Secondhand Lions

For a VERY long time I've been disgusted with most of the stuff coming out of Hollywood... too many movies with huge budgets and absolutely NO imagination or talent involved. Lately tho, the Hollywood system has slipped a bit, and a few films by SMART people working with nonformula scripts have been falling through the cracks. And they're a refreshing breeze for those of us that don't bother with "One Weekend Wonders" that generate monster box office receipts for two or three weeks, that involve the latest orgasm generator "stars" and a ton of explosives and guns... just to sink into oblivion afterwards, like TITANIC or PEARL HARBOR.

The LAST intelligent movie I saw was A MIGHTY WIND. Right on it's heels, we get SECONDHAND LIONS.

I've been a Robert Duval fan for a LONG time... there's more than a little bit of Sonny from THE APOSTLE, and a taste of Colonel "Bull" Meecham from THE GREAT SANTINI thrown into the character of Hub. He's done a Tour De Force job with the performance. WONDERFUL!!!

The biggest surprise in all of this tho was Michael Caine's take on playing a Texas redneck! It's hard to imagine that the impeccably English Spitfire squadron commander from BATTLE OF BRITAIN could pull off a crusty, aging Texan, but he DOES it beautifully. He even gets the accent down quite well!

This is a film that's a TON of fun from beginning to end. IMHO it's destined to become a classic, very much like Jean Sheppard's A CHRISTMAS STORY.

It's worth the trip. Pick it up, and you won't be sorry.

Gavno