Main Players: Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Zoe Caldwell, Max von Sydow
General Gist: The journey of a nine year old boy dealing with the loss of his father who died in the World Trade Center on September 11th.
Tiff's Take:
You never know what to expect going to a movie dealing with September 11th. It seems like it is still fresh enough that only a few mainstream movies have touched on this subject. I imagine it will be different 10, 20, 30 years from now. But for now I still get goosebumps whenever I see anything about it.
However, this movie wasn't so much about September 11th as it was about the effects it had on a boy who loses his father because of it. I was thinking this would be a movie that lead up to that day therefore expecting a really sad ending. It didn't though. It really started out with that day and followed this boy's journey of dealing with the loss of his father. The father was played by Tom Hanks and the boy was played by Thomas Horn. Tom Hanks did great but it was really all about Thomas Horn's roll. He did a fantastic job of being this quirky (on the verge of disorder) boy who thinks he will lose the memory of his father if he doesn't keep around pieces of him. He finds a key his father kept and goes on a mission to see what it opens. All the while his mom, played by Sandra Bullock, is trying to make sense of it all too.
I've had a little bit of a hard time deciding whether I really liked the movie or not. It was a little slow but it was interesting and well acted. Although it didn't leave much of a lasting impression. For me, that's a big indicator to how well I like something. So take that how you will.
You never know what to expect going to a movie dealing with September 11th. It seems like it is still fresh enough that only a few mainstream movies have touched on this subject. I imagine it will be different 10, 20, 30 years from now. But for now I still get goosebumps whenever I see anything about it.
However, this movie wasn't so much about September 11th as it was about the effects it had on a boy who loses his father because of it. I was thinking this would be a movie that lead up to that day therefore expecting a really sad ending. It didn't though. It really started out with that day and followed this boy's journey of dealing with the loss of his father. The father was played by Tom Hanks and the boy was played by Thomas Horn. Tom Hanks did great but it was really all about Thomas Horn's roll. He did a fantastic job of being this quirky (on the verge of disorder) boy who thinks he will lose the memory of his father if he doesn't keep around pieces of him. He finds a key his father kept and goes on a mission to see what it opens. All the while his mom, played by Sandra Bullock, is trying to make sense of it all too.
I've had a little bit of a hard time deciding whether I really liked the movie or not. It was a little slow but it was interesting and well acted. Although it didn't leave much of a lasting impression. For me, that's a big indicator to how well I like something. So take that how you will.
Deb's Take:
This movie was definitely not what I was expecting. The advertising made me think I was going to watch a movie about Sept 11, and about one man's journey through that time. As Tiff mentioned, it's really about the reaction of a boy who loses his father Sept 11 and all the struggles and the journey he takes to find some sort of peace and understanding. They sort of played up that Tom Hanks was in the movie, but Thomas Horn was the real star and in the forefront most of the film.
I did have a difficult time getting into the movie. The story line and relationships seemed sort of disjointed for at least the first half of the movie. I felt like I was in an "artsy" film and a lot of the meaning was going over my head or something. I was finding it hard to believe this boy could travel around New York City all day with no adult supervision and that everyone was taking it in stride. Luckily, the ending cleared it all up for me. Thomas Horn really did an amazing job, and I always like Sandra Bullock..(she is a favorite of mine!!). The movie did bring Sept 11 back in a different light, yet as always, made me very sad for the families so closely effected by the terror.
I enjoyed the movie and the message it sent. A good sort of touching movie. My 14 year old didn't think it was all that great, I think mostly because it was just slower paced. Worth an afternoon viewing or week night date.
Preview:
Stay tuned for our first give-away of 2012, and the upcoming movie for the week..."One for the Money"
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