Rating: 
Summary: The dream that has become a nightmare
Review: Ask yourself this: A) What kind of an id_ot would refer to the President of the US of A as the leader of the free world? This has got to be a joke...right? ...RIGHT??
B) The only thing that will provide a safe future for Mexico's new generation is... Baseball? (you gotta be kidding me).
The movie itself isn't that bad. In fact it sometimes crosses over politically correct into the
real American (sick) way of life of the last 25 years.
All in all this is a [weak] ... movie with loads of crocodile tears shed in the end and an all star team of actors trying their best to save what was once called The American Dream and has now become The Worlds WORST Nightmare ...
Rating: 
Summary: Even-handed snapshot of the drug war...
Review: In the liner notes of Traffic, the director states that his goal was to create a simple picture of the drug trade, not to make a political statement about who was winning. I think he succeeded masterfully.The one thing that I really enjoyed was the depiction of Law Enforcement, both the Mexican authorities and the Americans. Benicio Del Toro was wonderful (duh, he won an Oscar) as a mostly-good Mexican cop. His scene in the pool with the 2 G-men is borderline hilarious. Don Cheadle and Miguel Ferrer also gave great performances, as the most direct arguments for and against the drug war. The plight of the Douglas character's family was a wonderfully interesting story as well, from permissiveness and hypocrisy of adults, to the slow spiral into addiction and acceptance by youth. Really a good story. The one thing I thought was far-fetched was the final press conference involving Michael Douglas's character--in the history of government, how many people have ever done that?--but that's my only complaint. Catherine Zeta-Jones's character is involved in a Cheech & Chong "Up in Smoke" moment as well, but that's certainly forgiveable. All in all, this is a fantastic film that gives a very even-handed view of the "War on Drugs."
Rating:
Summary: CRITERION DOES IT AGAIN - THE QUESTION IS - WHY?
Review: Criterion's edition of "Traffic" is virtually the same print master as the previously issued (and MUCH CHEAPER) edition from USA films. While fine film grain is excessive and colors are presented almost completely desaturated (which is as the director intended) there is virtually nothing to distinguish this print of the movie from the previous one - except the price.
"Traffic" is an ugly little drama about kids wacked-out on narcotics and the drug smuggling apparatus that allows them to illegally enter the USA. Michael Douglas and Katherine Zeta-Jones are in it, though not together - he's the father of a crack-addicted teen, she, the unsuspecting wife of a kingpin drug lord. Benicio Del Toro cuts a swath as a Hispanic police officer who wants to do right by his job, but winds up looking the other way when the powers that be kill his partner. I'm not giving away more than I should. There's plenty of sick, perverted and disgusting issues to twist your stomach herein. As pure cinema the movie plays like a hybrid Mike Wallace expose' on "60 Minutes" meets "The Blair Witch Project". Camera work is frantic and jumpy. The cuts happen in rapid succession. The plot unfolds haphazardly until midway through when the audience starts to do their own piece work. Overall, I enjoyed the idea behind this movie, but I can't really get past its excessively manic style.
True to form, Criterion give us some real "toss-away" extra features. Like extra audio commentaries (as if one isn't enough) and some deleted scenes that really don't enhance your viewing or understanding of the film. My personal favorite of the extra features, one that Criterion loves to include(virtually every one of their discs has one) is the critical essay. But honestly - does anyone "read" type-written articles on their big screen television? I would much prefer a book or pamphlet with this same info that I could read at my leisure without worrying that the on-screen font was burning itself into my picture tube.
BOTTOM LINE: Buy DVD's with pristine image quality. That said, why buy Criterion if someone else is minting the identical disc for a cheaper price? You're just throwing away money on extras that don't really matter!
Rating:
Summary: There is a war on drugs, and we are losing
Review: I loved this movie on several levels. First, and least important, any movie with Zeta Jones is good by definition, even if she's pregnant. Second, the screenplay is well written, tense, and keeps your attention. The Zeta's character develops from a blissfully ignorant stay at home mom to a take charge drug kingpin pro tem, in a fascinating way. Third and most important, the social issue.
The drug czars daughter develops a drug problem; her preppie boyfriend tells the drug czar "It is easier for a teenager to buy drugs than alcohol or cigarettes" Here, in this one phrase is the whole drug war conundrum, thesis, antithesis and synthesis, if you want dialectic materialism. The degradation of the African-American neighborhoods by the drug seeking adoloescents, the effect on the neighboring countries. How can any public officer remain honest, in the face of the amounts of money that the drug trade brings, and in addition, the alternative; silver or lead is the question, the answer is obvious.
The answer to the question of what to do, is hinted at, in the drug czar's speech, If there is a war on drugs, our children are the enemy, and I wont fight our children.
Watch this movie, it is worth it.
