Alpha Dog
Tags: tragedy, revenge, murder, violence, home movie

Plot synopsis:
Alpha Dog is based on events that took place in 2000 and characters are given fictional names. The film is set in November 1999. It tells the story of Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch), a young drug dealer in Claremont, California and his circle of friends, which includes Frankie Ballenbacher (Justin Timberlake), Tiko "TKO" Martinez (Fernando Vargas) and Elvis Schmidt (Shawn Hatosy). The film demonstrates internal gang dynamics and social context that contribute to the events leading to kidnap and murder.Johnny's father, Sonny Truelove (Bruce Willis), supplies his son with marijuana, from which Johnny makes a fortune dealing and selling. Johnny owns his own house where he holds meetings and parties. Another associate of the gang is Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster), who owes Johnny a $1200 drug debt. After a failed attempt at asking for the money from his parents, Olivia (Sharon Stone), and Butch Mazursky, he goes over to Johnny's house where Johnny is having a party. A heated argument is held between the two, which results in a violent fight that Frankie and the gang break up. Jake tells Johnny that he'll never pay him the money. In retaliation, Johnny gets Jake fired from his job by ratting on him to his boss that Jake is on drugs. Later that night, Jake and his gang break into Johnny's house, stealing his flat-screen t.v., breaking his backyard window and defecating on Johnny's carpet. The next day, Johnny, Frankie, and Tiko decide to go to Jake personally and collect the money with the threat of violence. On the way, though, they stumble upon his brother Zack Mazursky (Anton Yelchin) and decide to kidnap him in broad daylight, throwing him into the van. Frankie is worried about the situation, while Johnny is thinking about what to do with him.Zack makes little effort to escape. Frankie offers him beer and cigarettes, which he accepts. During a street fiesta, Frankie offers him a chance to escape, which Zack declines, not wanting to cause him trouble with Johnny. The two strike up an unlikely friendship. Zack stays at Frankie's house for the night and even helps him with his chores. Zack meets some of Frankie's friends, including Keith Stratton (Chris Marquette), a young pot head, and even strikes up a relationship with Julie (Amanda Seyfried), the youngest member of the group. They all learn of Zack's kidnapping, yet do nothing as Zack seems cool with everything. Julie even refers to him as 'Stolen Boy', and thinks it's hot. Johnny comes over and contemplates with Frankie on what to do. Frankie grows nervous when Johnny asks Frankie about the possibility of having Zack killed, though he quickly dismisses it.Back at Zack's home, Olivia and Butch do everything they can to find Zack. Olivia grows angry with Jake when she learns he owed money to Johnny. Missing Person posters are put up. Johnny becomes increasingly paranoid about the situation. He calls Jake with the intent of explaining the situation, but learns that Jake already suspects it was him who kidnapped Zack and screams that he'll "rip his throat out and eat his heart". Johnny hangs up and calls his lawyer and explains the situation, which his lawyer replies that Johnny is looking at 25 years to life in prison for his actions. High with anxiety, Johnny seems to have made up his mind.The next night, while Frankie, Zack, and the gang are at a party at a hotel, Johnny approaches Elvis, who is in deep debt with Johnny, and offers to cancel the debt if he agrees to have Zack murdered. Elvis is skeptical at first, but agrees. Johnny gives him a TEC-9 pistol and leaves with his girlfriend. Back at the party, Zack loses his virginity when he has sex with Julie and her girlfriend, Alma. Elvis arrives at the hotel and explains to Frankie that he is taking Zack home, at which point the party ends and everyone leaves except for Frankie, Zack, Elvis, and Keith. Frankie is relieved to have Zack go home until Elvis reveals Johnny's plan to kill Zack. Frankie is enraged at Elvis, and angrily tells him he won't let him do it. Elvis instead takes Keith and they go to a remote location in the hills to dig a grave. When they get back to the hotel, Elvis tells a disturbed Frankie that they are all looking at life in prison if Zack goes home. Frankie sadly agrees and he, Elvis, and Keith trick Zack into thinking he's going