Alpha Dog (STRONG LANGUAGE & ADULT CONTENT)

TheCentralScrutinizer · 28 Apr 07 :: 01:37

Yeah, I know he's got a ways to go, but he might surprise everyone. I've loved the guy since the PBS days. Read his books. I'm not ready to let go of the idea that he'll be back someday.

I liked Aisha Tyler as a co-host. She started off being far too kind to most everything, but got more discriminating over time. Plus, she's just cool.

Illinoisguy1 · 28 Apr 07 :: 01:39

You might, yes. (Invisble extras)

The Good Shepherd only got deleted scenes. No featurettes, no commentaries with the director or the cast. And that film was a critical success, and even that got short changed in the extras.

But then you have other studios putting out dvd's with very good extras. For instance the upcoming release of Happily N'Ever After (which was a critical and box office bomb) gets the following extras from Lionsgate:
Happily N'Ever After? - Alternate Ending
Deleted Scenes: Lost in Fairy Tale Land
3 Fun Featurettes:
·Journey of the Characters in the Enchanted Forest
·Creating the Happily Story: Bringing N'Ever After to Life
·From Storyboard to Fairy Tale: A Comparison
Director's Commentary
Games from The Department of Fairy Tale Security:
·Munk's Fairy Tale Fix
·Mambo and Munk's Magical Matchmaker
·Create Your Own Witch's Broom

Doesn't make sense at all, why a kids film gets better extras than AD.

TheCentralScrutinizer · 28 Apr 07 :: 01:49

Big Nick dangles a carrot on IMDb...

What would you have liked to have been on the DVD?
by ema521 24 minutes ago (Fri Apr 27 2007 16:22:43)
Maybe you are forgetting all the inside info that was given to the filmmakers by Ron Zonen. There are confesssion tapes, police tapes, crime scene re-enactments, autopsy records, four sets of trial transcripts and notes, plus many, many photos and records of the "realies".
How about being able to click over on any part of the movie and being able to access info about the real person and situation? How about interviews with all the participants? How about commentary from all involved, depicting the wide discrepancy in each of their stories? How about a documentary on the flight of JJH? We could follow the trail from LA to Vegas to Colorado Springs back to LA, then to a safe house, Port Arthur, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, all the way to his home, wife, and child. We could have interviews with the FBI, local law enforcement, and Interpol.
The possibilities are endless. We are only limited by what we are legally allowed to do and our fear of being sued. With minimal money, we could get all of the players involved and hear and see what they had to say.
This is a unique opportunity in that the real case is ongoing and at least as compelling as the movie. The amount of material that could be included on the DVD would be record breaking. Alas, not yet...

Guess there's still hope...

Deb

TheCentralScrutinizer · 28 Apr 07 :: 06:33

More from Big Nick...

Re: What would you have liked to have been on the DVD?
by ema521 3 minutes ago (Fri Apr 27 2007 21:27:31)
Ignore this User | Report Abuse Reply
My point is this, and I have expressed it until I am blue in the face.
We can't get sued.
We can have all the waivers.
It is just lawyers being ultra cautious - protecting their own asses because they don't want to be bothered.
I suppose Universal thinks the cost/benefit isn't worth it (as no one came out to see the film), but I disagree. I think the DVD would really sell. This one could set the bar higher for DVDs to come.
But someone has to approve it. It would take months to assemble, but if I'm given the go-ahead, I'm all over it. You wouldn't believe the material I have. And even better is what I don't have, but can get.

Dayum...

This has GOT to happen someday.

Deb

domesticelefant · 28 Apr 07 :: 13:10

Wow.

TeeJay · 28 Apr 07 :: 13:21

I found these on MTV.com. They're just clippings from pics we already have, but Chris's face is not that big in those we had before.

-TeeJay

TheCentralScrutinizer · 28 Apr 07 :: 19:43

Awww, those are cute. I just love how Dominique was hanging all over him that night. Lucky girl.

Illinoisguy1 · 29 Apr 07 :: 17:41

On this weekends Ebert & Roper they have about AD in their Thumbs Up Video segment.

It comes on about 1/2 way through the show.

TheCentralScrutinizer · 29 Apr 07 :: 18:09

Cool! Thanks, Illinoiguy. Lemme see what time it comes on here...

