Splinter

I give this one four stars, solely because of Tom Sizemore who, for me, was the only interesting thing in this whole film. Though getting top billing, he isn't in this one nearly enough to rate it any higher. Why he wasn't given more screen time is beyond me. In fact, Resmine Atis seems to get as much, or more, screen time and, in my opinion, is as wooden an actress as I have seen on film. I kept waiting for some kind of real emotion to come out of her character, but it just wasn't to be.

I guess, perhaps, I am the wrong demographic for this kind of film, as I found the story and most of it's characters extremely dull and unimaginative. I found myself counting how many times they called each other "dog" just to keep myself amused. And, no, I can't give you the actual final count...you'll have to watch and count for yourselves....

Lost among millions of Hollywood flicks and translations of life in the barrio, urban thriller fiction and urban friction have never been translated and amalgamated into a digestible and acceptable product until the conception of Splinter. In the footsteps of its successful filmic predecessors "Ghost World," "History of Violence," or possibly "The Walking Dead," one might consider this to be another wonderful comic book/graphic novel come to life. However, not quite manufactured into an actual tangible book like its famed literal leaders, Dark Horse Films (Sin City, HellBoy) along with director Michael Olmos give life to an inner-city story that follows the conventions of traditional story telling in movies, but flesh out the skeletal in such a purposeful and personal way as to entrap us in the confusion that binds all of its characters. Entwined in a lysergic and cathartic weave, everyone, actors and audience members alike, will find themselves trying to escape from the volatile streets of Paradise Gardens and Greenville Heights acid-mimetic tirade. Supported by such talents as Sizemore, Olmos, Almeida, Gugliemi, Atis, Rivera, and Cypress Hill, you'll want to bring the homies Dusty, Trigger, and Happy along for the "trip." You betta axe somebody!...

I liked this movie considering it was about gangs. Usually I cannot stand these types of movies however I found this tolerable. What I could not stand is the main female actress. She was supposed to be a hard a** personality but would break down crying over things that seemed to be not so important. The movie did not develop her character too well and yet a lot hinged on her.

The male characters were good, but not great. It was typical of the gang movie style. I am not sure why this movie caught my attention though, usually I would loose interest fast and stop watching.

There is something i liked and respected in this movie. I am not sure what is was but I will say this is a movie I probably would not watch a second time.

Though not completely awful, this film disappoints. Though independent directors bemoan the studio system and how it stifles creativity, there is at least one thing that the studios have done fairly consistently: they've been able to remind directors that good acting is highly desirable. Too many indie directors take a concept and some creative ideas and then simply relegate the acting to the lowest priority possible. That's one of the problems with "Splinter"...budget-level acting. I don't consider Sizemore to be an outstanding actor, but he truly embarrasses virtually every other actor in this film, especially Atis, who simply appears amateurish and uncertain in every scene.

So, sorry...can't recommend this one at all. Crummy acting condemns a movie, regardless of the concept, story, and other production values.

I rarely comment on here about films I have seen, although I do tend to give them a vote.

This one made me make a comment, its an unusual film, I won't go into specifics, but when you watch it you will see what I mean. Its not the usual Hollywood blockbuster, and that's what makes it great.

Watch it and it will no doubt make you question a few things in your own life. Any film that makes you do that, is certain to be a great film.

Its a great shame I didn't watch this earlier!

Just watch it.....