I know this kid (Webber) has had a hell of a life and his performances are definitely worth watching. This film has been horribly mislabeled and advertised so I am hoping it gets a fair shake on DVD just to showcase his performance.
First and foremost, I have customers asking about this because they want to see Paxton and/or Drea De Matteo films; they are front billed on this and Webber gets buried on second tier. To be clear - Paxton has 3 minutes and De Matteo has 2 minutes and 6 lines. Zooey has a supporting role but the writing makes it to where her role is (supposedly) important (with a twist in the end) but falls well short of meeting reality. The story of a young adult living a tough inner-city life making ends meet is covered adequately in the writing, and the lengths shown to facilitate his worthiness are noble, but in the end count on it becoming tedious.
I love the whole premise of a classic movie theater being run by the time challenged curator (played by Stanton) and the foreshadowing of the end of our story being played in the first scene - but once you see how this all plays together it leaves more questions than answers and believability goes right out the window. I know I get in trouble whenever I pan a ZD film, but this film cannot hold together above a 3 star reference - I would highly recommend it just to see Webber's thorough performance and Klein showing a much darker (and misplaced for the film) character.
Ignore the whole DVD cover (front and back - "He's finally had enough" - whatever; "Phenomenal" - not really) and rent this to watch some young performers fill some vacant roles. The Good Life
I grew up in Lincoln in a non-football family. While that doesn't sound like a big deal to rest of the nation, Nebraskans will understand that we might as well have been Satan worshipers as far as the Lincoln community is concerned. It's hard to explain to an outsider what kind of insanity is involved when it comes to college football and Nebraska in general but Lincoln more specifically. This movie comes the closest I have seen to capturing it. While many movies have set stage in Nebraska, this is the only movie I have seen that doesn't push the "hick" aspect too far. Whomever wrote this movie had to have lived in Nebraska at some point. You can't make this kind of thing up. I thought the movie was very well written and exceptionally well acted. But people who are not from Nebraska will see the film in an entirely different light than Nebraskans will. To non-Nebraskans, the movie might seem over the top in places and slow in others. But that's how life is there. I found the story to be interested and well thought out. I think that even if there hadn't been the emotional connection to the premise, the movie would have still held my interest.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I rented this, having never heard of it. But it was a chance I'm glad I took - the acting is extremely strong and it's directed with care. It's a slow film, with some interesting plot twists and a generally dark mood...which is fitting, given the storyline. It could have fallen in the trap of just being another "oh I hate my town and I'm bored" flick, but it emerges as much more than that. Highly recommended.
I never heard of this movie. I bought this based on the two best reviews here. I should have made my decision based on the other reviews, like Robin King's:
"If you[`re] looking for a good story, action or suspense skip this movie."
The best part of it was that it was only 89 minutes, but still it was a waste. It was time spent waiting for the story to unfold, to draw you in; but, it never happened! I'm glad also that I only spent a few bucks on it, including shipping.
As for the great actors/acting other reviewers mention, I cannot remember them. I guess they did not make a lasting impression on me, or they are not worth remembering.
I am only reviewing it so that others may not waste their time either.
If your looking for a good story, action or suspense skip this movie. But if you like to see quirky characters played by exellent actors well maybe. Everything about this movie was good,except the story. Being a fan of more suspense or action or even stronger characters I would watch something else. - Thriller - Drivel - Cats - Excrement'
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