22 May 2013

Powerful movie wit a message

Clockers has a seemingly simple plot: the owner of a fast food restaurant is brutally murdered. there are two suspects. a law-abiding family man and his brother, a drug dealer AKA clocker(one who sells drugs around the clock,nonstop). when the law-abiding brother turns himself in for the crime, a police lieutenant suspects something is wrong. and he is determined to put the right man behind bars, not the wrong one. when its all over, it's not as simple as that.that is what distinguishes this spike lee movie from so many other drug pushing crime movies out there. there is alot going on in this movie, some of it subliminally. characters are not cardboard cutouts, they are real. we know where they live, what they do, even what they drink and diseases they have. the clockers themselves know that the drugs are not good, they only sell them to make money. they don't use their merchandise themselves.the cast is great with harvey keitel as the lieutenant, delroy lindo as the head of the local clockers, and mekhi pfifer in a stunning debut as the clocker in question. this young man needs to be offered more parts in hollywood.this movie is powerful,gritty; a message is there if you look for it. anyone looking for a good movie should give Clockers a viewing.

paul51

21 May 2013

Eh, not terrible but not great

I was glad to see that this wasn't *quite* the average Lee film. Still,lotta typical elements kinda bring the whole thing down.I found some of the smaller points a little bit intriguing, though acouple are almost laughable unless I missed something (which isentirely possible). I mean, I'm not sure what the main character wasdrinking out of cartons the entire film, but apparently they weregiving him ulcers or some stomach disorder. Not sure what Lee wassaying here, unless it was "fruit drinks are making black kids sick".Same goes for the video game that mirrored the incident where the maincharacter's little brother blew away Arrow (great camera work on thatscene, though). I'm sure some kids have been and always will be gettingthe wrong idea because they emulate what they see in video games and ontelevision, but I think everyone realizes claiming that this is theroot of the problem with violence among kids is essentially dodging theissue.Anyway, decent plot overrun by the usual rhetoric and allusions, thoughnot nearly as bad as normal. A fair flick.

19 May 2013

RIVETING!

First of all this movie had a good introduction that kept my attention. The actors Mekhi Phifer and Delroy Lindo did a great job. So did Isiah Washington. I think this movie is one of those hood classics that should rank up there with Menace II Society and Boyz N The Hood. If you think it's that kind of movie though, you're wrong. Because this movie is set in a different location and different situations. I think this movie has a greater message than Menace II Society, bout equal with Boyz n The Hood. The movie kept my attention well and I thought all the characters were believable. This movie is more like a cop and robber/crime drama more than Boyz N The Hood or anything. I think everyone should go rent this movie and watch it and then write a review about it. I would even like people to e-mail about this movie.

19 May 2013

Good Crime Drama With a Twist!

Spike Lee is a classic African-American New York based film maker. This is one of the best movies he's made and quite gripping. A young drug dealer is having trouble after his good brother is arrested for a crime the drug dealer is believed to have committed. A cop who is concerned about an innocent man going to jail keeps up the pressure on the drug dealer to confess, but there is also pressure from his drug lord to keep what he knows to himself. It isn't clear if the drug dealing brother did commit the murder or it was someone else. What to do?

Evan

17 May 2013

First rate crime drama.

Clockers is something similar to Menace II Society or Boys N the Hood. Except there is story beyond how oppressed black people are, it is in New York, not LA, and is made by Spike Lee, who is a prominent voice about racism in the movie industry. We quickly get introduced to our main characters, and life in the projects. The frequent abuse by cops, the daily routine, etc. Now that is about Menace to society deals with. The daily grind. It never goes into anything deeper. Here the main plot revolves around the murder of a store clerk, and the cops who are on the case. Rocco Klein (Harvey Keitel) doesn’t believe the story of the man who confessed, he wants to find the real killer. His partner Larry Mazilla (John Turturro) just wants a quick arrest. There is a lot of familiar stuff here, but plenty of new elements as well. There story is superb. It doesn’t have too many twists, but it has a perfect amount of content in it. The subplots all work excellently. One reason I rented this was the cast, which has two of my favorite actors, Turturro and Keitel. The whole cast is excellent, with Delroy Lindo as a high echelon drug peddler, and Mekhi Phifer as a Clocker (24 hour dealer.) Clockers isn’t the best movie ever made, but it is a powerful moral tale, and contains dynamite performances. ***1/2(Out of ****)

Tyrone Steels II

17 May 2013

This movie has it all... Represent Spike!

