Traffic

Rating:
Summary: Too close for comfort
Review: This star-studded movie (with many cameo's from Washington's finest) was an outstanding rendition of a tried and tired theme...How do we win the drug war. When Michael Douglas's job hits close to home it reminds the viewer that the only drug problem is not in the back alleys. Intriguing and entertaining. Catch it before its out of the theaters.

Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: This film does deserve an Oscar. Not only is the story catching - I did not believe it had already lasted 2½ hours when it ended - the filming is also very beautiful. It changes between the blurry heat colors when the scene is Mexico, and the conservative strict lines and coldness of The States.

Erika Christensen who plays the drug judge's addicted daughter is an interesting new acquaintance! She plays impressively, especially in the scenes where she's drugged.

Only regret: Thinking about the film afterwards, the part taking place in USA, especially the ending, is as naive an unoriginally judging as any other USAmerican movie, and that's a pity.

But the moral of the film, and the film itself as a piece of art, remain a deserved Oscar nominee!

Rating:
Summary: Finally, a film that provokes intelligent thought.
Review: Thank God for Soderbergh..no pun intended. I loved this movie. I'm a big fan of challenging authority and questioning their decision making, and this film does just that. When will our government and other countries authoratative figures wake up and learn that the WAR On DRUGS is a complete waste of time and money. This film speaks volumes about the reality of the aforementioned situation and anyone needing a clue about the drug culture should run to see this film. Benecio Del Toro gives an Oscar worthy performance, Douglas and Zeta-Jones hold their own.

Rating:
Summary: Powerful Drama, Important Film
Review: To say that this is a film with a message would be an understatement, because it comes across so emphatically clear and succinct, and it is this: To wage a war against drugs, you must first come to terms with the sobering fact that the enemy is often a member of your own family; and how do you wage a war against your own family? A sobering message? Insightful? Indeed. And, when you consider the implications of it all, devastating. Ponder that awhile and you'll begin to get a sense of the futility visited upon those who would attempt to rectify a situation that affects practically everyone everywhere sooner or later, either directly or indirectly; and it is just that situation that is addressed and presented with no-holds-barred by director Steven Soderbergh in his brilliant, hard hitting film, "Traffic," starring Michael Douglas and Benicio Del Toro. The film examines the trafficking of drugs between Mexico and the United States, and the long-ranging effects thereof; and Soderbergh tells the story through a number of perspectives, which effectively presents the "big picture" of the drug trade and the subsequent impact it all has on the lives of so many people.

Probably the most telling perspective in terms of futility is that which is shown through the eyes of Robert Wakefield (Michael Douglas), a judge who is appointed the country's "Drug Czar," and given the task of "making a difference." It's a pivotal character inasmuch as it is through his involvement that so much information is presented, not all of which is anything new, but when taken within the context of the story has a tremendous emotional impact. Through Wakefield, not only is the unbelievably far-reaching problem of illegal drugs illuminated, but the attitudes of all of those it touches on all levels, from the heads of the Mexican cartels to the kids who use and abuse the product made so readily available to them by the drug lords.

A man of principle and high ideals, Wakefield begins by educating and familiarizing himself with all facets of the drug trade. He quickly learns that although he is far from naive in terms of the reality of what he is dealing with, he actually has no concept of the depth and scope of it, like how much better equipped and financed the cartels are than the U.S. Government, for instance. Another troubling aspect of the story involving Wakefield is the lack of respect accorded him by the young people with whom he comes into contact, not only in his official position, but simply as a human being-- especially by his own sixteen-year-old daughter and her "friends." Unfortunately, it realistically reflects an attitude prevalent within a wide faction of our society today; and it's one of the strengths of the film that it can so succinctly capture something so distressing, something that should be of monumental concern to everyone, for it's an integral part of a larger something that touches us all. Also realistically portrayed is Wakefield's reaction to all of this; the helplessness born of the limited ways of combating what he encounters is extremely well realized and conveyed by the film, and it enhances even more that already overpowering sense of futility.

