Jersey Boys - A Sentimental Peek Into the Past

♫You're just too good to be true. 

Can't take my eyes off of you. 

You'd be like heaven to touch.

I wanna hold you so much.

At long last love has arrived.

And I thank God I'm alive.

You're just too good to be true. 

Can't take my eyes off of you.

Pardon the way that I stare. 

There's nothing else to compare. 

The sight of you leaves me weak. 

There are no words left to speak. 

But if you feel like I feel. 

Please let me know that it's real.

You're just too good to be true. 

Can't take my eyes off of you.♫

.
I  was coming into my teenage years in the 1970's listening to AM radio. Besides the usual Middle of the Road (MOR) musical fare, was the doo-wop pop-rock sound of the Four Seasons.  The last time I saw Frankie Valli was in '78 when he did the theme song for the Broadway to film adaptation of the musical, "Grease."  In “Jersey Boys,” Clint Eastwood ("Play Misty for Me," "Gran Torino") in his 36th offering as a director brings back musical memories of a nostalgic time of an idealized era that is long gone. In “Jersey Boys,” we glimpse into the beginnings, the fame, and the troubles that made up the lives of the four musicians who formed “The Four Seasons.”  Eastwood was adamant in having relative unknown actors fill the main roles.  From the Broadway Musical John Lloyd Young stars as the iconic Frankie Valli, voice and all.  Vincent Piazza ("Boardwalk Empire," "Stephanie Daley"), stars as Tommy DeVito, the founder of the band “The Four Lovers,” which would evolve into “The Four Seasons.”  Michael Lomenda portrays bass vocalist and bass player Nick Massi. Erich Bergen (“How Sweet It Is”) plays the singer, keyboardist, and songwriter Bob Gaudio.  Christopher Walken rounds out the main cast members as caporegime, Angelo "Gyp" DeCarlo of the New York Genovese familia.  “Jersey Boys” has an R rating for the strong language and runs 2 hours and 14 minutes.

Many will show up to see “Jersey Boys” to reminisce to the pop-rock vocals of Frankie Valli and relive the music of their youth.  However, be forewarned, although the music is an integral to the narrative, however, the film and the Broadway Musical it’s based on focus primarily on the characters and their arc.  Throughout the film, we catch the songs as the band is practicing, or recording them and sometimes performing them, but not really the whole song.  In these cases the music is incidental to the narrative and isn’t the driving force behind the story.

Filmed in a palette that reminds one of a black and white photographed tinted to produce a colorized version, giving the film an old timey nostalgic feel.  We can thank Director of Photography Tom Stern ("Trouble with the Curve,", "The Hunger Games," "Hereafter") for these nostalgic visuals.  Understanding that “Jersey Boys” is an adaptation of a theater based musical, one can understand the liberties that the filmmakers have taken in allowing the characters to break the fourth wall and communicate their thoughts directly with the audience.  Unlike musicals of the past, such as “My Fair Lady,”  “Hair,” “The Sound of Music,” “The Music Man,” “West Side Story,” “The King And I,” or “Fiddler on the Roof” to name a few, the performers don’t just launch into a song.  The music is presented in a more natural way.  

John Lloyd Young (Valli), Michael Lomenda (Massi), Erich Bergen (Gaudio) are veteran stage performers who have portrayed their respective parts in the musical version.  John Lloyd Young won a Tony for his rendition of the Italian song legend.  As a newcomer to the film industry, he does a great job of going from a 16 year-old part time barber’s apprentice to a 70 something former legend.  Lomenda played in in the Toronto and touring productions of Jersey Boys as the bands bass player.  Bergan was in the first touring version and spent some time in Vegas reprising the role of the keyboardist and hit songwriter.  Each all sing their parts in the film as they did on stage.  Selecting stage actors from those who are familiar with the characters, the story, and the music is the only logical choice that director Eastwood could make.  Young’s vocals in hitting Valli’s falsetto sets the spine tingling as he launches into “Can't Take My Eyes Off You” and the goose bumps go into overdrive as the full orchestra enters and blows the chorus out of the theater.  

