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46 out of 54 people found the following review useful: A gentle story, well told with stunning Australian scenery., 17 September 2007 Author: c p from Australia
I loved this movie from beginning to end. It was a wonderful story of growing up and as the memories are long distant everything seems so much more magical and larger than life. As it really does when we are adults looking back at our childhood. I thought the acting was excellent and it was very well cast. Daniel Radcliffe plays a very subdued character far removed from HARRY POTTER and shows that he has the talent to continue in the business as an adult. The other 3 boys are good finds and I am sure we will see more of them in the future. While there is only a small cast, each one has a strong role and Mr & Mrs McAnsh are truly memorable. Kangaroo Island is absolutely stunning and from the dusty outback to the crystal clear coast, the visual splendour is a feast for the eyes. Don't expect a special effects blockbuster, just enjoy the journey of a lovely story!
38 out of 45 people found the following review useful: Great Movie, 17 September 2007 Author: bootsnspurs from United States
My husband and I loved this movie. Finally a movie where you actually care about the characters.The acting is marvelous, the story is touching and the scenery is magnificent. Not only does every actor in the movie look their part, they are believable for a change. As the movie progresses, it's like you've been invited along on the trip to the cove with these four young orphans to see how they deal with the hand they're dealt. The people they meet during their holiday by sea are exactly what you'd expect. Regular folks with real life emotions, dreams and problems.This was a bold movie by Hollywood's standards. No car chases, explosions, swearing or ego-feeding in this movie. Just great entertainment. For people out there who love good movies; go see this one. It's made the way movies ought to be. Good story, smart dialogue and a believable representation of the subject matter. We loved it! Great Entertainment. Four thumbs up!
49 out of 68 people found the following review useful: A Lovely Film Indeed, 21 September 2007 Author: hdawne from United States
I believe many of the movie critics out there have been far too harsh in dismissing this film. I found it rather refreshing from the over-hyped, over sensationalized and big budget disappointments in the past few years. Many of the indie/low budget films are far better than what is making the big dollars and getting the heavy promotion these days.December Boys is not a great film but it certainly is good and I found it very enjoyable. I laughed, I cried...and Mr, Radcliffe is definitely on his way to a long and successful career. He isn't the leading character although he is definitely the headlining star that without him this film probably would never have seen the light of day outside Australia. I thought his performance was wonderful. He may not have much dialog, but the sensitivity of his character comes across beautifully. I believe Mr. Radcliffe is underrated as an actor, one desperately trying not to be typecast and stereotyped a "the boy wizard". If the media would stop reminding us that he's Harry Potter, and let him be the untapped talent that he obviously is.... Give audiences credit that we can separate an actor from the role he plays. Frankly, not all of us are Potter fans and I don't see HP as this great literary work. It's an okay story that has benefited from brilliant marketing. However, I'm grateful because HP gave us a troupe of new and very talented young actors...and showcased just how many brilliant actors come from the UK.Given many of the horrific child stars and forgettable cookie cutter actors out there in equally forgettable films , here is a young man that shows promise in the years to come. Give him a chance. He is obviously trying very hard to be more than what he's been painted since he was 10. Maps isn't a huge stretch, but a stepping stone from Potter. You can see where Radcliffe was in terms of acting ability right after Potter 4. He is easing his way delicately from his alter ego. Then he demolished his Mickey Mouse Club image with Equus. It's a shame that wasn't made into a film. He was truly brilliant as Alan Strang.Granted this film (like others with A-list stars, mind you) has its trouble spots, but it still doesn't detract that it was beautifully shot and some of the acting was impeccable. Radcliffe has notably excelled further since this film was made over two years ago. Equus showcased that he isn't a one trick pony and that we really do have someone worth looking forward to as a brilliant actor in the future.This film isn't perfect, but I just saw two other films this week that had huge plot holes and continuity errors, etc, so-so acting performances with clichéd plots and so forth but still garnered high praise. Maybe its the high profile stars or those producing/promoting these films. I just don't understand critics sometimes. I don't think anyone expected Oscar-caliber from this film or Radcliffe, but at the same time it is a helluva lot better than other films released this year. To be honest, I would have been disappointed in Radcliffe if he chose some dopey tween flick that seems to be the calling card of American young stars. Herbie Fully Loaded and High School Musical are such great films after all. Radcliffe could cash in on his current fame like the others and make trash, and be the poster boy of the tabloids but he doesn't. That should count for something. I'd rather read more about him than the likes of Lindsay, Paris and Britney any day of the week. .I have seen complete garbage nominated for Oscars in the past and lately I don't put too much stock into many movie critics that give "A" ratings to films that I cannot believe someone paid money to even make let alone ones that I would waste my money on.There's nothing wrong with a film that has a simple story line....a feel good movie thats enjoyable to watch. It doesn't have to have grotesque violence, language and explicit sex scenes. Probably one reason I love old Hollywood and independent films. Generally, I find these films wonderful (and many great ones) and ones that are worth the ticket price and buying the DVD. I can't say that about most of the films that are released every year nowadays.It just seems this poor guy (Radcliffe) can't win for losing. If he released a candy/teenybopper flick he would have been crucified...he really takes a risk and goes for it with Equus and people freaked out that he wasn't a good role model for the Potter fans....oh, what a travesty! Yet he was a splash on the London stage and has obviously grown as an actor since this movie was made. Give the guy a break.....I think he will only get better and better with time. I know this was long winded, but I really champion this young actor. Not all Radcliffe fans are squealing 10 year olds.The only thing I found worth to criticise in December Boys was the unclear time period and the time span in the aging of the characters at the end. Hardy unfortunately used music from different periods. The film looks to be set in the 60's but some of the music tells otherwise. And obviously the 'present day' older boys are too old, in my opinion by a couple decades.Some say it was too sugar coated, etc...but there were many films in the golden age of Hollywood (which I loved) that would now be considered too chaste, too sweet, un-realistic...the list goes on and on. I would still take those movies (and this one) any day of the week over 95% of the garbage that is released today.Forget the critics....go see December Boys.
