The Basketball Diaries
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Movie Reviews of The Basketball Diaries
Movie Review: PAINFUL to Watch But Truly BRILLIANT !!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Leonardo DiCaprio takes us on a journey into the agonies of a teenager on the worst path possible. This movie descends into the depths of depravity and sadness. DiCaprio, as another reviewer wrote ,amazingly was but 20 years old when he turned in this powerhouse of a performance. Little by little we see the way he gets into this lost soul and makes him so believable and pathetically authentic. One of the best moments is when Dicaprio and the 2 buddies who followed him down into the sewers of human existence see the young man who
was a part of the gang but he stayed clean and persued his dreams as a basketball player. He is up there on the television living a healthy happy life than any of the three others could have shared. The look in Leonardo's eyes says it all, even in his drugged up state there was a miniscule possibility that he could get himself together and return to a decent life. Another wonderful scene was when the actor Ernie Hudson, takes DiCaprio home, seeing himself many years ago in a similar crisis and wanting to do the right thing to help a fallen friend. That was heartwrenching with DiCaprio deprived of heroin having a meltdown while Hudson tried to be a support, ignoring the most disgusting behavoir by Leonardo who looked like a wounded bird just trying to make it through the next 15 minutes. Also as brilliant as DiCaprio is Lorraine Bracco, who we will always of course think of as Tony Soprano's shrink, playing DiCaprio's Mom with love and she too has her own emotional meltdown in that wonderful scene where she is on one side of the door, and he is leaning in across the chain, desperate for a few bucks to feed his habit. She is forced to call the cops on her own out of control son. Of course this movie is based on a real man who found his way back to a happy and healthy and sane existence. How triumphant !!! Mark Wahlberg gave his own gritty and skilled performance of a teenager as lost as DiCaprio. Painful, but well worth watching.
Movie Review: Top Shelf
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie remains among the best I have ever seen. Everything about it is as good as it gets. Before it is over you know that every single camera angle, every casting selection, every song used, and every location was somehow, perfect. Yet it doesn't come off as a polished Hollywood high budget film. The story and characters are presented in a believable way that makes your heart bleed even when they screw up, because they are that real. The real Jim becomes irrelevant. There are a million Jims. DiCaprio dug deep for this one, and so did his co-stars. I give a lot of credit to Director Kalvert and can't believe that he is a one-hit-wonder. This movie makes me want more from the man. Two scenes that were most incredible are when Jim's mom chains the door locking him out. Only his arm and face are visible through the gap allowed by the security chain. It doesn't take an addict to feel his pain. And at the same time, Lorraine Bracco is on the other side of the door and you know how bad it hurts her. Both put forth a superb performance throughout the movie, but this is where they shine. One must see it to believe it. The other scene is when DiCaprio, as Jim, is in Reggie's house alone having just come clean the day before. His demons return and the camera work in this short but important scene is magic. DiCaprio remains stationary while the camera spins. Each time the camera pans past him his state of agitation is increased. It was a great way to portray something that could otherwise have been a long drawn out boring sequence. Watch it, you won't be disseminated.Movie Review: THE LEONARDO CODE
Summary: 5 Stars
The late Jimmy Stewart used to stress time and again that acting should look natural to the viewer. Leo Di Caprio certainly fills the bill in this movie, which should be a mandatory primer for all young actors to view. In a stunning portrayal of James Carroll, DiCaprio leads us down the path of adolescent destruction caused in part by adult abuse, negative peer pressure, a shaky home situation, and one's own self will. This is definitely not your routine jock-sports movie. In fact, the movie's title may actually steer some potential viewers away from purchasing it. No, this is the real thing,scenes of which this reviewer saw too many times in his career.The path to drug self destruction is different for everyone. In Carroll's case, he somehow survived, accompanied by his urine stained notebook/diary. Would a trustworthy adult or counselor have been able to prevent all the mayhem? Possibly. In any event, this is definitely not the type of film that will ever appear in primetime national television. It should! This is the most realistic film with the best acting by one person these eyes have ever seen.Movie Review: An emotional, disturbing portrayl of drugs and teens
Summary: 5 Stars
I must admit this movie really had a huge effect on me. After watching this, I thought to myself, "How could anyone do drugs like this?" The look of this film matches the tone of it, which is a dark, gritty feel of the streets of Brooklyn during the 1960's.
This movie basically takes a real life teenager and throws him down the wrong paths in life. You can really see Leonardo DiCaprio's character grow more and more addicted to all these drugs. Physically, you can see his body become worse and worse as he becomes more plugged into the drug culture as nights go by.
I have a whole new appreciation for Leo DiCaprio. He was only 20 years old when this was made and you can tell, this young kid can act like a pro.
This film as a very indy-film look to it which seems to add to its realism unlike if it were a major Hollywood motion picture. So, if you want to see an emotional, tearjerking view of innocence crumbling into nothing, this one will suck you in.
Movie Review: Tragic, intense, and frightfully scary..
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie was gripping from the start to finish. I loved how it opened- a bunch of kids who obviously have minds of their own- getting high off of some household cleaner or something, skipping school, ripping off hot dog carts.. and you think this all seems crazy but then ultimately all the hard core drug usage starts and while at first it may seem like nothing but a small enjoyable thing to do- it soon is a huge habit for Jim.
Watching all the struggles Jim has to go through- loosing friends, trying to be clean & then failing, prostitution, begging for money, getting into physical fights.. - it is hard to watch and you physically can't believe that someone can go through so much and come out victorious in the end.
Leonardo plays this role FANTASTICALLY. Especially the part when he is crying at the door begging for some money from his mother. The amount of passion he pours into this character is huge... for that reason alone- go see this movie.