Although I feel "Mo Better Blues" was Spike Lee's best movie, "Clockers"comes in at a close second. This movie has it all: great acting, good plot,good atmosphere, and great soundtrack. If you're a crime drama fan, Clockerswill definitely keep ya hooked.

Gene Gorman

10 May 2013

I still return to the power and message of this film.

It has been three or four years since I saw this movie, but one line from itwill never leave me. When the cop (Delroy Lindo?) assigned to or living inthe projects has a young black gang member slammed over a park bench givinghim an animated lecture about the Struggle and the Civil Rights Movement,and the kid shouts, "Who the f*** is Rosa Parks?" Amazing.The acting and the plot of Clockers, save for a few cases, are just aboveaverage and not all that memorable, but the themes of race, poverty, andresponsibility carry this film. As a white male in his mid-20s, I felt a bitvoyeuristic, not quite sure how accurately Spike Lee was portraying theghetto but suspecting that he was coming close. Whatever a viewer's race orbackground, he or she could not come away from Clockers without confrontingone of this country's greatest challenges. Who is responsible for theinequities of our times? Lee uses Clockers as a vehicle to show how each oneof us is.

Lumpenprole

09 May 2013

I liked it

spoilerI had a hard time understanding why so many of the characters cared aboutMekhi Phifer's character Strike. He seemed to have a maddening lack ofinterest in anything but his toy trains and his ulcer. He was so passivethat I couldn't believe that I was supposed to care much how he ended up. Isee the point that's made with his character - that he's young man trying toestablish himself in a world already dominated by the power of the drugeconomy, Rodney Little and the NYPD - but his lack of interest in hisbrother's fate was offputting.Aside from the exasperation I felt watching Strike shrug about everything,the movie is packed with really intelligent performances and is beautifullyshot and scored. Thomas Jefferson Byrd and Delroy Lindo deliver menace,authority and convey the ruthless intelligence of people who have beenrunning a dangerous game for several decades. Lindo is especially amazingin the scenes where he cynically harvests his young drug pushers by becominga magnanimous father figure, dispensing largesse, love and responsibility. Harvey Keitel and John Turturro don't do anything they haven't done in otherfilms. Isaiah Washington's character, Victor, really gets put through thegrinder in this movie and Washington makes his suffering real enough that Icouldn't guess if or why he murdered the fast food clerk. Doesn't matterwho did it really - everyone would have behaved the sameway.It felt kinda weird to see Keitel escorting yet another kid out of NY City. You get the feeling it's a hobby of his or something.

01 May 2013

Wonderful movie

I first watched this movie several years ago. It has since then maintained a place in my mind as one of the better Spike Lee movies ever made. I often wonder why it has not gained more notoriety when compared to movies such as School Days and others of his lesser works. I think that this movie is far less heavy handed and judgemental than Spikes movies normally are. And this use of subtlety allows you to understand how each of the characters is feeling.

lastliberal

01 May 2013

Read like a Marvel fckin Spiderman comic book.

