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Bully (Unrated/ Theatrical Edition)

Bully (Unrated/ Theatrical Edition)

List Price: $14.98
Your Price: $11.24
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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A LIFE-LIKE AND ENGROSSING FILM, NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART
Review: I'd give it a 3.5 if I could. Great acting. Good pace. Interesting (and true) story. Adds up to a good movie. The acting deserves special mention, it was truly outstanding. While the movie's unique device is to tell the story dispassionately, I still balk at the lack of character development. The only social angle we get on our bored suburban teenage protagonists is that they have a lot of sex, use drugs, play video games, and just generally remain shallow and naive.

That said, the climax is alarming, incredibly raw, and definitely nerve-racking. Overall, Bully is a life-like and engrossing film, yet incomplete in its story, and should NOT be viewed by those who are easily offended or upset by bizarre, grotesque, or graphic violence, sexual imagery/dialogue in film.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Good for entertainment value , however accounts are false
Review: Ok this movie is good , but thats if it isn't supposed to be about the real Marty Puccio. He was completly misrepresented in it as well as the others . So if you are going to buy this hoping to get the real story of what happened to Bobby Kent then don't waste your money . Marty himself has sadi the book is 90% false and majority of the scenerios they set are lies. The movie is based on the book so that should tell you something . I began a support group for Marty or anyone who wants to come discuss the case and learn more . http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freemartypuccio/

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: as disturbing as it is captivating
Review: should any of us be truly surprised that bully is a truly disturbing film when we consider the fact that larry clark directed it? if we step back a few years to the film kids, it should be blatantly obvious that bully would atleast have the same intensity & relentless fire. if the story of a group of friends & aquaintances doing away with one of their friends sounds somewhat familiar, it is. this film is actually based upon events that took place in florida during 1993. while the story has been given somewhat of an upgrade(considering we have kids with eminem posters on the wall), the story is very believable & almost hard to watch more often than not. in fact, this is a film you hate to admit that you like even though it's extremely powerful & nearly perfect in execution. parents be forewarned, there is a great deal of explicit sex & drugs in addition to some brutal violence which perhaps can be construed as objectionable in most family homes so be sure to keep this one away from the young ones. bully is a very strong, brutal film which explores the harsh relaty of being a teenager in today's sociey & the many pressures or troubles our youth is facing. larry clark's unflinching look at the hostility exhibited by these young people not only should challenege our minds but should give us food for thought as to why such terrible things happen to people who are so young. this may very well be one of the most gutsy, powerful films of any released in 1998 or 1999 & should not be missed. if you loved kids, then definately obtain your copy of bully today. bully is recommended very highly & i give it my highest rating of five stars.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Teenage lives wasted
Review: If there's one thing that this movie gets across is how youth is wasted on the young. I don't think I have ever seen a more useless bunch of teenagers doing very little with their lives. That to me is just as tragic as the murder they commit.

"Bully" is an average film overall, and I can see why I had never heard of it until last week (I just happened to see it on on the rental shelf). I always think that if a movie is exceptional, the word gets out about it. Don't get me wrong, the storyline is indeed tragic but the performance of the actors just let it down too much. The saddest part of the film is seeing the sentences the teenagers are served. Based on a true story, but the film lacks any real substance to make me recommend it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Bully
Review: "Bully" is a movie about a soiciopath and the kids that he tortured. Nick Stahl is the bully in question, and he holds a psychological hold over the Brad Renfro character. They hang out, but Renfro will do any demenaing thing and endure all phsycial abuse that Stahl dishes out. And it isn't just the boy, either. Also he plays with girls minds, and rapes them with little or no thought at all. Stahl's character has almost no concept of people as individuals, except where they serve his own needs and wants. Renfro and other kids decide to murder him. And finally they do. It turns out that the kids are just as selfish as Stahl was, and they are unequiped to deal with the conseqences of the murder. This is not a revenge movie. Like I said, the kids are as devoid of a sould as the bully was, so there is no counter balence to tip the scales so as to say 'good won out'. This is not that kind of movie. "Bully" is unrated, and has extream violence, sex, nudity, and psycological war fare that many people will find disturbing. If this sounds familier, it should. It is based on a murder case in Florida in 1993. I enjoyed it. I think you will too.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: gripping, gritty
Review: I love this movie. I love all Larry Clark films, but this one is definetly the best. Acting was superb and some times a little too real..if you know what I mean. I watched it so many times, and it still keeps me on the edge of my seat.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Startlingly realistic
Review: I don't think I've ever seen a film that depicts teenagers so realistically, particularly misguided, troubled ones. Most films or television shows portray teenagers as either miniature adults or as tired stereotypes, but this film does neither. In "Bully", the young characters are restless, awkward, rebellious, sexual, insecure and volatile. They constantly feel the need to perpetuate a fierce bravado to compensate for their fear and vulnerability. Although I was fortunate enough never to be involved in anything as horrific as the characters in this film while in my teens, I could see my younger self, friends and acquaintances in all of the characters, which made it all the more disturbing when their actions turned violent and tragic. This is a brave, unsettling, and startlingly realistic film.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This film should be a documentary!
Review: The second movie I've seen by director Larry Clark sticks to the same genre as his former film Kids about insubordinate teens who often indulge in frequent sexual behavior accompanied regularly by binge drinking and/or heavy drug use. Although not all teens of this age partake in this sort of behavior this was another excellent portrayal of those that do. I highly warn those interested that this film contains many erotic and vulgar scenes, however does a fine job in making them as realistic as possible. I appreciate the fact that a director would take the time to research extra curricular activities of teenagers and although fictitious I would classify both Kids and Bully as documentaries considering all the parties I've been to where the atmosphere rings true to that of Clark's perspective.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Deeply Disturbing
Review: In 1993 twenty year old Bobby Kent turned up dead in the Florida Everglades. We as a society are not particularly surprised when yet another killing flashes across the evening news, regardless of the age of the victim, because we all recognize that we live in an increasingly violent society in which murder is merely one aspect of that fact. Bobby Kent's murder soon drew additional attention when the media discovered the facts behind the case, facts that implicated seven young people in a conspiracy to commit murder. Even worse, some of the individuals charged with the murder were Bobby's close friends. As the threads of the case came together, the picture that emerged painted a chilling portrait of a group of young people totally lacking in morality. These youths routinely engaged in a host of illegal activities. Moreover, most of the kids involved in this horrific crime were definitely not social castoffs, but moved in the comfort of upper middle class circles. Larry Clark, the director who brought us the movie "Kids," saw yet another story embodying his favorite theme of young people on a rampage and decided to bring the strange story of Bobby Kent to the silver screen. The result is "Bully."

