the leading man is my tpye

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Dreadfully Boring

A Disappointing Continuation

I watched this movie on video after following the Project Greenlight HBO series on television and I was absolutely amazed at how good this movie was and how amazing the acting was. It's a shame that this film did not have the money to promote it when it was released because in my opinion this an Oscar-worthy film. Everyone in this film nails their roles and pulls you in. Adi Stein nails his role as the main character, a second grader named Peter O' Malley who is on a quest in "converting the jews" in an effort to help jews get into heaven. This plot line might make some people shutter but I can promise you that due to beautiful direction, this is handled tactfully by being presented through an innocent view of a second grader. Kevin Pollak is simply amazing in his role as the sincere yet humorous rabi who assists our main character Pete by guiding the young Pete in his quest and perhaps getting Pete to asks some questions of himself and the world. Bonnie Hunt and Aiden Quinn who play the parents of Pete O' Malley are flawless in their roles and I can attest from my childhood that they are spot-on playing the Irish Catholic parents. It's worth it to watch this movie based on the brilliant directing and incredible acting alone but throw in a humorous, heart-warming and emotional story and you have a very Oscar-worthy movie that will always be one of my all-time favorite movies, right up there with Shawshank Redemption.

This movie is beautifully written and simply acted, with wonderful performances from the child actors bringing it to life. It deals with subtle and complex issues of faith and love, parenting, friendship and flat-out chutzpah. The character of the Rabbi, played by Kevin Pollack, is a joy. Stolen summer explores what faith means in action and who's got it right. Done from a child's questioning point of view it gets in to and away with some very tough and unresolvable issues. The kids treat the notion of getting in to heaven, whose God is right, what happens when you die- all as things you can actually ask about, and think about. The result is heartfelt and up to the end, wrenching in its honesty.The final scene of the movie has absolutely no connection to the rest of story. Or rather, it seeks to tie up every single thread and gives you all those answers, revealing in the final two minutes the nature of prayer and the meaning of faith. Predictably it comes out as shallow and baffling. Where did the movie go? The actors are wrenched from any connection to any part of the story leading up to that moment and left doing a Hallmark card. The scene reeks of a desperate move to appeal to some research-specified demographic, the implausible act of an executive justifying his salary by telling the writer what the story needs. Up until the Advent of Executives, this is a lovely movie, and a great story.

This movie was a wonderful movie until the last ten minutes when it falls completely flat on its face. The movie examines the unique and heartfelt friendship between the young son of an angry Irish Catholic and the young son of a Jewish Rabbi. Not only are the characters deeply explored, their differing faiths are thoughtfully examined throughout the film. It's a shame that the "powers that be" had to fold in the last ten minutes and give viewers bogus wishy-washy so-called theology that proves moviemakers are still afraid of moral absolutes. What a shame. Bonnie Hunt was so convincing as the dutiful wife and loving mother I wanted to adopt her. Kevin Pollak was incredible as the agonized father living with terminal illness.

After watching the Project Greenlight series on HBO, I was really hoping that Pete Jones would pull it off and make an good movie. But the result of Ben Affleck & Matt Damon's media stunt is less the admirable. The problem is not with Pete's directing. Okay, it's rather bland, but it is not destructive to the film. What ruins it is Jones's childish screenplay. It's just so cliched it's almost unbearable. The dialogue is TV movie level, and Jones beats around the bush when it comes to the Religious stuff. He asks questions we've all heard before, and either doesn't answer them at all or provides a blow off answer. Also, not that I care (I'm an atheist), Jones seems to be a little too harsh on Jewish faith. Some scenes were borderline anti-semite. The child also actors were also terrible. As if the screenplay wasn't bad enough, we have to hear it repeated with no emotion by two blank faced kids. The film does however feature good performances from the rest of the cast. Aidan Quinn and Bonnie Hunt are given nothing of substance to work with, but like the pros they are, they handle what they have with grace and quality. Kevin Pollack's character was probably the only decently written character in the movie, and Jones was dead right to cast him. He is truly the exceptional element in this production. Some of his finest work.If you watched the docu-series, I'd recomend checking this out just to see what the result is. But don't expect any more than some good supporting actors.4/10* / * * * *