that. Or too non-American...

Yeah, it was quite the same here. I don't mind sex scenes though I sometimes find them a little too much.

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