| Rich,
varied, suspenseful, touching, funny, exciting -- what more can one ask?
“Home
Of The Giants”
 By
JimB-4 from Hollywood, California Originally
posted at
I
saw this movie with no idea whatsoever about it, and I discovered that it was
a great many things. It's a terrific date movie, for guys and girls, but it's
much more than that. Don't be fooled by the basketball stuff -- it's not a sports
movie, per se, though it certainly is the most fun I've ever had at a movie about
basketball.
It's
a very suspenseful -- I mean Extremely Suspenseful -- story that doesn't resort
to cheap effects or unrealistic behavior to get its suspense across. Yet it's
also a very funny film in lots of ways, showcasing in very realistic manner how
high school kids act and goof with one another. There's a quite moving depiction
of friendship and of loyalty, and very disturbing elements of family dysfunction.
All in all this movie tries to be many things, and while often that's a bad sign,
in this case it's a wonderful sign, because it succeeds quite splendidly in every
aspect. The
performances are wonderful. Haley Joel Osment, still the best actor of his generation
that I've ever seen, is quietly affecting in the less showy of the two lead roles,
and he has mastered the art only great actors master, the conveyance of thought
without indication or showiness. Ryan Merriman, in the flashy role, is quite up
to it, with real pizazz, the kind that comes from within and makes one believe
that people would truly flock to this kid, just the way the story needs. And Rusty
Gorman's script and direction are just terrific. He has an eye for detail, the
subtle by-play of friends that lets us know they have a history, the glance or
the tic that shows years of family dysfunction without anyone having to explain
it all. And Gorman doesn't ever cheat. Most suspenseful films these days leave
me with several moments of "Oh, come on now, they'd have never done that!" or
"Oh, yeah, right!" A
highly unusual situation lies at the heart of this film, yet never once did I
think that something like this couldn't have happened the way it did. A terrific
movie, quite highly recommended. Be
sure to read the original review |