Illinoisguy1 · 29 Apr 07 :: 19:29

Found another review of the DVD. Looks like the fans of Chris will not like the extras at all, it apears he isn't in them at all.

A Cautionary Tale: The Making of Alpha Dog (11.32 mins)
Writer/director Nick Cassavetes, executive producer Butch Kaplan and stars Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake, Shawn Hatosy, Ben Foster and Sharon Stone talk about bringing the true story of Jesse James Hollywood to the silver screen. The group talk about adapting the story, casting and the chain of events that led to the tragic events that took place. The cast talk about the themes of the movie and how the story and their characters affected them playing the roles.
Witness Timeline
Read the witness statements and watch their moments in the movie
Trailers
Previews of 'Breach', 'Children of Men', 'Smokin' Aces', 'Hot Fuzz' and 'The Hitcher'
OVERALL
With only a short featurette and a timeline special feature, fans will be a little disappointed with the bonus materials for 'Alpha Dog'. This is a movie crying out for commentary track, especially from the talented and young ensemble cast.

http://www.realmovienews.com/dvd/reviews/1434

TeeJay · 29 Apr 07 :: 19:38

Illinoisguy1 wrote:

Found another review of the DVD. Looks like the fans of Chris will not like the extras at all, it apears he isn't in them at all.

Thanks, Illinois. Yeah, big surprise that is... I hadn't expected Chris to be in those meager extras anyway. I'm not buying the DVD, even though I don't think we'll get that special edition any time soon.

-TeeJay

domesticelefant · 29 Apr 07 :: 19:47

The good thing here is: I will save some money.

Illinoisguy1 · 29 Apr 07 :: 19:48

I think if we ever get a special edition, it'll likely be 1 to 3 years away. Nick has already posted on IMDB that there is no work being done at all on a SE and that Universal hasn't even contacted him about doing one.

As of right now I consider talk of a SE as just wishful thinking. Even if Nick or Matt posted on IMDB that work on a SE has begun I would consider that as a rumor. The only way I consider it as a fact is when Universal officially announces the DVD, and then when it's available for pre-order.

Illinoisguy1 · 30 Apr 07 :: 17:48

Alpha Dog has been nominated for 1 MTV Movie Award.
http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles … tory.jhtml

Breakthrough Performance (vote now!)
» Emily Blunt, "The Devil Wears Prada"
» Abigail Breslin, "Little Miss Sunshine"
» Lena Headey, "300"
» Columbus Short, "Stomp the Yard"
» Jaden Smith, "The Pursuit of Happyness"
» Justin Timberlake, "Alpha Dog"

TheCentralScrutinizer · 30 Apr 07 :: 18:45

That's kinda cool.

domesticelefant · 30 Apr 07 :: 18:48

Yeah.

Illinoisguy1 · 02 May 07 :: 18:38

Just chiming in again. I got the DVD today. I got it at Meijer. I was able to use 2 coupons that I got from them last week on todays shopping.
One coupon was for $10 off any DVD that was $10 or more in price (which I got by buying $15 worth of certain brand food products last week.
The other coupon was for $5 off of my shopping total of $25 or more (which I got last week by doing my regular grocery shopping).

So Meijer was selling the DVD for $19.95, but with the 2 coupons I got it for $4.95.

When I get the time I'll watch it, but I did open it up and as usual for Universal DVD lately the DVD itself has no artwork at all. You also get a little insert that promotes the HD-DVD format.

Illinoisguy1 · 02 May 07 :: 22:32

This will likely piss off some people, but I thought that I would show you what Black Snake Moan DVD will feature in terms of extras.

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/

will include audio commentary with writer/director Craig Brewer, deleted scenes and 3 featurettes (Conflicted: The Making of Black Snake Moan, Rooted in the Blues and The Black Snake Moan).

So here we have Paramount release a film that made only $9,387,734 at the box office on DVD with more extras, and then we have Universal release a film that made $26,781,871 at the box office on DVD with only 1 featurette and a "timeline".

So this can't be about the money, it must be because of something else.

TheCentralScrutinizer · 03 May 07 :: 00:29

Likely? Some people? Yeah, I'm pissed. Universal sucks.

domesticelefant · 03 May 07 :: 08:57

Yeah, if I would be pissed already, I would be pissed now.

