1st watched 7/5/2003 - 7 out of 10(Dir-Andrew Davis): Well-played out strange story about a boy who gets hit on the head with a pair of `stolen' tennis shoes and is sent to a juvenile camp where their primary purpose is to dig holes for the Warden(played by Sigourney Weaver) who is looking for lost treasure that she thinks is intended for her family. The boy who got hit in the head with the flying footwear is one part of a family who feels that they have been under a curse because of something that an ancester forgot to do for a fortune teller. Yes, if you think this is confusing I have just begun. What makes this movie work is the uniqueness of each character and the way they are explored. The author of the original book also wrote this screenplay and it shows because he has packed a lot into this 2 hours(showing his pride for his original work) and not intending for it's message to get lost. The message, I will leave for others to determine by watching the movie. All-in-all this was a delightful departure for the Walt Disney company despite the fact that we do get the feel-good ending expected from them. It seems that the screenwriter & director were given a lot of freedom to explore all the characters the way a novel normally would, which makes for a very unique film-going experience. Although I haven't told you much about the movie, I hope I've enticed you to try this one out. The wonderful storytelling and the excellent cast makes it very worthwhile.
