90s Movie Review - Sleepers

Director: Barry Levinson
Genre: Drama/ Thriller/ Crime
Runtime: 147 minutes
Year: 1996
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Jason Patric, Brad Pitt, Billy Crudup, Ron Eldard, Robert De Niro, Minnie Driver, Dustin Hoffman, Brad Renfro, Bruno Kirby, Joseph Perrino, Geoffrey Wigdor

Description: After a prank goes disastrously wrong, a group of boys are sent to a detention center where they are brutalized. Thirteen years later, an unexpected random encounter with a former guard gives them a chance for revenge.  

Review: With the director of “Rain Man”, an all-star cast and a heavy subject, “Sleepers” looks like a successful film on paper. I don’t think it was successful, but it’s definitely a film that should get more credit.
We meet four kids from ‘Hell’s Kitchen’, a neighborhood in New York. One day the four boys decide to pull a prank, but it goes horribly wrong and they end up in a youth prison. And life isn’t easy for them, because they are abused, sexually, physically and mentally. After they are released, the lose touch. Until two of the friends, John and Tommy, run into one of the guards and kill him. It’s up to the two other friends, Michael and Shakes, to keep them out of prison.
Even though the ending is a bit flat and the characters don’t all get the depth they need, the overall film is pretty strong and I believe it’s very much overlooked and underrated.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 166: Ghost World

Director: Terry Zwigoff
Genre: Drama/ Comedy
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 2001
Starring: Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Brad Renfro, Bob Balaban, Pat Healy

Description: With only the plan of moving in together after high school, two unusually devious friends (Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson) seek direction in life. As a mere gag, they respond to a man's newspaper ad for a date, only to find it will greatly complicate their lives.

Review: “Ghost World” is the adaptation of the American comic series with the same name. The base of the story is a comic book, but this is not a standard Hollywood comic book film. This film is about friendship, adulthood and cynism.
Enid and Rebecca are friends that seek a direction in life after graduating high school. When they respond to a newspaper add, it changes their lives completely.
“Ghost World” has one strong point: humor. The humor is so cynical, dry and sarcastic, I love that. Enid is someone who knows what she wants and has her opinion ready at all times.
The acting is solid, the humor is fantastic and I love some moments. Like the man waiting on the bus or the weirdo that terrorizes a convenient store.

Rating: 4/ 5