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kidchaos1969
Reviews
Good Old Boy: A Delta Boyhood (1988)
Terrible movie
After reading the shining reviews for this I picked it up for my nephew on VHS. I'm not sure what the other reviewers are talking about. I mean yes the film is set in a small town in the south, and yes that is a lovely setting to have a film about boys growing up. But that doesn't mean that this film is good. The acting from the kids is horrible, the adults are OK. Anne Ramsey seems like she is not altogether there, often just dawdling in the background. I expect this behavior was due to a lack of direction. Even great actors can falter if there isn't any real direction for them. The pacing was slow and silly. The main plot comes and goes and then when you think the film is finally (thankfully) coming to a close, it goes on for another painful twenty minutes. In those last painful minutes the film tries to deal with death, love, growing up, and disillusionment. What a mess! Maybe back in 1988 some 8 year old thought this was a good movie (by the way, just for the record "The Goonies" isn't a masterpiece either), but this movie would bore almost any kid or adult to tears. Normally I have to really fight to get my nephew to go to bed. But he was glad to turn this movie off before it was finished and hope for better stories in his dreams.
Shout (1991)
An interesting exercise in futility
This is not an awful film but it is really really bad on many levels. It is supposed to be a period piece and yet cares nothing at all about the period or authenticity. An odd mix of Footloose and Dead Poet's Society without any of the pathos that either of those films offer. It is hard to believe that Hollywood made this as a major motion picture. Any producer who was near this should be ashamed for life. This is not an unappreciated gem this is a pile of excrement. IF you want to see a film of no substance with John Travolta and some cute boys and cute girls being silly, go for it. If you are looking for a cute 80's style movie with great music this is not it. There is a reason this film was a flop when it debuted. I cannot stress enough how bad this film is. It is an insult to the era, and to the audience.
The Son of No One (2011)
Incredibly stupid film
I gave this movie two stars because it is well acted and well directed, but the script is really awful.
The movie pretends to be a thriller and yet there are no surprises at all. We know everything from the beginning. There is no new information that would cause the characters to act as they do. There is no reason why the characters find the events so horrible as to act the way they do. There are simple reasons that things could have been different.
Even if we accept the things as they happen there is really no big conspiracy. There is nothing here to hang a thriller on. This is a really well acted movie that is pointless. I have a hard time understanding why this movie ever got a budget or these actors. I'm truly amazed that this group of actors would waste their time on this film.
Maybe I'm jaded and I should care more about a couple of murders of people who are horrible and are killed in basic self defense by a helpless abandoned child. Come on, seriously what is this movie about? Don't waste your time. IF you watch this movie and hope it will leave you with any kind of pathos you will be sadly disappointed. This movie is horrible.
I'm sorry not to offer more analysis about why this film is bad. It really isn't worth the effort.