Rating: 
Summary: Growing up in America
Review: Justin Lin's Better Luck Tomorrow is a story about testing boundaries. Better Luck Tomorrow reminds me more of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment than anything else. The narrative of the story centers on a core group of four teens that, seeking to make money, find some rather creative techniques to this effect. The eventual rise in prominence leads them to a lifestyle of partying to have something to do with their time in the center of a tedious, and boring suburban existence. Ben (the overachiever) as well as his cohort aspires to a future in higher education while, conversely, seeking security in a life of crime. Until they meet Steve, this core group's routine was somewhat predictable. Not to give anything away in the story the whole narrative takes a very different turn from there.Juxtaposing this movie alongside the more benign The Debut is a bit ironic, I think. While The Debut is really about Asian-Americans (in this particular case the Filipino-American community) Better Luck Tomorrow is not about a particular community but speaks to a universal theme of growing up in America. To call it an Asian American movie is, I think a bit of a misnomer. It succeeds as a dark, sassy film, but it fails when it tries to be unconventional. That this breakout movie by Justin Lin is Asian American because of its director and its characters I will grant it. The theme though it is not uniquely Asian - taking for granted that such can be describes as a state. Anyway, this does not take away from the sensitivity with which Lin treats the characters and the angst that they experience - for that this movie, I feel, deserves it accolades. The sad truth is that it is not a movie of what can happen but what is happening. In this case I would have to defer to the viewer to make heads or tails of the excess of the movie. Miguel Llora
Rating: 
Summary: STUPID MOVIE
Review: this movie was a waste of time and money
Rating: 
Summary: I'm being generous....
Review: Okay, I'm giving this movie four stars just because it's one of the FIRST films to truly touch upon the Asian-American experience that has made it relatively past obscurity. No, it's not a great film. But it's a great breakthrough. I'm not sure I agree with the violence and gang activity that these kids get into... but these kids are so quintessentially American, and that's what Hollywood says American kids do: they rebel, sometimes doing really stupid things as a way to assert their identities. The first violent scene, at the party, seemed unnecessary, but oh so satisfying. A little gratuitous, but at least the movie didn't accept the stereotype that Asian people are just punching bags destined to accept all manner of abuse without a word in return. In contrast, the last violent scene was rather incomprehensible and pointless. "Teach him a lesson"? For what? That's some twisted thinking going on there. I hope that this movie starts a trend recognizing that a significant portion of the American population is generally wildly underrepresented in American cinema. With more movies with Asian-American characters and plot lines, I'm sure the quality of the story lines themselves will improve. :)
Rating:
Summary: A film we have all been waiting for!!!
Review: What a great --and so obvious-- concept! A film starring an all-Asian cast in a story that has almost nothing to do with the fact that they are Asian. Ben Manibag is a 16-y-o high school student -- he is employee of the month several times at his job at a fast food restaurant, he has straight As, he is on the basketball team, he is polite and courteous and nice. Th eprefect cover when he is recruited, so to speak, to run schemes with some other boys, such as distributing cheat sheets, doing drugs, etc. Soon, all four of them (most notably the bumbling Virgil), are raking in cash and partying every single weekend. "Half the time we didn't know who we were partying with", says Ben, "but they always knew who we were." With power comes greed, Ben cautions, and especially when the smart and beautiful Stephanie is in his life, thinsg do take an ugly turn. Stephanie's boyfriend Steve is a massive power-tripper and the Alpha male of the group, and things go a little too far, and a little too late to go back for everyone to go back to straight A innocence ..... This movie is well-written and well-acted, especially since there are no big-name actors to distract from the plot, just very talented actors who portray their characters on point and add to the story as it evolves and unravels before the viewer's eyes.
Rating:
Summary: THIS MOVIE SUCKS!!! ZERO OUT OF FIVE STARS!!! IF I COULD!
Review: I rented this movie this past weekend because everyone gave it such good reviews on here. Then after watching it, I was pissed off because I wasted my time watching it. This has to be one of the worse movies I have seen in a long time. I have a friend who watched it also and they have swore off watching all "indie" movies because of this and Bend It Like Beckham.
I also noticed that everyone on amazon who gave it a bad review, most of you reviewers then just ripped on them saying they didn't get it and telling how great the movie really is. Yes, I got it but no it was just a bad bad bad movie. I was enjoying it at first but then it just got stupid. Why would anyone that smart act so stupid? Yes, I get that they were rebelling and that they weren't happy so they were doing it because it was not expected blah blah blah. Honestly, I didn't care and I was praying that they would all get caught and put on trial so everything that they worked for, would be all down the tube because they acted stupid! Yes, I am a bad person for saying this but I was glad when the annoying kid killed himself I was just mad because he didn't do it in the beginning of the movie, maybe I would have enjoyed it more if he would have killed himself earlier.
