Anytown (2009) Reviews

• Missing

  kosmasp2013-06-16

  The one major problem I see in this movie, is that when it starts to get ugly, there is a redeeming point or vantage point missing. It's just too much in one direction without any sound mind. It would have been good, if someone would at least "say something". But that is also where and why the movie can be devastating. Of course the movie touches two very hot topics, that do concern the youth from today (or back then). The main actor is really good too. There won't be an easy explanation of course and you shouldn't expect that from this movie. But his support characters are weak (in character and as actors too). Not an easy watch, especially from one point forward, but also with some some major flaws too.

• Don't let the rating here fool you...

  MrGKB2012-09-05

  ..."American Bully" isn't a bad watch at all--it's miles ahead of a typical "4" film on this site--despite its thematic heavy-handedness and a final coda that has no business being there. Nicely acted by relative unknowns (some of whom are likely to become much better known as they mature), handily directed by co-writer/producer Dave "Push" Rodriquez, and expertly shot by John "Bad Ass" Barr, "American Bully" tells a brutish tale of jingoistic excess reminiscent of Michael Haneke's "Funny Games," although no one breaks the fourth wall. Shot in Louisiana, but with a definite anywhere feel, "American Bully" follows the tragic arc of Brandon (Matt "Eden" O'Leary) and Mike (Marshall "True Blood" Allman) as they and two ne'er-do-well friends (Sam "Three Moons Over Milford" Murphy and Ross "Sinners and Saints" Britz) as they descend into drug and alcohol-fueled xenophobic madness. The script takes just a hair too long to get underway, and to be honest, the bookend prologue/epilogue should have been excised entirely, but I suppose Rodriquez felt he needed the dubious star power of John Savage and Natasha Hentsridge to give his film some oomph. Neither of them was needed whatsoever. Worth a watch despite its flaws. If nothing else, O'Leary and Allman are young actors that are going to be going places, and the rest of the cast ain't too shabby. Current ratings here on the IMDb (as of early September 2012) are totally bogus.

• Not an American-Hate film from Hollywood

  ScottNichols2015-03-17

  This is not anti-American hate propaganda from Hollywood, as alleged by another reviewer. He's way off base. I don't know where he got that Red state, evil, middle American crap. These kids were never revealed as card-carrying republicans. This is a film about a group of American teens with a sick, twisted view of defending our country. The maniacal leader, Brandon, holds ALL Arabs responsible for 9/11 and justifies ANY action perpetrated against ANY of them to be justified on that basis. Profoundly, Brandon's attitude mirrors that of ISIS, which slaughters our innocent citizens because of our military's involvement in the wars in the M.E. I'm sure the other reviewer is as appalled at the crimes perpetrated by ISIS as are the rest of us. This film is fiction (at least I'm not aware of any ties to actual events), but tragically I am sure that actions of this nature occur here to some degree. This film demands that we examine ourselves and do everything possible to ensure that we do not become our own worst enemy. I just hope it's not too late. Likewise, we should all be appalled by the actions perpetrated by this group of lunatics. I have to credit Matt O'Leary in his portrayal of Brandon--great acting. Still, I felt I left this movie without a sense of justice having been served. I really didn't care for the ending.

• The Ultimate Movie Review! - http://tss5078.blogspot.com - @tss5078

  Tss50782018-09-17

  American Bully is one of those film that has a message to tell. What that message was is still a complete mystery to me. This entire film is based on a single act, which wouldn't be such a bad thing had they showed what led up to the act or what the results of the act were. The film is short to begin with, at just seventy-five minutes, but for the material presented, that was still too long. The entirety of this movie features a bunch of high school kids hanging out, getting drunk, and expressing racist views. After an hour of absolutely nothing going on, an opportunity presents itself, something finally happens, and the film is over. I thought with the subject material that this was a film that could have gone in a million different directions, but literally almost nothing happens! Matthew O'Leary stars, and while I consider him to be an underrated performer, it's roles like this one that are going to keep on the b-movie list. When actors are capable of so much more, why take a role like this? Clearly American Bully was a low budget, independent film, and without a payday or a strong leading role, there simply isn't a reason to take on a role of this nature. As I said the film has a message to tell and it seems pretty cut and dry until the end. The big left turn may have made the ending a bit more interesting, but calls into question the entire message the film had originally intended to portray. Overall I found the whole thing to be just a strange experience severely lacking in almost every category.

• Chalk One Up For Ignorance

  bkoganbing2012-12-05

  What could have been a really good film was hampered by some heavy handed direction. American Bully tells the tale of four teens, one of them a most charismatic individual leads the other three into a crime of unspeakable horror. Matt O'Leary who has a brother in Iraq and is getting ready to enlist himself gets suspended from school for showing a beheading video from the wars on terror. He thinks that Jonathan Halayalkar ratted him out and Jonathan is darker complexioned. Ergo he has to be one of those Moslem terrorists. In fact he's a Sikh, but what does O'Leary know from Sikhs? Nor do his friends Marshall Allman, Sam Murphy, and Ross Britz. In fact what do Americans for the most part know from these other cultures? We are a most ignorant people if we were not politicians would not have such an easy time talking us into wars. In this situation Moslem terrorists don't do themselves any good either. Since the Seventies they've done all kinds of unspeakable acts starting with the massacre of those Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics. Not hard to hate these people as young O'Leary and his friends do. But in point of fact they're punks and nothing justifies what they did. And that they chose a Sikh because they don't know the difference, chalk one up for ignorance. American Bully covers a wide range of troubling issues, hate crimes, bullying, and ignorance and maybe another viewer can add a few more. These issues deserve a better film.