"Wassup Rockers" is a film by Larry Clark ("Kids") features a group (I'm a little remiss to call them a "gang") of Latino skaters from the hood in East L.A. who distinguish themselves from their surroundings by immersing themselves in the hardcore punk / skate scene. The movie encompasses one full day of their escapades in a rich Beverly Hills neighborhood, flirting with upperclass girls and scuffling with their boyfriends. All of the characters in this group are very likeable, not stereotyped at all, and you really empathize with the racial prejudice they face by local authorities as well as by neighboring black gangbangers. The only point I didn't like about the film is how three of the characters are killed off in almost a campy, satirical manner (e.g. one of the boys is shot dead by a Clint Eastwood-esque movie director as he tries to jump over the fence in his backyard).
Gus Van Sant's "Elephant" follows multiple students through a typical day at a Portland, Oregon high school culminating in a mass murder by two outcast students totally reminiscent of the 1999 Columbine High School shootings. The exposition leading up to the climax is really well done as the camera follows each student through their daily activities and interactions, and you actually see a repeat of a few of the scenes from different student perspectives and camera angles. Unfortunately, the two students that commit these horrendous murders are the victims of bullying, not unlike the Columbine gunmen. Their quest for acceptance by their peers becomes abandoned as they systematically plan out how they can eliminate the greatest numbers of students. The "actors" (students) are extremely natural in their acting; Van Sant actually used regular highschool kids, not professional actors. The mundane, awkward, melodramatic situations presented are probably the most realistic I have seen in a long time (unlike a lot of other "teen movies" that are out there). The ending comes very suddenly with no real resolution, but I guess there was not really a "good" point at which to end the story. Very eerie, very chilling, maybe too realistic for its own good.
"This Is England" is a British film (duh!!) which came out last year. Sorry, no pic for this one (go look it up on www.imdb.com for more info). Set in 1983, it features twelve year old Shawn who is a precocious, thick-skinned middle schooler, bullied because of his small stature, but toughened due to the recent loss of his father in the Faukland Islands conflict (remember that?). He befriends a goup of gregarious teenage skinheads who take them into their fold and make him one of them (complete with a shaved head, moddish ankle boots and Ben Sherman shirts, and an accompanying British Dancehall soundtrack). He unfortunately gets drawn deeper into a violent skinhead group involved with Britain's National Front party (fronted by Combo,a very charismatic but mentally disturbed ex-convict skinhead) and doesn't realize the gravity of it all until a Jamaican skinhead is senselessly murdered by Combo. The story is very well put together, and I'm surprised it didn't catch more international attention (I happened to "accidentally" watch it for free on a movie website, www.ssupload.com; shhhhhh, it's probably not legal - I also watched "Knocked Up", which is in theaters NOW!).
So if you looking for a few good sleepers apart from the typical summer blockbuster fare, go check out these flicks, legally through your neighborhood Blockbuster or Netflix (or illegally through your friendly Chinese counterfeit download sites).
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