Drive by

The theme here folks is LOW BUDGET. And it's obvious from beginning to end. For one, the title is so bland and lame ..."Drive by", sounds like the title of a movie made by high school students. What a piece of crap. Skip this movie, it's not worth your time. These people need to go back to school and re-think their career in film making. Everything seems so fake, the acting is horrible.....HORRIBLE!! This is not what Chicago street life is all about. This guy is pretending to convey his knowledge of Chicago gang life and he falls way short. I say skip this movie and go see the worst thing thats out in the silver screen which will STILL be 100 times better than this crap fest called "Drive By" how original...

First off I think the story line is lame, i mean the gang bangers in this movie look like they're 50. The main character doesn't convince me of his troubles. I grew up in a gang infused neighborhood in the heart of little village and had knowledge of other gang neighborhoods and let me tell you all, this ain't it real.

I mean its a try but nothing feels authentic, only the shots of the city which are used through out the movie and in my eyes have a neighborhood looking like 4 different ones. The shots indoors in the family home look decent and only because i bet they used someones actual house, so i cant really give credit in constructing anything, it was already there. Same way they should of used what ever neighborhood they were really trying to depict. which one? who knows. Its too much trying to bite a typical gang movie ala blood in blood out in a corny ass manner.

better luck next time.

LET'S HEAR WHAT STREET SAYS ABOUT STREET Latino Chicagoans tell their own story of a 1980s neighborhood which they perceive has declined from relative `brotherhood' to almost total distrust in one half of one generation: that's only 10 years! Entry level, brave indie effort, a few actors performing at level of high-school drama class. But this is not written/ produced/ directed by a bunch of Bimmer people with pools overlooking L.A. This is street talking street. So violence is minimalist (not minimal), unglamorous and brief; it comes out of nowhere like a thief in the night. Religion and family are strong influences. There is no strong, stylized rap lingo. Nobody wants to be a gangsta except the very stupid and the very dead. And fear is everywhere. Not sure the film proposes a solution; implied may be that the all we can do is be kind to one person at a time, make one decision for right at a time. Glad I saw it.

This was the absolute worst movie I have ever seen in my entire life. I sent my dad to the video store to rent Joy Ride and he shows up with Drive By! I have never seen acting so bad. My dad tossed it in and everyone in the room (5 people) was asleep within ten minutes. My advice to you is DO NOT SEE THIS MOVIE!!!

An impressive debut. This is a coming of age film about a young teen boy growing up in the rough streets of Chicago. His older brother is the local gang leader and drug dealer and the boy is both horrified and fascinated by the "hood " life style.

the film has it's problems. The editing and structure of the story are odd and a bit off, and the performances are a mixed bag. Felipe Camacho who plays the gang leader and Mario Acosta as the boy provide the best performances. Felipe is intense and well schooled in the school of Brando method acting, and the young Mario is the opposite:fresh faced, innocent and gentle. The rest of the performances range from decent to bad, but what do you expect from a film that cost peanuts. Yet ,with an extremely low budget(Blair witch was Titanic compared to this), director Frausto provides a film that looks like a million bucks. What's also impressive is the ambition. There are over 30 speaking parts and at times resembles Altman in the hood. The story has an almost epic sweep to it that one wishes he had the budget and opportunity to make it the 120-140 minute running time this story deserved. In the end, it's a fine film. The flaws are apparent, but so is the passion, love and brutality of life in the streets. It's also great, that it was shot in the gritty streets of Chicago, and has a midwest style all it's own. If I see another L.A. "Hey HOlmes!" film I'm going to scream. Also, Frausto is unfraid of the realities of life in the Hispanic barrio. He's unafraid to show you the truth unlike some elitist Latino circles in Los Angeles. Case in point, check out American Family on PBS. If you liked Mean Streets or Boys in the Hood, you'll enjoy this. And I look forward to the bright future of it's director, Juan J. Frausto, and some of the talented, still unkown actors.