Michael Ledo The story is told from a prison flashback. The plot runs in the present with flashbacks to the past. This is done rather plainly, i.e. they didn't try to tie lessons learned in the street to doing things in prison. James is a troubled youth with an ankle bracelet. He starts a life of crime, gets caught and writes poetry, of which we hear very little. He is supposedly mentored in prison by Ving Rhames, but those scenes are infrequent, and the relationship is not well established.His mom (Mary-Louise Parker) stood by him when nobody else would. Jamesy shows that while he is a criminal who deals drugs and robs people, he is basically a softy at heart. A so-so plot of a mixed up kid who did time in prison. The acting was good.Parental Guide: F-bomb, stripper nudity

Johan Dondokambey The story is basically a strong one, particularly because it's based on an actual person's life. But somehow in general the movie doesn't really grip the edge it should be having. One thing that I notice is that the story flow tries to beautify the movie by splitting its two acts into smaller pieces which the movie alternates in between all the entire duration. But the thing is, the alternating is done on very short durations that the feel on each act doesn't really have any adequate time to build strong in the viewers' minds. If the movie let the environments sink in for longer time, say like twenty five minutes or so before alternating, I think the impact will be far better. The acting overall is a little bit below standard. Spencer Lofranco still needs to work more on his expression which seem hyperbolic on most times. Having Ving Rhames helped a bit in giving depth to this movie.

david-991-303220 This movie might not be for everyone, when I read some of the reviews I can understand your point of view when remembering it in hindsight but I must tell you I was unable to notice any of the small mistakes while I was watching.Maybe because I've been in the same situation at the same age, made all the same mistakes with the feeling of it being right at the time, like you had no other choice.If you lived the life of a child believing it was full-grown surrounded by vicious criminals whose "standards and morals" you thought was real and you believed it like this kid did and had to go trough it the hard way to finally realize, or if you can relate to that, then this movie might be for you.Not because it will make you feel good or not because it is portrayed in a way that makes "thug life" seem cool like these movies I grew up with and became classics.In a way that made me feel as the main character went through life making decisions, I could understand and relate to his choices, it wasn't always spelled out why he took upon himself to do some of the things he did.His standards and morals, he stood up for them even though it is a rare thing in that world, a very rare thing I must say knowing what I speak of. And when he was old enough to realize that he had to pay the price knowing he was trying to hold up this "standard and moral" that does not even exist in that world and the one who payed the price was him.I liked this film and the main character, it made me feel through the whole movie as the decisions was made and I reminisced on my own life from an adults point of view gone through hell and back.Best luck to you James, best luck.

mmcm97-919-279392 I don't know what movie some of these other reviewers were watching but this movie was great!!! The movie was non-stop action and suspense. Most of the film was made at Maryland's House of Corrections not some Hollywood stage. A real Prison for a real story. I would recommend this movie to my friends and family. Its good to see a true life story of a person turning there life around after going through the Correctional System. Not every young man becomes just a static. The movie had a great cast with some heart felt acting. When I seen on the news this movie was made in Maryland and who the actors were I couldn't wait for it to come out. It was well worth the wait!