Rating:
Summary: The Riveting Movie You've Been Waiting For
Review: Fans of absorbing dramas such as "JFK" and and "The Conversation" rejoice! As I write this it is March of 2003 and I have yet to watch a truly great movie this year. And then I rented "Traffic." This is a great, riveting film which avoids almost all the trappings and conventions of film that I have come to hate (Douglas' "I can't do this" speech being the exception). And for once here is a movie that's thought provoking without being obvious (the antithesis of "John Q"). If you like the films of Soderbergh, Oliver Stone, or Michael Mann, I promise you will enjoy "Traffic." If you don't, email me and ream me out. . .
Rating:
Summary: Simply Brilliant......
Review: For a very long time after this movie was released I complained about not wanting to see it because of it sounding dull. Than Oscar time rolls around and Steven Sohdeberg and Benecio Del Torro both take home awards for it. Still I wasn't convinced that I "needed" to see it. Recently the movie came on Showtime and I decided, Hell, might as well watch it. God am I glad that I did. Traffic is easily being put in my Top 10 movies list. The directing, cinemotography, acting, and story had me sucked in for the full 2.5 hours of the movie. It is just amazing. The ending sequences left me staring blankly at my TV set in awe that someone in Hollywood actually figured out how to end a movie with a bang. This is easily a 5 star movie and should be watched by all.
Rating:
Summary: Traffic-Fantastic!
Review: Traffic: Starring Michael Douglas and Cathrine Zeta-Jones, This is a film is about drugs, family and law. It all comes together magnificantly. One of my favorite movies of all time. Revealing the truth about drugs!
Rating:
Summary: Intense and Powerful
Review: After "The Limey", "Erin Brockovich", and now "Traffic", is there any question about Steven Soderbergh's place as one of cinema's top directors? Intelligent, complex, and stylish, "Traffic" weaves multiple storylines together about America's drug trade, where the good guys aren't always good, the bad guys aren't always bad, and every character does what he/she needs to do to survive. Benicio Del Toro, with his soulful eyes and world-weary demeanor, is a revelation as Javier Rodriguez, the Mexican cop teetering precariously between what is legal and what is right. Also strong are Don Cheadle as a bulldog-tenacious DEA agent, and Catherine Zeta-Jones as the drug kingpin's wife who'll do anything to protect her family and her lifestyle. My only minor quibble with "Traffic" concerns a subplot about "Drug Czar" Michael Douglas's drug addicted daughter that tap-dances dangerously close to "Lifetime" territory. Douglas redeems it at the end, though, with a final, heart-wrenching moral stand at a White House press conference. "Traffic", hands down, was the best film of 2000.
Rating:
Summary: What an amazing film!
Review: WOW! This film is utterlly AMAZING. Performances, cinematography, score, script...I honestly couldn't find any flaws with this film. What is even better, is it sheds light into a world that most of us will never see, and makes us feel as if we live in it. The scene with the Drug Czar's daughter in a crack hotel (for lack of a better description) is so core-shatteringly jarring it haunts you long after the credits have rolled. Del Toro much deserved his oscar for the portayal of a mexican cop caught between the two worlds but knowing how to pit them against one another effectively, and even Catherine Zeta Jones surpassed my expectations and turned in a powerhouse performance of a woman morphing to fit her situation. Every aspect of film making is pulled together to create a story and a portrait of our society today that you will simply not forget. This is one of the best purchases you will ever make towards a great DVD collection! My only disappointment is that I would like for it to have included commentary.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic eye-opener!!!
Review: Excellent movie from opening to closing scene, depicting the stories of four characters and their unrelated lives as they unknowingly interweave with each other's against the backdrop of America's war on drugs. The colors were brilliant, the Mexican background always bright yet dry and dusty, the Washington D.C. background always dark, mechanical, and with a metallic blue tint. This movie outlines the substance, and ignorance, of all the arguments circulating our current drug crisis, each character with his own stance, and each character being bombarded left and right with the stances of his/her peers. Del Toro was amazing in his role of a Tijuana policeman, Douglas just as deserving of praise in his role of the newly-appointed U.S. drug czar. Though Zeta-Jones gets a little too snotty with her cartel partners to believe, she still plays a strong role. Douglas' daughter and her boyfriend play almost too accurately the roles of today's spoiled upper class trust fund brats who blame their drug use not on irresponsibility but on a somehow unbearable societal pressure...followed with an ill-attempted diversion from Douglas' parental concerns to the usual unsubstantiated charade about how the drug war is actually intertwined along racial lines. Douglas is made to feel like an anti-black bigot for expressing disgust that his daughter's quasi-boyfriend took her to a crime-ridden section of town to buy heroin. The movie also drives home that while certain aspects of the war on drugs may seem hopeless and unaccomplishing, it still is a fight that must be fought. What is argued here are the tactics by which we pursue this strategy. This point is best illustrated at a social gathering of congressmen and reporters of which Douglas attends. He is barraged by expert opinion after expert opinion, all of which differ considerably, on exactly how to wage this war. The movie keeps you interested as it bounces from one character's story to another, intertwining them as it goes along. And while the movie is overly depressing, it ends with a much-needed feeling of hope for all the characters and for the war in general. Definately worth the Oscars it received. I highly recommend this one.
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