Rating summary

Movie		1.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.0

Alpha Dog Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 4, 2008

Former N’Sync member Justin Timberlake takes part in an ambitious but ultimately far from convincing attempt at recreating the history of legendary fugitive Jesse James Hollywood. Strong profanity and even stronger hip-hop beats are in abundance here but the story stutters and eventually comes to a dead end delivering a hollow message. Pic is released in the United Kingdom by Icon Film Distribution.

Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch), a small time drug-dealer with big-time plans, and his friend Frankie (Justin Timberlake) create a serious mess when they kidnap Jake Mazursky’s (Ben Foster), a feisty junkie, little brother. Jake vows to find Johnny Truelove and his posse and teach him a lesson. While he is searching for the goon things start to get out of control.

Jake’s dad Butch (David Thornton) and his mom Olivia (Sharon Stone) get on the search as well. But instead of helping Jake they blame him for his brother’s fate. In the meantime, Johnny Truelove and Frankie begin to realize what they’ve done. In an attempt to cover up their criminal deed the duo goes a step too far.

Johnny Truelove

Hollywood has a strange way of selling reality to those who aren’t sure what they are buying. And Nick Cassavetes’ latest film Alpha Dog (2006) is as good of a reality-check as you would ever see. Vulgar, disturbing, but too clichéd the film tiptoes between glorifying and criticizing unsure what it is exactly that it wants to sell. Not surprisingly, it eventually embraces teenage anger and excess as the only two ingredients capable of adding enough flavor to a largely tasteless narrative. But who’s buying?

I certainly didn’t. Justin Timberlake’s cursing onslaught might be a good reason for some to see Alpha Dog but past the fifteen-minute mark I lost any interest in learning more about one of the FBI’s most wanted men. On the contrary, I could not wait for the camera to zoom away from him. Unfortunately for me, even then profanity kept littering the little that is actually worth seeing in this film.

In addition to the distracting vulgarity Alpha Dog also struggles with obvious identity issues. Other than Ben Foster whose erratic behavior does indeed suggest that he might have taken his role a bit too seriously everyone else is flat-out disappointing. From Sharon Stone’s jaded character, to David Thornton’s apparently too open-minded father, to Emile Hirsch who more than a few times looked like a comedian rather than a drug dealer Alpha Dog misses the reality element it hypes so much by a mile. As mentioned earlier it completely loses track of what it wants to be and the more we approach its finale the more obvious it becomes.

Furthermore, Alpha Dog also produces so many controversial generalizations that one must truly wonder if this was a film meant to retell a tragic event. Drugs, sex, and teenage apathy are mixed into real head-scratchers that once again had me pondering if it was me not seeing the thin line between glorifying and criticizing or if it was Alpha Dog effectively contradicting itself. Suffice to say this film does not even come close to Larry Clark’s Kids (1995), Bully (2001), or Ken Park (2002).

Technically Alpha Dog is also something of a toss-up. Robert Fraisse’s cinematography is accommodating of the film’s hectic pacing but the pseudo-documentary look feels totally out of sync with the occasional fast action sequences. The finale on the other hand is spot on, both eerie and very dark, providing a glimpse of what Alpha Dog could have been if Nick Cassavetes would have bet on substance over style. As it is, I never once detected the alarming social overtones his film supposedly harbors.

Finally, how well Alpha Dog resonates with you depends primarily on your acceptance of its excessive and unnecessarily flashy style. If you buy the reality it sells then you are in for a lesson that will stay with you long after the end credits roll. I hope. Yet, if none of the main protagonists and their words strike you as real, and I am certain you would be able to tell only minutes after Alpha Dog begins, then I suggest that you simply turn off your player and do something productive. There aren’t any hidden gems here, just more of the same.

Alpha Dog Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC, and granted a 1080p transfer Alpha Dog is released in the United Kingdom by Icon Film Distribution. I know that this film was released on HDDVD by Universal Pictures but I have never seen their disc so unfortunately I will be unable to provide you with a comparative analysis. The UK release of Alpha Dog, subject of this review, is indeed of very good quality. It reveals a very consistent look boasting an impressive degree of clarity and detail. The daylight scenes are lush, vibrant, and quite "popping" while the nighttime scenes offer plenty of detail. The color-scheme is also intact. The nighttime scenes on the other hand are just as impressive as they reveal plenty of detail without suffering from any print inconsistencies (the final, and most dramatic, scene is a great example). The quality of the actual print is also very good – I did not detect any specks, debris, or dirt. As expected, Alpha Dog boasts a very contemporary look which the Blu-ray transfer preserves adequately. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc which you will be able to play on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

Alpha Dog Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three different tracks on this Blu-ray release: English: DTS-HD 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 5.1, and English: Dolby Digital 2.0. I opted for the highest denominator and was pleased with my experience. The DTS-HD 5.1 track is, generally speaking, very well balanced. The dialog is mixed well with the soundtrack (plenty of hip-hop tunes) and I did not detect any issues to report here. There weren't any pop-ups, dropouts, or hissing(s). Furthermore, the basics for the DTS-HD 5.1 mix are quite strong – the bass is full and rich and the high frequencies are also intact. The rear channels get a decent amount of traffic but are not overly potent. The key scenes where you will notice a great deal of movement are the action scenes and aside from them there is absolutely nothing else that will surprise you. My only concern here is the occasional lack of transparency with the dialog (during some of the mass scenes multiple lines of dialog overlap each other and as a result it becomes problematic to figure out exactly what is being said). Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature and they do appear to be split (the sub-text appears in and outside of the image frame).

Alpha Dog Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The only piece of supplemental material on this disc is the "Cautionary Tale: The Making Of" which provides plenty of comments from the cast and director (Nick Cassavetes, Sharon Stone, Justin Timberlake, etc). The majority of these comments address the technical difficulties the cast endured during production (as well as their appreciation for the director's apparently very loose style of filming) as well as the impact the script, based on a true story, had on them. Please note that you will be able to watch the Making Of on your Region-A PS3 or SA without any trouble at all.

Alpha Dog Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Alpha Dog spurred a number of different feelings in me. It made me feel angry, disappointed, and eventually incredibly sad. There is a lot in this film that shows how terrible human beings could be. What is truly shocking, however, is seeing a lot of the destructive emotions channeled through kids with a complete lack of respect for each other. This being said, I cannot really say that I liked Alpha Dog. It is the type of film I find revealing but in the larger scheme of things pointless as it effectively glorifies more of what it attempts to dismiss. The Blu-ray disc release, courtesy of Icon Film Distribution, is of very good quality. In fact, having seen more than eight different catalog titles from the UK distributor, I am nothing but impressed. They are indeed on top of their game and providing very competent treatments for the films they own.