According to Clark's film, the world of Bobby Kent is an unpleasant one. Constantly hounded by his overbearing father to succeed in life, Kent develops a schizophrenic personality in which he plays the good guy at home while acting the part of an aggressive, bullying thug towards his friends. Bobby's best friend, Marty Puccio, often weathers the worst of these attacks. Most of the time Marty likes being around his buddy, but face slapping, the threats and profanity, the embarrassing verbal threats, and certain increasingly odd antics start to take a toll on their relationship. Still, Marty's personality embraces a level of passivity that would probably have made him a victim indefinitely if he had never met Lisa Connelly. Lisa, a waifish girl with numerous psychological inadequacies of her own, nearly flips cartwheels over landing a guy like Marty as a boyfriend. The only flaw Lisa sees in Puccio is his sycophantic adoration of the sadistic Bobby Kent.

Connelly cannot stand to see her lover suffer such degradations and after a few run-ins with Marty's buddy she suddenly decides to get rid of Bobby Kent once and for all. Lisa enlists her friend Ali to help in the mission, and as the idea gains momentum a whole host of oddballs drift into their orbit. Ali's sometime boyfriend, dunderheaded Donny Semenec, joins the cause along with another hopeless youth by the name of Heather. Derek, a videogame geek who simply goes along with the crowd, soon casts his lot with the rest of this gang. At first, the idea of getting rid of Bobby is just a way to pass the time, a funny little idea worth nothing more than a few chortles to this group of misfits. But as time passes everyone in the group begins to believe in the idea, so much so that they approach "The Hitman," a guy everyone believes is the leader of a gang of local white toughs, in order to carry out the crime. The crime does occur, but the ineptness of everyone involved soon leads to mass arrests and the inevitable trial.

The film unflinchingly shows us the brutal murder of Bobby Kent, but director Larry Clark's interest lies more in the processes that led to the crime than in the actual killing itself. "Bully" reveals to the viewer a world so detached from the rest of society that one wonders if this is total fiction or an accurate depiction of the moral degeneracy racing through today's youth. These young people lived in a world of immorality the likes of which rarely come to light. Moreover, Clark presents the parents of these damaged souls as either completely ignorant of what their children did or simply unaware of their bad behavior because they are too concerned about their own lives. The most shocking scenes in the movie centers on how the kids never seem bothered about what they are planning. Right or wrong never, ever, enters the picture as the gang contemplates committing the ultimate crime. Clark is obviously indicting society for its failure to instill any sense of human decency in its children. Popular culture and materialism certainly play a role in this problem since most of the kids in this movie drive nice cars, can buy whatever they want, and have an overabundance of free time in which to engage in the most reckless activities.

There are some recognizable actors appearing in "Bully," from Brad Renfro to Nick Stahl to Rachel Miner. They all do a good job with their performances, with special mention going to Stahl as Bobby Kent and Bijou Phillips as the disturbing Ali Willis. The biggest problem I had with the movie is that Clark makes his point about twenty or thirty minutes into the film and then repeats the theme continually until the end. How many scenes of reckless, shocking behavior do we need to see before we shout out loud "WE GET THE IDEA"! I understand that Clark tries to emphasize how directionless these people are, but that still did not stop my girlfriend from walking away from the film about an hour in. She quickly wearied of seeing the same stuff over and over and I can't say I blame her. The DVD offers an uncut, unrated version of the film and includes some cast interviews, an interview with Larry Clark, and a trailer. Over the top and deeply disturbing, "Bully" will give you something to think about long after the film end

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Are you an accomplice?
Review: A fascinating movie- worthy of much discussion. Rather than rehash the plot I'll express a few thoughts that I had about this movie:

- The viewer is completely involved in the situation during the the moments leading up to the murder. Killing and death are so common in todays movies yet very few pull it off effectively. Bully forces you to participate in this murder and you'll be trying hard to decide what character to relate to... Would you be stabbing him or hiding in the car hoping the whole thing would end?

- I love any movie with rap music and this one definetely has some good beats.

- Took me awhile to figure it out but Leo Fitzpatrick appeared briefly in Bam Margera's CKY2K movie.


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