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Basketball Diaries

A review by Mike Shea   Movie Rating: ( * * * · · )    DVD Rating: ( * * · · · )

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I grabbed this one when I heard that MGM was looking to pull it off the shelves. While the trench coat mafia scene is very disturbing to watch, the rest of the movie does very little to promote drugs or violence. I never understood why movies that show the dark and dingy world of heroine (Trainspotting included) are labeled as promoting drug use. Just looking at DeCaprio drooling like a dog with rabies is enough to scare me away from Titanic, not to mention heroine. A cast of well known actors really fills this story of a teenager in New York who falls into the trap of drugs and crime. Many of the scenes in the first half of the movie have so much feeling that it almost makes the second part watchable. It isnt bad, mind you, but not something I wish to watch more than once (too bad I bought it, huh). A very commendable performance, but didnt have quite the edge or wit of Trainspotting.