Threat

when Threat works it's like the second coming of Martin Scorsese. when Threat fails it's like the second coming of Abel Ferrara. luckily for me, i like Bad Lieutenant just as much as i like Mean Streets, so i have nothing to complain about. director Matt Pizzolo goes for broke on this hard-edged film about how extreme philosophies can drive ordinary people to obscene lengths. using black & white film for daytime, color for night, and interlacing animation throughout, Threat runs like a comic book gone haywire. everything is over the top, especially the philosophy: "if the suit don't see you as a threat, then you are the suit" or "how many people watched those towers burn, and were really just (expletive) angry that somebody beat them to it." brave words. it's no surprise this kind of anger would be coming direct from the streets of NY, the biggest surprise is that it's taken so long in coming.

i just finished watching this movie, and i'd have to say that i am disappointed. i was expecting some grand social commentary portrayed through realistic depictions of real-life situations. but i came away with some babble from characters that was really nothing new, and a string of violence seemingly driven by coincidence, stupidity, rage, and hatred. i enjoyed the buildup of the characters, but other than that, i feel the movie did not do anything to depict real situations.

the characters were developed. that i enjoyed. but i did not enjoy the fact that they were portrayed as hopped up, revenge-seeking machines. there is a certain amount of senselessness here, and that is what drive this movie to a moot point. maybe the senselessness is supposed to help the viewer understand the way certain events play out. however, again, this does not strike me as anywhere near realistic.

shocking: yes. revolutionary in any way: no.

but i love the soundtrack. so check that out, at least.

This movie is really really violent. I was not expecting it to be quite so violent. It's not violent like an action movie though because you really hurt when you see it happening. The characters are all really interesting and well developed and that makes it all so much more painful to watch when they start killing each other. I saw the movie with my boyfriend and I didn't really want to see it but he loves the music. I think I ended up liking it more than he did. Saying like is weird because it's not the kind of movie you "like" in the way that you like maybe a comedy. I mean I was more effected by it than he was. I can't stop thinking about it so I guess that's a really good thing. Both the male leads are super hot too. Like WB hot. I have seen a lot of independent movies and usually the actors aren't much to look at well Threat gets extra points just for that haha

i was lucky enough to see this film when it played in Montreal. i have seen other people cite the violence as what is so amazing or over the top about the film, but it's the character and subtlety i most enjoyed. here's a surprising example: one of the first scenes in the movie is nearly five minutes long, shot black and white in a very sparse room, with two talking heads: the main characters discussing philosophy of all things. what's so amazing about this? well the entire audience was wholly absorbed and engrossed in the scene. now that is film-making. if you can write and direct a scene where there's no action, there's not even color on the screen, and you can entertain with a philosophical discussion: then staging an exciting riot is an afterthought. i really thought the riot was just that: an afterthought to an otherwise very thoughtful and entertaining little movie.

As I recall this film was completed in 1995! I tried to watch it earlier tonight but it's so horrifically dated. Just because people throw the music you like into a movie doesn't mean it's a good movie. Please, apply some critical thinking here people. This is an absurd attempt to cash in by ex-scenesters who are, in all likelihood, now in nursing homes. I really wish that us xedgex kids, as a culture, who instead embrace things that mattered instead of things that pandered to our sometimes limited worldview. Call me crazy but Lebanon getting bombed is more important than your friend getting bombed. Open your eyes and pursue real art, not this drivel! P.S. WOULD IT HAVE KILLED YOU PEOPLE TO LIGHT THIS THING DECENTLY!?