Rating: 
Summary: Snoozers?
Review: Any movie that has the Catholic church frothing at the mouth can't be all bad. In the case of Sleepers, the lodged complaint circles not around the brutal treatment of four boys at the center of the film, but the perjury-laced testimony of the priest (played by Robert DeNiro) who tries to protect them.The authenticity of Lorenzo Carcaterra's bestseller has continued to be a question, but the compelling nature of the story--true or not--is undeniable. The wise guy buddies grow up fast in Hell's Kitchen in the '60s. They do the altar boy thing one minute and peer at naked ice capade dancers through a broken window the next. It's like an Angel's with Dirty Faces remake without Cagney or an electric chair. The rough center of the story comes in the shadowy form of Wilkinson, a dank reform school where the spirits of the precocious teens are crushed on a relentless wheel of physical and verbal abuse. The leader of the pack is a sicko guard named Nokes (Kevin Bacon). The kids do their time and twelve years later two of them grease Nokes in a restaurant. Michael (Brad Pitt), an assistant D.A., and Lorenzo (Jason Patric), a reporter, conspire to get their buds off the hook in an eye for an eye trade-off. They cash in all their favors, throw an alcoholic lawyer played by Dustin Hoffman on the other side of the case, and wreak revenge on their past. But despite the star-studded lineup, Sleepers doesn't pack quite the emotional wallop it could have. The devastating prologue makes anything after it meager and shallow.
Rating:
Summary: Good film from Barry Levinson but not his best
Review: I caught "Sleepers" on TV a few weeks ago finally after wondering how good it was. It was directed by Barry Levinson and had a great cast that included Robert DeNiro, Dustin Hoffman, and Kevin Bacon: all of which are favorites of mine. As good as their performances are though they really do not have much screen time. In fact, no one really does since the film deals with flashbacks and present day material. It's about a group of kids in Hell's Kitchen that pull a prank that turns out to be deadly and are sent to reform school where they are abused by sadistic guards (Kevin Bacon's darkest performance). Two of the kids find him years later and murder him and then the other two fix thet trial. Robert DeNiro gives a really good performance as a priest who is very close to the kids. It's a really dark film though and it seems to drag at parts. The begining seemed to open up like all the New York gangster films open up with childhood flashbacks that are starting to all be the same. It basically has the same opening as "Bronx Tale" or "GoodFellas" yet it is much longer. Though Levinson's directing is top notch as are the performances. It was a very bold film esp. for Kevin Bacon who gave a pretty evil performance. It's very interesting too once it gets rolling I just wish it happend sooner than it did.
Rating: 
Summary: The best movie that I have ever seen...
Review: Sleepers is the best movie that I have ever seen!
Rating: 
Summary: poor
Review: This movie shows why movie stars do not deserve their big pay checks. This movie has three huge stars in it, and two lesser stars, and it was a total flop...and is a poor movie. The direction and the story are contrived and badly done. You can see every moment what emotion you are supposed to feel ("Oh, I'm supposed to be moved here, frightened here"). But you don't feel those emotions. It actually has the feel of a high school play, really, in its ineptness. And the fact that the guys you are rooting for murdered OTHERS, makes it a sour ending.
Rating: 
Summary: a reviewer from aberdeen scotland
Review: THIS IS A TRULY POWERFUL , HARROWING AND AT SOME PARTS DISTURBING LOOK AT LIFE BEHIND THE WALLS OF A JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER WHERE YOU CAN WITNESS THE VIOLENCE AND DOMESTIC ABUSE THAT TAKES PLACE THERE.IT IS THE STORY OF 4 CHILDHOOD FREINDS WHO MAKE A MISTAKE THAT WILL CHANGE THEIR LIVES FOREVER.BRILLIANT ACTING AND A TRULY BRILLIANT FILM.
Rating:
Summary: Movie is AWESOME! But DVD really bites...
Review: This is one of my favorite movies, however having a double sided DVD really bites the big one. It is the most annoying thing to get up half way through the movie, and switch it to the other side.
Rating:
Summary: Hardhitting Emotional Impact
Review: You will remember this movie and its message long after the final credits. The story is a piercing look at reality in the juvenille detention system. Characters are played to perfection by both the young set of actors in the first quarter of the film, and the older set including Brad Pitt and Jason Patric. As always, anything Robert De Niro does sticks with you. His portrayal of the priest with a moral and ethical choice to make in order to save these boys (long time friends from their childhood)will help you understand why this film stirred up such controversy when it was released. Whether the book is based on a true story or not isn't relevant. You must believe that the horrors these boys endured at the hands of cruel prison guards, Kevin Bacon is the convincing bad guy!] goes on each hour in facilities like this. The long term negative effects of abuse are undocumented since so much of the pain is hidden deep within the victims and too brutal to ever talk about. The frustration for me with this film came in seeing the way is ultimately turned out for the two on trial after all the work the friends did to help. See for yourself -- I won't ruin the story by giving it away.
Rating:
Summary: The best movie ever made
Review: This is a great movie. It will touch your heart and show you the darkest sites of the human nature. Every actor does a good job and makes you believe in their roles. The child actors in the beginning of the movie is very talented. This is a must see film.
Rating:
Summary: A wake-up call
Review: "Sleepers" is a film that exposes the inadequacy of juvenile reform, and the abuse that goes on in children's institutions. Four young boys in the 1960s are put into the "Wilkinson Home For Boys" where they suffer abuse and torture at the hands of four guards. All because of a dumb prank. The boys then make a pact to keep silent about the suffering they endured. Several years later two of the boys, now violent gang leaders, walk into a restaurant where they recognize one of the guards from the reform school: the brutal Sean Nokes (Kevin Bacon). He now looks like a stubbly, long-haired loser and fails to recognize the two men who walk up to his table. The memories come back to him when he's told who the two men are. Sean Nokes then suffers a long-overdue (and much deserved) punishment. Sean Nokes' murder is the catalyst for an elaborate and daring plan to bring justice to the guards who brutalized the four boys so many years ago. The time has come for sweet revenge. This film has great performances by a prestigious cast. Some scenes are quite harrowing, as you would expect, and the film arouses a lot of emotions: anger, sadness, tension, the thrill of victory. It's one of those important films that everyone should see.
Rating:
Summary: .
Review: 3-and-a-half stars would be more accurate. A solid and entertaining film, but nothing that glows with artistic brilliance. Like many Barry Levinson films, it feels a bit too caught up in the fact that it has "something to say," and is too glossy to say it convincingly in any case. The young actors are all quite good, but when we jump into the movie's "present," the portrayals become iffier. I like Jason Patric, but he didn't feel like the same character to me. The two West Side boys looked silly and out of place, particularly the blonde redhead. Brad Pitt was surprisingly excellent, on the other hand; I really enjoyed his performance, and I'm not usually much of a Brad Pitt fan. Hoffman was also exquisite, as a greasy, mumbling lawyer. And De Niro is as good as one would expect, maybe even better. Anyhow, it's no masterpiece, and probably shouldn't be taken as seriously as it'd like to be taken, but it's an enjoyable, relatively well-made movie all the same.
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