Rating: 
Summary: One of the best independents in a long time!!!
Review: L.I.E. is the story of young Howie, who's mother recently died in a traffic accident on the Long Island Expressway (Hense the title). Howie is 15 yeas old and dealing with the death of his mother while living with his not so in touch currupt father. While Howies father does love him he is too involved in his scams and new wife that Howie's actions go unseen. Howie begins to question his sexuality throughout the whole film as he falls for his best friend that only intends for Howie to take the blame for the things he does. This is a classic tale of decite and a tribulation of the soul that a young and impressionable mind goes through in youth trying to find yourself. It has become my favorite movie. Even when it begins to seem a little slow the plot turns and send you to a climatic point in this thrilling drama. L.I.E. is truely a master piece and the best independent film I have seen in a long time!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Movie
Review: This movie is excellent, it is a real gem. Being that I lived on LI for a year, it made me look at the LIE in a whole new way. Definitely worth the time to buy it and view it over and over again, I know I sure did.
Rating: 
Summary: Can quite get past the ickiness of Brian Cox's character....
Review: This is a well-done movie in most aspects. Well acted and well made. It is almost a bit too well done. As I watched this movie I was bothered by the subject matter. The character of Big John played (masterfully) by Brian Cox is really troubling probably because if feels too real. This guy is a sleaze ball and he just know when to show up at the right time. The one big problem I had with this movie is that, at the end, the viewer is made to feel sorry for the Big John to the point where you almost have to remind yourself that he is a pedophile.The Scotty thing was a bit over the top until you realize the type of kids that Big John would have recruited would have been kids that may be enough trouble to do something like that. The movie does end on a bit of a sad note when you realize that Big John is trying to do the right with Howie which is good since Howie doesn't have anyone else left but, in the end, that gets taken away too. Overall, a good film. A rental and not a purchase.
Rating:
Summary: Brave and not at all what you would expect....
Review: Not the movie that I expected. Smart, well written and well acted. Uncomfortable, celebratory, dark and yet uplifting.
Rating: 
Summary: This movie rocks!
Review: When this movie first hit the theatres, it garnered critical praise in spite of the controversial subject matter. The acting is superb and the emotionally honest script intelligently depicts the struggles of an adolescent boy whose world is coming apart. The only one around to help him navigate the challenges of his little world is a helpful, sympathetic, quirky, old pedophile. Strange as the premise seems, this movie actually works. Part social-commentary and part coming of age drama, L.I.E. is a rare gem.
Rating:
Summary: See it for Danny Boy.
Review: Worth the price for two scenes: the youth's first shave tender and tense; and Brian Cox's solo rendition of Danny Boy, alone at the piano at night. No role is one-dimensional: the high school jock navigates the unknown waters of jealousy; the widower quick moves in a brunette, yet sees his wife "in every room," and we glimpse his pain. Lots of shades of grays, and then there's Big John. "...And all my dreams will warm and sweeter be, if you'll not fail to tell me that you love me. And I will sleep in peace until you come to me."
Rating:
Summary: Very Good Story Touches on Tough Subjects Effectively...
Review: This movie was incredible. "L.I.E." raises the bar on the coming-of-age story with a tightly focused portrait of a 15-year-old who looks for a father figure and finds his kindly neighborhood sexual predator. In this movie, A school counselor - up to now the only adult who's noticed what's going on in Howie's confused life - is trying with little success to get through to him, to show she understands. "You're not a nerd," she says, "you're not a jock, you're not a brain, you're not a stoner . . . " "I'm not a gangsta!" the 15-year-old offers, not taking this conversation very seriously. "So what am I?" "You are a Howie Blitzer," she says. "Great!" he answers with sarcastic enthusiasm. "My own category!" Truly, Howie is in his own category among movie characters - he's the hero of "L.I.E." a coming-of-age story without a coming of age. The movie doesn't force the 15-year-old to achieve some revelation that will resolve his troubles and set him on the right path toward adulthood; it focuses on just a few days in which he learns to see a few feet further through his own personal fog. At the beginning of "L.I.E.," Howie, whose mother recently died in an accident on the Long Island Expressway and whose father is wrapped up in his own affairs, has fallen in with what's clearly a bad crowd - a thief and male prostitute, who's the brains of the bunch, plus a stupid kid and another who's having sex with his own sister. Because he's become friends with the ringleader, Gary, kids at school assume he's a [homosexual] and beat him up accordingly - and they're only some of the people responsible for the two black eyes he has by the end of the film. Into this mix arrives Big John Harrigan, a burly