Musically the film is filled with Four Season classics like “Sherry,” “Rag Doll,” “Who Loves You,” “December 1963 (Oh, What A Night),” and “My Eyes Adored You.”  We get to hear at one point or other “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man.” and “Workin' My Way Back to You.”  We also hear other lesser-known hits of the group, such as “My Mother's Eyes” “Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'bout Me),” “Bye Bye Baby (Baby Goodbye),” “Dawn (Go Away),” and the Four Season’s cover of Maurice Williams “Stay.”  I bet you thought Jackson Brown was the only version out there.  We see and hear the Angels (played by Kim Gatewood, Jackie Seiden, and Kyli Rae) “My Boyfriend's Back” and we hear the Royal Teens’ (Gaudio’s former band) “Short Shorts” as Gaudio’s introduction to the film.  The sound that Gaudio and producer Bob Crewe constructed with Valli’s voice is the catchy sound that appeals to the East Coast working stiffs that continued to flourish during the First Wave of the British music invasion and the rise of the California sound of the same era.  But, once again, keep in mind, the music is not the story.

When a storyteller wants to tell a story full of compelling talented characters, landmark events, and the rise and fall of a dream, all one needs to do is tell a story about a band.  Every band has a history, and the interactions of the members are always more complex than one would like it.  “Jersey Boys” tells a “Reader’s Digest” version of the rise and fall of Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio.  Like book adaptations, playwrights Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice give us a winner’s version of the Valli, DeVito relationship.  The characterization of Gyp DeCarlo is that of the benevolent uncle to Valli and DeVito whereas in real life he was a vicious loan shark and murderer.  The film depicts the bands beginnings along with a simplified lineup offered for our viewing pleasure, otherwise one would need programs to keep track of all the band member changes.  


What we see is a mostly coherent timeline from the group’s delinquent beginning to the point where members of the core band part ways.  The bands relationship with producer Bob Crewe, played deliciously by Mike Doyle (“Green Lantern”) is shifted to start later than it did.  Also as writer and producer, Crewe shares songwriting credit with Gaudio for many of the bands biggest hits.  Nick Massi, the bassist and vocal arranger actually left the band in 1965 rather than later as depicted in the film. The film recounts Valli’s troubled marriage to Mary Mandel (Renée Marino), which lasted 13 years and produced two children.  The film doesn’t mention his two sons from his third wife or his adopted daughter Celia.  The film does go into some detail of the of his daughter Francine’s tragic death of a drug overdose which provides for a more thoughtful change in tone.  The film does show how a young Joe Pesci introduces the band to Bob Gaudio as their newest member.  Yes, that Joe Pesci.

One may wonder if this film is doing justice to the legacy of the Four Seasons, or if this film falls short.  Featuring full sets of the band doing their music isn't the goal that director Eastwood, executive producers Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio seemed to be attempting.  Based on the book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice who also scripted the film, along with the music of Crewe and Gaudio, Eastwood seems to stay faithful to the spirit of the stage version allowing each of the Four Seasons to tell their version of the story.  While focusing on some events while glossing over others does give the audience a few confusing moments. Overall, Eastwood brings a sometimes schmaltzy, sometimes cheesy, but ultimately entertaining version of a story that allows the sounds of the 1960s and the legacy of the Four Seasons to transcend into the 21st century.

Movie Data

Genre: Biography, Drama, Musical

Year:  2014

Staring: John Lloyd Young, Vincent Piazza, Erich Bergen, Michael Lomenda, Christopher Walken

Director: Clint Eastwood

Producer(s): Tim Headington, Graham King, Robert Loren

Writer: Marshall Brickman, Rick Elice

Rating: R

Running Time: 134 minutes

Release Date:  6/20/2014

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Captain Phillips: Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi In A Pirate's Tale

"No problems, Irish.  Everything will be all okay."

The choice to go with an unknown group of Somali actors was not only the right choice, but also the best decision.  Although Tom Hanks ("Philadelphia," "Forrest Gump") is excellent as Richard Phillips, captain of the he Maersk Alabama, a commercial shipping vessel, but it is the actor Barkhad Abdi as the Somali pirate Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse who brings this story to life.  He is called Muse, pronounced Musi, and he is of unknown age.  Both of these actors are excellent in the portrayal of two men from different cultures trying to survive in today's rapidly changing world.  "Captain Phillips" is a two hour and fourteen minute intricate and mesmerizing thrill ride into the minds of third world pirates.