home.Back at Johnny's house, his dad, Sonny, and their attorney confront him about the kidnapping. Sonny is furious with his son, and when he learns of Johnny's plan to kill Zack, he commands that he call it off, which Johnny refuses, believing that Elvis and Frankie aren't really going to kill Zack. Meanwhile, Frankie, Elvis, Zack and Keith arrive in the hills. They start walking up a hill. Zack is not aware of what's going to happen and is tricked into believing someone's picking him up. Zack grows little suspicious when a deeply saddened Keith silently tells Frankie he can't go through with it, and, after giving Zack a goodbye hug, goes to wait in the van. Realizing what's happening, a panicked Zack asks Frankie what he's doing, Frankie reassures him and the three continue walking up the hill. Zack sees the grave and begins to break down, sobbing and begging Frankie and Elvis to let him go. Frankie contemplates to Elvis that they shouldn't do it, but Elvis is keen on the job he's been given. Frankie calms Zack down and tells him that he would never hurt him, and ties a weeping Zack up with tape. He is astonished when Elvis knocks Zack into the grave with the shovel and ultimately fires at Zack with the pistol killing him. Frankie and Elvis then silently leave.Zack's body is found 3 days later. The epilogue shows the aftermath of the crime. Zack's mother, Olivia, is interviewed; she talks candidly about her failed suicide attempts and the loss that she has experienced from her son's murder. After being convicted, the gang members serve time: Tiko serving 9 years for the kidnapping; Keith serving at a juvenile facility until the age of 25 for digging Zack's grave and 2nd degree murder; Frankie serving a life sentence for the kidnapping; and Elvis on death row for murdering Zack. Johnny disappears and is finally arrested in Paraguay in 2005 after 5 years of being on the America's Most Wanted list. However, the real Johnny was arrested in Saraquema, Brazil.

Review: The characters, for the most part, aren't likable, but very realistic and well-played.The premise, of course, is based on a true story, but in my opinion was very well put-together so that it wasn't dull in any way, shape, or form.
To me, it felt like a better-quality, more entertaining version of films like "Bully" and "Havoc".I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who likes true-crime dramas..
Alpha Dog starts off as what seems like a movie all about a group of friends who life their idea of the American dream: doing drugs, having sex, and hanging out with each other not a care in the world.
However, when their leader, Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch), decides to kidnap the brother (Anton Yelchin) of a man (Ben Foster) who owes him drug money, their perfect world begins to shatter as they realize that their mindless prank has become a situation that could get them stuck in jail for the rest of their lives.The acting is pretty good considering the cast is mostly young men with little to no experience.
I could name the other young actors too, whom did all a great job in this movie, but you can also read their names on the IMDb list for the movie.I liked the movie, because it's an honest, dramatic and sometimes funny look at small time crime-rs..
Gone were the moments where you can see everything he thinks and feels on his face as when he portrays Z-boy Jay Adams or as Tim Travis in "Imaginary Heroes." He is supposed to be the heartless bad guy in this and since he is portraying a real person perhaps the flatness of this character is due to an accurate depiction of real life Jesse James Hollywood.
Even knowing all that I knew, the story, the actors, the characters, even knowing all that, the emotional wave that takes over and propels the film through its last act is just beyond any words.
At one point I actually heard myself saying in my head that he is the star of this movie, if there is one.I could go on...Ben Foster, Shawn Hatosy, Chris Marquette, Sharon Stone, Amanda Seyfried, Dominique Swain, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Willis...I put them in alphabetical order because it wouldn't be fair to rank them.
I recorded it off of the TV because it said it had Bruce Willis and Sharon Stone in it little did I know that they had very small parts.The movie is a drama about a group of 20 something's all running around in gangs, smoking pot, causing trouble and waving guns around.
