JW-27

Sometimes a film comes along that contains such a riveting plot and brilliant script that any poor acting is forgivable--Hearts in Atlantis is NOT one of those films. The acting, direction, and script are so painfully bad that I had essentially no interest in any of the characters nor the film's semi-interesting storyline by the halfway point. Anthony Hopkins is, of course, remarkable, but not enough to carry the entire weight of the movie. Director Scott Hicks and screenplay writer William Goldman should choose new career paths. Child "actor" Anton Yelchin recites his lines as if he is in a first grade play, and Hope Davis fares no better with her obviously forced emotionalism and limp effort to study her character. I wouldn't put Stand by Me nor The Green Mile in the same sentence with this farce of a film.

This was a semi-enjoyable movie. I never saw its precursor, so I can't comment on how this one holds up. The action was good, but it was clear that computer graphics were employed at every turn. The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) was a noteworthy inclusion in the film's ensemble, although I think he deserved more screen time. Freddie Boath (little Alex) can't act at all, but it was his screen debut, so he can only get better. I paid a matinee price to see this, which is the maximum anyone should pay.

I am glad that I finally broke down and viewed Trainspotting. Since its release in 1996, the only comments I have heard about it include terms like "weird", "bizarre", "out-there", and "demented". Nobody really advocated it one way or the other. I thought that it might be on par with cult "classics" like Liquid Sky, which is easily on my 10-worst list. I will admit that many sequences in Trainspotting appear whimsically unusual, but nothing ever deviates from the film's strong, central thrust. Both the glamour and gore of heroin addiction are born out and inflated in such ways that the viewer can truly appreciate the characters' desperate plights--I will never forget Ewan McGregor's "skin diving" experience nor his withdrawal episode involving a deceased toddler. Director Danny Boyle can be commended for his poignant use of hyperbole and caricature to drive home the extremes being experienced by this group of people and the fact that there is a glimmer of hope for them ("choose life...").