Quinn Stuart Now this movie- oh boy, it's a toughie. If you haven't seen this movie yet, see it AS SOON AS YOU CAN. Leonardo DiCaprio's performance as Jim Carroll is spot on. It seems that he really has an addiction to cocaine and heroin. Yes, he was trained by a coach to study the physical and mental side effects of drugs, but other than that he was a- mazing. Mark Wahlberg was okay, too, I guess. But he was actually addicted to cocaine when he was a teen, so it was easier for him. You think Trainspotters is good? Check this out! It will definitely make you think twice about drug and alcohol abuse, trust me. If you struggled with drugs in previous years, you'll fully understand this plot. Although it isn't 100% accurate to the book, I think Mr Kalvert did a good job. So watch this movie ASAP. If you dislike DiCaprio, this will change your thoughts.

Johan Dondokambey I like how the main theme of this movie kind of creeps in quite at the middle of it and then drastically emphasizes itself into a great conflict with the main character's own self. The other ideas of friendship and loss are also addressed nicely although with less emphasis and duration. The ending proves to be quite a good one, despite there is less footage of the process endured in the prison. From the acting side, I really like how Leonardo DiCaprio showed a great totality in acting here. He can really nail, although not perfectly, all the physical conditions a junkie with demanding addiction would do. Mark Wahlberg acted out also quite a nice performance, despite the posture of his body quite nags. How can a high school age kid have a bodybuilder's chest and abs like that?

regexfan This movie isn't awful, but it isn't that good either. I agree with most people who said this is probably one of Leo's best performance. But the movie itself has lots of flaws. First off, the screenplay sucks. I didn't sympathize with the main character at all. The movie tries to tell you that if you do drugs you could as well be throwing your future away, but truth is, the kids in this movie have been throwing their future away before they even do drugs.And what's with one of their friends' sudden change of behavior? Out of a sudden he's telling his friends not to do drugs? What's the reason? And what's with the scene where Jim begs Diane for money? Now Diane's suddenly clean and sober? How?Actually, Leo's performance is the ONLY thing that makes this movie worth watching. Everything else about it sucks (well, pretty much).

david-sarkies There was a huge uproar regarding this movie because of a scene where the main character walks into his classroom and starts gunning everybody down with a shotgun. As is typical everybody has missed the whole point of the movie. It is not designed to encourage school shootings, but to show people what heroin is really like. When it comes to violence on television and video games then I will repeat what was said to me once, not that anybody will listen - people are so stubborn that once that have a mindset, no amount of reason will change their mind. Anyway, before television there was an awful lot of violence - the Napoleonic Wars, the thirty years war, the crusades, and even World War I: probably one of the most violent of wars. Even then before literature or even the written language, Cain killed Abel, and he did not do it because a video game made him think that it was a good idea. Violence is apart of our nature and we do it because we are frustrated with the world and the way people react to us. It is basic to our nature, and I am not saying that it is alright, but rather stopping violence in the media is not going to change anything.The Basketball Diaries is about a heroin addict. We follow his life from when he becomes one to when he finally gives up. Even though he does not start off as a heroin addict, he is still taking drugs, or rather sniffing glue. He, Jim Carol, hangs with three other friends and they simply act like teenagers with a lot of energy. Jim is also a champion basketball player. There is a darker side to his life and that is that his best friend is dying of Leukemia. He does not want to believe it, but it is reality and once he dies things slowly begin to change. We are not sure what really happens, but I guess it has something to do with the realisation that they are no longer immortal. But that is not the main reason, it more has to do with the pain and the loss that he suffers after his friend dies, and it is not something that they could have fought against - in fact he was powerless to do anything about it. The realisation of ones weakness is a true humbliser.Starting the addiction is not focused that heavily on in the movie, but his first trip is, and it shows him running through a field of flowers. It is more that he describes how all of his pain has gone away - both the emotional and the physical. This is the thing about Heroin - it is one of the world's best painkillers, but it is also an incredibly addictive drug. What we see is how his life collapses around him as he becomes addicted to Heroin. He is kicked out of school, slowly looses his friends as they are each arrested for various crimes, and finally he himself is taken away as he lies in a pathetic heap before the door to his mothers' apartment. Near the end we even see him resort of Homosexuality, something that horrifies him, especially when he is molested by the basketball coach, to get money for drugs. This is further undermined when the drugs he purchases are fake.The Basketball Diaries is an incredible movie and shows something that we wish to ignore. The school shooting scene is not all that bad, and more shows his frustration with life and the way the drugs take away this frustration - but at a cost. It is something that has been taken right out of proportion and as such people take the wrong idea about the film.