Rating: Summary: A real gem. Great fun to watch. Review: An excellent movie. Was both funny and scary at the same time. Highly recommend it...and, I usually go for the Block Buster movies!
Rating: Summary: LIKE A HAMMER TO THE GUT Review: Down Time came recommended by a friend when I mentioned I've seen the Australian indie "Chopper" (one of the early works of Eric Bana and none too fascinating either.)
Filmed in unmistakably low-fi B&W tint, with a macho heavy-metal thrash soundtrack, the look and sound were clearly going for gritty. But along with the downbeat storyline, they just make sure that this attempted low-budget film is just that -- cheap.
Cliches abound: violence, drug abuse, sheer boredom of an inmate's life. The shock or fear quotient is largely derived from disgusting moments from uninspired characters play-acting stuff like a high school drama.
If you want raw, there's "Romper Stomper" with Russel Crowe. But this farce is a strictly skippable amateur effort that looks more like outtakes from a B film on some local channel.
Rating: Summary: Hardcore Prison Movie Review: Down Time is a intense look at life behind bars. In the vain of "OZ" and "American Me" it shows the hardcore reality of life behind bars. Great Movie I give it a Ten!!!!!!
Rating: Summary: This is Indie Film Making! Review: I am a big fan of low budget independent filmmaking and Sean Wilson (11) Down Time is a maverick achievement. Shot on a shoe string budget (check the stats), this is no Hollywood action film, but what you get is from the gut film making. Gritty performances by WilliamVan Nolan and Sam McBride make this a stand out film in the low budget arena. Some of the card playing scenes reminded me of the film Clerks (1994) with lots of off the wall snappy dialogue. You could also compare it to some the jail scenes in Jim Jarmusch's Down by law (1986) both films have lots of long still shots that just kind of hand there and make you feel the oppressive boredom of prison life. Sure there are some technical problems with this film and some of the side characters acting is weak but you have to be able to over look that. Down Time is what independent filmmaking is all about.
Rating: Summary: Down Time: Doing Time in Prison................ Review: I first came across this movie by accident. I was renting movies and saw the movie box but unfortunately at the time it was only in DVD and it had been rented. This unfolds and is well developed from its beginning, middle, and ending. It is about a man involved in drug dealing. He gets arrested and is brought into the criminal justice system to face the charges in which he ends up incarcerated.While "doing his time" he comes across different situations: a past that he leaves behind, power struggles in prison in which the strong dominate the weak, a form of social darwinism. The lead character also confronts one important link in his life: what brought him into the criminal system was, for a large part, drugs and the illegal market and the decision to take the big risk. The movie also portrays gangs and how they control and manage the internal distribution of drugs inside prison. I am sure there are other avenues that take place beforehand; what is presented is once the drugs arrive and how it is distributed. Another important piece that I took notice is how many convicts took on escapism by using and self medicating with drugs. This, no doubt, left me thinking about how they have to survive, cope, and deal with incarceration on a day by day basis. And it probably, at least to them, would be more convenient and make more sense, to escape their present environment if only for a moment. I think this is a good movie to watch in helping people understand how certain behaviors in deaing with their environments (social, economic, political) can entice others to look into the "illegal" avenue and take a big risk getting to the big bucks. I would highly recommend this movie to those viewers that can and are willing to look at someone else's environment without passing judgment. By the way, I was also surprise that the central character is caucasin and not African-American or Hispanic....This took me by surprise, largely, because most movies I have seen have been portraying African-Americans and Hispanics as the criminals.
Rating: Summary: no no no Review: The other reviewers shown here must of watched a different movie. This film should have never been released. low quality poor acting. Just plain bad!
Rating: Summary: Down Time Review: The payoff from a great prison film - and this definitely is one - is the sense of incarceration that envelopes the viewer. You are there, immersed in the noise, the danger, the tedium of the joint itself. In Down Time the directing, editing, and cinematography shove the prison experience down your throat in spades. The payoff is a sly narrative twist at the end which both ties the threads of the story together and gives an additional ironic kick to the viewer's identification with the film. Can't give it away here, but buy it and see for yourself! You won't forget the experience. Great sound track too!
Rating: Summary: Visceral Incarceration Review: The payoff from a great prison film - and this definitely is one - is the sense of incarceration that envelopes the viewer. You are there, immersed in the noise, the danger, the tedium of the joint itself. In Down Time the directing, editing, and cinematography shove the prison experience down your throat in spades. The payoff is a sly narrative twist at the end which both ties the threads of the story together and gives an additional ironic kick to the viewer's identification with the film. Can't give it away here, but buy it and see for yourself! You won't forget the experience. Great sound track too!
Rating: Summary: Down Time Review: This is a fresh look at incarceration by someone who knows. I found the characters to be colorful and intriguing. The narration and recurring situations kept me enthralled and wondering what would happen next. The use of music was strong and appropriate. I loved it!
Rating: Summary: Great Movie! Review: This movie is a very well written and directed. The story line is solid and gives a great perspective on prison life. I definitely recommend it!
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