It keeps you hanging really well.It is not the best drama I have ever seen, but it is still very good.I will give this film 7 out of 10."Dude, this shirt is f****** cool, Bob Marley is cool, you guys think the kidnapping is cool?"For more reviews, please like my Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ordinary-Person-Movie- Reviews/456572047728204?ref=hl.
The dialogue feels extremely unnatural, even for kids who normally have no sense of English, a lot of the stereotypical screaming women are very over the top and many of the actors behave like they've never even been drunk or high, much less seen a real gangster, or even a poser gangster before (except perhaps Ben Foster and Sharon Stone, who both have at least one very competent scene).Mr. Cassavetes seemed to disagree with me, particularly with regards to Justin Timberlake.
There are far better movies that have presented these types of negative lifestyle's as-is (see Kids, Gummo, American History X, Trainspotting, Finding Forrester, etc.) as well as ones that have come off relatively preachy (On The Waterfront, Requiem For A Dream, Blow, Leaving Las Vegas, etc.) but still manage to have a consistent vision.Many audience members will be affected by the fact that this film is a true story.
No matter the outcome, this is merely another tragic and stupid story of what happens with kids with too much free time and too much of their parents' money; had the main character not been on the FBI's Most Wanted list for 5 years or rather had the victim not been white, rich, and in a suburban setting, this story would've never caught anyone's attention.
Gritty and unsettling how far this "kidnapping" goes which hits home at the end when the audience is told what happened to everyone involved.It's a fact based drama surrounding a middle class drug dealer and his gang of 20-ish friends who kidnap the teenager brother of a client who owes them money and refuses to pay.
But in the end, he's still in danger.This is Nick Cassavetes film based on a real life crime story.
While mixing reality with the dramatization of the movie is interesting, there isn't enough emotion invested in the characters (largely due to the lack of character development) to care about what happens to them.On the bright side, Justin Timberlake shines and does a wonderful job of both creating a real character and pulling empathy from the audience..
It has an outstanding cast (Bruce Willis, Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Emile Hirsch, Sharon Stone, the late Anton Yelchin, etc.), but it wasn't quite an outstanding movie.
The characters, as I understand, are eerily like the real life people depicted, and all of the actors have done a great job terrifying me, surprising me, and making me feel sadder than any other film I can remember in recent history.
Which is by no means meant to discourage you from watching this film, as I believe it is an absolute must-see for anyone who cares about the society we live in.Jake Mazursky, an explosively charged skinhead, owes a large sum of drug money to a young thug called Johnny Truelove.
But then, as fear starts to spread of having to do hard time, Johnny and his allies make a decision that spins the situation horribly out of control...The character of Jake is played by Ben Foster, and I think he did an amazing job.
It is a portrait of frighteningly laconic individuals and the shockingly low bar to unnecessary violence, and it shows just how easy it is for young people to get involved with all the wrong influences, simply because they have not yet lived long enough to know any better, or lack the proper role models to show them alternative ways.I cannot recommend this film enough.
Next time, instead of ripping out this headline, rip out your notebook on which you scrawled this junk of a screenplay, and start over again.You know, Nick, It is fitting that two formerly 'good' (and I do use that term loosely) actors, Sharon Stone and Bruce Willis, are at their worst in this film.
The people that spent upwards of $ 10.00 will be more then willing to forgive you.Unfortunately, your movie is just one in a long line of exploitative films designed for middle class white kids that for some reason, worship ghetto (or inferior) culture.
The best movies that deal with gangs/drug dealers ultimately and I know this is a hard thing to do for Hollywood, make judgments upon the characters they portray.
The story is totally predictable, there's lots of bad acting (Heather Wahlquist was surprisingly good and funny though) and even accomplished actors like Harry Dean Stanton or Sharon Stone couldn't save this mess.
The soundtrack fits the story of a bunch of teen wannabee gangstas well.Alpha Dog reminded me of Larry Clark's "Bully" only that the latter is still a much better movie despite Clark's manipulative and hypocritical exploitation of his protagonists and his playing the shock card about the oh so disturbing state of the nation's youth.
