Never Die Alone

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Best of the old schools.

I must say I was surprised by this film! I thought it would be another film about 'shooting em up' or something. Actually I had never even heard of this movie before I watched it. It stars DMX as a drug dealer named "King David" and the movie starts out with him in a coffin. Then it explains how he got there. He was a really, really, bad guy. David Arquette is an aspiring writer who finds King David after he was stabbed. King David left the writer his car and belongings to repay him. The writer finds tapes he made during the last few months of his life. The movie really is about how what we do affects so many people. If you choose to treat someone badly, they will do the same to others and it will come back on you. It was so true in this case. A movie that is really worth seeing. If you like banger movies with a message (not glorifying violence) I also recommend South Central, Jason's Lyric, and of course, Boyz in the Hood. I heard that DMX is quitting the music business and sticking to movies. I think he might do alright with the movie thing. Special Feature: See what happens to good girl Azaria (Drew Sidora) from 'The Parent Hood'!

At first glance of the film's movie poster, many viewers, before seeing Ernest Dickerson's Never Die Alone (2004), will assume it is an action picture like Scarface (1983) and New Jack City (1991). This isn't an action picture, but a drama, although it does deserve comparison to the latter movies. Never Die Alone is the story of a viscous, cold blooded, and evil man known as King David. As the movie opens, King David (DMX) is laying dead in a coffin. Many will see this as a spoiler, but it isn't. This movie isn't about the events that occur, but about the story and the characters. As the film opens, King David has returned from Los Angeles to New York to repay a debt to a drug dealer known as Moon (Clifton Powell). Moon sends his boy, Mike (Michael Ealy), and another man to collect the money. But then the pickup turns violent against Moon's request, and King David ends up getting stabbed in the process. He is helped by Paul (David Arquette), an earnest journalist who hangs around in the tough streets of Harlem. Paul comes to the aid of David, and, of course, King David dies. Upon his death, King David gives Paul a nice car, money, jewelry, and eventually, Paul finds a collection of audiotapes chronicling the last ten years of David's life. We learn that King David was a ladies' man. The women in his life were all drug users. But what King David does to these three women is monstrous: he falls in love with them, gets to know them, then hooks them on cocaine. Then he switches them to heroin without them knowing. What's monstrous is when he decides to give them a little "test." DMX, as King David, is hard and cold. Just as we begin to care and show sympathy for King David, we begin to show hatred towards this vile, and evil man. Through flashbacks and events, we realize that King David is a man who shows no apologies for the evil things he's done, and he makes them look like an everyday activity. The film also seems to suggest that there is some sort of connection between both Mike and King David. DMX has done some terrible films in the past, such as Romeo Must Die (2000), Exit Wounds (2001), and Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), which were all mindless action pictures meant to entertain, but in Never Die Alone, he gives his best performance up to date. Never Die Alone is a good movie, but I felt that David Arquette's character was poorly developed, but he gives a good performance, anyway. In the end we never know whether he has shown remorse for King David or felt that he deserved to die for what he's done. But Paul is more of a pawn than a mover to the plot. Half the time, he doesn't realize how much danger he's putting his life in, such as when he drives around in King David's car. Cinematographer-turned-director Ernest Dickerson creates a dark atmosphere and he keeps the film dark to the very end. He keeps the action scenes brief and brutal, and it doesn't distract the viewer away from the plot. This is his strongest work. Never Die Alone is not an action picture. It's a movie about an evil man, who shows no apologies for the evil things he's done to others. By the end, the movie asks Paul, the journalist, and even the viewer, do you think King David really deserved to die?

As the movie started out, it was almost too painful to watch. I imagine a few people walked out of the theater before realizing its worth. Not everyone is willing to go through the pain to get to the pleasure. If this movie had been imbued with more class and the corny lines were removed, it had the potential to be a classic. Unfortunately, all we are left with is the train who couldn't. The movie tries and you can feel it saying, "I think I can, I think I can". The weight of the opening act and awkward transition from cheese too wine is just too much for it to crest the hill. In the end we are left with nothing more than what if... What if someone took the time to do this right?

When I first rented this movie, I was expecting some good action scenes mixed with a decent story and a great soundtrack...I was disappointed on ALL accounts. I found the plot to be lacking in every area imaginable, there were many holes in the plot where all you could do was use your imagination to fill in the blanks. The music chosen was Jazz, good for the slums of New York I guess, but in a DMX film you would have expected him to do at LEAST one song for it (if they did, it might have been when I fell asleep.) As for the action scenes, where are they? I enjoyed the message the movie was sending, it was basically saying to take responsibility for your own actions, but that was ALL I enjoyed. Sorry to say this, but do NOT buy this movie, if you have a friend that's a big fan of DMX...and they bought it because he was in it, then borrow it. But I am sorry I even wasted my money on it, it's THAT bad...

This film is excellent. Many people might not be familiar with the author, Donald Goines, who wrote many books on ghetto life. The acting was excellent, and I especially liked the way the filming was done, using stills, slow motion and lots of effects. The story could very well be real, as I live in the inner city and such action goes on all the time. The characters are realistic and riveting. I debated on whether to give the movie a 9, and can't believe that it seemed so lost on other people. Perhaps they live sheltered lives. I hope that other Donald Goines novels get made into movies. His books are short, like Louis L'Amour novels, but are full of the same gritty and realistic drama. I like movies that are realistic, not fantasies where pure good meets pure evil. The way the film was done, the style of the movie reminds me of Miami Vice in it's uniqueness. The story moves quickly, and does not bog down.