Rodney (Delroy Lindo): If God created anything better than crackcocaine he kept that sh*t for hisself.A Martin Scorsese/Spike Lee film directed by Spike Lee that tells thestory of life in the projects and the actions and attitudes of thepolice.It was really interesting to hear the comments of the police as theyinvestigated murders of young black men. It is painfully obvious thatlife has become so cheap that they really can't care anymore and jokeabout the bodies.Harvey Keitel as Det. Rocco Klein gives what I consider to be his bestperformance as he tries to solve a murder, not knowing the man he has(Isiah Washington) is really the killer, but was put up to it by hisbrother, Ronald 'Strike' Dunham (Mekhi Phifer), a small time drugdealer who is into model trains.Delroy Lindo (Ransom) is Rodney Little, the main drug supplier and onenot to be messed with. Of course, Strike makes that mistake and has toleave town - on a train, of course.Emmy-winner Keith David is André the Giant, a Housing Authoritypoliceman who tries to keep the young ones away from the drug dealers;especially Regina Taylor's son. He really shines in his performance,especially at the end.Great soundtrack featuring Seal and Chaka Khan, among others.Of course, the film has to have some rappers; so we get Sticky Fingazand Fredro Starr from Onyx. They don't rap, but there is plenty in thefilm.Spike Lee gave us a great picture of life in the projects - the good,the bad, and certainly, the ugly.

23 April 2013

A Great Movie

Clockers is a shocking, crime film with fantastic performances. I won't go into the plot because you can read about that below. I will say that the performances are nothing short of brilliant. The brutality is honest and true and the depiction of the neighborhood balanced. Yes folks it is true, not everyone who lives in a supposed ghetto deal drugs or commit crimes and I appreciate Spike Lee for showing that.The performances are brilliant especially Kietel. I am a fan of Harvey Kietel and I love his character in this film. Filmed as a typical racist(maybe just ignorant) cop and in the end coming to a realisation that he played a part in the violence. I too believe this to be Spike Lee's best film(I can't believe I just said that). Yes, even better than Do The Right Thing in my opinion. Check this film out, you won't be sorry.BTW, the soundtrack isn't too bad either. A great songs by Seal and Desiree stand out.

johndeckbose

23 April 2013

Such an overwhelming disappointment

I'm glad that Spike Lee has apparently outgrown his need for polemics.Inside Man was a wonderful mature film that focused on character andmotivation far beyond the Afro-centric purview of earlier Spike films.And while Clockers is perfectly serviceable for anyone coming to thestory without having read the novel, I submit that Spike's attempt torefocus Richard Price's 1992 masterpiece as a singular black story,with a bone-throwing portrayal of white Detective Rocco Klein within anindictment of white police tactics, short-changes the audience of theprofound respect, balance and humanity that made Price's novel sounforgettable.It is truly one of the five best novels I have ever read, while Spikemanaged to produce one of 1000 best movies I have ever seen.Read the book. It will stun, shock, amaze and delight you.The movie, on the other hand, might just keep you from falling asleep.

andy peters

21 April 2013

Took my breath away

What can i say, every time I see this film I get a tingle, from theoutset the low key almost documentary style of directing is obvious. Asad tale of urban life and the continuous cycle of crime and poverty ininner cities, where only the lead character ""Strike" gets a break inhis life.The film is masterfully written and directed and as the plot unravelsit takes the viewer with it on a "who done it" tale based within "TheProjects" of New York.The majority of the characters are unsympathetic, not people trying tochange the world around them, merely props in the cycle of crime. Takefor example the two homicide cops played masterfully by Harvey Keiteland John Turturro investigating the murder that links the maincharacters. They are anything but hero's who are indifferent orde-sensitised to the crimes they deal with this is summed up by thequote "just another stain on the side walk" said at the crime scene ofthe main murder.Although the film focuses on the local drug trade based around the parkand the projects and run by the youths, it is Delroy Lindo's horribleRodney character who masterminds it all from a distance and ensues thatthe cycle of crime continues. Grooming kids from an early age, actingas a father figure to these poor youngsters and promising them theworld in exchange for them "clocking". This man really is Satan indisguise, fully aware of what he is doing, corrupting children for hisown benefit and yet appearing as a Saint.An all round excellent film.

camcmahon

20 April 2013

Another great film from Spike Lee.