31 out of 37 people found the following review useful: A Nutshell Review: December Boys, 10 November 2007 Author: DICK STEEL from Singapore
The buzz for December Boys surely points to how Daniel Radcliffe will fare sans cloak, glasses and lightning bolt scar on his forehead, to star in a movie that's totally out of the Harry Potter franchise. Gone are the fantastical elements and scores of ready, adoring fans, and in comes a serious dramatic piece about the coming of age, growing up, and raging hormones. Wait, Harry Potter is about that too doesn't it, although it stretches over 7 movies? But Radcliffe comes through unscathed, and it's not before long that you'd forget that here's Harry Potter. While possibly the biggest recognizable name on the cast list, it wasn't a walkover performance as everyone else had raised their act and not allow a young starlet usurp the strength of the movie. Based on a novel by Michael Noonan, December Boys tells the story of 4 orphans, all being born in the month of December, who were sent packing to a seaside village for a vacation, by virtue that it's a reward sent to the orphanage, and what better (lazier?) way to select the lucky few, than the ones celebrating their birthdays the same month.So we have Maps (Radcliffe), Misty (Lee Cormie), Sparks (Christian Byers) and Spit (James Fraser) sent on a journey that will test their close friendship, and as usual, each will come face to face with their individual challenge that will forever change their lives. Gee, I sound like a generic trailer, but trust me, although the premise might sound cliché, December Boys hinges very heavily on the delivery of the child actors for its success. While the spotlight might be on Radcliffe and Cormie, Byers and Fraser each have their own charm, but are restrained by the frequency of their characters' on-screen appearance. The landscape of Kangaroo Island adds vast scale to this relatively small movie, opening our eyes to natural geographical wonders, becoming a character in itself, with its inhabitants mere players on its grounds.While it's not Stand By Me, there's the usual basis that lurks around begging for comparisons. And worse, the story here allows for each of them to try and go one leg up on the other, as they learn that one of the purposes they are there at the village, was to allow for one of them to be selected for adoption. Hence the competition amongst the boys as they vie for attention, putting on their best behaviour, most contrary to what their actual characters are like. Each child however, have an episode directed around him, to similarly allow the audience to pick their preferred sub plots, involving a giant fish, a misunderstood motorcycle stuntman, dealing with mortality issues when their surrogate guardian has to battle disease, and of course, saving the best for last and for Radcliffe, first love, in the form of a young lolita Lucy (Teresa Palmer).Soon, their hot blooded young boy antics and rebellious streaks give way to a tone of seriousness, and there's where the movie adds its poignant gravitas. December Boys might not seem much from the get go, but with each passing minute, it adds layers upon layers to build its repertoire and stand up against the scrutiny of mediocrity. By the time the final scene rolls by, even though it doesn't show much and does so mostly through narration, I thought the ending was perfect, with a tinge of regret, happiness, sorrow, and a show of solidarity all rolled into one.