The movie starts with King David in a casket. Then he starts telling us about his life. He came to Los Angeles to start his life over. Two days earlier, Moon needed Mike and Blue to collect some money from him. Something goes terribly wrong, and David is left lying in the street. Paul, a white writer with a black girlfriend (Nancy), couldn't just let him die. On the way to the hospital, David pleads with Paul to tell his son his story. Interestingly, Paul was living the life of a black man, while Nancy seemed to have rejected her culture (I'm basing this on one scene, but we never got to know her) and disapproved of his living in that world, but Paul felt he had to in order to write what he wanted. Paul finds out from a hospital worker that David had rewarded him by leaving him everything--lots of cash, jewelry, and a nice car. And cassette tapes with his autobiography. As Paul listens to the tapes, we see the events described. Once again, David says he is starting over in Los Angeles. In a scene with three bikini beauties, Paul meets blonde white actress Janet. She becomes the first of his girlfriends that we see. With her connections, and the fact that no one on the west coast has quality merchandise, David becomes a major drug dealer. David meets Juanita, a waitress studying to be a social worker, so Janet is tossed out like yesterday's trash. And she's not making it as an actress, so guess what she does for a living? Poor Juanita. And wait until you see what he does to Edna, who may have had his baby. To say David is not a nice person is a major understatement. But he's so charming that women want to be his girlfriend. Then they find out what he's really like. Why would I watch this movie? I'm white and a few months older than Barack Obama. These days, I'll watch anything I haven't seen. At least I'll get it over with. But for me personally, the movie had a few redeeming qualities. I won't say there's music for every taste. No classical, rock, or country. But nearly every style of jazz is represented. Some examples include muted trumpet with a rap beat, muted trumpet without a rap beat, a beautiful vocal performance in a club, and piano jazz in a nice restaurant. Of course there is gangsta rap. Two rap songs played for the closing credits are actually catchy, even for me. And then there is the bartender at The Blue Room. She has the same edgy charm that made her so appealing on an episode of My Network's "Tony Rock Project". At least I think that's her. The crazy judge from "Boston Legal" is a funeral director, but he's on very briefly and doesn't speak. That's a shame. DMX delivers a very good performance. Like I said, his character is not a nice man at all. And yet you sort of want to like him. You won't when you find out about him. Some unusual camera and editing techniques should be mentioned. One act of violence is shown from the victim's point of view. We see what he sees. In the scene with Edna everything is green or blue and seems to move in slow motion. The bikini babes disappear gradually as we jump forward in time several times from David's arrival to his first conversation with Janet. Of course I saw this on a My Network station, so the sound went out many times and the mouth of the character speaking was blurred. Something tells me I should be very glad of that. Once (I mention this because it could happen to you) the sound of dialogue went out for no apparent reason though I could hear music. The violence wasn't as bad as it could have been. I have a feeling this was a story worth seeing.

The new movie from the freshly retired rapper DMX is like nothing else that has been out in theaters in the past six months. DMX goes back to the streets in this gritty gangster movie. You will be pleased to see him return to a role more similar to the one in his movie debut Belly. He fits perfectly into the equation of the urban gangster movie. Never Die Alone is based on the novel of the same title by Donald Goines. DMX plays King David a drug king pin that has came back home to set things strait. The movie is set in present day New York. It is told mostly in flash backs, and voice-overs which make the movie very unique. The strong plot and acting will keep you interested through the whole movie. Another aspect, and one that is sometimes over looked is the camera work and picture. At times the picture is grainy. This may sound cheap, but it goes perfectly with the harsh and raw story. The camera angles and shots are also awesome. Small things like this can make the biggest differences in a movie. If I had four hands I'd give this movie four thumbs up.

*minor spoilers* Just came from seeing this at a matinee, Never Die Alone is probably one of the most depressing urban films you will ever see. The film is based on the novel by Donald Goines(one of my favorite authors) and stars DMX(Belly, Exit Wounds), Michael Ealy(Barbershop series) and David Arquette(Scream series) with very good direction by Ernest R. Dickerson(Juice, Bones, HBO's The Wire) whom I always knew was a very good director. I'll start by saying that Bones really could've been a good movie but even Dickerson's hard work didn't pay off in the lackluster horror film but he comes back with a bang with the uncompromising Never Die Alone. DMX, who also served as producer, turns in a great performance as King David an introverted, callous drug dealer who is killed when he returns to his hometown after burning many of his bridges - very reminiscent to Belly's Tommy Buns, however you see the lives that he's destroyed in this movie. David Arquette plays a jewish journalist caught in the middle of a turf war after witnessing King David get killed on a city strip - his performance as the naive writer isn't too shabby neither but Michael Ealy, the true hero of the movie, was the one who shined the brightest alongside DMX. Ealy's character, Mike, had his own personal problem with King David in which he kills King David over but at the same time King David had another problem with a kingpin by the name of Moon(Clifton Powell) who Mike happens to work for. Reagan Gomez-Preston is also in this as Juanita - a character with alot of depth - she turns in a good performance as well. Some would call the movie mysoginistic but I wouldn't, it shows you just how f*cked up the drug game can be for some people and how it affects other people's lives... Very disturbing scenes including a graphic overdose scene in a flashback, a kid getting his head blown off with a 12-gauge shot-gun and an icepick to the eye-ball pass for an R rating - I give it a perfect 10 of 10, it worked very well... good job Ernest Dickerson