From the Mexican side of the border, the story unfolds through the perspective of Javier Rodriguez Rodriguez (Benicio Del Toro), a veteran of the Mexican Highway Patrol; and it's from his side of the fence that we begin to understand the ramifications of the politics, money and power, and ruthlessness that so empowers the cartels. In these segments, the dialogue is in Spanish (with English subtitles), and Soderbergh uses a tint to the film that lends a visual sense of detachment to the action; it's almost like watching an old newsreel, which gives it an air of authenticity that works because it's incorporated with the emotional substance that ultimately provides the real impact.

The superlative cast Soderbergh assembled for this film includes Don Cheadle, Luis Guzman, Dennis Quaid, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Steven Bauer, Jacob Vargas, Erika Christensen, Miguel Ferrer, Amy Irving, Tomas Milian and James Brolin. An important film of gut-wrenching implications and staggering emotional proportions, "Traffic" evokes a sense of futility and loss (especially in the final scenes) that is, at times, overwhelming. It makes you realize just how huge the drug trafficking trade is, and how any efforts to eliminate or even contain it simply pale in the light of it's enormity. It's like a terminal cancer, spreading and eating away at the fabric of our society; a disease that reduces the value of human life to the barest minimum. It's a movie that will affect everyone on a different level emotionally, depending somewhat upon personal experience and frame of reference, but there is no doubt that this is a film that will create a lasting impression on anyone who sees it; but be prepared, for this is powerful drama that elicits a sense of hopelessness which-- I'm sure for many-- may hit just a bit too close to home for comfort.

Rating:
Summary: Worried abot what your kids do at night???
Review: If you want to get totaly freaked out as to what your kids do at night buy this flick.

At first I thought my kids were perfect then I asked then a few questions that came up during this flick..... low and behold evrybody does drugs and it is no big deal..... except for those who die.

Buy tis flick and show your friends that reality is not Survivor or Big Brother but sitting in your house next to you.

This flick relly got the conversation kincking in my house!!

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie, A Must Buy
Review: Traffic a USA (Yeah that Network on Cable) studios film. At first Iwas not impressed about the movie when I first viewed the trailer, but it doesn not do the movie any justice at all. Traffic has around 3 stories running in it and intertwines together perfectly together. It is sorta like "Pulp Fiction" but about drugs.

Rating:
Summary: Over Rated!
Review: I just came from the cinema where I saw "Traffic" and I can honestly say it was the most un-entertaining film I have ever seen. It really, and truly is boring. "Traffic" tackles the issue of drug abuse by teens, international drug cartels, and drugs in upper class neighbourhoods in an unorganized manner. Uninteresting characters are played by uninteresting actors, the scenery is the same for the most part, and the entire film has a very noticable void; originality. This is just your standard 'drug dealers playing with the cops' movie. Nothing special about this one. The camera is always shaky, as if it was a camcorder you would buy at Walmart to shoot movies in your back yard, which adds to the lack of charm this movie had. During the scenes in Mexico, Spanish is spoken. That translates to about 3/4 of the entire movie, where the speech is delivered in Spanish. I didn't pay ... to read subtitles of mindless conversation for two hours. The bottom line is that the plot never takes off, the characters fail to develop, and the audience is left asking themselves where they parked the car. This is easily the worst film I have ever seen.

Rating:
Summary: Very, very, very overrated....
Review: Not without it's moments, but this is essentially one decent movie starring Benicio Del Toro and two made for TV movies. And the tag line for one of the TV movies could be "The Nominee for Drug Czar of the US says, "This time it's personal....." *Spoiler* I mean, this is a film where Michael Douglas' character actually goes out to take on the drug dealers who have stolen his little girl. C'mon now. I have asked many of my friends who call this a "great," film to point out one situation where they truly felt empathy for what a particular character was going through and nobody can come up with much of anything. Catherine Zeta Jones and Dennis Quaid are just plain awful in this film and when her son is being threatened with having his throat cut you can't see that it's much more of an inconvenience than if she had been threatened with having her milk delivery suspended. This poor girl is just not much of an actress. I loved the Boogie Nights guys, but even a good actor like Don Cheadle can't let you know how he feels about his partner being killed in this disjointed script. I never felt a thing for Michael Douglas and what he was going through with his daughter. Joan Allen came the closest to making something happen, but then you never get the idea that her character means anything to Douglas' either. To sum up, I appreciate what Soderberg is trying to do here and if Traffic were what it began as (say, a three part series on TV,) I would find it worth watching, but this is not Academy Award material, or even a particularly good movie all in all. It's a shame that movies like Billy Elliot and You Can Count on Me were left out of the picture to make room for movies like this (and Gladiator.....oh boy.)