17 out of 21 people found the following review useful: "What's the big deal about having parents anyway?", 15 October 2007 Author: jemps918 from Philippines
Set in the late 60s, December Boys is a beautiful, poignant tale of adolescence and abandonment with the vast, awe-inspiring Australian outback as a backdrop, unraveled in the same vein as Stand By Me."What's the big deal about having parents anyway?" Maps (Daniel Radcliffe) retorts to his summer fling Lucy (Teresa Palmer). Maps is the eldest of four orphan boys who get sent for a seaside holiday with an elderly couple. Misty (Lee Cormie) is the youngest and the artistic one of the brood. Sparks (Christian Byers) is good with mechanical things, while Spit (James Fraser) is so named for what he does best.Having been given a glimpse of what the orphans' lives have been like together, you have an idea of where Maps' trend of thought comes from. They've survived so far without parents, and they have had each other to call as family growing up. This just becomes more glaring as they interact with their host family's neighbors, and they get in an emotional competition for possible adoption that tests the limits of their brotherhood.Unfulfilled expectations are shared by all characters regardless of age and situation, and this is the main theme that the audience empathizes with. It is heartbreaking to see their faces light up with hope at the possibility of winning the parent lottery only to be passed on time and time again. Rude awakenings and rejection are themes that most people can relate to after hardened years, but for children to already know it intimately at such an age is what makes December Boys the thoughtful tearjerker it is.
14 out of 19 people found the following review useful: Tender story beautifully filmed and acted, 3 December 2007 Author: john-boyzo from Australia
To Jlin from the Emerald Isle .. methinks you had a little too much of the Hard Stuff ;-)Whats it like to be an Orphan in the days of narrow mindedness and strange moral beliefs that were taught then ... this film portrays this well.Excellent Cinema Photography and composition with some excellent stills and excellent script too with some pot shots at the ridiculous order that Nuns were and are today :( with their strange methods at handling Orphans not to mention their narrow minded beliefs.The acting by the 4 orphan boys was very convincing as was the portrayal of how young boys behave like smoking after lights out in bed, or how the awareness of the opposite sex awakened their senses.The orphans were the stars without a doubt the other adults competent enough Jack Thomson was somewhat wooden in his role.To sum up an enjoyable film devoid of any nasties ... not a masterpiece by any means though.
10 out of 14 people found the following review useful: Dreaming of a dream, 6 January 2008 Author: pazvanty from Romania
A great movie indeed with all that a good movie needs: love, drama, realistic characters, joy, sadness and all the other things that a human being might feel nostalgic about at a certain moment.The orphans change the cove and cove changes them forever and, if you let it, their story might change you as well.The emotional charge simply grows bigger and bigger from the beginning of the movie towards the end thus providing with a finale of biblical proportions (emotionally speaking).Although in the beginning it might not seem like much this is, in my opinion, a movie that will not leave you unchanged and give you a new perspective as to what your dreams are and/or ought to be.
26 out of 46 people found the following review useful: Overblown, 16 September 2007 Author: jlon from Dublin
Pleasant Australian movie about childhood.Four orphans spend a holiday by the sea in the early '70s.Good natured movie concerning three young boys and Radcliffe as they enjoy a break with a religious family. The title comes from the fact that the four were all born in the last month of the year. Various characters crop up in the story: the grouchy fisherman; the cool motorcyclist who lies about his job; the sexy local blonde girl who teaches Radcliffe kissing; and the friendly old couple. Unlike other recent Australian movies this one has no messed-up depressed characters. But what let the movie down was that there were too many subplots: the big fish; the adoption issues; the fishing horse(!); the ill woman; and the secret job of the motorcyclist. None of these stories were developed enough. Add in an overblown music score, FAR too nice characters, and swooping photography - it gave the impression of too big a deal for such a small story. December Boys is a likable and well intentioned movie but is nothing special.
December Boys, 31 August 2009 Author: davesam1312-1 from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
December Boys was a fairly decent movie though I was disappointed with the ending. Daniel Radcliffe actually did an okay job acting in this one as did the other characters.To me, this movie felt like it was two stories. Maps and Lucy as one and Misty trying to get adopted as the other. I didn't get the point of the Maps and Lucy storyline because all it was was a story about two teenagers falling in love, having sex, and then one of them runs off without telling the other person. I think the point of their story was just to throw in some sexual content.Misty's story was interesting and sad, though he did get a little obnoxious when it came to making the adults happy so he could get adopted.All in all, a very good movie.
Angelic Adolescent Adventure, 20 December 2008 Author: arieliondotcom from United States
A coming of age movie that is male enough to keep (especially teen) male viewers and sweet enough to keep female viewers, just naughty enough for them to feel as if they're watching a "grown up" movie and just sweet enough that it's not too adult. As someone else mentioned, it is the nearly perfect confluence of great acting, writing, and directing. The few points I deducted were for a few spots (such as the horse and the dying cancer victim) that seemed to try too hard to lay other, deeper layers on. Lots of nice, unexpected surprises and, thankfully, when you think you will be cheated by some "clever" turn in the script (as other movies are wont to do) you're not and come away feeling fully satisfied that it ends as it should.Altogether a very nice film though parents (especially non-Catholic parents) may have some 'splaining to do about some of the Catholic elements. And the PG-13 rating is appropriate.
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