middle-aged Irishman and decorated Vietnam vet who, in the logic of suburban America, is considered a pillar of the community while almost openly preying on vulnerable young boys like Howie. The "BJ" on his license plate doesn't just stand for "Big John." John, desperate to introduce young Howie to the mysteries of the flesh, also happens to be the one guy in the picture who can introduce him to adulthood and the one person whom the teen doesn't reflexively push away. John goes all out to romance the youngster and impress him with the grown-up lifestyle, but he also feels genuinely fatherly as he starts to see the turmoil at Howie's core. Whether "L.I.E." is pushing us to reconsider man-boy relationships is not certain, but it does offer us quite complex characters who - like all of us, especially at adolescence - are grappling with their identities and with the good and bad in their natures. Outwardly, Howie is often a punching bag for others who puts up a prickly front to protect himself and joins in petty crimes to attract friends; inwardly, he's a thoughtful, poetic and wounded soul who's still coming to terms with the loss of his mother and trying to figure out how to make real human connections. "L.I.E." features spectacular and yet never overacted performances from Paul Franklin Dano as Howie, Brian Cox as Big John and Billy Kay as Gary. It's a story that subtly weaves together themes of adolescence, loss, parent-child relationships, gay awareness and suburban culture. It shows a young life in tight focus, and it works because it doesn't try to answer all of its questions outright, just show a few short days that give us the clues to understand the characters' past and future. I was also totally shocked by the ending... you will be too!!
Rating:
Summary: close but no cigar
Review: Michael Cuesta has all the right ingredients for a truly remarkable film. Now all he needs to do is learn how to cook. As far as acting and concept go, this is a truly magnificent film. Not once did I feel disdain or resentment towards Big John (Brian Cox), despite the social conditioning that would expect me to. He was a vivid, intriguing, and even charming at times character who was by far the best in this story, despite his sexual preferences, which anyone with an open mind will understand is not the focus of this film. Cuesta really wanted to tell an unconventional, thought provoking and heartening tale about a confused adolescent and his relationship with an offbeat old man. What made this film so disappointing is the utterly ridiculous story surrounding it. It's like he had a brilliant idea and filled in the holes with utter nonsense, just to pad the film out to feature length. What was the deal with Howie's father? The whole FBI investigation, the legal troubles, what did any of this have to do with the story other than provide a reason for Howie to visit his dad at a federal prison? Why did his father keep a fat envelope of money in his dresser? Where did Gary end up? The thread about Howie's friend having sex with his sister never pays off and in hindsight seems like a shameless attempt at self-aware controversial humor. Cuesta must have known this movie would shock and offend people, and seemed to think that was enough to carry a film. This is never the case. Controversy alone does not make a great movie, and just like Marilyn Manson or Eminem, shock value quickly wears off to redundancy and disinterest. And then there's the ending, which quite possibly may be the cheapest, most unmotivated copout of an ending I've seen in a long while. Who was Scott? Every scene with him seemed only there to establish him as a gloomy, pissy...so and so. This could have been a truly brilliant film with some new insight into male sexuality. The performances of Big John and Howie were amazing, and I hope to see more of this kid in the future, because he really is spectacular. And Brian Cox reaffirms my notion that most British actors can imitate an American dialect better than Americans can do British. Michael Cuesta is no doubt a gifted director who can make great films. This isn't one of them.
Rating: 
Summary: This movie is a little too disturbing for me!
Review: L.I.E is a coming of age movie that deals with a young teen trying to discover his sexuality. The first part of his sexual discovery is innocent. Flirting with his best friend, masturbating, and constantly thinking about boys. The second part of this sexual discovery is where the movie isnt fun anymore. An old man preys on the young teen and an initially good movie becomes a sick and disturbing movie. This movie actually becomes very hard to watch as u witness an old man preying upon a young teen. The old man is obviously a pedephile and all of the reviewers who claims that this guy is not a pedephile are obviously sick themselves. so be warned, this movie is very sick especially in a time around the world where sick adults constantly abuse and molest children.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful American Film
Review: This is one of my favorite movies of all time. It's so damn good that it's hard to believe is an American film. The script is so well written and the director approaches to a very controvertial theme with inteligence and with no sensationalism or judgement. I highly recommend this film to open-minded viewers, although the ending is not very satisfactory.
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