Great movie? No! First of it's kind? Maybe b/c no movie could be as bad as this. Yes, I will agree it was nice for a change to see a movie with an all asian cast because usually they are in sterotypical roles. Groundbreaking? NO! Everyone you says this review is not helpful, fine. Everyone who ripps on me for my opinion, go ahead. I stick by my statement. ZERO OUT OF FIVE STARS!
Rating:
Summary: A star is born with Jason Tobin
Review: After viewing this film, I was left with an uneasy feeling. It's a slick, independent film that sets it apart from other. Backing by MTV helped make the film look more lush yet the story seemed to be taken from many other film's of this genre. Disenchanted youth is all the rage, these days. I wonder what makes these kids feel this way, because in reality, this current generation of teens have it better than the ones that came before. Anyway, I liked this film to point, and the performances were out standing, especially Parry Shen. But Jason Tobin's performance as Virgil really steals the film from the rest of the cast. It's a striking and memorable role. John Cho's role as Steve is also very good, and seemed to be the most honest of characters. Still, the ambiguous ending left me feeling sorry for Steve. But it's also a trend in films these days, were the endings don't necessarily mean everything is resolved. Plus, it's message seems to be that despite some wrongs, you still don't have to pay for the sins of youth. But, the film in the end, is worth a look. The story has a lot of cliches, but it still has some outstanding performances, including an audacious offering from the handsome, wiry Tobin.
Rating:
Summary: Dude, Where's the ending?
Review: This film first made a splash as one of the first major motion pictures to portray a primarily Asian-American cast, and it is satisfying to see Asian-American actors in lead roles when they have so often been relegated to bit roles and stereotypes. Anyway, the story centers around a young Ivy-League bound Southern California high school senior named Ben, who despite his grades and seemingly straight-arrow life, is actually drifting through his existence as aimlessly as any stoner. He and a small group of friends gain notoriety through an ever-escalating series of criminal capers, starting innocently enough with cheat sheets for final exams, progressing up through credit card scams, and finally, murder. The writing seems kind of convoluted and stragely, the parents of the film's main characters never appear, giving the impression of children run amok without adult supervision, sort of a "Lord of the Flies" set in suburban So. Cal. People familiar with suburban overachieveing students may identify with these characters, but it is likely that few others will identify with their total lack of moral guidance, and the lack of parents in the movie highlights this strange vacuum. On a side note, the muder scene at the end seems to recall a famous murder committed in Orange County, Calif., back in 1993. The victim was a young Asian-American teen who seemingly had a dark side, despite his squeaky-clean demeanor and excellent grades. The perpetrators were also young, overachieving Asian-American kids who, everyone thought, were "good kids." Overall, an interesting movie to rent, but not really worth buying.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent & Right on Point
Review: This is an excellent movie, and one of the first of it's kind for its genre. Justin Lin does an very good job crafting believable characters and a compelling story line. I went to high school and was friends with many Asian kids who definitely fit the "dual lifestyle" portrayed in Better Luck Tomorrow. The actors come off as very real and embodying the attitude of the MIT/Stanford/Harvard bound kids I knew-they didn't just believe they could get away with their elicit activities, the knew they could, because they were above suspicion. A great movie for anyone who has grown up in suburban Southern California.
Rating: 
Summary: MTV FILM IS NO ROCK AND ROLL FUN
Review: This film isn't deserving of the controversy it created in depicting Asian American teenagers involved in petty crime which escalates into heavier criminal activity. No, this film is guilty of much more. Just when it has walked the plankboard of typical high school teen angst as depicted in scores of other minority based films, it then jumps into the cold water relying on 'hammer to the head' dramatic shock value to give the aimless narrative some direction. Aside from this violent murder scene that the movie seems to celebrate, this is really dull stuff, like watching the kids from TV's "Beverly Hills 90210" walking down an endless school corridor sporting guns under their belts. The dramatic hook at the beginning of the film is a tremendous letdown by movie's end. "Better Luck Tomorrow" is tough luck today.
Rating:
Summary: Great advance for Asian Americans in Hollywood
Review: Overall, the movie ranks about a B+, but in terms of its contribution to Asian Americans in Hollywood, I'd have to give it an A. It's so nice to see Asian Americans being regular punk ass kids who speak perfect English. Too often all you see in movies are Asians who a)can't speak English b)are practicing martial arts or c)are playing prostitutes or geeks.
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