Customer Reviews

Splinter

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

You know you are in for a bad time with a film when you see the comment on the front cover reading "For fans of the Wire" The fact that it has to advertise a TV series in a hope of convincing you its even worth watching is never a good start.

Indie film or not its hard to believe that these are professional actors in this film. Did they not read the script before they signed the contracts for the film? Where they just so uninterested they just didnt care?

The film is basically centered around a series of violent murders in a Hispanic district of LA. One officer (an alcoholic) is under investigation by a second officer who has been brought in to not only investigate the crime but also corruption in the force.

Problem 1. Terrible terrible acting. Sizemore is just so bad its beyond words. There is absolutely nothing to relate to in his character. Olmos is just as bad, try and think of those late night films you may see on a Friday at about 2am when you come home from a night out and you kind of get an idea of the acting quality here)

Problem 2. The film just jumps from place to place. Its just not coherent at all so there is no way of relating to anything in the film or even keep interest in it.

Problem 3. Its almost like they stole the Hispanic actors from the film Training Day (and the script and even some of the characters names. Dreamer wasnt that the name of the girl in Training Day?)

Avoid this film.

Why is it that indie productions always end up looking so awful? Splinter is a classic of the genre: an inability to frame anything except as a close-up; hopeless lighting, dreary continuity, tacky editing and shoddy recording; a dull script that makes you think " What do I care about these people". Strangely the story is half passable and in the hands of a professional director and film editor I could see that this, even with a low budget, could make a watchable movie, a sort of tight noir of LA gang culture.

The fact that Tom Sizemore is in it carries little weight it seems to me, his drunken, broken cop character gets more screen time than it really deserves. The 'stars' have to be Enrique Almeida and Noel Gugliemi who can probably play Latino gang-bangers in their sleep. Everyone else did what was required of them in a half-hearted way.

Overall an indie of no consequence. I thought the extras were more interesting than the feature. The fact that you can pick this up for less than a buck says it all.

Despite the fact that the ending was fairly predictable, Splinter is one of those movies that might have had a chance with better casting and a decent budget.

The movie was written by Enrique Almeida, who also stars as the film's lead. There's no arguing that Almeida has the perfect look for the role, and did an adequate job as a screenwriter, but his acting ability is painfully lacking. Why such an inexperienced actor was determined to play the lead is a mystery, his previous film credits include (I'm being serious) Gang Member #1 and Gang Member #2.

The disappointing work of the lead is compounded by the uninspiring performance by Tom Sizemore, in what can only be described as an example of "so where's my check" acting. Film great Edward James Olmos treats viewers to virtually no real screen time, apparently only taking part in the movie because his son (Michael Olmos) was the Director.

The only reason why I would award the film two stars instead of one, is because of the film's opening sequence, one of the most amazing jobs to date. Depending on who you ask, though, graphic artist Rob Chiu (Aka The Ronin) was allegedly never compensated for the concept behind the title sequence. Whatever the case, the movie isn't worth renting, let alone a DVD purchase. With a different cast and better budget, maybe it would have had a shot.

The movie is just okay, mildly entertaining. Perfect movie for sale on Amazon but I would not pay to see it in a movie theatre. Great experience with the seller, the movie arrived on time and perfect condition.

I grew up in L.A. I relate everything to this movie AWSOME, lots of true action specially in blu ray.