Some of them have meanwhile arrived there, so if you're watching it for the first time, you'll probably see a lot of actors you've seen elsewhere.However, i've heard almost nothing about Alpha Dog which led me to the believe that it is another movie you rent on DVD and fast-forward through it or do something else as it's playing.
One is the tragic true story of a harmless young man punished by idiots for no reason whatsoever.The other is the gallery of characters we meet in the movie: Nazi-Jews (sic), stoned teenagers and an occasional careless parent.
Damn, what can I say about this film apart from it is excellent, and I mean Justin Timberlake was excellent in this film, him and the lad who played Zack Mazursky get the performances of the film, this film is thought provoking, heart wrenching, absolutely spot on, I would recommend this film to anyone, so it starts off very gangsterish and continues in that manner for most of the film but I would strongly urge anyone to give this film a chance if just to watch the ending which by the way isn't what you should just skip to and watch, you need to watch the film to truly understand what it's about.Do yourself a favour and watch the film, don't just watch some of it then switch it off thinking it's crap, give it a chance and at the end of it you will be thinking damn, that was awesome!!..
A truly pathetic movie, I know that those "type" of derelict drug addict losers exist in real life minus the murder/kidnapping and are nothing but a waste of good oxygen that someone else could be breathing.
The Actors like J.Timberlake are so Bad please never ever give a new role for him,poor Work real.A Movie that no one on this World need.
I have to admit, that the story of "Alpha Dog" looked good to me, when I read about it, but then I saw the movie."Alpha Dog" is the worst movie I have seen since a long time now, it is boring, it can't stand its own ambition to be "reportage"-like movie or something like that and has absolutely nothing to score with.You have Bruce Willis - a good actor - who got a lame role in which he could not even perform anything.
But its soulless posturing and jaded cynicism are far more repellant than cool.The film is a retelling of the story of Jesse James Hollywood, one of the youngest people ever to appear on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.In writer-director Nick Cassavetes' vision, Hollywood (renamed Johnny Truelove and played by Emile Hirsch from "Lords of Dogtown") is a craven punk who inherits his criminal tendencies from his father and grandfather (Bruce Willis and Harry Dean Stanton, respectively) and whose empire of drug dealing, violence and partying is built on the work and muscle of a circle of sycophants.Johnny is terrified, for instance, of Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster), a local hothead who owes him money but has no fear of him or his goons.
He likes showing the sex and drugs and fighting all right, but he uses distancing tactics such as scrambling time or labeling new characters with such tags as "Witness #11" or having a journalist interview the principals about their retrospective thoughts.His work with actors is similarly uneven: Hirsch, Timberlake (!) and the whiny Yelchin are good, but Foster is allowed to chew the scenery with heedless abandon, and Sharon Stone's performance as the kidnapped boy's mother varies from sympathetically strung-out to laughably self-indulgent.
They kidnap a 15 year old played by Anton Yeltchen (who, in the movie, is the brother of Ben Foster, who owes them $1,200), only Anton is glad to be kidnapped cause he resents his over-bearing parents, and gets a glimpse into this anything-goes, 24-hours-a-day-party-scene of the rich and responsibility-free youth of the west coast.
I didn't think, I would like this movie as I am not into these kinda of movies, I gave this movie to my brother for his birthday but never watch it until that today.I was thinking the movie was not going to be that good, the acting will be bad but that sure changed after I put the DVD on.This movie start of with little party, then it dose not take too long to get to action, when Jake gatecrashes Johnn'y part they both come to a blow.The next morning Zach who just had argument with is parents,sneak out of his room, only to be kidnapped by Johnny and he pals.Zach's is okay with it, figuring his brother will pay the debt soon.
Johnny tellsFrankie to be Zach's minder and they become really good friends, While Zach is being kidnapped, he really enjoying drinking and smoking.It can get bit silly, that a lot of people know that his been kidnapped but that the only downside.but my god the ending,I was shocked I didn't think it would end that way, it was so shocking.Acting was really good, great movie7/10.
