10,000 Saints

Can't help but to love a movie that reminds me of old school New York. Was it really that great? That's how I remember it to be. Than again, I'm not old enough to have struggled on those streets, Squatting in houses and being semi homeless for my art, which the movie glorifies.

They did a pretty good job at recreating late 1980s NYC with tight shoots to leave out how alphabet city has change and to keep how it stayed the same, using Super composites of CBGBs, old trains and even phone booths, plus old shots of world trade. It's cool that technology allows us to do that now.

The movie's focus on that time period sometimes feels force with one liners explaining how that moment of the late 80s was about to spawn what that neighborhood next to Thompson Square park is now.

I thought it was interesting that the actual band, Army of One is showcased in the movie, though not the center focus of the movie, it's about their tour Guitar player Jude and his life, based on a book that I did not read.

Ethan Hawke as Jude's dad Les was charming and funny

It's a hardcore punk version of Juno in a lot of ways, but all together a coming-of-age story with a lot of layers to it as it Centers around Jude and his friendships with other kids. It was a great ensemble cast.

Definitely worth checking out.

Reviewers keep complaining about the drug use, sex, and irresponsible parents. Umm, that HAPPENS. In real life. More than you realize. I found the acting very well done, yet, the characters, or writing, was... uneven. On one hand, neither the characters nor the plot goes in any direction you think it is going, which most viewers tend to love. However, the setups, swerves and everything we learn is all for nothing, since.. neither the characters nor the plot goes in any direction even hinted at. Characters can spend the first 2/3 of the film complaining about the same thing (adults pushing what they want instead of what the teen wants), make multiple huge dramatic deals about it, then inexplicably change mind to agree with them, from no motivation whatsoever. There are also a couple subtle hints concerning one particular relationship, but everything else heard and done contradicts what happens or what we assume is happening. I really liked most of this film, and WANTED to like the rest but maybe it tried too hard to defy our expectations without earning it or trying. {It would be like watching a film about an interesting Christian Kansas farmer who takes classes in law school then decides to become an Atheist surfer with no reason for any of those out of nowhere decisions other than "just because the character decides to out of the blue".} Instead of "surprising" by being different, it was confusingly frustrating to watch this pointless journey. Still not sure if that's a good thing or bad thing in this mostly unoriginal Hollywood blockbuster era.

I wound up liking this a lot more than I thought I would. For the first 20 minutes or so I felt it dragged but then picked up. Overall I thought the acting was excellent, especially Ethan Hawke who played his somewhat complex character splendidly. What I really liked was that most of the characters stepped outside of stereotypical bounds. Hawke's character was a stoner, but in some ways level-headed and responsible. Johnny, the punk singer and tattoo artist, was trying to stay straight and walk the spiritual path and succeeded reasonably well. I read other comments which complained that "nothing happened" in the film. This is not an action film; it's a relationship movie, and given that, I believe it worked well. Plus, the characters all showed some degree of evolution. The scenery, with 1980's East Village was done really well too, very realistic, Twin Towers and all.

Another movie that makes you think humanity has no hope. Broken kids, broken parents, broken ideals. The movie takes place in the eighties and I remember the time well. So, yes, a lot of us were screwed up but this is just hopelessness incarnate. I did not like any of the characters as dysfunction seemed to be the running theme with everyone. I would suggest finding a better coming of age movie to watch as there are many good ones out there. I gave this an extra star for the very brief inclusion of CBGB's, it was the highlight of the movie. The rest was just so depressing it made me want to embrace traditional conservative values for the sake of humanity. Maybe I am getting wiser in my old age. . who knows?

I really enjoyed this movie, yes pretty much everyone in it is screwed up but it's also very realistic. Their depiction of bored boys in Vermont in the 1980s is dead on. What happens after is very interesting with the East Village, CBGBs and the relationships and how they progress. I recommend this movie and had no problem "figuring out" who was adopted etc. Then again, I like movies that don't spoon feed everything.

I'm suppose to write 10 lines of text but don't want to include any spoilers. All the actors did a great job, especially Ethan Hawke and I love seeing Julianne Nicholson again in a movie. She is such a natural actress. I wasn't big on the actress who played the rich New York mother, however.