This is one of my favourite films of all time. You find outrseld in tears w and hiding from the screen while watching it, but once it's done you realise how amazing it was. It begins very happy but after the awful scene where bobby dies the whole film completely changes and turns terrifying. Absolutely amazing film! :)

Oddly enough I saw 'The Basketball Diaries' the day after seeing 'Bad Lieutenant'. Both are stories of men out of control on drugs. But 'Lieutenant' was more realistic, it presented a downward spiral of drugs without all the tired plot baggage that weighs this movie down.Leonardo DiCaprio is miscast as Jim, a basketball star at a St. Vitus High School whose heroin addiction threatens to become his life. He drops out of school, his mother throws him out, he begin prostituting himself and he refuses contact with anyone who sees that he has a problem No cliché is spared here: Jim gets help from a former junkie (Ernie Hudson) who doesn't want him to throw his life away. He watches as his former friend become successful on the basketball court and there is the inevitable scene where he goes to his mother begging for money. Adults in this film fall into three categories: Sinner, saint and fed up.This is hard-hitting stuff but we've seen it all before. The plot and the characters are cardboard cut-outs from every afternoon special ever made. It's a familiar road, we know the signs, we know the speedbumps and we know the destination.Rating: ** (of four)

The Basketball Diaries, is a harrowing journey, which in it's 102 minute time, we feel we've been to hell and back, it's final scene, where Jim Carrol had finally got his s..t together, reminiscent of the final scene in Stella Does Tricks, where like Jim, she addressed her young audience about her journey, through drugs and prostitution. This is the no holes barred look at the destruction of a man who had a talent for words, and what we've go through with him, is something we're glad we never endured. De Caprio shows us again here, what a brilliantly dramatic actor he is. There were moments he was so real, I was getting goosebumps. But we must give thanks to another great actor in the prime of his career, Underestimated ex Calvin Klein model, Mark Wahlberg. When not having seen the film for years, I forgot just how bloody good he was in this, almost on par with Leo, where as Jim's best friend, Mickey, saw him plummet harder with his drug addiction. Like Leo's, it's an engrossing performance. TBD is not for everyone, especially people easily affected by the drug scene, which as I said before, it's is a frank film on the subject. The dream sequence, that has Leo bursting into a classroom, opening fire on his friends, while letting out a howl of anger, was one of a couple of scenes that earned an R. It's a quite violent and frank scene, be warned. Of course, this notorious scene was the one suspected as the inspiration, or trigger for that very similar classroom shooting, two years later. The film really hones in on the desperation of that need, that fix for drugs, where money sometimes has to be earned in degrading ways. De Caprio fully embraced this role, like he does many others, although the film's well acted by everyone, especially Bracco as Jim's long suffering Mum you really feel for, and wish to hell she could help him, looking many years older than her younger self in Goodfellas. The film which has suffered some scathing reviews, which I myself believe, it could of been better, may'be stretched out to two hours, as to add some more input, to tell this tale of a hellish nightmare, where still like it is the film is bloody effective and poignant. Too, I found the film, besides being confronting, quite an entertaining view, due to Jim and his wild, but mostly funny exploits with his mates, which includes barfing on an innocent passenger below deck on a Statton Island ferry, the after effect of yes: meth sniffing. It good to see these troubled teens beat the odds, where only just learning of the demise of the gaunt faced Carroll, took me by surprise. Very recommended viewing.

The Basketball Diaries is the movie that showed exactly how much acting potential Leonardo DiCaprio has.The good. Gripping sad story. Extreme realism and superb acting, you really get into their shoes, very immersive. You get to understand their story, their situation. Tight well executed scenes. Nice camera work. Solid score.The actors. Not only does Leonardo DiCaprio shine like a true star, but Mark Wahlberg also shows his talent. The rest of the cast is almost as impeccable.The bad. The end scene on the stage is badly staged. No pun intended. It's a bit awkward, but it's easily forgivable.The ugly. It pictures drugs as a social disease whereas their use is actually a symptom of an underlying problem. But then, everybody thinks that, because that's the official story.The result. It's a forbidding tale, but everyone should watch it and understand.