Hello everyone. This is my first review posting on the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Please give me any criticism you have. Thank you and enjoy my review of...
OCTOBER SKY **** (PG)
Homer Hickam: Jake Gyllenhaal John Hickam: Chris Cooper Miss Riley: Laura Dern Quentin: Chris Owen Roy Lee: William Lee Scott O'Dell: Chad Lindberg
Directed by Joe Johnston. Screenplay by Lewis Colick (based on book by Homer J. Hickam Jr.). Running time: 108 minutes. Rated PG (for language, brief teen sensuality and alcohol use, and for some thematic elements)
BY AARON THE MOVIE CRITIC
October Sky is a great movie. It's family friendly, grandparent friendly, and it's a film you can recommend to almost any aged person. It funny, touching, and a great made film.
October Sky is the true story of Homer Hickam (Jake Gyllenhaal) who is interested in rocketry after watching the Russian spacecraft Sputnik fly through the "October Sky" over his small town in West Virginia. He starts making plans which his friends Roy Lee (William Lee Scott) and O'Dell (Chad Lindberg) to make a small rocket that will, hopefully, fly. They find they need more help with the technical elements of the rocket building so they ask for help from the neighborhood smart kid Quentin (Chris Owen). Together the four start a journey that will hopefully get them out of the small mining town they live in.
Homer's father John (Chris Cooper) is the town's best miner and expects his son to continue his tradition. So Homer has many scenes that are tense with his father. Homer's teacher Ms. Riley (Laura Dern) encourages him to make a great rocket and to get out the town on a scholarship. Both are storylines that play along with the boy's journey.
Director Joe Johnston who has made great films before, like Field of Dreams, puts a great feeling into this film. He doesn't overuse or underuse a character through the whole film. Homer is the main character but he doesn't steal screentime from any of his friends or family. I have a feeling this project meant a lot to Johnston because this type of film would probably be through into made for TV territory without the great screenplay by Lewis Colick and Johnston's big status.
Many will complain that this is film is full of cliches and plays with the storyline like a well produced made for TV movie. I thought of October Sky cliches as if they weren't there then it wouldn't be quite as enjoyable. If Homer and friends failed and ended up wasting the rest of their lives in the mine breathing in the black smoke then it wouldn't a good movie would it? Also this is based on a true story so we know this is humanly possible for these teen's to pull off what they did.
My only complaint with this film is that it came out way too early in the year. Come the 2000 Academy Awards (it feels very weird saying that) it will be forgotten by many the nominators. This film should be nominated a couple of times. The cinematogery is beautiful taking full advantage of the surroundings of the small town. The acting is top notch and I'd love to see Gyllenhaal, Cooper, and Dern get the nomiantions they deserve.
How about that Gylenhaal. A unknown to me has shown a type of charm and great acting I haven't seen since River Phoenix. Pray he doesn't end up making teen horror films in the future. I can't wait to see his next film though.
October Sky is a film that will inspire kids and teens to make something great out of their lives. I'm not saying they will go out and build rockets but I am saying that this is a film they will remember when time to choose a job comes around.
Aaron the Movie Critic -- Check out the Top Ten Movie & Video Links: http://freeway.net/~michaels/
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