Alpha Dog - C+

Because of Emile Hirsch in this, Ben Foster in this, and Justin Timberlake in this, I decided to give this one a try. Hirsch plays Johnny Truelove, a drug dealer based on Jesse James Hollywood, who “allegedly” kidnapped and murdered Nicholas Markowitz in the year 2000 and became one of the FBI’s 10 most wanted. He was caught years later after being featured on Fox’s America’s Most Wanted. In the film, the names are changed to protect the guilty. The aforementioned 3 are believable as the drug-dealing and drug-taking ne’er-do-wells, talking tough and using more F-words than Joe Pesci in a Scorsese film.
(Click below and avoid Basic Instinct forever)
There are some nice directorial touches, like the freeze-framing of the future witnesses, but director Nick Cassavetes (son of John, who I just don’t get) is in over his head and lets things get out of control, allowing the whole thing to last 120 minutes, when it should have been 90. And while getting some tension during the murder scene, the movie stumbles toward the finish line (including a terrible Sharon Stone in a fat-suit). Still some strong performances and a nice naturalistic feel make this one sort of worthwhile. C+

Note: According to imdb, Nick Cassavetes directed The Notebook, the movie where McAdams loves Gosling.