So, I thought this was a good movie- not great. I guess I was expecting a bit more than what I got from it. But don't get me wrong, the film DID deliver, there was just nothing extra with it or especially special about it. (Lol, that may be a tongue twister, my apologies if so!!) Anyway, even with that being said, Alpha Dog is definitely worth a view, at least, as it shows the importance of independence and being able to think for ourselves. The actors all do a wonderful job, and I'll focus that comment a little more toward Emile Hirsch and Ben Foster. Exceptional! And both Sharon Stone and Bruce Willis veer away from their usual characters in this one- and Sharon Stone's appearance at the end- WOW!!! So if you haven't seen this movie yet, go ahead and watch it. It won't be a waste of time or $, and who knows? You may even enjoy it more than I did.

I rarely feel compelled to write reviews, but this is one I could not resist, I normally am to lazy to bother, but I had to give my opinion on this film. This movie is incredible. The director brings a film that sticks close to truth of the real life case that this Hollywood film is based off of. The acting is one of the most impressive things this movie did so well. And well normally I'd credit the writer above the director because they come up with the dialogue and tell us the story, this is based on a real life occurrence, so I'd expect a level of quality in the writing of such, and this is true here. Most people say that Justin Timberlake's performance is the most shocking and noteworthy, and he was very compelling and I think he does deserve credit for it. BUT, Ben Foster was incredible, where is his credit? He played not only such an aggressive man, but a drug addict. A complete junkie. His performance was not only terrifying, but saddening. Emili Hirsh was impressive too. I'm not denying that. His presence is essential through out the entire story. All of these people were young. In their early 20's. Johnny's 20, and Frankie's also 20. One of the things that really shows throughout, is most of them are hostel. They all call each other out with names, and fight. It's sad. It contributes to the outcome. Stupidity is one of the problems, and parental guidance was absent for most of these young people. This movie was not just cheap entertainment, although it does captivate you. It is well acted, well directed, and well handled. I find it irritating that it's only got 6.9 out of 10, and movies like : Pulp Fiction which has a 9 out of 10 rating, and is 4th on the top 250; while a great movie, completely fictional. But movies like this one get tossed under the rug and looked over. Don't miss this one. It's not really for younger audiences, cause most teenagers can't grasp such a complex plot without the only conclusion being these people are all stupid. I recommend this movie to anyone who is mature enough to hear the language or old enough. It's movies like this that should be at least nominated for awards, and yet it's not. Don't miss this one.

Based on real events, this movie is somewhat hectic, too much attention is paid on orgiastic parties driven by drugs and alcohol. The scenes prior to the tragic event are rather superficial. As for the cast, Bruce Willis and Sharon Stone are fine as usual (though their parts are rather small), but the real surprises to me were Ben Foster, Anton Yeltchin and Justin Timberlake, especially the latter, who is mostly soft and "dilatory" in his music, but gave a remarkably tough performance in the movie. Female characters did not differ much to me - most of them were just used and sometimes abused by those young males, who often called them bitches. However, it is strange that, in the U.S., for such a conduct (I mean this pseudo-kidnapping where the "victim" could freely move, party and had no hard feelings towards the involved) it is possible to get life sentence! But potential harsh penalty can provoke desperate measures...I assume the movie is meant to be a warning for hedonistic youngsters and as a hint that "all criminals get caught", but it is still watchable - but not a family movie.

I'm rather puzzled why Alpha Dog got such a rough ride from the critics. There is nothing sensationalist about it, nothing pretentious, it is well-acted by its young cast and above all it is honest. So why didn't the critics seem to like it? Well, I don't know. It is a fictionalised account – though, in truth only small details were changed so that the overall story is pretty much true – of a kidnapping and subsequent murder of a teenager by a bunch of feral and affluent teens whose aims in life consist purely of drinking, taking drugs and engaging in casual sex. To a boy – it would be misleading to write 'to a man' because this bunch, although in their late teens and early 20s – all seem to have the maturity of retarded primary school kids – they take their world view from the pseudo-violent gangsta rap videos which they play incessantly. They own guns but treat them more as a fashion item than a usable weapon, and their heroes are apparently the drug dealers portrayed on their cherished videos. They get precious little parental guidance. Incidentally, although the bunch shown in this film and the real-life idiots they are based on live and party in prosperous Los Angeles suburbs, I suspect it would be wholly unfair to assume this kind of idiot is only to be found in California. I'm sure they will be found in any city in the world where money is plentiful and parents are more concerned with their own lives than that of their offspring. The tragedy unfolds when stupidity mixes with a non-existent moral framework and one idiot decides that cold-blooded murder is preferable to spending time in jail, and another, something of a sycophant, is fully prepared to carry out the killing without any qualms whatsoever. To be fair, one of the young men involved does have pangs of conscience but these are not strong enough for him to do the decent thing and put an end to it all, which would have been very easy indeed. One of the most chilling moments is when he is offered $2,500 to kill the teenage hostage. He turns the offer down flat, but is stupid enough to accept that it was made only in jest. Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster, Shawn Hatosy and Justin Timberlake prove that a new generation of talented actors is well on its way and do well as the central characters, and film has a cohesion which holds together what is a simply tale. Writer/director Nick Cassavetes cannot in the slightest be accused of glamorising the kind of hedonistic behaviour his characters engage in, in fact he goes out of his way to highlight just how pointless and potentially dangerous there lifestyle is. If anything Alpha Dog is a moral tale. But the critics didn't like it. Why? I really don't know, but that is no reason why you shouldn't give it some of your time.