Bully (2001)

Bobby Kent (Nick Stahl) is not a nice guy. He often beats up his best friend Marty Puccio (Brad Renfro), abuses Marty's girlfriend Lisa Connelly (Rachel Miner), and he rapes Lisa's friend Ali Willis (Bijou Phillips). There isn't a lot to do in the suburban Florida town where Bobby and his friends live. They play violent shoot-em-up video games, work at the Pizza Hut, go surfing at the beach, and cruise in their hot rods. But mostly, Bobby and his friends have lots of sex. The film is drenched in graphic shots of barely legal naked teenagers. Sexual identity is an undercurrent in Bobby's story: he watches gay porn while he rapes Ali, and he forces Marty to dance with him at a gay club. Some of the other teenagers think that Bobby and Marty are a couple.

Marty is fed up with his best friend's twisted ways and Lisa couldn't agree more, so they plan to murder Bobby with a group of willing and unwilling accomplices. In the midst of their plotting, they find themselves contemplating the possible aftermath of the crime. They decide to kill Bobby because he's a bully who has hurt and angered them, and also because they're bored and desensitized to violence. After much drug use and a failed attempt at murder, they hire a supposed hitman (Leo Fitzpatrick), but as the story progresses it becomes apparent that he is just a tough-talking teenager. Initially, some in the group dismiss the plan as a lark, but eventually, they all come to the realization that they will go through with it, particularly when they lure Bobby out to a nearby swamp where he is attacked with knives. Marty slits his throat. The hitman beats Bobby's head in with a bat, then forces Derek (Daniel Franzese) to help him throw the body in the swamp. Several days later they are all arrested by the police. At the end of the film, subtitles show the prison sentences that the teenagers received.

This dramatic thriller is based on actual events, the true story of Bobby Kent, a bossy Florida teenager who was beaten to death by a group of his peers in 1993. The screenplay was written by David McKenna and Roger Pullis, who adapted Jim Schutze's 1998 book "Bully: A True Story of High School Revenge". The soundtrack features many songs. Director Larry Clark takes a hard look at the lives of some confused American teenagers.

Bound (1996)

Corky (Gina Gershon) is a lesbian who just got out of prison after having served 5 years for what she calls "redistribution of wealth", or stealing. She was betrayed by her female partner and therefore has a severe lack of trust in those around her. Corky takes a job as a painter and plumber in a Chicago condo building and soon meets sexy Violet (Jennifer Tilly), who's the girlfriend of Caesar (Joe Pantoliano), a money launderer for the Mafia. The couple live in the condo right next to the one where Corky works. The attraction between Corky and Violet is immediate, and it isn't long before Violet seduces her. Later, Violet overhears Caesar and his Mafia buddies beating and torturing Shelly (Barry Kivel), a man who has been skimming money from the business. Corky knows trouble when she sees it, but that doesn't stop her from giving in to Violet's manipulations. After Shelly is shot and killed by Johnnie Marzonne (Christopher Meloni), the son of Mafia boss Gino Marzonne (Richard C. Sarafian), Caesar returns to the apartment with a bag of bloody money.

Soon Violet makes the suggestion to her new lover that they steal two million dollars of the Mafia's money, allowing Caesar to take the fall for its loss. What a deal--two million dollars, plus Violet. How could anyone say no to that? Of course, nothing goes according to the plan as all hell breaks lose with Caesar doing just the opposite of what the two ladies had expected. Then there's the question if Corky will once again be betrayed by the woman she cares about. Anything can happen before the ending is reached as betrayal, torture, and murder become the norm. Caesar finds out and is about to kill Corky, but Violet arrives and pulls a gun on Caesar. He tells Violet that he knows she will not shoot him, and she replies, "Caesar, you don't know shit", then kills him. In the end Violet drives off hand-in-hand with Corky.

This provocative neo-noir crime thriller offers a grab bag of genres: gangster movie, comedy, sexy romance, and crime caper. It's scary, funny, sexy, suspenseful, with plenty of action, and is not for the squeamish. The script is sharp and fresh with many twists in it. There are a few violent scenes, and some people might find the lesbian sex scene offensive. Described as explicit and steamy, it is actually tasteful, discreet and realistic. Don Davis composed the music score. The film was written and directed by the Wachowski Brothers, Andy and Larry Wachowski.