Universal -> :fedup:

TeeJay · 23 May 07 :: 19:32

Look what arrived today (thanks, Deb!):

-TeeJay

domesticelefant · 23 May 07 :: 20:57

Looks cool. It's just a shame that I couldn't buy the other one they sold on ebay. *sigh*

TheCentralScrutinizer · 23 May 07 :: 21:15

That's awesome. Sure did get there fast!

TheCentralScrutinizer · 23 May 07 :: 21:24

This is a very cool new review someone posted on IMDb:

underrated morality tale taken from today's headlines, 19 May 2007
Author: Roland E. Zwick (magneteach@aol.com) from United States
Although many of the actual names and locations have been changed for the movie, Nick Cassavetes' "Alpha Dog" tells the largely fact-based story of a particularly heinous homicide that took place in Southern California in the summer of 2000 (changed to the fall of 1999 for the film). The crime involved a group of young drug dealers who kidnapped, then eventually murdered, the 15-year-old brother of a fellow drug dealer who owed the ringleader money and who, largely out of stubbornness and pride, refused to pay up the debt. After the discovery of the body, most of the perpetrators were convicted and sent to prison, but the mastermind, Jesse James Hollywood (called Johnny Truelove in the movie), managed to flee to South America where, in 2005, he was eventually arrested and sent back to the States to face trial on the charge of murder-in-the-first-degree.
"Alpha Dog" provides a grim, depressing look at the dark underbelly of American society where amoral, disenfranchised and disaffected youth play life-and-death games with drugs and guns, often with tragic consequences. In the case of this story, what begins almost as a spontaneous lark suddenly turns into deadly serious business as events begin to spiral further and further out of control as the story races ever more rapidly to its pre-ordained and inexorably tragic conclusion. Cassavetes has written a tight script that captures the fast-paced, drug-soaked milieu in which these young people do their "business." Yet, even though a number of the boys display a callous disregard for life, there are others who see the wrongness of what they are doing but who, through fear or misplaced loyalty or simply a belief that things "would never really go that far," fail to put the brakes on the whole sordid affair before it is too late. It is in that context that Truelove relinquishes his role as the main focal point of the film in favor of Frankie Ballenbacher, a cheerfully sardonic wise guy whose job it is to watch over the boy while Johnny figures out what next to do with him. As Frankie becomes more and more attached to the kid, it becomes harder and harder for him to comply with Johnny's ultimate order of liquidating him. Frankie, thus, becomes the emotional buy-in point for the audience, even more so than the kidnapped boy himself.
There are fine performances by Emile Hirsch, Shawn Hatosy, Ben Foster ("Six Feet Under"), Bruce Willis, Harry Dean Stanton and Sharon Stone, among others, but it is Justin Timberlake, as the high-strung but basically goodhearted Frankie, who walks off with the film. In his every moment on screen, the charismatic Timberlake brings an intensity, shrewdness and liveliness to his performance that bodes well for his future career in movies.
In his direction, Cassavetes generates a starkness of vision and moodiness of tone that are greatly enhanced by the brooding, darkly-lit camera-work of French cinematographer Robert Fraisse.
The movie has a few weaknesses. The faux-interview scenes, which Cassavetes periodically interjects into the film, don't do much to enhance the storyline and succeed only in confusing the audience and interrupting the action. Moreover, the ending comes upon us much too abruptly, depriving us of a sense of completion and catharsis, particularly in regards to Frankie's apprehension and feelings of remorse over what he did, as well as the older brother's reaction to the discovery of his sibling's body. And there are sporadic rare moments, mainly in the early part of the film, where one gets the sense that the cast members are "playacting" rather than truly inhabiting their parts. But these impressions are few and very fleeting and, for the most part, the actors do an admirable job of conveying the down-and-dirty reality of the life they are portraying.
"Alpha Dog" turns the spotlight on a subset of society we may not want to admit is there but which nonetheless exerts a tremendous negative influence on all our lives. The film serves as an alarm signal and a wakeup call that we ignore at our own peril.

Illinoisguy1 · 23 May 07 :: 22:47

TeeJay wrote:

Look what arrived today (thanks, Deb!):
-TeeJay

I see a Star Trek: DS9 fan. Major Kira and Dr. Julian Bashir.

I used to subscribe to the Official Star Trek fan club, never got into Enterprise though.
Hopefully the new Star Trek film will be good.

Last edited by Illinoisguy1 (23 May 07 :: 22:48)

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