SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Python Hyena O (2001): Dir: Tim Blake Nelson / Cast: Mikhi Phifer, Julia Stiles, Josh Hartnett, Andrew Keegan, Elden Henson: Hits dead centre on message but flawed with its presentation as entertainment. Title is pathetically non vocal but it stands for Odin, top basketball player in high school. The coach claims to love him like a son. This doesn't impress his real son Hugo who devises a plan to derail Odin's success, with horrid results. It is a very detailed plan involving deceit and jealousy. Directed by Tim Blake Nelson who builds tension despite the many contrived moments where information is heard by just the right people. Mikhi Phifer plays Odin as a success story slowly destroyed through manipulation and eventually his own rage. Josh Hartnett plays the manipulating Hugo who will stop at nothing to prove himself superior. Julia Stiles plays Odin's girlfriend who becomes the victim of manipulation and eventually she too suffers for the crimes of others. Andrew Keegan plays a suspended player whom Hugo manipulates into hanging out with Stiles in an attempt to get Odin suspicious. Elden Henson plays a kid who is the victim of bullying until he eventually snaps. Based on the Shakespeare play Othello where the biggest strength comes from fine casting and the capitalization of hard hitting themes. The production isn't fancy but it shows how jealousy can destroy lives. Score: 6 / 10

Cassandra Le How sparkling this was, to claim it as an adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello, but turns out to be a banal movie with no nuances and full of preposterous, idiotic, teenage revenge plagued with unprofessional acting and choppy dialogues. There are no depth to each character. Either they are evil beyond belief or frustratingly naive. Quit halfway of movie. If in the end all these teenagers die, I had to admit that they deserve it for their stupidity. Very, very, poor acting. So basically, the main character just become frustrated with his girl because she lost some stupid handkerchief. Then the main protagonist says he can't live without a girl. Cliché indeed. How many times have we witness a movie where dumb teenagers only talk about relationship and how popular you are, and being all jealousy about each other... ha ha, and kill each other because of hackneyed matter. Tired indeed.

callanvass I saw this movie a few months ago and it made quite an impact on me. This isn't your usual teenage fodder, believe me. It has it's flaws, but it's a pretty good movie with a heavy subject going for it. This movie reminded me of how malicious and cruel people can be. Odin is the focal point of this movie and Meki Phifer did an excellent job, providing the right amount of cockiness and likability. Josh Hartnett takes his acting to the next level with his manipulative and sinister performance. Martin Sheen is dependable as ever in his role. This movie disturbed me a little bit, especially the ending. It stuck with me for a while afterwords7.5/10

moviesleuth2 Strange, how effective "O" is, despite being somewhat of a mess. Taking one of Shakespeare's plays and updating it to a contemporary high school has been done before ("10 Things I Hate About You," for example, which also features Julia Stiles). But those were comedies, or if they were tragedies (like Baz Luhrmann's interpretation of "Romeo and Juliet"), they were made with some sort of gimmick, if you will, to distance them from reality (I guess). Here Tim Blake Nelson puts Shakespeare's tragedy "Othello" in a contemporary high school setting, but he leaves out any of the flair or flourishes that accompany the other attempts of doing the same. The result is a gritty, and at times highly disturbing, film.Odin James (aka O, played by Mekhi Phifer) is the star basketball player of an exclusive prep school. Resentful of O's fame, and the thankless spot that it leaves him, Hugo (Josh Hartnett) plots to ruin O's career by sowing the seeds of doubt in O regarding his relationship with Desi (Julia Stiles), the dean's daughter.The acting is solid all around. While the actors get off to a rocky start, they eventually come through. Mekhi Phifer is adequate as the jealous O, but he's outshined by Hartnett and Stiles.If you're looking for a chance to ogle Josh Hartnett, rent another one of his movies. He's too creepy here. He's rather quiet and standoffish, which is an effective way of portraying Hugo, because it makes him more frightening than if he was foaming at the mouth, or, God forbid, cackling with maniacal glee. Ditto for Stiles; while she's not creepy, this isn't an opportunity for her to play a sexy character (although she does have a steamy sex scene). Martin Sheen is too over-the-top as the coach (who is Hugo's father), but as the movie goes on, he begins to fit in with the rest of the cast.If there's any problem, it's with director Tim Blake Nelson. He broadens everything so much that it all threatens to blend together into one big soup. There's no crispness in his directing, where one would normally isolate each scene and bring it out individually (to a point). That said, the film's climax is so disturbing that it will leave a sick feeling in many people's stomachs. This is not a teen soap opera; "O" is as real and affecting as it gets.Nelson's directing isn't a hackjob, though. He may have over-broadened everything, but he knows what he's doing. His choice of camera angles is great, though it threatens to go overboard at some points. He uses shots of the characters at key moments where they don't speak. Because they are so expertly done, they are the most telling moments of the film.Despite its shortcomings, "O" is a worthwhile film, and one that needs to be seen (though it was perhaps wise that they pushed the release date back after the Columbine tragedy).