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Reviews
Hellion (2014)
Aaron Paul nails it!
Like most of the American population, I chose this movie because I'm a Breaking Bad fan. I know Aaron Paul as Jesse, a more or less, kid. In this movie, I couldn't believe that it was Pinkman as somebody's...dad. He nailed it!
The kids were great actors as well. This movie was so emotional and you felt uncomfortable so many times. Not uncomfortable because the movie was "disturbing", more like uncomfortable because this could be anyone's family, even yours. Even good people can just lose their mind in the face of tragedy.
The movie doesn't need a fast paced story to keep you on the edge of your seat. You can't help but get invested so much in the characters. The ending is perfect.
Naz & Maalik (2015)
Snooze-fest
This movie is a 1:24 long. I kept waiting and waiting for SOMETHING to happen. I don't claim to be a decent creative writer in the least bit but I know that screenplays (and all stories) need structure (http://www.movieoutline.com/articles/the-five-key- turning-points-of-all-successful-movie-scripts.html).
This movie has ZERO structure. Two gay Muslim teenage buddies hang out for the day, selling crap on the streets. They had sex last night and feel guilty about it. Nothing really happens. They get questioned and patted down by the FBI and nothing really happens (for all you kids, don't ever talk to the FBI or any other law enforcement without a lawyer, even if you didn't do anything). One of the kid's sister sees him kissing on the subway and tells him that she disowns him. Nothing comes from that. The high point of action is that one of the kids doesn't want to kill a chicken for dinner (not many of us do) and nothing comes of that.
The movie ends with the don't-want-to kill-chicken kid gets a ticket for riding his bike on the platform. Boom! "Cliffhanger" ending! The high point of the movie was a chicken The high point of the movie is when the I-can-kill-the-chicken kid goes to grab the knife, he gets a bad cut on his hand (he's fine). The chicken jumps off the building and a guy gets in a car accident because of it (he's probably fine too). And what becomes of the chicken/accident/injury scene...not too much.
This movie got 82% on Rotten Tomatoes (Critics). That boggles my mind but 2/3 reviews I've read on this site agree with me, so I know I'm not the one whose crazy. A movie about gay, Muslim, black, inner city youths could've had so much promise. But it's uneventful and full of clichés. I did you all a favor. I watched this so you don't have to.