Bad Day on the Block

source: Bad Day on the Block

When Sheen started out in acting in such films as Platoon and Wall street he was a bratpacker and very much the boy next door as he as got older he has become more sharper and can play mad men like this guy with a good effect too.

I must admit, I rented this only because I'm a fan of David Andrews (JAG, Terminator 3, Cherry 2000, CSI) who plays the father of the Braverton family. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it and ended up buying a copy. The premise is that an ordinary family's life is suddenly terrorized when their psychologically tormented neighbour (played by Charlie Sheen) finally "cracks". I found the movie quite good, because it WAS a basically ordinary family. I could see my own family in their day-to-day goings on. So many Hollywood movies are spoiled for me by characters who live ridiculously opulent and overly quaint suburban lives. These characters didn't have an enormous swimming pool or luxurious cars or a magnificent house on the ocean - they're NORMAL people....and therein lies the suspense (at least for me). I could see the whole scenario ACTUALLY playing out in a real family's life. The reactions of the characters and the police were realistic and believable. No running around in silly lingerie, no going "Rambo" - real reactions. Truthfully, the weak point for me was Sheen. He was obviously trying to "break the mold" and was admittedly quite successful - the character was scary in a "smouldering" way. A burning ember. I just couldn't stop thinking of him as....well...Charlie Sheen - and that really wasn't his fault. This is definitely worth a watch - the dynamic between Mare Winningham and my man David Andrews (who also worked together in "Wyatt Earp") was genuine and gave the whole scenario the needed authenticity. :) AT

This is not the best thriller that I have ever seen, nor is it anywhere near the worst. I thoroughly enjoyed it, as did the two friends who watched it with me. Charlie Sheen stars as a fireman, once decorated for bravery, turned psychopath. The chief targets of his increasingly paranoid behaviour are the perfectly normal family who just happen to live next door. As his private war escalates, their very lives are endangered , as are the lives of anyone else unfortunate enough to get in his way. For me the film suffers through its lack of development of the main characters. Nevertheless, it is well worth watching and none but the the hypercritical will be disappointed. Charlie Sheen is convincing in an unfamiliar role; Mare Winningham does a sterling job as the terrified, but protective mother; and Noah Fleiss shines once again as Zach. I find it both bizarre and sickening that anyone could find the acting of this talented young actor "poor". I like Elijah Wood and Joe Mazzello, but would not hesitate to put Noah Fleiss in the same bracket. Given reasonable breaks, this kid is going to be MEGA!

this is one movie that doesn't hold back in its depiction of a racist,ignorant pig who also happens to be a psychopath.this movie is not for the faint of heart.Charles Sheen puts in very convincing performance as a firefighter named Lyle Wilder, who in public is a hero but in reality is is a very unhinged deranged nut case with serious mental issues.in short,he's a loon,and a deadly one at that.Mare Winningham plays the mother of the family that is lucky enough to be his neighbour.i don't recall this movie being in theatres,but it's not listed as being straight to video.anyway,Winningham is good in her role and plays her character as very understated. i have to make special mention of two other actors in this movie.that would be John Ratzenberger (Cliff,from "Cheers" fame) and Dawn Lewis (Jaleesa from the sitcom "A Different World)who play the two police officers who end up dealing with Wilder(Sheen).both were very impressive in fairly small roles.i though they were both standouts.i had never seen either in a serious role,and they seemed to fit their characters like a glove.the movie itself is tense, to say the least and you are really waiting for the pressure to burst and the psycho to come completely unraveled,which he does.in my mind,this is a pretty good movie.for me,"Bad Day on the Block" AKA "Under pressure is an 8/10

A white middle-class family, married, two kids, and living in a beautiful house in an apparently perfect suburb you already know from several Steven Spielberg and Wes Craven movies. A sinister neighbor and violent fireman, played by real-time psyche Charlie Sheen, watching and threatening the perfect picture family. And of course it won't take long until hell breaks loose... Nothing new really, but well done. The family actors are doing a fine job, but the credits go to Charlie Sheen this time who plays the psycho neighbor not as an over-the-top weirdo killer, but in a rather silent and retarded way and increasing the thrills of the story by his outstanding performance. No stupid dialogue and exaggerated over-acting, but just a man sitting in his dark and lonely house and watching old family pictures and his neighborer before his violent feelings are erupting like a volcano. A good thriller, recommended especially for Sheen's disturbing performance.

When I watched this about 20 years ago, I thoroughly enjoyed it and it was engraved in my mind as a very good movie. However, now that I'm older and wiser and have seen so many films, nothing about this film really makes sense. Nothing is credible. Charlie Sheen is overacting. I mean, he is just trying so hard to be good that he's actually bad. Mare Winningham is unintentionally funny instead of serious. The only mention-able good acting was from David Andrews. Everything that happens in this film happens for sensation only, and is not realistic. It was not entirely a bad film, but it certainly was not entirely a good film.

This movie is also known as UNDER PRESSURE. The pressure of being an honored and highly recognized fire fighter,(Charlie Sheen)has driven his wife and small son away with his demeaning and demanding attitude. He carries a heavy chip on his shoulder and leaves no slack for those who come in contact with him. Constant confrontations with his next door neighbors finally comes to a head. No one is spared. The neighbor, his wife and two children are totally terrified. When the police are called; and they visit with the public servant with a dual personality, all hell breaks loose. Sheen really gets into this part. He is pretty menacing. And has that frightening stay away stare. Also featured are Mare Winningham, John Ratzenberger and David Andrews. There is also a cameo part for baseball great, Reggie Jackson. This tense thriller is equal to a two alarm blaze. A don't miss for Sheen fans.

In Bad Day on the Block (also known as Under Pressure) Charlie Sheen (Platoon, Hot Shots) finally took a role which I had wanted to see him play, a psycho. Sheen plays a hero firefighter who loses it after his wife leaves him. So he decides to terrorize his neighbors, a happily married couple with two children. Sheen plays the psycho role well, though he's not too scary because it's Charlie Sheen. The film isn't bad, though it has some stupid things, for example, the family is scared to death of him and he's just broken into their house, but they leave the little daughter downstairs alone. The film also suffers from the acting of the two kids, both are poor. The climax is kind of cool, with Russian Roulette being the game of choice.

Spoilers here. So there?s a bible-reciting psychopath living next door, who?s not above scaring innocent kids witless and using your own kitchen knife to threaten you. Oh yes, and he lies better than you tell the truth. On top of everything, he?s a fire fighter and one time local hero, as he saved a baby from a blazing inferno ? nobody knows he left the child?s mother to die in the flames. Ooh, the abysses of the human mind. The whole thing is a pathetic excuse for a movie, failing in all aspects to generate any sense of suspense or real terror. It has it all: the characters are one-dimensional, the story is predictable, and in the end, the heroine defeats the evil man with a cheap psychological trick that even talk-show hosts no longer use. In the meantime, people do exactly the things that are obviously the worst possible choice in a given situation. Example? Here goes: Police car (empty) out in front of psycho?s house. Silence. Neighbour enters alone. Right. Also, police woman imitates Bond villain by warning psycho just long enough about the things she could do, so that he can overpower and kill her. And this after she?d found the dead refrigerator guy in the closet (the only death that truly surprises, though). Bottom line: no cliche is left untouched, no pseudo-psychological theory ignored. And so the most scary moment of the film is when you find yourself asking: whatever happened to your career, Charlie Sheen?