There is no need to have the tag line cry out that this film is "based on true events."  This is a story that played out on the national news in April of 2009.  Although, there are probably some aspects of the story which may not have happened exactly as depicted, or were changed to make the story more entertaining, we must remember that director Paul Greengrass ("The Bourne Supremacy", "The Bourne Ultimatum," "The Green Zone"), and the actors Tom Hanks, and Barkhad Abdi, can only give us a small glimpse into the terror of the three days that Captain Richard Phillips was held as a hostage starting on April 8, 2009.  The screenplay is based on the book by Richard Phillips titled "A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea."  Screenwriter Billy Ray ("The Hunger Games", "Flightplan"), adapts Richard's book for the big screen with all the fact and fiction that make seeing these types of films worthwhile.

In 2009, the United States’ great economic recession had just reached its lowest point that March.  In 2009 Richard Phillips was 53 years-old, a husband to his wife, Andrea, father of two children, Mariah and Daniel, and was a graduate of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.  Phillips is assigned to captain the American registered MV Maersk Alabama and is responsible for the lives of 20 men.  While checking his email, Richard Phillips double checks his assignment to the Alabama, he checks that he has his passport, and he packs a picture of his family.  On the way to the airport, he discusses his fears for his family in a world that is changing way too quickly.  He worries that his son needs to finds a direction in life, that if he doesn't do well in school, that he will miss job opportunities.  While in Somalia, Muse (Barkhad Abdi) awakes to the local warlord driving into his village, causing fear as he rallies the fishermen to get off their asses and go seize some ships and do some legit pirating.  The kicker here is that this is not a Disney film that these pirates are real and people will die.

“It is only business. Nobody will get hurt”

The contrast that director Greengrass sets down immediately is that while Phillips has a job, and looks forward for his children's future, Muse and his village just want to survive the day.  What we see, is that the villagers must find a way to pay for the privilege to go pirating.  One of the many items offered up is Khat, a plant that is ancient and indigenous to the area.  The plant tends to act as a stimulant, causes a sense of euphoria and a loss of appetite.  Early on, we see that Muse has a rival in his village who is in charge of one of the two skiffs that hunt the waters for ships to loot.  Within the first 40 minutes of the film, we see that life in Somali is a dog-eat-dog world and only the desperate and ruthless survive.  Muse picks three of his fellow villagers to go in his skiff, Bilal (Barkhad Abdirahman), the young Elmi (Mahat M. Ali), and the angry and reckless Najee (Faysal Ahmed).  All four of these actors give excellent performances that seem to stem from a sense of brutal anger. 

Immediately upon boarding the Maersk Alabama in a port in Oman, Phillips takes note of security issues and has the first officer Shane Murphy (Michael Chernus), order the crew to fix them.  There are only 20 men crewing the 17000 + ton, football-field sized, cargo ship.  The film portrays Phillips as a firm but understanding leader as he drills the boat in security measures on apparently its first day at sea.  Timing of events in films has a tendency to either compress or stretch at the whim of the screenwriter.  The actual details in the film may also be small figments of the screenwriter's imagination; however, it seems that the big details are there. 

"We have come too far to turn back now."

From the moment the four men stepped onto the bridge, the level of tension that director Paul Greengrass has been building up slowly, now suddenly goes into overdrive.  The twenty minutes that the pirates are on the cargo ship only serve as a foreshadowing of the intensity that is to come later.  Phillips is kept as a hostage when the pirates escape in the small lifeboat, Greengrass ups the ante by focusing on the eyes of the characters.  By doing this, we see and feel the emotions that rage in these actors.  We can see Phillips thinking, planning, plotting, and we can see his fear.  In Abdi, we see through his eyes a sense of hope within hopelessness.  We see a young man trying to find a way for him and his men to escape their fates.  We see in Najee (Faysal Ahmed) a sense of madness, impatience, frustration, and hate.  Elmi (Mahat M. Ali), the youngest, and wounded during the Alabama's takeover, gives the impression of not only fear, and confusion.  Bilal (Barkhad Abdirahman) is the quietest of the four.

