Josh Larson Absolutely loved this movie. This might be Leo at his best (sans Gilbert Grape). Easily could have turned into an after school special, but Kalvert walks this line brilliantly. In addition to Leo, this might be Wahlberg's best performance (sans Boogie Nights). It's a dark disturbing tale, that is told through bold and authentic performances.

bviktor98 I'm a huge fan of DiCaprio, so I watched this movie with great expectations. It was slightly disappointing.This is a propaganda film, not from the better kind. As my summary said, it was more like Mr. Mackeys speech against drugs from South Park. The main character plays in a basketball team, wanting to be a professional, but as he starts to take drugs, he loses his career, his friends, even his family. That kinda sums it up.I'm a 16 year old teenager, and it's clear that this movie targets my age group by its message. The book was much better in my opinion, because that had an impact on me(I read it after the movie). It has a moralist, preachy message, which is very weak. It didn't make me feel disgusted by drugs. I think Requiem for a Dream is a much, much better film to show teenagers what the consequences of taking drugs are. However, it wasn't very bad. There was one scene, which captures the books atmosphere quite good. The acting was solid, especially DiCaprio, who's as good as always, and the soundtrack is also alright.

videorama-759-859391 The Basketball Diaries, is a harrowing journey, which in it's 102 minute time, we feel we've been to hell and back, it's final scene, where Jim Carrol had finally got his s..t together, reminiscent of the final scene in Stella Does Tricks, where like Jim, she addressed her young audience about her journey, through drugs and prostitution. This is the no holes barred look at the destruction of a man who had a talent for words, and what we've go through with him, is something we're glad we never endured. De Caprio shows us again here, what a brilliantly dramatic actor he is. There were moments he was so real, I was getting goosebumps. But we must give thanks to another great actor in the prime of his career, Underestimated ex Calvin Klein model, Mark Wahlberg. When not having seen the film for years, I forgot just how bloody good he was in this, almost on par with Leo, where as Jim's best friend, Mickey, saw him plummet harder with his drug addiction. Like Leo's, it's an engrossing performance. TBD is not for everyone, especially people easily affected by the drug scene, which as I said before, it's is a frank film on the subject. The dream sequence, that has Leo bursting into a classroom, opening fire on his friends, while letting out a howl of anger, was one of a couple of scenes that earned an R. It's a quite violent and frank scene, be warned. Of course, this notorious scene was the one suspected as the inspiration, or trigger for that very similar classroom shooting, two years later. The film really hones in on the desperation of that need, that fix for drugs, where money sometimes has to be earned in degrading ways. De Caprio fully embraced this role, like he does many others, although the film's well acted by everyone, especially Bracco as Jim's long suffering Mum you really feel for, and wish to hell she could help him, looking many years older than her younger self in Goodfellas. The film which has suffered some scathing reviews, which I myself believe, it could of been better, may'be stretched out to two hours, as to add some more input, to tell this tale of a hellish nightmare, where still like it is the film is bloody effective and poignant. Too, I found the film, besides being confronting, quite an entertaining view, due to Jim and his wild, but mostly funny exploits with his mates, which includes barfing on an innocent passenger below deck on a Statton Island ferry, the after effect of yes: meth sniffing. It good to see these troubled teens beat the odds, where only just learning of the demise of the gaunt faced Carroll, took me by surprise. Very recommended viewing.

david-sarkies There was a huge uproar regarding this movie because of a scene where the main character walks into his classroom and starts gunning everybody down with a shotgun. As is typical everybody has missed the whole point of the movie. It is not designed to encourage school shootings, but to show people what heroin is really like. When it comes to violence on television and video games then I will repeat what was said to me once, not that anybody will listen - people are so stubborn that once that have a mindset, no amount of reason will change their mind. Anyway, before television there was an awful lot of violence - the Napoleonic Wars, the thirty years war, the crusades, and even World War I: probably one of the most violent of wars. Even then before literature or even the written language, Cain killed Abel, and he did not do it because a video game made him think that it was a good idea. Violence is apart of our nature and we do it because we are frustrated with the world and the way people react to us. It is basic to our nature, and I am not saying that it is alright, but rather stopping violence in the media is not going to change anything.The Basketball Diaries is about a heroin addict. We follow his life from when he becomes one to when he finally gives up. Even though he does not start off as a heroin addict, he is still taking drugs, or rather sniffing glue. He, Jim Carol, hangs with three other friends and they simply act like teenagers with a lot of energy. Jim is also a champion basketball player. There is a darker side to his life and that is that his best friend is dying of Leukemia. He does not want to believe it, but it is reality and once he dies things slowly begin to change. We are not sure what really happens, but I guess it has something to do with the realisation that they are no longer immortal. But that is not the main reason, it more has to do with the pain and the loss that he suffers after his friend dies, and it is not something that they could have fought against - in fact he was powerless to do anything about it. The realisation of ones weakness is a true humbliser.Starting the addiction is not focused that heavily on in the movie, but his first trip is, and it shows him running through a field of flowers. It is more that he describes how all of his pain has gone away - both the emotional and the physical. This is the thing about Heroin - it is one of the world's best painkillers, but it is also an incredibly addictive drug. What we see is how his life collapses around him as he becomes addicted to Heroin. He is kicked out of school, slowly looses his friends as they are each arrested for various crimes, and finally he himself is taken away as he lies in a pathetic heap before the door to his mothers' apartment. Near the end we even see him resort of Homosexuality, something that horrifies him, especially when he is molested by the basketball coach, to get money for drugs. This is further undermined when the drugs he purchases are fake.The Basketball Diaries is an incredible movie and shows something that we wish to ignore. The school shooting scene is not all that bad, and more shows his frustration with life and the way the drugs take away this frustration - but at a cost. It is something that has been taken right out of proportion and as such people take the wrong idea about the film.