alpha puppy...

3/10

This movie was atrocious! I do not regret my choice to support the film and give it a shot but sadly at the halfway point I realized why this film has had so much trouble taking off in the first place.(the release date and production times have been pushed back for awhile now) So Its 1999 in SoCo and some kids don't know how to keep their mouth shut and stop doing drugs. Anyway, ends up someone steals someones younger brother that they got beef with and chaos ensues. The inevitable conclusion, which proves poignant, is still not enough to save this film. Nick Cassavetes (John Q, The Notebook) still has potential for better films left in him but here he wastes his time on ogling the attractive young cast and uneeded split screen shots. Most films based on true stories (Coincidentally. Freedom Writers was also a true story) have a saving grace or spark that ignites life onto the screen but not in this case. The quality acting is pretty slim pickens across the board. Emilie Hirsh who has shined in previous roles slips up here while trying to hard to be a gangster, his nickname "midget" serves him well as in he was miscast. Sharon Stone and Ben Foster turn in some of most over the top performances I've seen in ages. Though Sharon is given a chance to stand out toward films end, she is upstaged by one of the most horrendous fat suits I've seen in a long time. The lone soldiers here are the new comers- Justin Timberlake and Anton Yelchin who performances rise above the other veterans. And in a better film, the final encounter between those two may have driven me to tears. ALPHA DOG has been done before, and better by Larry Clark in 2001's BULLY. There's no need to turn my review into a further bash fest so I'll rest my case and leave it at this- this movie is solely for hardcore Justin fans, otherwise wait for video or spend your money otherwise...but hey, not on drugs;)