Turns out there is a reason this movie took from 2006 til now to appear on DVD.. it's not that good. It sets out its stall as a would be Training Day type movie exploring corruption and getting inside the gang mentality in L.A.'s less tourist friendly areas. However, despite some stylistic flourishes and a script which has a few good ideas, it falls well short of the mark.
Dreamer, a gang member, sees his brother being killed, and gets a bullet in his brain. Suffering amnesia, he and his brother Dusty, recently released from jail, set out to find out who killed their brother. Meantime, a young female cop (played by relative acting rookie Resmine Atis) with a reputation as a snitch, has been assigned to Tom Sizemore's character, an alcoholic, troubled and corrupt veteran of the force, who has clear issues with his supervisor. The supervisor is Edward James Olmos, excellent as always, in a movie that only really comes to life when he is on screen which is far too seldom. Sizemore is fairly mesmerising as the cop who has clearly fallen off the edge, and whose volatile mental state appears as confused as Dreamer's. Part of the fascination is knowing Sizemore's own battle with alcohol and wondering how much of the performance is drawn from reality. I imagine the makers would like to think they have cast a tale contrasting the two sides of the same coin, the gang member and the cop, each equally confused and both with equally dirty hands. However, the highly stylised nature of the directorial flourishes are not matched with corresponding production values... they appear to be so tricksy that we are constantly reminded this is a construct. The rookie cop with a gift for `seeing' how the crime was committed has moments which play like they are straight out of episodes of CSI. And worse than that, the film suffers fatally from an empty performance at its heart - Atis's rookie cop/ good cop role which fails to add anything like the depth or charisma to share the screen with Olmos or Sizemore.
Good intentions then, but a difficult watch, for all the wrong reasons. It's an uncomfortable mix of amateur and veteran film making, a project you know the heavyweights got involved in to help out budding talent. By this example, some of that budding talent should perhaps be left to wither on the vine..

After I was finished watching this movie, to avoid a cold shower, I began using the disc in various different ways. First, it faired well as very fine sandpaper for my new abstract wood project, then, I used it as a Frisbee for a day with the dog at the park, after that, I strapped it to one of my feet and used it as a snowshoe. I have conceived many other uses for this disc, but it will never be used again as a movie!
This piece of garbage was a waste of almost two hours of precious time.

SPOILER:
Tom Sizemore's character is so hated from the first time you see and hear him, that when you get to the "supposed" twist, you don't really care one way or the other, so the twist doesn't even matter.

It seems, also, as though there was a huge amount of confusion on how the movie-makers were going to end this extravaganza of nothingness.
There were plot holes galore, like Tom Sizemore's partner appeared to have some strange telepathic power, but we never know what it was, if it was anything at all. And after Sizemore was fired, why did he get to retain his police-issue pistol? Hmmm.

Also, I've lived in bad neighborhoods in my time, and this is a very poor portrayal of what its truly like in those dregs.

Please, don't waste your money or your time.

By the way, what is "Splinter" anyway?
I never could figure out the significance of that title.

JUNK!

Despite having good veteran actors - Edward James Olmos and Tom Sizemore, Splinter suffers incredibly by weak, weak acting throughout most of the film. The main actor "dreamer" can't remember his real name was - awful! as well as Tom Sizemore's female partner. Aside from bad acting, the writing was extremely weak. Do gangbangers really talk like that? I don't think so. Sizemore's acting helped make up for the bad writing but still could not salvage such a poorly made and conceived movie. Not even worth a rental - unless you want to see what not to do when making an entertaining movie.

If you draw your ideas about urban life from Hollywood, you are bound to be mislead by the poor portrayal of barrio culture and the continued raping of Hip Hop imagery. It seems that this time they get it right! At its weekest points, the movie delivers occasions of weaker acting and continuity errors, but what the movie excels at is its sincerity, truth, and boldness.

The movie also propels us through these moments to realizations of our own self. Who are we honestly beyond our influences? Who's to blame for our problems and our community's problems? How do we cope?

Bullets and serial murders launch warring neighborhoods to battle as a crumbling police department is caught in the middle. Charged by excellent cinematography, graphic editing, amazing music, and the powerhouse acting of Edward James Olmos and Tom Sizemore, BUY this movie and transport yourself to the wonderful Los Angeles cityscapes where, in a flash and a bullet wound later, you'll discover the chaotic underbelly that keeps justice in order in the city.

NOTABLES: Appearances by Edward James Olmos, Noel Gugliemi, Tom Sizemore, Hector Atreyu Ruiz, Cypress Hill, Ivonne Coll, "Diamond" Dallas Page, Emilio Rivera, Adam Rodriguez, Nick Gonzalez, Bodie Olmos, and more...