cinemaniac2002 I have been following the Jodi Arias murder trial, mostly out of fascination. Sociopathy has become more intriguing to me over the years - realizing that so many sociopaths walk among us and we are completely unawares. Much of what I have learned is from a book called "The Sociopath Next Door" by Martha Stout. The book is so good that it should be required reading in social studies. It could help a lot of people avoid tragedies like these.I thought that Tania Raymonde did a great job of emulating Jodi and what many have come to believe her motives were. While what Jodi did was heinous beyond belief - the target of her affections which crossed into butchery was not entirely a saint. It was clear that Travis used Jodi for sex and then discarded her like yesterday's trash when he decided to pursue finding himself a suitable Mormon wife - but not entirely. He kept Jodi around like many men and women do to keep those booty calls handy.Many of the true details of their relationship that I believe were critical were completely left out. For instance, the coy way that Jodi was heard to act like a little girl in real life phone conversations with Travis. Also, the movie didn't cover any of the sordid sexual details that Travis himself admitted to on the phone. Tania seemed far more mature than Jodi has - and I didn't see any indication that she ever took on the role of a coy teenager.I also got the feeling that Tania Raymonde's portrayal was more sexually mature than Jodi. I could not imagine Jodi being that appealing. Also, from the trial accounts there was some big todo about whether they were having regular, traditional sex or not. It seemed that they did certain things more regularly in an effort to conform with the Mormon faith that he espoused and she joined. Either way, they broke the rules because they weren't supposed to be having sexual contact prior to marriage anyway. And there is no doubt in my mind that Travis never thought of Jodi as marriage material. She became the booty call that he hid from people -- so the title really works here -- because she really was his dirty little secret. Finally, the moments before Jodi murdered Travis indicated that she became especially peeved by a text message. The fact that she went to great lengths to dye her hair, get gas cans so she wouldn't have to stop for gas and turned her cell phone off -- all so she wouldn't be traced or recognized. It was always obvious to me that the murder was premeditated, making it ever more creepy and this was never even touched on in the film.Travis Alexander, despite targeting Jodi directly as a sociopath in text messages - continued to have sex with her anyway. While that is not a crime and he does not deserve to be murdered for it - this should serve as a cautionary tale for anyone, man or woman who becomes resided to the fact that a romantic interest, friend or even family member is a sociopath. When you are sure of this - you must never confront them. Keep it to yourself and get as far away as possible. Make excuses and play a game, but do not let them close to you anymore. You've been warned from the second you know they're a sociopath. It never ends well. In my own personal experience, once sociopaths know they've lost, they are like animals who are out for the kill and will not rest until they either have control of you or they have done whatever they can to destroy you. When Travis became aware of her evil, under no circumstances did he have any business letting her through his door ever again. As I said before -- yes, Jodi is a sociopath. She will do whatever it takes to get what she wants, lying all the way through. Any tears she sheds is because she got caught. I wasn't expecting the film to go thoroughly into her psyche -- but I would have liked it if there was more emphasis on a lesson to take stalking very seriously. When a woman is stalked - films generally push how dangerous that is, but I didn't see that here. Perhaps it is a double standard since Travis was a male. Keyword: was. Had he gotten totally away from Jodi, perhaps he'd still be alive. But you don't get away from a sociopath by letting them back in your home at 4 am and having sex with them all day long.

rmm0573 I've followed the trial. It's incredibly an interesting case. A young woman murdering her lover for one. Usually it's the other way around. The real prosecutor is brilliant and a real character. There is so much to work with. This movie barely skims the top. It has zero emotion and misses any chance of eliciting horror on the part of the viewer. This poor guy was butchered. The least they could have done is make the viewer feel sympathy for this guy. What he went through was scary and horrible. There is so much dysfunction and sex in their relationship and it's pretty much left out. Most of her stalking, driving across the desert to kill him, the effort she put into planning the murder, etc. was all left out. It's almost like they said "how can we take all this awesome material and make the worst movie ever?" BIG FAIL

woernerdavid I felt the made-for-TV movie about Jody Arias was actually very good and was a balanced presentation of a sensational story. Jody Arias is obviously unbalanced, paranoid, has super-low self-esteem, and many other psychological defects. But as the story is shown, it also balances this with Travis Alexander's duplicity. He wanted to maintain the appearance of being a good, pious Mormon but kept Jody Arias as his secret life and kept her out of the mainstream of his life. When he tried to break up several times, he always ended up back in bed with Jody. He certainly did not deserve the terrible thing that happened to him, but he contributed his share. I thought the film was balanced and worth watching.

sheepdater Everybody knows the Jodi Arias story, so the whole movie is pretty much an exercise in futility from the very start. This movie provides no insights, revelations or alternate theories. It's a 2 hour television movie that dramatizes a creepy girl stalking a guy who is "just not that into her" for all but the last 10 minutes. Who hasn't been involved, or at least know somebody who has been affected by, a significant other who just couldn't let go? The reason this story captured our attention as a nation was what happened the day Travis Alexander was killed and everything after. We are fascinated by the totally emotionless narcissistic liar that is Jodi Arias & her unstable behavior after the murder. This movie totally misses the mark by spending 99% of its time telling a boring story. A director that is responsible for a classic like Eight Men Out should have been able to provide a better perspective on a tragedy that captured the American imagination. It's not poorly acted, poorly directed, nor even really poorly written... it just totally missed the mark of what made this case stand out. They spent zero time establishing what caused Arias to become such a monster. She wasn't just a pretty normal girl who cracked one day. Jeffery Dahmer wasn't just a mixed up kid who got jealous one day & neither was Jodi Arias. This movie totally misses exploring anything that made this incident stand out. If you want to watch a movie about a creepy stalker, check out Marky Mark in the movie Fear & don't waste your time with this.