MTV Films Present: Better Luck Tomorrow [2002] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

Customer Reviews:

Thoughtful, disturbing, with a fine performance by Parry Shen.......2007-06-18

It's a hot Southern California afternoon. Two high school students, smart, from affluent families, are sitting in lawn chairs in the back yard of a home. They are Ben Manibag (Parry Shen) and his best friend, Virgil Hu (Jason Tobin). A cell phone rings. Ben checks and it's not his. Virgil looks at his phone; it's not his. The phone keeps ringing and the two look at each with increasing panic. They run to a section of the backyard and press their ears to the dirt. Then they begin frantically digging with their hands. The ringing cell phone is on the body of someone they and two other friends had recently killed and buried.

"It started with a pack of baseball cards," says Ben in flashback. "Then it snowballed. I guess it just felt good to do things I couldn't put on my college application. Besides, it was suburbia. We didn't have anything better to do. Our straight A's were our alibis, our passports to freedom. Going to a study group would get us out of the house until 4 in the morning. As long as our grades were there, we were trusted. We had it all. Well, almost." From trading in cheat sheets the four moved into whatever scams paid well and provided thrills, then into drug dealing. And they worked hard to get all A's, to list carefully considered volunteer community activities on their college applications, to have perfect scores on their SATs. They drifted further into the moral vacuum that led to the murder of another student, just as affluent and bored as they are.

I don't want to leave the impression that this is one more movie about teen-age angst. In many ways the first half of the movie is funny and sympathetic as it sets the scene with this vision of affluent suburbia, a huge, bland high school, and students who, as long as they have top grades and don't cause problems, are pretty much invisible to their teachers and parents. Parry Shen who plays Ben is the heart of the movie. He's an enormously engaging actor, not particularly handsome but with an open and thoughtful look about him. Ben is smart, knows what his future will hold (acceptance in one of the top Ivy League colleges and a major in biology), and has a crush on a cheerleader played by Karin Anna Cheung that he's too shy to do much about. As the movie progresses, however, we start to see decisions being made that get out of hand. Ben might be having second thoughts but it's unclear if the other three are. The end of the movie brings us to the present. Virgil has shot himself and lies in a coma in a hospital. The remaining three don't know if he'll live, if he'll talk about what happened, or what will happen to them. We don't either. "For the first time in my life," Ben says, "I don't know what my future will hold. I don't even know what the other guys are going to do. All I know is that there's no turning back."

This is a well-made movie. It's thoughtful and disturbing, with some very good performances. The DVD picture is just fine, with a commentary by the director and the two writers.

A Great Movie that Takes Real Risks.......2004-01-09

"Better Luck Tomorrow" is a clever and disturbing film that is disguised as something upbeat and bright, only to hide dark and troubled layers within. It's for sure a film that takes you by surprise by giving you something you'd never expect from the looks of it. This is probably one of the film's strongest strengths.

Ben Manibag appears to be your average overachiever; a bright kid that gets good marks in school and has a steady job. He appears to be every parents' dream. However, Ben and his friends are living double lives as they play dirty outside of school. Always committing some sort of petty crime, it is only a matter of time that Ben and his friends become greedy and start taking more risks and performing dangerous crimes. The appearances of being "bright and perfect students" gives them the freedom to do almost anything they wish without being examined under a microscope, and with your typical "model student" stereotypes to keep their darker sides hidden. Of course, everything that has a beginning has an end. It's just a question of when the downward spiral begins and how deep they fall into the rabbit hole with no option of turning back.

For a low-budget movie, it does not look nor feel like one. In fact, it feels and looks like a film made by professionals. The directing and editing styles are slightly reminiscent of "Requiem for a Dream," but still add an original and fresh element to the film. The story presented to us is thought-provoking, disturbing, scary and authentic. Very much like Ben and his friends, the movie is disguised as something normal with a darker side that is not clear right from the word "go," but ever so increases little by little as the film progresses. You do not know what will come next, and you have no idea how things are going to turn out in the end. A great thing about the movie is that it takes the risk of not being ordinary and brings honesty to the story and the characters. You could easily see things that are portrayed in this movie happen next door to you. The events that take place do not occur in ghettos or poor neighborhoods; nor do they involve gang-bangers and hoodlums. Everything takes place in suburbia and involves your "everyday kids," which makes it all the more effective and horrifyingly insightful. The cast does a terrific job and the writing is true to itself.

The DVD doesn't have much to offer, which is a shame. The movie looks and sounds great. Again, it is very hard to tell that this was a low-budget project, as it has the markings of true professionals. The bright and upbeat cinematography is excellent at concealing hidden truths and darkness. Lacking in special features, the only extra on the DVD is commentary.

"Better Luck Tomorrow" is really a film that stands out. While I don't think it's a masterpiece, I certainly think it's better than a lot of the drivel that's out today. If you're looking for a unique and different picture that is both scary and thought-provoking, then this might be the ticket for you. It's a great film with real strengths that ventures away from the ordinary and clichéd.

Average customer rating:

what a splash

SHARK AND BIG GAME FISHING [2002]
Starring: Liam Dale
Manufacturer: delta home entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005TQ2Z
Release Date: 2002-01-25

Customer Reviews:

what a splash.......2002-02-21

i was looking foward to receiving shark and big game fishing but was disappointed when I saw that he only caught one fish! For a novice this DVD could be informative due to the fact that 50 of the 57min he spends waffalling on about techniques and how in his life he has really! caught a lot of fish? Just before the credits there is an incredible scene with a 1000lb marlin this is why i'm giving it 1 star! As much as I loved the marlin scene it was a taster of how good this title should have been.

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