Spun

Mike wrote on IMDB:

This movie is a realistic portrayal of the meth lifestyle, not because it's a realistic movie, but because it's a bunch of tweakers very busy doing nothing. My friend and I laughed during the whole movie because we both knew people who fit the characters in the film perfectly. If you don't know anyone into drugs this movie probably won't appeal to you. The moviemakers get a lot of facets of the lifestyle spot-on, like the importance of the car. The main character is the most important person in the movie, even more important than the cook, because he's got a car. A lot of the movie is spent driving around on various crank-related missions, most of them pointless. And that's really what being a crankster is about, getting high for the sake of getting high and finding ways to fill all that extra time they now have. If the characters come off as blunted and one-dimensional it's because that's how the people they're portraying are.

The_Bogmonkey_Supremacy wrote on IMDB:

Twenty years ago, I fought my battle with crank and won (thankfully)...needless to say, while watching this movie I began to taste the "drains" down the back of my throat, and feel strung out like a three-day-binger...That's good film-making.

I suppose my position as ex-tweeker gives me more appreciation for this film. But it just works out to a really good, wild ride. I wanted to turn it off, really I did, but I could not stop watching it - period.

All of the characters were brilliantly portrayed. Mena Suvari was a TAD un-convincing as a speed freak, but I think I was holding a lot of her previous roles against her. John Leguizamo (sp?) almost went too far with his role, but he pulled it off, by gum.   [ show more ]

One of my favorite things was all the dang cameo appearances. When I saw Rob Halford behind the counter of the Porn Shop, I said to myself "this movie has hit the button"...Classic~!~! There are many more cameos or near-cameos (i.e. Deborah Harry), which add a sense of fun to the film.

I think if you've never done crank, you might have a problem relating to this movie. I was CONSTANTLY cringing at each "snort, hiss, fizzle, snap" (as they did the drugs)...Man I'm glad I beat that monkey! I will buy this movie. [ show less ]

Rooster99 wrote on IMDB:

This film was great! Many people have compared it to Requiem for a Dream, however I preferred this movie. Requiem accurately depicted drug addiction and how low some people would sink for their next hit. It was a very depressing and powerful movie, not one I would ever want to watch again. You leave the theater feeling extremely drained. Spun is altogether different. The only thing they have in common is their central theme. Spun centers around Ross, the fairly normal speed freak as his addiction takes him farther and farther away from reality.

Initially, I thought the characters were grossly overacted, however as the movie progressed, the opening sequences did not seem as far removed from Ross' world as I had originally thought. It was very interesting to see Ross' character move farther and farther away from reality. It was only a 3-day all-you-can-consume speed trip, however he started off as a normal guy with a drug problem and ended up on Mars, completely detached from reality. I also thought the cartoon sequences were very effective, they accurately demonstrated his impoverished state of mind while he was tripping. The audience got the impression he really was flying in his own world. It was interesting to see the lifestyles of the other people involved in the drug trade, most had been completely dehumanized by their dependence, living in squalor yet completely unaware of their surroundings.   [ show more ]

A great film! One that I can watch again for entertainment purposes only, but which also drives home the anti-drug message without being preachy. 8/10 [ show less ]