What stood out for me was the intensity given off by both Hanks and Abdi.  The interaction between the two is solid and real.  I have heard interviews with the actual Richard Phillips and Hanks seems to have nailed his New England accent.  The film has many subtitles as the four pirates speak in Somali for our benefit, while the Phillips character is clueless to what they are saying.  For me, the subtitles kept a sense of movie realism that we as the audience are used to, and find annoying without.  In typical Greengrass style, he films the story in a semi-documentary style with camera movement lending to the realism of the scene. 

Barry Akroyd's cinematography is appropriate for this type of semi-documentary film.  Subtle movements, to define the style, yet nothing so vomit inducing.  Christopher Rouses editing paces the film perfectly, keeping us edging closer to the edge of our seats at each turn of events.  Moreover, Henry Jack Mans score is precise, stirs the suspense, and subliminally creates the sense of impending dread.  Paul Green grass pulls of a major coup in "Captain Phillips."  His masterminding and the direction he leads the crew and cast is dynamic, interesting, and almost perfect.  He brings out the emotional tiredness, the frustration and every now and then allows us to see a glimpse of hope.

"I know how to handle Americans."

Although the incidents leading to the end of the standoff are well known, Green grass brings the characters and story to life in an interesting and entertaining ways.  "Captain Phillips" is wonderful for what it is, an entertain movie, done well, and gives the audience a sense of national pride.  However, like Ben Affleck's "Argo," many will decry the film for its inaccuracies in characterization, changes in details and the rest of the realities that rear their ugly heads as thy do with all films adapted from novel.  But that doesn't matter, "Captain Phillips" is a must to go see.

Related

Captain Phillips ~ They Are Not Here To Fish!
Captain Phillips ~ Pirates Take Phillips Hostage

Captain Philips ~ Posters | Phillips At Gunpoint - Pirates Board the Maersk Alabama

Captain Phillips - First Promotional Trailer

Movie Data

Genre: Action, Biography, Drama, Thriller 

Year:  2013

Staring: Tom Hanks, Catherine Keener, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman

Director: Paul Greengrass

Producer(s): Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Scott Rudin

Writer: Billy Ray, Richard Phillips, Stephan Tatty

Rating: PG-13

Running Time: 134 minutes

Release Date: 10/11/2013

All images are courtesy of Sony/Columbia pictures

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Captain Phillips ~ They Are Not Here To Fish!

A new trailer for Sony/Columbia picture's "Captain Phillips," starring Tom Hanks due out in October.

In the trailer below, Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) calls for help when he spots raft approaching fast towards his ship the Maersk Alabama and he his told that they are just there to fish.  Phillips reply is "They are not here to fish!"

Here is Columbia Pictures official synopsis:

"Captain Phillips is director Paul Greengrass’s multi-layered examination of the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates.  It is—through Greengrass’s distinctive lens—simultaneously a pulse-pounding thriller and a complex portrait of the myriad effects of globalization.  The film focuses on the relationship between the Alabama’s commanding officer, Captain Richard Phillips (two time Academy Award® winner Tom Hanks), and his Somali counterpart, Muse (Barkhad Abdi).  Set on an incontrovertible collision course off the coast of Somalia, both men will find themselves paying the human toll for economic forces outside of their control.  The film is directed by Academy Award nominee Paul Greengrass, from a screenplay by Billy Ray and based upon the book, A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea, by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty.  The film is produced by Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, and Michael De Luca. "

The movie opens theaters October 11th, 2013

Related

Captain Phillips ~ Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi In A Pirate's Tale
Captain Phillips ~ Pirates Take Phillips Hostage
Captain Philips ~ Posters | Phillips At Gunpoint - Pirates Board the Maersk Alabama
Captain Phillips - First Promotional Trailer

Movie Data

Genre: Action, Biography, Drama, Thriller 

Year:  2013

Staring: Tom Hanks, Catherine Keener, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman

Director: Paul Greengrass

Producer(s): Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Scott Rudin

Writer: Billy Ray, Richard Phillips, Stephan Tatty

Rating: PG-13

Running Time: 134 minutes

Release Date: 10/11/2013

All images except for the book cover are courtesy of Sony/Columbia pictures

Read More

Captain Phillips ~ Pirates Take Phillips Hostage

Sony/Columbia pictures have released the second trailer for "Captain Phillips," starring Tom Hanks due out in October.

