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01/19/07
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Cocaine Cowboys (2006)
69
%
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Reviews Counted:49
Fresh:34
Rotten:15
Average Rating:6.4/10
Consensus: As frenetic, thrilling, and lacking in subtletly as its drug of focus...and just as likely to prompt some hard questions after it's gone.
Theatrical Release:Oct 27, 2006 Limited
Synopsis: The cocaine trade of the 70s and 80s had an indelible impact on contemporary Miami. Smugglers and distributors forever changed a once sleepy retirement community into one of the world's most... [More]
Director: Billy Corben
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Reviews for Cocaine Cowboys
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11/11/06
This documentary on Miami's lethal '80s cocaine scene is cut fast.
11/10/06
What was needed was the Frontline approach; what is provided, sadly, is Brian de Palma Lite.
10/26/06
It’s the sort of glamour-meets-violence drugs-crime story on which lads’ mags thrive: unqualified, over-reverent and hysterical.
11/22/07
It's watchable, but like gorging on every rotten issue of the old Confidential magazine.
11/10/06
Grisly crime scene snaps accompany the story, which makes Miami Vice look like a tea party and Florida like hell on earth.
11/23/07
One worrisome aspect here is the absence of any condemnation of self or substance on the part of the three principal participant-interviewees.
10/28/06
A hyperventilating account of the blood-drenched Miami drug culture in the 1970s and 80s.
10/30/06
Top CriticAfter beginning at a healthy clip, the film becomes mired in endless remembrances of debaucheries past and Miami's descent into lawlessness.
11/09/06
While the filmmakers clearly got a contact high from hearing all these war stories, most civilians will find a little of this goes a long way.
11/02/06
Top CriticParts of Cocaine Cowboys manage the impossible -- making cocaine boring. But the film doesn't shy away from presenting horrific images: We see blood-streaked walls, bullet-perforated bodies and Katie Couric's haircut circa 1981.
10/27/06
Top CriticClick to read the article
11/18/06
Aiming for encyclopedic coverage of the drug epidemic and its effect on the city, Corben packs much too much into one movie.
11/03/06
The only thing more boring than listening to someone on drugs may be listening to someone brag about how many drugs he used to sell.
10/31/06
Top CriticThe Jan Hammer music on the soundtrack works overtime to assure us that Cocaine Cowboys is the real, nastier version of Miami Vice
12/01/06
Top CriticWith a nearly two-hour running time that includes its share of blowhards, repetition, and cheesy attempts to heighten drama, Cocaine Cowboys brings to mind an unfortunate comparison: Miami Vice. The movie.
03/06/08
An exhaustive, exciting and ultimately exhausting history.
10/25/06
Top CriticIt's a remarkable immersion in a world turned morally inside out.
11/03/06
Forget Scarface and Miami Vice. Cocaine Cowboys is the real deal -- a down-and-dirty look at the high living and illegal drugs that dominated south Florida in the 1980s.
11/10/06
Top CriticLatest News for Cocaine Cowboys
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