Second Hand Lions
• TOP NOTCH (my top choices)
• HONORABLE MENTION (well worth watching)
• YOU MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER (I like them but you might not)
• CLASSICS (Great movies up through the 1960s - many don't have any rating)
SECONDHAND LIONS (2003) - PG - TOP NOTCH
Haley Joel Osment, Michael Caine, Robert Duvall
Summary - A coming-of-age story about a shy, young boy sent by his irresponsible mother to spend the summer with his wealthy, eccentric uncles in Texas.
Cautions - There is some violence (battle scenes and punching/hitting)
Commentary - This is a wonderful story with part classic coming of age and part fairy-tale (or is it?). I heartily agree with Kenneth Brown's comments about this film:
"...its sweet-natured sense of humor, strong veteran performances, period setting, and affectionate spirit help it stand apart from similar genre drivel. And even though it's a film that will resonate with some far more than others, particularly those raised by absentee parents or elderly relatives, it has broader appeal, tapping into filmfans' childhood memories of everything from pantomimed swashbuckling to the original Indiana Jones trilogy, from restless summers to Old Yeller. If it sounds like I'm mounting a defense of what many will consider to be a contrived, coming-of-age tearjerker, it's because I am. But sometimes I grow weary of my own cinematic cynicism. Sometimes it's refreshing to approach a film as I would have when I was fourteen. Sometimes it's nice to simply sit back, sink in, and enjoy a charming tale for what it is.
• HONORABLE MENTION (well worth watching)
• YOU MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER (I like them but you might not)
• CLASSICS (Great movies up through the 1960s - many don't have any rating)
SECONDHAND LIONS (2003) - PG - TOP NOTCH
Haley Joel Osment, Michael Caine, Robert Duvall
Summary - A coming-of-age story about a shy, young boy sent by his irresponsible mother to spend the summer with his wealthy, eccentric uncles in Texas.
Cautions - There is some violence (battle scenes and punching/hitting)
Commentary - This is a wonderful story with part classic coming of age and part fairy-tale (or is it?). I heartily agree with Kenneth Brown's comments about this film:
"...its sweet-natured sense of humor, strong veteran performances, period setting, and affectionate spirit help it stand apart from similar genre drivel. And even though it's a film that will resonate with some far more than others, particularly those raised by absentee parents or elderly relatives, it has broader appeal, tapping into filmfans' childhood memories of everything from pantomimed swashbuckling to the original Indiana Jones trilogy, from restless summers to Old Yeller. If it sounds like I'm mounting a defense of what many will consider to be a contrived, coming-of-age tearjerker, it's because I am. But sometimes I grow weary of my own cinematic cynicism. Sometimes it's refreshing to approach a film as I would have when I was fourteen. Sometimes it's nice to simply sit back, sink in, and enjoy a charming tale for what it is.
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