Based on the memoir Rocket Boys by Homer H. Hickam Jr, October Sky emerged as one of the most delightful sleepers of 1999--a small miracle of good ole fashioned movie-making in the cynical, often numbingly trendy Hollywood of the late 20th century. Hickam's true story begins in 1957 with Russia's historic launch of the Sputnik satellite, and while Homer (played with smart idealism by Jake Gyllenhaal) sees Sputnik as his cue to pursue a fascination with rocketry, his father (Chris Cooper) epitomises the admirable yet sternly stubborn working-man's ethic of the West Virginia coal miner, casting fear and disdain on Homer's pursuit of science while urging his "errant" son to carry on the family business--a spirit-killing profession that Homer has no intention of joining.As directed by Joe Johnston (The Rocketeer), this wonderful movie is occasionally guilty of overstating its case and sacrificing subtlety for predictable melodrama. But more often the film's tone is just right, and the spirit of adventure and invention is infectiously conveyed through Gyllenhaal and his well-cast fellow rocketeers, whose many failures gradually lead to triumph on their makeshift backwoods launching pad. Capturing time and place with impeccable detail and superbly developed characters (including Laura Dern as an inspiring schoolteacher), October Sky is a family film for the ages, encouraging the highest potential of the human spirit while giving viewers a clear view of a bygone era when "the final frontier" beckoned to the explorer in all of us. --Jeff Shannon
They did it for money. For power. For fun. Two ruthless drug dealers commit a brutal mass murder in Los Angeles and are forced to flee the state. And when Fantasia their beautiful accomplice begs to go home to Arkansas she unwittingly leads them into the eye of the hurricane. Waiting for them in Arkansas is an unlikely arsenal of law enforcers that includes two cynical L.A. cops and one eager small-town sheriff. Sheriff Dale ""Hurricane"" Dixon has waited all his life for a majo
Sometimes one dream is enough to light up the whole sky. In Coalwood West Virginia 1957 coal mining is king and no one can escape life underground. But when high schooler Homer Hickam Jr (Jake Gyllenhaal) sees the Soviet satellite Sputnik streak overhead he aims for the stars and a new destiny in this incredible true story of hope determination and triumph. With the help of his teacher (Laura Dern) and three buddies Homer sets out to build his own rocket. How Homer over
Billy Bob Thornton wrote, directed, and starred in Sling Blade, a mesmerizing drama with haunting overtones of To Kill a Mockingbird. Thornton plays a mentally retarded man who has spent 20 years in a psychiatric hospital for killing his mother and her lover. Released into the community from which he came, he befriends and protects a lonely boy regularly harassed and abused by his mom's boyfriend (a terrific performance by Dwight Yoakam). The story is ultimately about sacrifice, but Thornton certainly doesn't get twinkly about it. Some of the best material concerns the hero's no-big-deal efforts to integrate into a "normal" life: working, eating fast food, earning admiration for his handyman skills, and attaining a semblance of community among other damaged souls. John Ritter has a great part as a gay shopkeeper who tries to assuage his own loneliness by spilling his guts out to Thornton's uncomprehending character. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
"Shotgun Stories" tracks a feud that erupts between two sets of half brothers following the death of their father.
"Shotgun Stories" tracks a feud that erupts between two sets of half brothers following the death of their father.
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