Good idea lost in the noise

An action-packed slog

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

This is a very nicely done movie, which is very engaging, fast and interesting. It keeps you watching throughout the movie. While some things are predictable , many are not. I don't understand how come the rating is just around 6. It's much better than most movies you see nowadays. It's about a bunch of kids going through the induction process to get into a frat. The movie begins with one prank, which goes way off. It gets them into trouble ,and more trouble and more trouble. The best part about this movie is the way it ends. I had absolutely no idea that this is what was going to happen ! Do watch it , it's a good movie.

This movie had a tightly focused story it told economically keeping the audience focused and attentive. Its a good old style movie where the story is king told like a modern movie where the audiences attention span is respected. Natural hyped performances kept the movie's and audience's heart pumping. I've read in the comments that some people didn't find the characters believable. Compared to what. your average Hollywood movie is mostly unbelievable, these guys were young at time stupid and way out of their depth, and nothing goes as planned. I can believe that easily. I wish I could directly support the production team who made this. they obviously put there all into it and it shows, but in a very skilled way, well shot and edited there is nothing unprofessional about this, its a top end movie from an indie outfit and they deserve kudos for that. Well done team. I wish your movie was getting a wide release.

The film "Brotherhood" is actually a litmus test for your ability to connect with today's college experience. If you are in touch with today's typical college fraternity/sorority lifestyle, you will likely think this film is excellent. If you are mostly out of touch, you will not likely connect to this film. Originally I rated this film 8 out of ten, but I changed it to 9 out of 10, simply because of the performances given by this film's rising stars, but I will get into that later.If you consider yourself "middle of the road" when it comes to understanding college social scenes, see how you feel about this movie - it may help you decide how well you understand college life today, if you were asked this same question.From what I can tell, the story is indeed fictional but based on real experiences and 'folk lore' or 'urban legends' of college life. Although I am not going to go into specific plot details, it is generally well-crafted and fun to watch. From my previous movie reviews, I have a keen eye for performance. What stood out to me was the girl that came looking for her 'personal belongings' halfway through the story. At first glance, I was sure I had seen her in other movies, but I couldn't recall where. My trusty IMDb iphone app identified her to be Jennifer Sipes. This actress made the movie for me. If you do get a chance to see this film in theaters, her performance alone is worth the price of admission. There is something that really shines bright with her. Lou Taylor Pucci also does a very very good job. I was lucky enough to see "The Music Never Stopped" at Sundance and I think his performance in Brotherhood is at the same level. Jon Foster comes through as well, although his strength as an actor did not shine as bright as Jennifer Sipes and Lou Taylor Pucci. I don't blame Jon Foster, this is a small indie film, and he sometimes stumbles a little with delivery, slightly depreciating his performance, but I suspect this was due to a very compacted shooting schedule. I eagerly anticipate Jon's future performances in big budget studio films, because I think with a proper shooting schedule, he will really take off. Trevor Morgan to me was just OK. Unfortunately I could see him 'acting' at certain points. If you see this film on the big screen, you will see Pucci dominate Morgan in scenes that the two are in (from a purely acting perspective). Once again, I think Trevor Morgan had a tough job in this film, thus making it more difficult to perform with a short shooting cycle. Nonetheless, he is responsible for his screen presence, and he didn't meet my expectations. The scenes that Trevor Morgan and Arlen Escarpeta square off are the slowest of the film, and in my opinion, should be left out. It simply doesn't work as intended.In summary, I would recommend this film. It rides along at a fast pace, comparable to a typical 'night-gone-wrong' thriller. Overall performances are good, but look for Lou Taylor Pucci and even more so Jennifer Sipes - Two actors with a very bright future. Jon Foster is close behind, and also has a big career ahead of him. I will give fair warning that you may find this film really, really, irritating if you are not connected to college life today, but if you are, you will associate well to the language, the pranks/initiations, and the race relations, all realistic and decently put together. What really separates this film from other indies in this genre is the acting. If for nothing else, see it for some inspiring performances by Hollywood's future stars.

So, with limited preparation (I had no idea what the film was about) I set about this American fraternity thriller. And, I have to say, it wasn't bad at all. The opening scenes are in the back of a van where three teenagers are being yelled at by one of their peers who then charges off, gun in hand, claiming he is going to rob a convenience store. He reappears seconds later to tell the trio they have to follow suit if they are to be accepted into a sought-after university fraternity. It quickly transpires that the initiation ceremony is a fake and, before each individual gets to the door of their respective stores, they are stopped by a fellow frat man who gives them the cash they have been instructed to rob, to make it look as if they have been successful. Unfortunately, he is not there when the last of the three , Kevin, (Lou Taylor Pucci) goes off to do his robbery and, therefore, Kevin tries to carry it out. However, things start to unravel pretty quickly. Kevin is shot in the shoulder by the shop assistant who refuses to believe he is not being properly held up until the concept is beaten into him by Kevin's friend Adam (Trevor Morgan) and Frank (Jon Foster), the teenager who had been giving the dummy instructions on the hold-up. Frank, fearing that the police would not understand the hold-up had been a prank, insists that Kevin, despite bleeding heavily is taken back to the frat house and the emergency services are not called. This begins a sequence of dramatic events in which just about everything transpires against a successful outcome for the group. All of the time, Adam is fearing for Kevin's life and is desperately pleading with Frank to take him to hospital. As sparring takes places over the decision, the dynamics of power and peer pressure are put acutely under the microscope of director Will Canon. Canon's movie is low budget but he builds up tension and develops characters well and, in less than 80 minutes, ratchets up considerable tension.