Here is Columbia Pictures official synopsis:

"Captain Phillips is director Paul Greengrass’s multi-layered examination of the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates.  It is—through Greengrass’s distinctive lens—simultaneously a pulse-pounding thriller and a complex portrait of the myriad effects of globalization.  The film focuses on the relationship between the Alabama’s commanding officer, Captain Richard Phillips (two time Academy Award® winner Tom Hanks), and his Somali counterpart, Muse (Barkhad Abdi).  Set on an incontrovertible collision course off the coast of Somalia, both men will find themselves paying the human toll for economic forces outside of their control.  The film is directed by Academy Award nominee Paul Greengrass, from a screenplay by Billy Ray and based upon the book, A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea, by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty.  The film is produced by Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, and Michael De Luca. "

In the second official trailer, we find the dramatic take over by Somali pirates and get a bit of insight of the kind of people they have become. In the trailer, it seems that the film is showing a human side to the the Somali people who out of desperation have turned to piracy.

The movie opens theaters October 11th, 2013

Related

Captain Phillips ~ Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi In A Pirate's Tale
Captain Phillips ~ They Are Not Here To Fish!
Captain Philips ~ Posters | Phillips At Gunpoint - Pirates Board the Maersk Alabama
Captain Phillips - First Promotional Trailer

Movie Data

Genre: Action, Biography, Drama, Thriller 

Year:  2013

Staring: TTom Hanks, Catherine Keener, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman

Director: Paul Greengrass

Producer(s): Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Scott Rudin

Writer: Billy Ray, Richard Phillips, Stephan Tatty

Rating: PG-13

Running Time: 134 minutes

Release Date: 10/11/2013

All images are courtesy of Sony/Columbia pictures

Read More

Captain Philips ~ Posters | Phillips At Gunpoint - Pirates Board the Maersk Alabama

Paul Greengrass of the Jason Bourne franchise directs this adaptation of Richard Phillips and Steven Tatty's book, "A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea."  The film is called "Captain Phillips," and it stars the most trusted man in the world, Tom Hanks.

Here is Columbia Pictures official synopsis:

"Captain Phillips is director Paul Greengrass’s multi-layered examination of the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates.  It is—through Greengrass’s distinctive lens—simultaneously a pulse-pounding thriller and a complex portrait of the myriad effects of globalization.  The film focuses on the relationship between the Alabama’s commanding officer, Captain Richard Phillips (two time Academy Award® winner Tom Hanks), and his Somali counterpart, Muse (Barkhad Abdi).  Set on an incontrovertible collision course off the coast of Somalia, both men will find themselves paying the human toll for economic forces outside of their control.  The film is directed by Academy Award nominee Paul Greengrass, from a screenplay by Billy Ray and based upon the book, A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea, by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty.  The film is produced by Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, and Michael De Luca. "

The movie opens theaters October 11th, 2013

Related

Captain Phillips ~ Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi In A Pirate's Tale
Captain Phillips ~ Pirates Take Phillips Hostage
Captain Phillips ~ They Are Not Here To Fish!
Captain Phillips - First Promotional Trailer

Movie Data

Genre: Action, Biography, Drama, Thriller 

Year:  2013

Staring: Tom Hanks, Catherine Keener, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman

Director: Paul Greengrass

Producer(s): Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Scott Rudin

Writer: Billy Ray, Richard Phillips, Stephan Tatty

Rating: Not Rated Yet
Running Time: N/A
Release Date: 10/11/2013

All images except for the book cover are courtesy of Sony/Columbia pictures

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The Blind Side

Hope for courage, but try for honor.

Watching the "true" story of Michael Oher, you get the feeling that the filmmakers are setting you up for a tearjerker, wanting to play with your emotions, and they do. 

"The Blind Side" is a story of a young African-American man growing up in Memphis Tennessee, amongst the drugs, the violence, and the poverty of the street. Taking in a large, introverted, but kind hearted Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), is Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) and her very Right-Winged Republican family. They help this young man get on his feet academically and help him build his potential as a football defensive tackle. Although many may classify this film as a "sports" picture, this movie is pure drama. Takings its time building character, emotion, sympathy for Michael. The director John Lee Hancock ("The Alamo," "The Rookie") can afford to do so in a biography.