The good news about Alpha Dog is that it works an absolute treat, a deeply distressing yet inherently moving film about people who amble into certain circles; quickly find their feet and then come into access the sorts of cars, houses and wealth that ought to be beyond them at this early stage in their lives.Where the likes of "11:14" was something like eight vignettes crammed into an 88 minute run time, and my criticisms were that if Pulp Fiction was by its own admission "three stories...about one story", and was an involving; burning drama which struck us as adult, why would you want to up the story quota and shorten the runtime in order to create something inferior and merely childish?
It's not a bad movie, but not much better than that.After a slow start, the film has a few interesting things to say about the Californian youth culture, and paces nicely toward an end in which I have to admit I was engaged.
Justin Timberlake (in the midst of his transformation from music star to acting star) stands out as one of the slackers/wannabe gangsters who kidnap a kid and then don't know what to do with him, and the young cast are ably supported by veterans Bruce Willis, Harry Dean Stanton and Sharon Stone.It is interesting to see a film which only becomes interesting when the action *stops* rather than starts.
As for the cast, Bruce Willis and Sharon Stone are fine as usual (though their parts are rather small), but the real surprises to me were Ben Foster, Anton Yeltchin and Justin Timberlake, especially the latter, who is mostly soft and "dilatory" in his music, but gave a remarkably tough performance in the movie.
But still, in all the other ways possible, I found it to be a great movie.The actors themselves were pretty good, particularly Justin Timberlake (surprisingly).
I know that the director wanted to say certain things about life in Southern California, and he is going to open some eyes, but the acting takes this movie down significantly.
Vannila Ice anyone?If you watch this movie have a barf bag nearby you will need it for this script and for this acting.This isn't realistic, accurate or interesting or well acted.PLOT: some suburban losers who think they are gangsters kidnap the brother of a guy who owes them money- stupidity ensues along with terrible acting and unrealistic sequences..
i am in no way trying to compare the two, but alpha dog reminded me a little of requiem for a dream just because in the end of both movies you walk away with 'wow, seemingly benign situations can get REALLY out of hand sometimes'maybe stories like this wouldn't happen if drugs were legalized and governmentally regulated?
Geat grouping of young up and coming stars.The story line was excellent and stayed true to the character.A must see for any Emile fan,keep an eye on this kid for the future.Also watch for some great acting by Mr. Timberlake who is becoming a better actor with each role he is given.Remember this is what Hollywood needs,more new story lines not rehashed old ones that never did well in the first place.All I can say is keep more movies like this coming and the silver screen will be fine for years to come.As for the previous mention of Emile check out a movies he did called Wild Iris,Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys,and Lords of Dogtown to see this kids talent.Thanks for the forum to voice my opinion,till next time,keep watching and supporting the fine art of acting..
But there were sooo many characters and changes in the end, the movie is about Justin Timberlake(who was great) character and the kidnapped kid.
However, on the bright side, Justin Timberlake does a good job of acting and making his character real.
You got good performances from Bruce Willis, and Sharon Stone,, Emile Hirsch is great, the afformentioned Timberlake,, and a cast of others that is too numerous to mention here, basically a young boy get's kidnapped by a bunch of drug runners,, he is kidnapped because his older brother owes money to a guy,, the brother don't pay,, kid get's kidnapped,, but it's really not that simple,, although that is really what it boils down too.
The world of young, idiotic and foolhardy drug dealers is explored in great deal in this film, with some excellent role performances from Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake and, most of all, from Anton Yelchin, who really made us feel for the character of Zack.
The only reason I started watching this film is because I think Emile Hirsh and Anton Yelchin are good actors.
The acting of Yelchin in that scene is the main reason why I'm reviewing this film, so that anyone who starts watching sticks up to the end because it's really worth it.
This is a really good movie and I really just wanted to comment on all the people that say the acting is bad and the kids in the movie are trying to hard to be ghetto wanna be gangsters.
Based loosely on a true story the film does move on quite well making you want to watch it all the way through.