Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Marketic It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Desiree I loved "Manic" from the very moment it began, not only because I am in love with Joseph Gordon-Levitt but also because it captivated me immediately.It starts off as somewhat of a mystery. Lyle (Gordon-Levitt) is entered into the juvenile wing of a mental facility against his will. We see him struggling and resisting security all the while we hear screams and a struggle in the background. We know this is why he is being put in the facility but we don't exactly know what occurred.The whole thing is just so intriguing. It is so emotional that you can't help but get heavily involved in the story.Lyle is a lovable character in a strange way. He is violent and has anger management issues but he is sad, pathetic, and so jaded that you can't help but have love for him. I found myself attached to each character, even the child molester and group therapy bully.Just overwhelming emotion throughout the movie. We get right into the jaded, troubled characters and their sad lives. Each character is very unique. They all have a lot of pain but display it and deal with it in very unique ways. They all keep the movie interesting.I didn't want "Manic" to end. I wasn't sure how they were going to pull off the ending. It was great and I wouldn't have had it any other way. The acting was more than impressive. You can tell that the actors really threw themselves into their role. They all became their character.There wasn't much character development just because we don't gradually get into a story. We are thrown into all of their lives all at once. They are already developed and we are trying to keep up.

DemiRonin Manic centers around Lyle, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, a teenager with a furious and uncontrollable rage. At the beginning of the film Lyle gets sent to an psychological institute for bashing a boy's head in with a bat when the boy made fun of his father. Now confined against his will Lyle must learn to control his rage with a looney bin of kids whom he thinks are below him. Don Cheadle plays the in house psychologist who struggles daily to keep his kids from tearing at not only each other the but even the facility. This film has some amazing performances by all the entire cast, they are as realistic as they are powerful. From the white guy who pretends he's black and such a thug, to the sexually abused and the suicidal. All the youngin here provide true and deep portrayals of their scarred characters. I would like to note that Don Cheadle does a really good job in conveying a person who not only wants to help these kids but who's armor is not thick enough to have some deep scars of his own from their interactions. However the film is just terribly directed (non acting wise). The shooting method which seems to resemble really poor standard DV with amateurish framing and panning doesn't meld with his editing style. There are sections of the film where it lingers on basketball scenes or scenes of mayhem but the cinematography is all close ups and zooms of artsy things like birds or eyeballs. This film had great potential, but a little bit more planning for pace and shot selection would have done miracles. Manic has both realistic elements and very artsy elements, and a strong choice in one direction would have made for a better and more cohesive film.

drDuya A film that not everybody knows which maybe is a good thing.I will be honest. I only wanted to watch this movie because it was Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt's first movie together prior to (500) Days of Summer. I expect Joseph's bright face smiling all through the film with no care in the world and Zooey's aura just lightening up the whole set with her beautiful blue-ish, green-ish, grey-ish eyes (frankly, despite practically worshiping her, I don't really know her eye color). My God was I wrong.This movie made me scared of Gordon-Levitt. Seeing him in (500) Days of Summer, I thought he was a crazy loony and like every other guy who has watched (500) Days of Summer, saw ourselves in him. But Lyle, the character he plays is not a pleasant one.I've only seen Zooey Deschanel's big movies like Elf, (500) Days of Summer, Yes Man etc. and only seen her characters in a more of a calm type of person. I never seen her in an intense emotion as I did in Manic. I felt sympathetic for her character. Also her appearance was real just as everyone else in the film. I think they didn't have a make department for the film and I think it was intentional.As for Don Cheadle, he is Don Cheadle, what more can I add? The plot is a roller coaster ride of emotions, most of them practically being negative. Its a psycho thriller that will have you shaking with rage.Overall, the movie is real. The camera is in weird angles and made me a little dizzy but that's just the effect. Everyone looked greasy but that's what the intention was. The theme is great, good to anybody especially any young adult who is facing issues in life. The ending has an important symbolism that will have the viewer sorting out his/her life.

michiganfan19 a great movie,its to bad don cheadle didn't get an award for this movie. His acting was very believable, his best role by far. the actors were all really great at there roles, there were all extremely believable characters.the movie itself was completely unpredictable,you really cant tell whats going to happen next.the plot for the movie was good,i have never seen a movie with teenagers in a mental ward before.the only thing that was not great but descent was the dialogue from the characters,the was only descent dialogue.but that wasn't a problem the rest of the movie makes up for that.in my mind this movie is the best movie that is under the radar for most people.