Great movie. A dangerous cycle of violence that we can see happening in almost any city. These characters are so bored, their only free time is to do nothing but trouble.Live by the sword, die by the sword - really? Gangstas, brotherhood or men of honor? To each other maybe, to their enemies and every outsider, they hand out their prison justice mentality and enforce it with a brutality that most people tend to ignore until it's too late.I never thought that gangsta life would be so glorified and seen as honorable - but not endurable. It's a rough slice of life film, but worth watching.

Let me justify my extreme rating: this is not the worst movie I have ever seen but I only give it a one out of ten because of the ridiculously high rating it has on IMDb and I want movie-aficionados to not make the same mistake I did and assume it's a movie worth buying.Yes it is an accurate portrait of prison life and all that, but man, the musical score resembles that of late 80s TV-movies and soap operas. The decors (except inside the prison) to me do not feel like they're filthy south central LA streets. The vocabulary used is as stereotypical and over the top as if it's a braindead kind of video game. More "ORALE's" in here than f-bombs and "DUDES" combined the big lebowski. And this limited and insulting range of words combined with the cardboard acting result in paper-cut, one dimensional, zombie characters. If you're a 12 yo kid who likes the godfather and scarface (but steven seagal too), you'll love this. But if you're looking for a quality cinematic experience, skip it and watch a documentary about "la EMe" instead.

Edward James Olmos both directs and stars in American Me with a mostly Latino cast which depicts a Chicano life influenced both by circumstances and bad choices. The story with a prologue depicting his parents during the Zoot suit riots during World War II right up to almost the present time. Olmos plays a gang leader and we see his rise and fall in the criminal profession which starts with an arrest as a juvenile.It's a stoic and intense portrayal that Olmos gives to his own direction. Olmos did his own research for the part, but more than that he lived it being born and growing up in the Mexican American area of East Los Angeles.In the story Olmos and his two running buddies, William Forsythe and Pepe Serna while in prison found a Mexican American gang, La Primavera and in prison they pretty much are the Latino inmate population. As they gradually finish their sentences and are released the gang takes it shape and control of various rackets in the Barrio. Of course they also have to deal with other gangs, black gangs, Aryan Brotherhood, and some rival Chicano crews. That last sets in motion the downfall of Olmos.The story is narrated in flashback by Olmos writing a letter to his younger brother while he's back in prison. It's a mournful plea for the kid not to make the same choices he did. American Me is a very good film, the personal project of a very talented man.

American Me: 3/10: In all fairness I have to admit I was expecting more of a gang picture (albeit a serious one) with Mexican overtones rather than a straightforward prison drama. American Me is a straightforward prison drama. Nobody in this film emotes and pass the K-Y jelly cause there is more guy on guy action in this movie than in the men's room at a Sex in the City wrap party. Add in the bathroom/drug smuggling scenes and you may be squirming in your seat for more reasons than a slow pace. In addition a lot of older actors can play characters in their twenties. Even those that have obvious hairline issues (see the later Porky's movies) seem to pull it off. Edward James Olmos is one man who should never even try. He looks like he was born fifty. He also plays the lead with the charisma of a sullen rock. In addition to the miscasting and sodomy American Me suffers from serious script issues. It simply takes at face value the characters contention that they are king of the world. They are not. It is one thing for the characters themselves to be misguided (as they are most certainly are) but the movie itself seems not to realize what big losers these guys are. Sure they are king of the cellblock. Hurrah, that's like being voted carny of the month. A good first 45 minutes or so quickly melts into underacted pathos (Nobody emotes in this movie, cause they are all tough guys see.) and misguided plot twists (the whole taking on the mob bit was horribly done). The movie just keeps getting worse and worse.Oh and Olmos's character writes poetry. Really bad rhyming poetry. Yup poetry and anal sex, American Me is one makeover away from its own Bravo series.