BOY A

BOY A... IS MORE LIKE 'BOY A+'

The main character in this story, Jack Burridge, (a brilliant Andrew Garfield) unfolds much like a blooming flower. Upon first glance, we know little of this vacant, awkward fellow. He works with his "mentor", Terry, (Peter Mullan) but we aren't sure of what's going on. Once he has begun this "new life" we begin to see the flashbacks. He has just finished serving a term for a crime he committed as a boy. Interwoven in the film is another plot as seen in flashback. We meet the young boy and see how events went so wrong to incur the wrath of the community. This is a genuine film that, if you make it through the heavy accents, shows the path the boy took and the one he attempts once out of jail. Garfield portrays a very mixed up young man and although this was his movie all the way, Mullan gives his heart and serves it up on a silver platter for us. We ache with him as well as celebrating this masterpiece of a functional contributing member to society. You can't take your eyes off the screen for a minute.

PICK: Fine film with heart, depth and sorrow. So worthy of watching!

ROCKET SCIENCE

ROCKET SCIENCE
Most movies about high school are full of sterotypes (jock, brain, stoner, preppie) but this movie is refreshingly dramatic without all the drama. High school is portrayed as simply awkward in this film. To add to the inevitable pain, our unlikely hero Hal (Reece Thompson) suffers from a cripling stutter. In this movie he is literally and figuratively trying to find his voice. He is "recruited" by Ginny (Anna Kendrick) who kicks ass on the debate team. She is the 'Tracy Flick' from ELECTION; type A personality. Last year her partner, Ben (Nicholas D'Agosto) froze in the middle of his speach and cost her the most coveted first place. This year, she plans to win and thinks that she can "mold" Hal into a debating God. As he works with her and grows increasinging mesmorized by her, he also works with the school's counselor on his studdering; which include whispering, singing and/or talking with an accent. His first attempt to debate fails miserably and so Ginny dumps him and moves on to a more sure path to her fame. Hal tries to get revenge and seeks the aid of Ginny's former parter, Ben, which also fails miserably, except that he is growing as a character and learns from these events. Ben eloquently puts it, "The fights you fight today are the fights you fight until you die." This is a movie with a heart. As painful as these experiences are to watch, they also remind us of our own experiences. The supporting actors are characters in themselves and very entertaining to watch. Hal befriends Ginny's neighbor so he can spy on her. Every time they pass his parents on the way upstairs to his room, his parents are playing Violent Femmes songs on the cello and piano; great gag. This was a lovely and touching film that is neither too dramatic or overly funny; it's human.

Pick: This film is well done with heart and respect for youth's growing pains. Definate pick.