I've just finished this film and I thought it was excellent. I've neverread the book, and based on other people's comments it sounds like itmight be a hard book to adapt for the screen, what with it (apparently)dealing with a lot of abstract issues. However, looking at this filmfrom the standpoint of having never read the book I thought the storywas brilliant, it engrossed me to the end. Mekhi Phifer was great, heplayed the part well, personally I thought he conveyed a wide range ofemotions and all of them very well. There was some great characterdevelopment, especially on the part of Delroy Lindo (another greatperformance).Lee did a good job in his portrayal of the drug culture in theprojects, as well as taking a look into the police's side of the story.The story interested me from the beginning and I didn't feel myinterest waver once, in fact is grew steadily throughout the film. Theimages of dead bodies shown at the beginning made a strong startingpoint, and served as an immediate reminder that the themes dealt within the film are occurring all the time.On a side note, I thought the resemblance of Shorty's game 'Gansta' totoday's GTA: San Andreas was pretty funny.

Kwahme McNeil

13 April 2013

A classic work of art!!

Clockers is a great film about moral reality and tough decision makingwhen certain situations present themselves.Strike seems to be a goodguy that makes the wrong choices and is reluctant of which way he wantsto go either right or left. Caught in whirl wind of drama between hisboss Rodney wanting him to murder hustler Daryl Adams, Tyrone the youngkid that is looking for some direction, his brother Victor that hastaken the rap for the murder, and detective Rocco Klein who won't stopbelieving that strike is Daryl's Killer.When it seems like everythingcan go wrong for Strike it does, Rocco sets strike up and makes Rodneybelieve that strike snitched on him. Rodney sends his partner in crimeErrol to kill strike and Tyrone steps in kills Errol with strikes gun.This was a great urban drama by Spike Lee in crafting the reality ofurban city life of drugs, murder and conspiracy.

12 April 2013

Spike Lee Joint

This review is from: Clockers (DVD) Very underrated Spike Lee film. The story line gets kind of confusing so you have to closely pay attention. The movie is long but very interesting.

newman_d_007

09 April 2013

The Wire before the Wire

Clockers represents a balanced and gripping look at ghetto life in theprojects. Although centring on "Strike" one of the eponymous "Clockers"the film examines the ravages of drugs from a cross-section of society.Mothers, brothers, policemen, children and corner boys are all giventheir say. The script is careful to portray no one as entirely evil,with even the chameleon Rodney given a chance to present his own casefor victim status.The entire cast give committed performances, particularly a standoutturn by Isaah Washington's humblingly decent Victor. Mekhi Phifer'sconflicted Strike is also utterly watchable as he meanders fromdisaster to disaster, trapped between his so called friends, employersand the police.Spike Lee's direction is on point as ever and although the ghetto isnever beautiful, Lee's cinematography makes sure that it is alwaysinteresting. Lee uses colour and a wide variety of shots to texture thestory he is trying to tell. Whether it is the brash reds and oranges ofthe mountains and countryside to emphasize "Strike"'s escape from thegreyness of the ghetto, or Lee's trademark floating head shot, the filmnever lets up in its innovation."Clockers" is a classic Spike Lee Joint, imprinting itself on to theviewers' consciousness long after the end credits roll. An importantwork on an important subject.

09 April 2013

Spike Lees best

Next to Malcolm X, Clockers ranks as Spike Lee's best film. Gritty and hard-hitting, this street crime drama packs soul. I've watched it at least 5 times and never tire of it. The performances are top-notch, directing on target, and the score mesmerizing. On Par with LA Confidential or better.

Braden

08 April 2013

Underrated.

This is a great film. I'm not the biggest Spike Lee fan but this is his best. Moving and suspenseful, fantastic action, direction and cinematography.

07 April 2013

they did justice to the book, plus

I read the book a few years ago, just before the movie was made. I especally liked Mr. Phifer, plsying the role of Strike, and the actor that played his older brother. The stars can be split evenly between them, with one left over for Mr. Turturro. Just because I happen to like him.