The filmmakers have changed the names to protect the guilty. Michael (Big Mike) Oher is allowed in to the WASP Christian School, Wingate, (really the Bainbridge Christian School) in Memphis Tennessee, with the help of Coach Burt Cotton (Ray McKinnon), stating that letting the boy in would be; "The Christian thing to do." Despite the teachers fear that they were setting the boy up for failure, we learn that Michael's childhood environment has him entering Wingate with a less than average start. Several teachers make an effort to help catch up and work with him academically; it isn't until the rich Tuohy family step in one rainy night to help the boy. Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne plays the tough, yet compassionate football mom to a teen aged daughter, Collins, played by the rock group "Genesis's" lead singer Phil Collins's daughter -- Lily Collins (confusing, huh?). Leigh Anne is also mom to 10-year-old son, "S.J." Country singer Tim McGraw plays the marshmallow husband Sean, owner of 81 “Yum! Brands” (Pepsi owned fast-food restaurants -- Taco Bell, KFC, and, Long John Silver's) franchises, and he pretty much lets his wife have her way with everything. 

Flashbacks alluding to traumatic images from Michael's childhood provide us insight to his introverted nature. Through most of the first half of the film, Michael has remarkably little dialog and most of the emotion that Quinton gives his character is through facial expressions, creating an atmosphere of sadness. On the bright side, S.J. (Jae Head) the son, plays his role like a young kid getting a hefty older brother as a toy for Christmas. The real bonds in this film are with Michael and S.J. as he does in fact introduces Mike as his big brother, coaches him on the football plays, acts as his athletic trainer, and also as his negotiator. In return Michael acts as his protector, when in a car accident, Michael, blocks the airbag from crushing S.J. The family also has to deal with the controversy of accepting a African-American person into their family. Leigh Anne (Bullock), deals with integration with her family when she includes Michael on the family Christmas card, and with her society friends whom she lunches with. I do want to mention the character of Miss Sue played by Kathy Bates. In Miss Sue, a Democrat and Michael's hired tutor, we see a woman who plays her part altruistically. Yet we see glimpses of the good-old,-evil Kathy from "Misery" emerge when she tells Michael about the dead bodies "under" the University of Tennessee stadium, in an attempt to prejudice Michael's decision towards going to school at the University of Mississippi. This action will come back to haunt the story later. Racial controversy is also displayed and is in a powerful scene with the NCAA investigator that brings about the family's motivation for helping Michael. This scene leads us, the viewer, to examine it as well. Michael also must deal with his being a stranger in a strange land as well. In going back to his hood, he encounters the gang and their willingness to drag him back down into their world.

The story that the filmmakers are telling in, “The Blind Side,” works well for me. I liked Quinton Aaron's acting, his facial expressions, his looks of longing, and his looks of hope. Looking lost and alone in films nowadays seems to be a trend ("Gran Torino," "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant"). I am not a big Sandra Bullock fan, however, I thought she did an exceptional performance relating to Quinton's Michael. I also enjoyed Jae Head's performance as S.J., however, I think; he will be easily typecast into Macaulay Culkin type roles. Tim McGraw and Lily Collins did an average performance playing non-central family members. I did like Adriane Lenox's performance as Michael's crack addicted mother and a shout out for Omar J. Dorsey as the Hurt Village "gangsta," "Big Tony.” There are no special effects worth mentioning in this film but plenty of action when you get to the football scenes, and lots of heavy emotion throughout the film.

Overall, I thought this is a wonderful film for the family and family values. This film is about honor and courage, as made clear when Sean Tuohy explains to Michael the meaning of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem, "The Charge of the Light Brigade," in terms of playing football. Michael, while writing his paper on the poem, reviews his life, and the positive changes and the struggles he has made, sums it up for us. You need to, "Hope for courage, but try for honor."

Genre:  Biography, Drama, Sport

Year:   2009

Staring:  Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron, Jae Head, Lily Collins, Ray McKinnon

Director: John Lee Hancock

Producer(s) Yolanda T. Cochran, Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove, Gil Netter

Written by:  John Lee Hancock

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