VividSimon Simply Perfect

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

santiagocosme Documentaries are very smartly done these days. They know how to really come up with a flashy name, they add a few famous people in the credits (although they happen to be just the narrator), they create tension in their story telling it as if it was a movie, and the result is that you spend an hour and a half listening to things you have heard a thousand times, but they do it in a way to make it sound like it's the most ground-breaking documentary ever.In this documentary about drugs, pretty much all of the above is true. You don't really learn anything new but since the subject is interesting, and you're bored on a Sunday afternoon where your only option is to stay in because the weather is awful outside, then you watch it and try to convince yourself that you just watched a compulsory viewing documentary. But nothing could be further from the truth. Time for a hit! Sorry, a nap!

eric262003 Director Matthew Cooke indicates just like the urban structure has told us over the years that any average Joe or Jane can sell drugs. All it takes is some brief knowledge and mathematics, a little bravery to sell this illegal product and a slight disrespect for any social laws. But like in any business, we all start rock bottom to get to the top or in the drug trafficking business, from the corner to the shipload. "How to Make Money Selling Drugs" focuses on the grim enterprise on one of the government's most disdainful antagonist by explaining in an arcade visual the proper steps to start from the bottom of the ladder to working your way to the top of the enterprise in documentary that is both captivating, even though shallow at some points.Backed up by myriad of ex drug kingpins from various locations as they explain their tricks to the respected trades as they narrate how they started as ragged teens who have abandoned their previous life coming from broken homes as an escape to start a new life. At least a better life than what they had already. From the rough and rugged gangs of Los Angeles, to the despotic outskirts of Florida, all the up to the frozen tundra of Alaska, drugs are selling faster than candy, but it's the quick cash that gets people into the industry. Refraining from any family support or the chances of obtaining a decent education, many people enter this dangerous and illegal enterprise primarily as an escape from their previous life in the doldrums as the only place to turn to make ends meet. It's a dark paradise for them. What I mean dark paradise is that the job is grim, the clients are intimidating, your life is on the line, but if your stuff sells, the money couldn't be more sweeter. While it's hard to find a job, people turn to drugs because it's easy to apply and the payoffs are quite rewarding. Cooke's loyal subjects lived the life for many years and each of them suffered their own fall, but Cooke refrains from narrating about their struggles, but instead to examine their contrasting methods to achieve success in the underground atmosphere of selling drugs.The subtle tongue and cheek humour in its showcase for drug trafficking derives in the same balance as Eugene Jarecki's "The House I Live In". But while Jarecki leans towards truths that stem from his own personal experiences, Cooke leads his documentary with a grimace until we reach the unpredictable climax about the real truth of what happens after ones rags to riches in the soliciting industry. Near the end law enforcers, attorneys and David Simon, creator of "The Wire" reveal what kind of sentences are faced when entering this kind of business and to add more flames to the fume, they hire hip-hop legends like 50 Cent and Eminem as decoys to prove their point across.Sure 50 Cent experienced what the drug life was about, and Eminem tried a few life threatening substances of his own, but I see no logic why they brought hip-hop artists into the mix. It brings about a bad cliché that all hip-hip artists have taken drugs before coming clean which is totally untrue. Cooke's take on the steps to become a successful trafficker to which leads to it all being taken away to the consequences one must and will face when entering this field. We miss out that billions of dollars of taxpayers money is for nought and how it has ruined lives that can not be fixed, and the many sentences one must face remains absent at times. Granted his storytelling is witty, cynical and vibrant, however, by Cooke taking this subject rather lightly he loses his grasp as his audience can't understand what his intentions are and in the end, he leaves them empty.

daisydell692 How to Make Money Selling Drugs is an entertaining and fast paced ride that delivers a clear message. Whether you believe in decriminalizing drugs or not, the film gives nuggets of perspective that allow the audience to go on a path of discovery of their own, while still maintaining the film's own voice. The actual delivery of the message was the highlight for me. The film follows people from all walks of life - giving the audience a well-rounded, well researched and well conceived view. I find that many documentaries, especially on such controversial topics, can come out one-sided, but this is a true exception where you never feel forced to feel a certain way, but come out forming your own opinions that somehow mesh with the film's core values. So, in sum, brilliant!

manerkan I think that we can all agree that a documentary about drug dealing or drugs wars is not a particularly new subject matter. I have seen many documentaries and television shows that discuss such topics. But I am happy to report that this documentary is not like the rest. It is a totally novel discussion and portrayal of what it takes to rise in the ranks, paired with engaging and entertaining narration, followed by a powerful message that left me thinking about the subject matter for hours, if not days thereafter.I was captivated by not only the pace and dialogue, but the talent of the film. I am interested to see what the future holds for this movie, and I am certain it will gain a huge following and critical acclaim. It's definitely one to watch.