Pups

I was about to turn the TV off and go to bed, then I saw some interesting movie on TV about two kids robbing a bank. First off, thank God someone finally casts actual 13 year olds to play 13 year olds (generally speaking, movies cast at least 3-4 years over what the actual age is, therefore high school seniors are 22 year old men and women which make it very hard to believe). The children were great actors for the most part. The message they were trying to say was a bit diluted, because it was obvious the child had a mental issue, and that clouded his own decision making abilities, yet the wheelchair man continually tried to make him out to be a product of the 1990's, and play it off as though he didn't have a choice. This is exactly what the media tries to do, is ignore the fact that the kid has a serious issue and blame it on the video games and the music he listens to. Amazingly, the Kurt Loder interview was intelligent and I don't think his "character" (if you can call it that) tried to reveal that image with the sequence. The very ending sequence was extremely powerful, and I think that should be the message and not who is to blame for the situation--the message should be what CAN happen if we don't change our ways. That's what happens if we don't start parenting responsibly and don't put any effort into raising a child the proper way, and indentifying mental issues before they go too far.

What struck me most after seeing 'Pups' is how intense the whole experience is - you feel as though you have lived through it. As such, at times it is not a particularly enjoyable film, but thought provoking to say the least - especially in the way it challenges the viewer to evaluate their own motives for seeing the film, practically daring the viewer to enjoy it. Worth watching (if you can stay with it for the whole distance) just for the last 10 seconds. They'll stay with you for a long time.

Why oh why did someone have to recommend American Beauty. That would be hinting that American Beauty and this movie had something in common. American Beauty was a beautiful piece of cinematic work. This movie was a piece of trash written by an angry 13 year old that never should have made it to film

The "movie," if that is what you call it mainly consists of 2 kids, waving guns around, and saying "f**k" repeatedly. I take it that we are in turn supposed to feel their pain because they come from broken homes. This movie gets no sympathy out of me. The only sympathy is have is for the people that watched this movie and will never get those precious hours of their lives back.

The notion that two kids could rob a bank is completely preposterous. The scenes were downright unbelievable. Especially the scene where Rocky goes outside and waves her gun around at the cops and media. In any real situation she would have been shot as soon as she took the gun out.

The movie plays out almost like a documentary. The sound quality is horrible, I don't remember hearing any music, and the scenes don't even fit together in any kind of order. One minute they are screaming at people outside. The MTV appearance was just plain wrong and didn't help the situation at all. And Rocky getting her period just added more confusion to an already too confused movie.

The acting was atrocious. I thought that Misha Barton was going places after seeing her in Lawn Dogs. But watching her in this movie washed all of those good feeling that I had about her. It was as if she had no acting experience at all. I swear if she moved her arms one more time I would have screamed. And when she is trying to be dramatic talking about her father molesting her, it pointed it out even more.

I should have turned the movie off as soon as the boy came on talking about "f**king the dog." So I guess it is my fault for putting myself in that sort of situation. Don't make the same mistake that I did.

This film was worth seeing. It tackled the issue of gun violence among youths head-on and was very witty and thoroughly entertaining. Cameron Van Hoy, as Stevie, puts forth a tremendous performance and has amazing presence in front of a camera, bringing to our attention the very real anger and emotion of this young, fragile looking boy. Rocky, a young Mischa Barton, is very full of wit and is very corrupt in her innocence as well, and their dialog is clever and amusing. Their relationship projects the idea that they have grown up too fast, which makes sense in today's world. The emotional connection that each of the hostages (who's individual characters are also developed very well in this movie) make with each other and with Stevie and Rocky is heartwarming, and the way this movie comes together is brilliant and shocking. Considering that it was so low-budget, i think everyone involved did a fantastic job. It even has Burt Reynolds. My rating: 7/10

Pups is a movie with both good sides and bad sides. To start with the good news: Great acting by all three major roles. Burt Reynolds does his best. Cameron van Hoy is even better. But Mischa Barton is the best of all and shows that she is very talented. Also very good: The dramatic development during the hostage. Ash seems also a very talented director. But the film is also a failure. The Burt Reynolds part is very unrealistic and badly written. But the worst part of Pups is the extremely simple moral views. The writer/director is telling us "look what happens if parents are away all the time and the media is showing violent movies". This simplistic view is a missed chance. Pups could have been much better.