Clockers

Novelist Richard Price and director Spike Lee teamed up for what should have been a great movie, but this urban murder mystery about peer pressure and drug dealing was riddled with more plot holes than bullet holes. Hard-boiled NYC detective Harvey Keitel investigates a bizarre murder in which the suspect who confessed doesn't fit the crime. The suspect's brother Strike (Mekhi Phifer), a young "clocker" (24-hour drug dealer), who has more stomach problems than a Wall Street broker, seems a more likely candidate and a serious game of cat-and-mouse between cop and kid ensues. Grittily filmed, but ultimately uneven. An optional purchase. (R. Pitman)