Crush Proof (1998)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Admirable film.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

I was really enjoying this film but it went a bit weird, shame

The Good: Beautifully cast with a team of young actors who express their characters with comfort and ease. They act the part as if they know these characters because they are aspects of themselves, something that I didn't expect of such an young cast. I found them to be believable recognisable and likable. The language used is an accurate portrayal of the vernacular of the time and space, I haven't heard anyone called a 'geebag' in years and to hear it used so unselfconsciously made me snort with laughter. The Bad: While the sketches within the film were excellent stand alone pieces, together they didn't add to the overall story. You left with what you were given in the first five minutes. If there was a message in the story I left without it.In short: Plenty of texture but lacking in shape, though admittedly, I got a lot more out of this film than what I expected.

Perhaps there is little point in writing a negative review of a movie that not many people will see. Also, I walked out at the intermission, so I am only half-qualified to write (although I have been told that it gets worse in the second half). Still, given that the few IMDb reviews are much more positive than the average IMDb rating, it might be useful to have a review that represents the opposite side.So what is wrong with this movie? Two things. First, as other reviewers mentioned, the writers threw into it everything that came into their minds, aiming mostly for shock value, at the price of flushing plot and character development down the toilet. Second, the setting is very bleak and gritty. One could object that Kurosawa's samurai movies, or Roman Polanski's Macbeth, are also bleak and gritty, but they have great plots, great characters, and manage to be uplifting, which is more than can be said for this movie. Maybe it is a realistic portrait of the most depressed areas of Dublin, as the Irish reviewers say. However, it is not a side of Ireland that many foreigners will like to see. If there were some insight to be gained into human nature, it would still be worth seeing an unpleasant movie, but I do not feel that this is the case here.Update 2008.03.27: I decided that it is not fair to give the minimum rating to a movie which does not disappoint. I could not be disappointed by this movie because I did not know what to expect, so my rating is slightly increased.

In my opinion this is a brilliant film.What attracted me to this film was its setting which is mostly in Dublin, inner Dublin city and the north side of Dublin.I also love horses which was a major attraction for me, it reminds me of how teenagers in Dublin used to live and their love for horses.Now there are very little horses and ponies around the Dublin estates.Darren Healys role in this film was one of his first and I think his best.I taught as such a young actor his role was powerful and exactly what i would expect from an inner city Dublin lad involved with drugs and gangs.As i live in Tallaght in Dublin a few of the cast were from around my area.The story line of the film was really exciting and i can relate to it in some ways.I will look forward to seeing more films featuring Darren Healy.