Live and Die in East LA

When Attila Korosi gets ahold of the film noir tradition, it comes alive in Live and Die in East LA. Beginning with a caterpillar animation, he lets his aud know there is more to the thrills and violence than usual. He adds the figurative value of showing that drug-dealing and murderous dreams can lead to a moth rather than a butterfly.

As his self-named character, Attila, he leads a band of sometimes dense, and in the case of his sister, Anita, just rebellious, relatives and friends into a labyrinth of drug-dealing to rescue her and learn enough to stay out of trouble for a lifetime.

Despite the gritty hell they descend into as they violently try to survive in a deal that will free Anita, Attila amazingly keeps his crew in a more-or-less benign state because next to the skin-headed, tattoo'd bad boys, they do look like angels. In their misguided sense of righteousness, they are nonetheless canny enough to avoid being murdered, in most cases.

One of the blessings of Live and Die is that unlike in other noirs, Korosi has dialogue that can be heard and shots that can be seen. He has not given into the figurative dark shots and mumblecore speech that often robs the aud of seeing and hearing each frame.

As Korosi marches toward success in the independent, thriller mode, he may very well branch off into the more romantic thriller motif, carrying his caterpillar into the butterfly stage, of say, Affleck's The Town or McDonagh's in Bruges. In any case, he has an independent wi8nner in Live and Die in East LA.

Movie critics try to evaluate the complete context of a film before putting text to screen. They ask themselves: who made it, what was the motivation, was it successful? In the case of first-time filmmaker Attila Korosi, Live and Die in East L. A. was a success, despite its, at times, indolent dialogue and impuissant performances from two of the main characters: Ishaan Bahri and Korosi himself (which he admitted to of his own acting during Q&As at the Sony Studios premiere).

Korosi's own personal back-story makes watching this film so fun! Thousands of independent directors set out every year to make cinema but few, for example, are capable of funding features with acclaimed actors such as Richard Cabral (Mayans M. C.), Robert LaSardo (The Mule) and Cesar Garcia of Breaking Bad. It is reported that Korosi used his earnings (and charm) from ride-sharing proceeds to co-produce this film - knowing this before watching his complex storyline play out, sets the viewer up for a good time (and don't get me started on the cleaver scene - gasps could be heard in the audience at the theatrical screening I attended)!

Now ask yourself this: how did this unknown writer/actor/director/producer get this film off the ground (shot in difficult-to-access East L. A.) and get it sold even!? The answer is attributed to his talent for using natural charisma to entice pros to work with him - i.e: an Emmy-nominated actor, an Emmy-nominated supervising sound editor, additional music from an award-winning songwriter (who was former staff at Hans Zimmer's music studio no less) and A CAST OF OVER 100 ACTORS!

Maybe this won't win any awards but Korosi has proven himself to be a veteran producer right from the starting line - which is fitting, because he came to the States by utilizing a running scholarship to move from a war-torn country with the dream of making movies in America and he crossed the finish line with an Amazon Prime release - won and (not) done.

"Live and Die in East LA" is a gritty, modern-day crime noir that authentically captures the underbelly of East Los Angeles. Directed by Attila Korosi, the film stands out for its creativity, action, and engaging storyline. The narrative is deeply rooted in the concept of choices and their consequences, which cleverly parallels the journey of a caterpillar navigating through a forest-symbolizing the varying options and crossing paths of life.

At its core, the film delivers a powerful message about family, survival, and the blurred lines between right and wrong. The commendable performances, particularly from non-professional actors, add a layer of realism to the film. Attila's vision comes to life depicting its harsh realities, including moments of intense violence.

"Live and Die in East LA" is a must-see film that offers a fresh perspective on the crime-thriller genre, and it leaves me eagerly anticipating what Attila will bring to the screen next!

This is a film to watch especially if you were raised in Los Angeles. The way the director created this film was true to real life experiences. I definitely did relate to the story and survival of the characters in the film.

The biggest message that I received watching this film is that family is everything. And the things we do for our family comes from a love so deep that sometimes we loose logic of what's right and what's wrong.

I truly enjoyed this film for its creativity and action. It's really made me wanting more scene after scene. A big thank you to Attila for creating a film that I can relate too.

Live and die in East LA

life presents many choices the choices we made in past will determine the present and the choices we make today will determine our future

what we think or what we know or what we believe is in the end of little consequence the only thing of consequence is what we do

as a first movie the director Attila did his best in this movie, his work is very natural without any propaganda, we should support new people with creative ideas such as expressing what they really wanna share also with a message to the people from a movie.

Director Attila shared a valuable message through this movie about choices and consequence

political involvement turned thousands of Hollywood movies into effective propaganda so as a freedom of film making we should appreciate people who making their own like director Attila.