DVD Review: 96 Minutes

DVD Review by Kam Williams

DVD Features “Crash”-Like Crime Drama 

                 Carley (Brittany Snow) is a sheltered college senior who’s torn between roaming around the country after getting her degree and going to law school primarily to please her parents. She’s caught up in an animated conversation about the future with her best friend, Lena (Christian Serratos), who is concerned about a boyfriend and about making a smooth transition from campus to the real world.

                As the carefree coeds drive around Los Angeles, they’re blissfully unaware that their world is on the verge of suddenly colliding with that of a couple of teens from the other side of the tracks. One, Dre (Evan Ross), is fast approaching a milestone of his own, having just ordered a cap-and-gown for his impending high school graduation. He hopes to be one of the few kids from his block to overcome the odds and actually make it out of the ghetto.

                Sadly, the same can’t be said about Kevin (Jonathan Michael Trautmann), a dropout desperate to be embraced by the local gang. To prove himself worthy, he impulsively decides to carjack Carley and Lena’s car at gunpoint.

                Dre reluctantly joins Kevin in this felonious endeavor, more to talk some sense into his young cousin than as an accomplice, only to have grand theft auto escalate to kidnapping and attempted murder when the kid shoots a resistant Lena in the head. With all four subsequently cooped-up together in the car, what ensues is a harrowing ordeal marked by mutual misunderstandings borne of a culture clash.

                Like a claustrophobic variation of the Oscar-winning Best Picture Crash, 96 Minutes is a serendipitous slice-of-life tale unfolding in L.A. over the course of one very eventful evening. The compelling crime drama marks the impressive writing and directorial debut of Aimee Lagos, who exhibits quite a knack for both character-development and for generating edge of your seat urgency.

                Listen, whenever vapid Valley girls cross paths with wanton boys ‘n the hood, you know something’s gotta give. And when the dust settles, it ain’t going to look pretty.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated R for violence and pervasive profanity.

Running time: 95 minutes

Distributor: Arc Entertainment

To see a trailer for 96 Minutes, visit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_30uPMyUwU

To order a copy of 96 Minutes on DVD, visit:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0079K4W6M/ref%3dnosim/thslfofire-20 

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