lizzyblueyez
I'm sorry to say it but:This little boy is so mean (cussing every 1 out, kicking pit bulls,hitting little kids)! But then when they showed his home environment-that explained some of it.He has a talent for riding the dirt bikes,and wants to join that bike group, it's a outlet for him to get away from his life (which I can see a pretty rough one) I just wish they wouldn't ride their bikes in the streets and get chased by the police. Maybe they can build a track or something for them.Maybe some club can be created. Something needs to be done to keep them off the main streets.I understand the police trying to keep them and pedestrians and others safe.
Gregory Porter
12 O'Clock Boys is the name of a motorcycle group (one might argue that they aren't quite a gang) in North Baltimore. Their name arises from the fact that when they do wheelie's (that is, riding on the back wheel of their motorcycles) their wheels are straight up and down like the hands of a clock.12 O'Clock Boys is also the name of a documentary which follows Pug, a thirteen- year-old kid who wants to eventually join the illustrious (or notorious, depending on who you ask) aforementioned group.Many documentaries I've seen about gangs focus strictly on the gang: its origin, current members, former members, and police. 12 O'Clock Boys incorporates those but, as it follows the development of Pug, we come to see the larger ecosystem of Baltimore; not only do we see the gang and its relationship with the police but also we get to see how the gang operates with Baltimore and the poorer districts of the city, and even its relationship with future members, i.e. children.Pug's home life is such that I can see how one might be drawn to the 12 O'clock Boys and the resulting sense of community. It's kinda sad to watch over the course of the movie how Pug gravitates towards an angrier lifestyle. He wanted to become a veterinarian and he had a bunch of pets but by the end of the movie he says that he wants to become a dogcatcher (I suppose because it sounds tougher). It's too bad too because, when he talks about animals, he sounds rather knowledgeable about them.I read in an interview that Pug and his mother participated in the documentary because they wanted to shed light on the group. If people had a place to ride their bikes, like a park, they argue, then the problems would go away. But, is that really the case? Thinking about this is one of the more interesting questions to come out of the movie.On one hand we have the founding members saying that they just wanted to ride, because when they ride they forget about their problems, yadda yadda yadda. Former and current members interviewed, insist that the gang doesn't do anything like guns or drugs or whatnot; they just want to ride their bikes. And, yet, they break traffic laws and intentionally ride past the police department to exacerbate the already tenuous relationship with the police.We see Pug practicing with a child-size ATV and, eventually, in the park on his dirt bike. The plan is always to practice and ride until he gets to the point where he can ride with the group in the streets. There's the rub.What would the dynamic be if the group had a venue for their riding? Would it be the same or is part of it the experience breaking the law?At one point, the group is riding up and down a street and in a nearby park when the police come. The environment is electrified by the clash between the bikers and the police. So it's not "just about riding," but the movie doesn't really explore what it really is about.If you've read my previous reviews, you might recall that I generally dislike children in movies. More often than not, it's a cheap way to force an emotional response from audiences. 12 O'Clock Boys is pushing it. With Pug, we see this kid come of age and watch his development. But because he's a kid, it feels mildly exploitative.With respect to following Pug, there are a couple standout sequences. First, when Pug finally gets a dirt bike. He is practicing in the park near a group of kids playing basketball and one comes over and asks if he could try out Pug's bike. After some hesitation, Pug lets him. Sure enough the kid says, "I'm just going to take it around the block." The kid speeds away. After a few minutes, Pug runs around the corner to see if he'll return. You can see fear, desperation, embarrassment, and frustration wash over his face as he looks at the camera and then the cameraman. It feels like a really great moment to capture on screen.At the end of the movie, Pug has spiraled further into the hood mentality. He had just gotten in trouble for fighting in school. The cameraman asks what Pugs intends to do about his bike. "Steal it back," Pug answers matter-of-factly. As he explains the plan, footage of the robbery plays. The movie ends with a shot of Pug in the back of a van dressed in black, with his bike, looking silently at the camera. It's depressing but well executed.I've spent a lot longer thinking about this movie than countless other's that I've seen and I can't quite figure out why. I think it has something to do with why I found it unsatisfying. We watch Pug spiral downwards into the subculture of the 12 O'Clock Boys, which is depressing, right? We hear positive messages from the current and former members but we see contradictory images: a guy kicking the tail light of a police car, for example. The stories and images paint of picture of this group and it's surrounding city but it's not getting anywhere.I don't think a movie should necessarily a definitive position but I feel like it would be helpful to provide a starting point and, perhaps, a direction for conversation. It you watch fluffy tupolev's Youtube video entitled "12 O'Clock Boys", you'll have just as much of a conversation starter as 12 O'Clock Boys. If you are interested in watching it, currently, it can be found on Youtube.
hatcher-31393
The audio wasn't always that good, especially in the beginning and it was difficult to understand what Pug was saying. But as I hung in there either the audio improved or I grew accustomed to his speech or both.From some of the reviews the hatred and disdain are apparent but the fact of the matter is that this is documentary offering a slice of 'another' culture, and whether one likes it or not, that 'is' their culture that has been imposed upon them for various reasons be they political, social, or economic. So the film is showing how Pug and his family live and not how the viewers may wish that they lived. Superficially Coco is a lousy mother and yet it made perfect sense that she was because she's doing the best she can with what she has available. She'd been a stripper ("exotic dancer") in her youth which meant someone had failed to get through to her the importance of education. So she capitalized on the only thing she 'thought' she had going for her. Now she's older and interested in health care and enrolls in a course to help get a job and seemed to do pretty well learning CPR which only went to show she'd lacked proper direction in her youth. Unfortunately the cycle continues with Pug because her cursing is basically the limit of her vocabulary and merely her frustration at her inability to effectively convey the importance of education to Pug - because she regrets the mistakes of her life and clearly sees the dangerous route he's about to embark upon. Pug stated at least one teacher disliked him,and having experienced instances when teachers disliked me and I was wrongfully punished for things I hadn't done, I can understand the attractiveness of the freedom and notoriety of being a 12 O'clock Boy to a young boy compared with schooling. Sadly however his youth blinds him to the broader picture.Nice little twist for an ending. After he'd successfully stolen back his bike, being in the van gave meaning to the reason he was in the van in the opening scene. I wonder what Pug and Coco think about Baltimmore being currently in the news because of the "Knockas"?
Seth_Rogue_One
A pretty unique and interesting look at urban life about some dirt-bikers in Baltimore. Which of course is most known for being the main ground for the TV-series THE WIRE.It focuses mainly one one kid called Pug who wants nothing more but to join the 12 O'Clock Boys "gang", I use that term lightly cause they aren't really a gang per se because the only illegal activities they do is ride their dirt-bikes on the streets where they are not allowed, performing various stunts etc. They also interview some "street-legends" of the original 12'O Clock Boys who started out years ago and is still about that life.It's a documentary the way it should be done, it doesn't try to push an agenda on you or condone the illegal activities nor show disdain for it, it just show you the way it is and how they use the riding as a release for whatever problems they have got going on.
