Reviews

In a world where children grow up sleeping on the floor, numerous families crammed into a two-bedroom apartment, barely receiving enough sustenance to stay alive, these kids begin life with nothing but survival instincts. Fathers in prison. Mothers staying home to care for their children. The kids needing to find monies for their families. Their parents grew up in identical conditions before them and know nothing of survival in an "acceptable" way because they have NEVER been given instruction. We need to remember that what we know is due to years of instruction, they are not innate abilities we understand when we are born--we have been taught.

Watch the movie WITH your kids, pausing for periodic discussions, and remember that kids often have no sense of the future -- only their immediate desires. Parents must teach them about consequences and the way the law works. It's much more than "don't get caught," it's about not doing it in the first place. There will be repercussions for every decision, and some of those consequences alter lives of other innocent people who happen to be at the right place at the wrong time.

Admittedly, as a writer myself, I was pleased to see the opportunity for these young men to create a substantial work from within the walls of a prison. Their ideas were phenomenal and their hard work toward something of context is phenomenal. At first, I appreciated the semi-counseling of the first meeting from the filmmaker. As the film progressed, I was disappointed to realize his purpose for tackling this project appeared not to do with the boys as much as granting himself credit. He began adding lines to situations he knows nothing about. It always irritates me to see writers embarking on unfamiliar subjects without bothering to research. He went there for a purpose and should have followed through the first time. Thank goodness, he backed off and allowed them free reign. The actors portraying the story? They were great. So was the camera crew and writers of the score. I may embark on something like this myself. Anyone up for a challenge?

One other frustrating item was the subtitles. When words are inaudible or in another language, for the audience to comprehend what is taking place, the story must be readable. Aside from these minor things, the idea behind allowing the public in was good.

The construction of this film was relatively good, although the "fake" ending was unnecessary as if to give the viewer a relief of what just took place. Instead we were somewhat forced to feel some sort of empathy for the mother and eldest daughter. What took place was much worse than what was portrayed. If educating us, more information should have been included to get the true turmoil out in the open--much more than a few slaps and a bottle.

The torment continued for months, including recycling defecation. Also, the parents were not the trusting good parents attempting to make a living for their two girls, while being cared for by someone else. Betty, the mother was actually in prison during this period and the father instructed Gertrude to "straighten his daughters out." (Wikipedia) Jenny had a twin and two older twin siblings. "Cookie" doesn't seem a likely nickname from this father.

Aside from downplaying the adults' attitudes, this film did arise curiosity in attempting to understand human behaviors. It's interesting how willing people can be in following a crowd as long as they can place the blame on someone else. Not one person on the stand took responsibility for any damages done--typical.

James Patterson is a favorite writer and always manages to pull action out of any scenario; be great to see this fabricated action in a school setting. But Alex Cross is a terrific character, although Tyler Perry doesn't fit the mold as this character, as Alex is described as tall and confident, but without the paunch Tyler boasts in the shirtless scene.

The storyline was good, although some of the parts were skimmed over and not a lot of thought put into them. When Ed Burns is injured and instead of asking, "What the hell happened?" simply says, "Yeah, go ahead," giving his approval for his partner to leave him stunned and bloody.

The editing was okay, but Rob Cohen failed miserably in the last big fight. He had the cameraman shaking so much it appeared as if he were part of the brawl. The audience is trying hard to figure out where they are themselves, that the scene itself is secondary and the adrenaline is replaced by confusion. Bad, Rob, bad.

The casting of characters was adequate, such as Yara Shahidi as his daughter, who was able to cry at the right point. The continuous squinting to force the tears took away from the acting. The already present tears would have served better than additional forced ones. But the gasping and choking she did was fantastic.

The use of tetrodotoxin was fairly original, but I'm unsure if the place it would be found would be a seedy and dilapidating hotel room, since it is contrived from pufferfish and other water based creatures. Usually obtained from someone a bit more "money"? Plus it takes less than half a milligram to kill a 170 lb. person. The dose the killer used was about 2 ounces... overkill, Mr. Professional Killer? I think so, seeing how it 100 times more toxic than potassium cyanide. Again, an oversight of the director. And while most might not observe this, there are those that do pay attention and they want to be entertained.

Despite the observations for improvement, I was intrigued enough to watch the entire film and enjoyed myself.

Promoting responsibility to children is a great idea, however personification of penguins by having them talk while watching real footage of people eating chicken is a subliminal mind-game. The connection smooths the black and white into a grayish-sick.

The subject of the movie is far too deep for the young to understand, and too immature for the adults to enjoy; this movie sits on neither side of the fence, but sort of has a post up the middle! (Unpleasant) The voices and star's voices of Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Pink, etc. is what sold me. The cute pictures of penguins sold my kids, who lost interest after the third song... not at all the first Happy Feet. :( The producers need to do a serious sit-and-think before dragging the incredible first picture through another slaughter by creating a third.

The basic idea behind the film is almost good, but the main script, the acting, and some of the storyline fell short of being acceptable. A family film? Only if you want to snuggle on the couch and fall asleep together.

One needs to keep in mind that when a person loses an entire family, the rebound takes a long time to return to normal. Kids who watch this show are wanting to see a cute dog jumping around, causing happiness. This show does not have any signs of that as the audience is incapable of building a bond with the family before they die. There are no moments of sharing between the father and the family until reflection brings it into the picture AFTER the vet.

The script did not follow the criteria of suspense, emotion, or anything other than a tedious "day in the life" of a mourner and a very persistent doctor who has a difficult time drawing a line between professionalism and personal preference.