Stoic

I have seen only more 1 movie directed by this director, and that was Seed. That movie was pretty tame and boring, this was an pretty interesting watch. There is no bright segment in this entire movie. From the start to finish it's just a pure black terror of a movie.

I can say that the acting for the most part is pretty solid. I can't really fault any of the actors. The story is thin as it is, 4 inmates, and they decide to horribly torture the weakest one, who was only in prison for 6 months for trying to defuse arrest, while the three other guys are in prison for serious crimes such as Arson.

The only negative i got for this movie is the lack of depth. None of our characters have any depth, as in instead of giving us at the end the reason why these people were in prison, maybe give us a 5-10 minutes long backstory about all 4 of these guys, what caused them to get in prison in first place. Also the fact that they said at the start of the movie, that the victim took his own life, it really removed the shock for the ending. I think that they should of cut off the hanging at beginning, because it weakened the ending. I think it would of been much more stronger if the ending occured without us knowing it at the start.

Ultimately i actually enjoyed this movie and it is a very interesting psychological piece into 4 different types of people. Also this movie the social aspect of it is not just in prisons, i think similar stuff occur outside prison as well.

I speak only in terms of atmosphere, so realistic and unbearable, disgusting but so awfully true atmosphere behind bars. Because the plot itself is certainly closer to BULLY than SCUM, which was more focused on another scheme. Well, this movie is the best of Uwe Boll, a film maker too long underrated, despised, who shows here his real talent, his skills. He is a very gifted film maker, he proves it here in the best way. But, as you can guess, it is not destined to wide audiences. It is such a shame that all Uwe Boll's films did not look like this one, not in terms of story but directing. It belongs, for me, to the best behind bars films ever made, the most underrated too.

Stoic is a 2009 film directed by Uwe Boll about four cellmates and a poker game that goes from bad to worse, to horrific. It's unnerving, disturbing, and sad.

Stoic is the kind of movie that if you watch it at all, you will probably only watch it once. Because, although the acting in the film is very good the stories subject matter is very difficult to sit through. The characters are raw and unapologetic, The setting will make you feel claustrophobic, and the end will leave you speechless.

This is not a film that I can say I enjoy, but if you like hard to watch movies then this is one that you shouldn't be disappointed with.

I don't really get all the Uwe Boll bashers out there. I don't watch his video game films because, quite frankly, I think if you want to have a video game experience you should PLAY a video game. Call me crazy.

I watched "Stoic" because I loved "Rampage"---I loved the originality of it, I admired it's clarity of vision, and I liked the outlandishness of the piece. Boll's "I-don't-give-a-f***" attitude definitely did show through in that hyper-violent orgasm and it does so again with "Stoic."

What's odd about "Stoic" is that it would almost play better as a stage production. It's based on a real event that occurred in a German prison, where a harmless dare escalated into deadly consequence. It's really pretty simple, as Sam Levinson states in the preamble: "This system doesn't work!" And why should it? You put four guys in one small room, with varying degrees of maladaptive personalities, subject them to endless tedium and little activity---what do you think would happen? There is a reason why most US prisons don't do four-to-a-cell, after all.

The acting is very good for the most part (Levinson gets a bit melodramatic, but it's passable). Furlong is creepily chilling in his passive-aggressiveness. It's not the type of movie that generates a lot of tension (probably why few people like it). It does generate DREAD however and it isn't pleasant to watch even in a sicko-torture-porn type of way...there are no "oh wow" EFX...it's just...degrading. Would I watch it again? Probably not. Would I recommend it to my parents? Hell no.

Yet, I find myself giving it a relatively high-score. For those interested in how group dynamics tend to obliterate the ability or desire to think for one's self, "Stoic" is an relatively bold statement. One wonders if Boll was thinking of his rubber-stamping detractors when he made it.

First off - before I get to the movie itself... I just wanted to speak to the morons who ALWAYS automatically vote 1 for everything Boll does - without even watching the damn movie. Its just a really childish and insanely stupid thing to do.

I personally have really enjoyed his past few films... you just never know what to expect when you sit down and watch a Uwe Boll movie and I commend that! In The Name of the King in particular for its insanely over-the-top obviously made to be laughed at entertainment. I mean really -- KING Burt Reynolds??? (best "last conversation before dying" scene I've ever watched... I laughed for like 15 minutes)... and a Ray Liotta Magi who constantly says the most hilarious stuff throughout the movie. And the choreography of the fight scenes was actually quite commendable (sadly not violent, but its all good) - anyways....

... and then Seed, Postal, Tunnel Rats (best war movie I've seen in years - phenomenal flick) --- all 3 are fantastic movies in their own right. Far Cry was god awful and so was Alone in the Dark 2 (sorry Uwe)

And then we have STOIC! - In the same dark/depressing vein that made Tunnel Rats such a kick ass movie... this thing takes you on a wild ride. A ride NOT for the squeamish to be more precise... and not for people who can only watch "Hollywood blockbuster" crap to be entertained. Thankyou to the other reviewer for this movie; I did not know most the movie was "improv" on the actors part and that's an incredibly awesome move on Bolls part to boot... gave the movie a feeling of reality you don't see much anymore. The last half hour in particular is some seriously intense stuff. The acting was also very good... after watching American History X like 19 times + Animal Factory (highly underrated movie), and of course Detroit Rock City + even Dark Reel was pretty damn entertaining... I've always really liked Furlong -- and I'm really happy to see him again in top form. The other actors too were excellent; especially Sam Levinson as the most sympathetic/remorseful of them all.

So go find this movie and watch it - then find Tunnel Rats and watch that... and then STOP giving this man the automatic 1's he does not deserve (except for maybe Far Cry... dude, that was just BAD)!!!