Hello Herman

This is a movie that seems to have tried to be many things and falls short in most of it's objectives. The plot seems ripe for an after school movie of the week but the language is quite adult at times. The focus of the movie seems to wander at times, it feels at times the movie is told all in flashbacks and news reports. It also doesn't help that much of the acting is way over the top to near comedic heights next to Reedus' far more understated performance. Technically, the movie is shot well but most of the crew appear to be mailing it in on this one.

One would be far better served seeking out Bully http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1682181/ or Elephant http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363589/

This a truly haunting film. Norman Reedus as an online journalist is understated and thoughtful. Garett Buckstrom as the teenager killer is oddly compelling. It's a powerful subject, hypnotically rendered. And I found myself thinking about my own high school bully. Halfway through the film, my wife asked me, "Are kids that mean? The answer, alas, is yes. And the film shows the ways technology---Facebook and the like---renders cruelty both easier to commit and more harmful The killings in the film are rendered in freeze frame so that we see the horror on the victims' faces, but nothing else. There's plenty of gore, though, in the video games that obsess the teenage killer who commits the massacre. The film is part of the "Hello Herman Project" to create dialogue about school bullying. This compelling film is an excellent tool to get the conversation started between parents and children. Well worth watching.

I think the premise of this film is very intriguing, but I think the execution was flawed. The actors were all very well cast and played their roles brilliantly, but I think the script was a bit shoddy in some places and could have benefited from being longer and fleshing out the characters a bit more- the potential was there but the back stories weren't fully utilized. The story could have done with more development as well- it felt a tad rushed in places.

That being said, I think this film is (sadly) very relevant to the world today. It has an important message that needs to be heard, and so far this is one of the only (if not the only) films that touches on this subject matter. It deserves a wider audience because it really does have a lot to say.

I think the film was well cast, with Norman Reedus and Garret Backstrom giving great performances. They really make you care about their characters, which from the premise of the film clearly isn't the easiest thing to do, but that is really the whole point. The script and the direction could have been better, but overall the film succeeds in doing what it set out to do- make you think.

Without a doubt this movie serves the genre of drama pretty well. Norman Reedus and the other actors out perform each other hence the brilliance in each individual performance.

Truth be known- I've only watched this because of Norman Reedus. And because of him it's a 2 star, otherwise zero. I'm so sorry to be so disappointed about this movie. I understand that there must be so much good intentions behind it and it's a big story...but. But what in all saints name were they thinking??? Most people already wrote all you need to know about this movie so I'm not going to repeat that. Just...if you are really still set to watch this movie, then just focus on Reeduses blue eyes and try not to notice everything else. And if your intelligence gets insulted few times...and if basic components that should be holding story together are falling apart...just, you know, thank god they've had decent stylist who blended outfits perfectly with the light ratio. Great job there!