CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Maleeha Vincent It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

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

slh1287 So, I thought this was a good movie- not great. I guess I was expecting a bit more than what I got from it. But don't get me wrong, the film DID deliver, there was just nothing extra with it or especially special about it. (Lol, that may be a tongue twister, my apologies if so!!) Anyway, even with that being said, Alpha Dog is definitely worth a view, at least, as it shows the importance of independence and being able to think for ourselves. The actors all do a wonderful job, and I'll focus that comment a little more toward Emile Hirsch and Ben Foster. Exceptional! And both Sharon Stone and Bruce Willis veer away from their usual characters in this one- and Sharon Stone's appearance at the end- WOW!!! So if you haven't seen this movie yet, go ahead and watch it. It won't be a waste of time or $, and who knows? You may even enjoy it more than I did.

Robert Thompson (justbob1982) Version I saw: UK DVD releaseActors: 6/10Plot/script: 7/10Photography/visual style: 5/10Music/score: 5/10Overall: 6/10It's only by chance that I ever heard about this movie. I don't remember it getting much of a release back in 2006, and I am not surprised. It's not a bad movie, but not much better than that.After a slow start, the film has a few interesting things to say about the Californian youth culture, and paces nicely toward an end in which I have to admit I was engaged. Justin Timberlake (in the midst of his transformation from music star to acting star) stands out as one of the slackers/wannabe gangsters who kidnap a kid and then don't know what to do with him, and the young cast are ably supported by veterans Bruce Willis, Harry Dean Stanton and Sharon Stone.It is interesting to see a film which only becomes interesting when the action *stops* rather than starts. On the whole though, I would only recommend seeking out this movie if you have nothing better to do.For my full review, see my independent film blog on Blogspot, Cinema Inferno: http://cinemainferno-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/alpha-dog-2006.html

patrick powell I'm rather puzzled why Alpha Dog got such a rough ride from the critics. There is nothing sensationalist about it, nothing pretentious, it is well-acted by its young cast and above all it is honest. So why didn't the critics seem to like it? Well, I don't know. It is a fictionalised account – though, in truth only small details were changed so that the overall story is pretty much true – of a kidnapping and subsequent murder of a teenager by a bunch of feral and affluent teens whose aims in life consist purely of drinking, taking drugs and engaging in casual sex. To a boy – it would be misleading to write 'to a man' because this bunch, although in their late teens and early 20s – all seem to have the maturity of retarded primary school kids – they take their world view from the pseudo-violent gangsta rap videos which they play incessantly. They own guns but treat them more as a fashion item than a usable weapon, and their heroes are apparently the drug dealers portrayed on their cherished videos. They get precious little parental guidance. Incidentally, although the bunch shown in this film and the real-life idiots they are based on live and party in prosperous Los Angeles suburbs, I suspect it would be wholly unfair to assume this kind of idiot is only to be found in California. I'm sure they will be found in any city in the world where money is plentiful and parents are more concerned with their own lives than that of their offspring. The tragedy unfolds when stupidity mixes with a non-existent moral framework and one idiot decides that cold-blooded murder is preferable to spending time in jail, and another, something of a sycophant, is fully prepared to carry out the killing without any qualms whatsoever. To be fair, one of the young men involved does have pangs of conscience but these are not strong enough for him to do the decent thing and put an end to it all, which would have been very easy indeed. One of the most chilling moments is when he is offered $2,500 to kill the teenage hostage. He turns the offer down flat, but is stupid enough to accept that it was made only in jest. Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster, Shawn Hatosy and Justin Timberlake prove that a new generation of talented actors is well on its way and do well as the central characters, and film has a cohesion which holds together what is a simply tale. Writer/director Nick Cassavetes cannot in the slightest be accused of glamorising the kind of hedonistic behaviour his characters engage in, in fact he goes out of his way to highlight just how pointless and potentially dangerous there lifestyle is. If anything Alpha Dog is a moral tale. But the critics didn't like it. Why? I really don't know, but that is no reason why you shouldn't give it some of your time.

sarahmillyhannah First of all I have to say I love Justin Timberlake in films. He is such a better actor than singer. He is great in this. Loved him in Snake Moan and Social Network but he is great in this - almost the good guy, without giving too much away. Yeah the film starts off slow and by the time the deed that the whole film is based upon as stated in the summary happens, i almost lost interest and couldn't decide whether or not to continue with the film. But boy in that instance with that scene my interest was captivated and i was completely engrossed with the film. By the end of the film you will have warmed to two characters the most and when the unspeakable happens at the end it really pulls on your emotions and you feel absolutely gutted. I did. How well acted by these two characters one of which is the fore mentioned JT. It is one of them films that i really want to watch again. Well done to everyone involved in this, it certainly left me feeling like the film had touched me. I love that. I will say though that the language is dire. Don't get me wrong i am not in anyway prude - goodness i went to see The Inbetweeners movie - but i have never known how to get so many swear words into one sentence before!! :O)