Rating:
Summary: An overblown after-school special
Review: As someone said while I was walking out of the theatre, "That was just an after school special." Traffic had all the makings of a great movie, stellar cast, masterful director, and what seemed to be a coherent script. Ah, as with most successful failures, the script was the main failing. The story follows 4 storylines, and Soderbergh pulls an Altman, and coherently intertwines them, a mammoth task to say the least. The first story follows the newly appointed drug czar played by Michael Douglas. His daughter played brilliantly by Erika Christensen, is smoking crack cocaine with her friends. Supposedly this plotline is to be ironic, no, it's extremely heavy-handed, with no reason given for her drug habit, she is just a plot device. Peer pressure may be a reason for alcohol, but she is smoking crack, she has to have problems. The second plotline involves a mexican drug officer played absolutely flawlessly by Benicio Del Toro, no words can completely describe his performance. This story is by far, the most compelling and coincidently, involves no heavy-handed tactics on the part of soderbergh or the the writer to get an emotional response from the audience. The third plotline involves Don Cheadle and Luis Guzman and their attempts to bring down a local drug dealer. Their performances are great also, they play off each other, with often funny results. This story gets the least time. The last plotline involves Catherine Zeta-Jones. This is by far the worst story of the lot. Catherine never could act, and giving her a role like this, is playing with fire. And soderbergh got burned and burned badly. When her drug dealer husband is arrested, she must pay back a cartel back a lot of money. The sheer speed with which she becomes a ruthless adversary is completely preposterous. She is ordering assassinations, and arguing with the leaders of high-powered cartels, literally within days of her husbands arrest. This is completely ridiculous, she would be completely out of her league. I don't care how tough you are, I don't think anything can prepare anybody to deal with drug cartels head on. The multiple emotional layers of the character are never shown either, because, as I stated earlier, Catherine is without talent. This movie was doomed from the beginning, Hollywood remaking a documentary into a movie, is just wrong. They were obviously going to put some schmaltz in there, when the material doesn't support it at all. The little coincidental meetings and when they pass in the street is just stupid too. It isn't needed, and just distracts. The performances will uniformly excellent, except for Catherine and the direction was impeccable. But of course the script turns this into an after-school special with a bigger budget. It violates the most basic rule of movie storytelling, show don't tell.

Rating:
Summary: "Hometown Pride?"
Review: I was blown away by the reality of the war on drugs. Soderbergh shows us how real the situation is. It's not only happening on the streets, in Latin America, but right here, in our own homes. As a native of Cincinnati, growing up here, attending private school, and now a university that is close to where the "street" scenes were shot, I have seen both ends of the spectrum. And that is, drugs are prevalent, if you want them bad enough, anybody can get them. Many parents of the students Soderbergh chose to depict in Traffic were furious and outraged, this movie only furthers my belief that some parents don't know the world their son/daughter is living in. This movie is a wake-up call to parents, don't be naive.

The cast was amazing to say the least. Douglas played a very respectable and believeable father and drug czar. Zeta-Jones played a strong wife, mother and eventually businessman as her lifestlye was threatened. Luis Guzman, Don Cheandle and the guy from "That 70's Show" provided great comical relief, surprising cameos by Benjamin Bratt and the beautiful Salma Hayek. Benecio Del Toro was incredible, his quiet struggle in choosing between right and wrong was award winning. The three storylines were nicely intertwined; the photography and color in the Tijuana scenes were classic.

A very good film, highly recommended. Great cast, great script, brought drugs to the forefront. Soderbergh created a movie out from a very touchy subject, and the constant, never-ending struggle that will follow.