Summer of Sam (1999)

Set in a NYC  borough during the sizzling summer of '77, when the 'Son of Sam' serial murders were happening (in real life, too), Spike Lee's fictional drama focuses on how the murders affect a group of friends/associates on an intimate scale and how they affect a neighbourhood on a wider one.
John Leguizamo plays Vinny, married to Dionna (Mira Sorvino) but happy to put his cock in any female that looks his way; it's perhaps the best work I've ever seen by Leguizamo. Adrien Brody, on the other hand, as Ritchie, a fan of British punk music, isn't at his best. But the real star of the show is Spike – not his acting, that's for sure, but his ability to indulge his passions as a filmmaker without losing sight of the bigger picture. There's also some very memorable pairings of audio/music with the shockingly violent imagery.

3½ dog collars out of 5