Could Have Been Worse

Rating: 5/10 (4 April 2015)

The acting here wasn't bad. That's the only thing that kept me with it. I don't like ensemble movies where you get introduced to a bunch of character played by famous actors, but you don't get to know any of them particularly well.
I also don't like stacked-decks, so to speak. Meaning a scenario where every character is some kind of extreme stereotype. Most real people are more complicated than that. You have the angry Persian store owner with almost no background, the earnest Hispanic locksmith who never really speaks about anything, and the young white idealistic cop whom we don't even know. There's more where of that with the others.
I'm also not sure what statement the movie is trying make. Is is that we're all racists, there is a lot of tension in L.A., or life is complicated? I did like the opening statement in narration about crashing as a way of having contact with other humans, in a town where otherwise that's rare. Although I hate narration that comes in at the beginning and then completely disappears. I hate narration period, but this kind is really stupid.
The best part is the interaction between the black couple who play actors. Excellent acting.
Other scenes were forced. Like the interaction between the two black carjackers, and the black cop with his Hispanic partner. I'm so sick of seeing Don Cheadle as the earnest, misunderstood black guy with more soul than everyone else. I think he produced this film.
Vignettes do not make a movie. A movie needs fiber, coherence, and background.
The physical setting of one crash, on a sort of rural-looking road in sight of the downtown skyline was appealing.
I'd recommend avoiding this mess otherwise. It's not good movie-making and took a huge loss at the box office as far as I know.