Clockers (1995)

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

The first must-see film of the year.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

More like a Spike Lee Joke. Not sure what he was after here other than the obvious effort at realism but this can never be successful with terrible acting, pathetic production values, and dialogue that if heard by anyone in Brooklyn, that is willing to tell the truth, would say is horribly exaggerated and nothing close to what is really heard. Perhaps he is simply trying to convey that living in Brooklyn may cause irritable bowel syndrome. Other than that, not sure what really came out of this sad attempt at putting a good book to screen.

Again talented young Lee, has brought to the screen, a powerful, poignant, if at times powerfully, 'pull no punches' violent film to the screen, with hell of an impact. In one sense it's a masterpiece of potent scenes and great scriptwriting, with acting to boot, but it also plays off as thriller, the viewer left in two minds. A clocker is a term for a drug dealers, who works furtively, under the table. We all know em', we all seen em', though I'm sounding more Americanized there. A young clocker has been shot, and may'be the wrong brother has been imprisoned. Again, enter trimly dressed, cool Keitel, a cop, again with a heart, who knows deep in his own heart it's the younger brother, Strike (Mekhi Pfeiffer) a clocker. The one who's been imprisoned is a Mr Do Right, holds a steady job, and is ever so polite to his customers, while also being a good mediator if the brother play up in his café. Keitel, on a unrelenting quest, keeps haranguing Pfeifer, breaking him down, until the surprising finale, where the real truth comes out, where it's like a big joke has been played on us, all along. Clockers is compulsive viewing, all the way, about reality, of growing in the disadvantaged New York Projects, where we hope in the end, Strike, will finally get out of all this bull...t and finally getting his life on track. The over confronting, bloody opening shots, is from real footage of black victims, as the opening credits comes randomly sliding across the screen. Even this sequence impressed me. Good solid drama, well worth it's two plus hours in viewing. Your eyes won't leave the screen.

There is no denying it that this is a good and well made movie but at the same time I also still had loads of problems with it! The way I see it, this is being a pretty good portrayal of live on the streets in the '90's. It picks a mostly realistic approach but still I just can't really 'feel' this movie. I never felt involved with any of the characters in it or to any of the dramatic events and developments. It doesn't make this movie bad but it does indeed make this movie a bit of a one dimensional experience.And remember, this is an 1995 movie. So everything that was considered to be hip and 'thug life' might seem a bit ridicules and less cool in today's perspective. The whole attitude and way of talking and the way everyone dresses makes this movie really a product of its time. In that regard this movie also really reminded me of "Kids", which coincidentally or not, got made in the same year as this movie. It makes this movie less relevant to watch now days but really, it's nothing I was holding against the movie.I would had most definitely preferred it if this movie was using a more straightforward style of storytelling. The movie as it is seems to be wanting to focus on far too many different characters and tries to do and tell too much. It also really has its own style to it, when it comes down to its storytelling, which was nice and helped to give this movie an unique feeling but at the same time it also made the movie unnecessary hard and not all that pleasant to follow at times.Another thing I also disliked about this movie was its pick of music. The movie mad some bad music choices, in which the music often would swell and become melodramatic at moments that really were uncalled for. It absolutely distracted and most of the time didn't suit what was happening on the screen at the time.But really, I though this movie still had some hints of a great movie in it as well. One thing was its already earlier mentioned unique and distinctive style. Spike Lee always has had an unique and distinctive style of his own and he manages to put a lot of that in this movie successfully. There are some interesting moments in this movie, from a more technical and movie-making perspective. There was some good camera-work for instance and also very little wrong with the movie its editing and pacing.The movie its story in essence also really seemed to be a solid one but I do feel that they perhaps should had picked some different perspectives to keep- and make things a bit more interesting and effective. Wouldn't this movie for instance had been better and more interesting if it told things more from the Harvey Keitel's character perspective? Who knows and it's not like the movie bad or interesting as it is right now but while watching this movie it constantly gave me the feeling it had more potential and things could had been done better.I don't know, perhaps the movie was also being a bit stuck between being a gangster movie and a more realistic one. It never felt like a true gangster flick and it never felt like a true realistic movie neither. Producer Martin Scorsese perhaps should had stepped in a bit more often, since he definitely is a kind of director who can more successfully blend realism with tough and tense gangster/crime movies.Not trying to sound too negative. The movie is good enough as it is but it doesn't ever reaches its full potential.7/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Take a murder mystery story, mix it into a contemporary vulgar urban setting, then sprinkle some racial tension into the mix and you've got the highly intellectual and intense Spike Lee film Clockers. Clockers is about Strike, a young black man living in Brooklyn, dealing drugs for his ruthless drug lord Rodney Little. Strike deals drugs for the money, but all he really wants to do is hang out with his brothers in the park and play with model train sets. But things start to get rough when a night manager at a local fast food joint is murdered and Strike's brother Victor turns himself in. Det. Rocco Klein is the lead detective on the case and he doesn't buy Victor's story, which sets him on an obsessive hunt to unmask the truth behind this whole ordeal. The film is loaded with spirited yet vulgar dialouge, artistic and vibrant direction, and plenty of memorable characters. Clockers is witty, intelligent, and a lot of fun. It isn't your typical murder mystery or racial tension film. It is a beautiful blend of the two genres that turns into something very unique and very exciting.Spike Lee adds a lot of visual flair to this film and the way he directs it is something you can't quite pinpoint. The panoramic visual style is something you can't exactly describe in words and it is really something you have to see for yourself. There is something obviously unique going on in the way Lee directs this film, it is just difficult to articulate what exactly that is. But the visuals do work in a whole plethora of unique films, allowing the film to succeed on multiple levels. The film ranges from intense and gripping to quirky and fun. From one scene to the next the film grows more fun and more enthralling. Rarely do I care this much about what happens to the characters of a film and I'm not always so compelled to learn the motivations of the very well written characters of a film.All that being said I can't say that I loved the main character, Strike. The actor, Mekhi Phifer, wasn't great and the character himself had some odd moments. I eventually learned to like him and his character thankfully didn't deter too much from my liking of the film. Besides, a lot of the film actually focuses on Harvey Keitel's character and his unending search for the truth behind the murder. There are also numerous subplots that all end up being more interesting than the main character's story. It helps that this is just an all around well written film that is just smarter than your average crime film.Clockers is very different from any murder mystery crime film, as well as any racial tension film. But it provides plenty of great work on both sides of this spectrum. Spike Lee has created a visually interesting film with a fantastic story. The main character is the only low point of the film, but everything else is very good. Clockers is a very worthwhile watch for fans of Spike Lee or the multiple genres this film spans.