Fresh and Exciting

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

This is one of those odd movies that manages to leave you with the feeling of it was far too much while not being enough. The movie is average 5/10 but I have to give 6/10 because I can see the vision they were trying to achieve. It's important to remember the fact this didn't set out to be a joke, it wanted to make a statement, to reach something. It just fell short in every way. There were a lot of great ideas and somehow none worked out. With a near impressive cast everyone was again somehow under utilized. Rich kids wanting to be something they're not, buying into the life shown on TV. But it wanted to show more than that, show what it's like to be lost and hating yourself. Even in Hector, an idea highly under developed seemed to want something more and thus his brief emotional draw to her. Everything came out underdeveloped. One last note, I've read a lot of reviews wanting to see where people stood, call it procrastination from tasks awaiting me, but what I find crazy is how many people ignored/missed the whole lesbian deal. I mean to me, beyond Alison being someone who is lost and hating herself and life as well 99% of teens do....it seemed like it went for the internalized homophobia as well. On the stairs that was a "real" moment to her. She was "jealous" at points. Even in the sex/rape scene her hesitation was about Emily and big surprise she was into it until she looked over and saw Emily (at that point) having sex....This movie aimed high, aimed for rich VS poor, feeling lost, being a teenager, sexuality, who you are VS who you're supposed to be, not knowing who you are or what you want. Yet it all fell short. It's a shame because I think a movie like this when done properly could really leave a mark and resonate with society. SPOILER COMMENT BELOW:And it leaves you with no sense of closure. What happened in the end? To anyone. I think that her little video thing was a nice touch to end (if polished up) but again WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO ANYONE??? Who died? Did anyone? Did her and Em make up? Did they stop talking? Did they get together and live happily ever after? Did Alison accept herself? I mean any answer after sitting through 1hr and 30min would have been accepted. This to me wasn't a matter of going for a "real life" moment where not everything is wrapped up perfectly (True Detective S1 did an amazing job of that) but poor execution or planning or both.

Plot kicks off right away with the rich Hollywood teens fighting on a beach,, thats being documented by a friend.. bored of the lives they lead they go in search to see what the life on the poorer sides of town are like. where toby(annes boyfriend) tries to give attitude to 1 of the drugdealers (hector)who in turn threaten to shoot him until anne steps in and pleads.. he spares toby for her. which makes her lust after hector wanting to learn more about hector and where he lives.. I can only imagine that maybe its men giving this a poor rating .. I personally really like this film.. its defo suppose to be a erotic piece a bit of girls fantasy.. if ladies have a thing for Latin men or badboys with a good heart this will probably be for you .. The most irritating part of the film has to be when Bijou starts screaming false rape after getting too drunk and letting several members of the gang bang her at the same time ...... It also has a great soundtrack.. unfortunately some of the songs arnt listed on the credits like "si te gusta" by minus P .. so if anyone has a copy of it let me download it please!!!! lol

A group of bored teenagers coming from rich families in Los Angeles discover the style most black inner city kids practice. Some of them, especially the young men, even go as far as sporting the clothing worn by the people they are imitating. Two girls, Allison and Emily, on the other hand, are more daring without a need for adopting the fashions when the hang out. Sam and Eric, who are the leaders of the school gang, decide to explore East Los Angeles, a neighborhood in which the Hispanics are a majority. The teenagers, accompanied by Allison and Emily, decide to buy drugs from a street gang called '16'. The meeting ends up badly, as the Mexicans cheat the suburban kids. Allison, who earlier has spoken about how bored she really is, finds the excitement she yearns to have in her sheltered life.All these aimless youths have one thing in common, they come from dysfunctional families with money, where a parent figure is always absent. Allison invites more trouble when she decides to explore that world, totally dominated by Hector. Allison, having sold the idea of joining the gang to Emily, decide to go to Hector's turf. The thrill of entering that territory will end badly, as Emily, the weakest of the duo, suffers a shock of her life. In the end, there will be a confrontation heard, but not seen that serves as a sobering reminder the two worlds could not blend easily.Barbara Kopple, the award winning documentary director, tried her hand with this film that juxtaposes two cultures that are as far as night and day. The rich life in Pacific Palisades will never accept the less privileged people of East Los Angeles. The film is a sort of parable in how the bored teens of the richer suburbs want to experience the real world they only love to imitate. Ms. Kopple uses a device she is quite familiar with, the young man that is seen interviewing his peers in search of answers which are never too clear.Anne Hathaway surprises with her daring performance. Usually seen in good girl roles, her Allison is quite a departure for her. She showed courage in accepting a role that was totally the opposite of what we knew of her screen persona. Freddy Rodriguez is also good as Hector, the boy that prefers to stay within his own territory. Bijou Phillips plays Emily. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Matt O'Leary do a good job of imitating the black kids they would like to impersonate. Laura San Giacomo and Michael Biehn are seen briefly as Allison's parents.

What an intense rush this movie was.. caught it on IFC the other night , and this one hits you like a ton of bricks, and keeps piling them on one after the other, a bunch of rich kids decide they are bored and get mixed up with the East L.A. Gangs,, Mexican Gangs,, the girls in this movie are totally trashy, they are constant drug users,, little troublemakers, who crave constant action,, they have sex with guys they shouldn't . it's just a total mess with these kids.. the movie stars Anne Hathaway,, and Bijou Phillips, both whom i thought did a pretty good job,, yeah this movie is bordering on an X rating in my opinion,, lot's of drug use,, frontal nudity,, rape scene... d.p. just to name a few,, not that i personally think there's anything wrong with it,, in the film there is a rival gang,, called PLC,, there a bunch of wiggers who try to be black, they seem so plastic it's really pathetic,, they say L.A. is the city of plastic angels so go figure,, although there's lot's in the movie for some to say oh it's disgusting and horrible,, i guarantee you one thing,, once you start watching,, you won't be able to turn you're head away from it.