Review: Secondhand Lions (2003)
Jul. 18th, 2008 09:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
estepheiaEvery once in a while, you come across a movie that both kids and adults can enjoy - repeatedly, a movie that has poetry and wisdom and humour, that is sweet and sentimental but not syrupy. Secondhand lions is such a movie.
We have a Friday night tradition in our family. We prepare a nice dinner, mostly cold stuff like tomatoes with mozarella, cold cuts, bread, beefsteak tartare, fruit, and sometimes muffins or yell-o. We carry everything to the sofa and watch a movie, while we eat. This may not sound special to some, but in Germany, eating in front of the TV is actually frowned upon, the kind of thing you don't admit you're doing. Anyway, we don't just watch TV, but we watch a nice DVD together, all four of us. We started out watching Disney movies, but lately it gets more difficult to find things to watch. The girls are no longer at an age, where they want to watch the same movies again and again. They want new movies, the kind that grownups watch. So, we watched stuff like Back to the Future, two Seasons of Star Trek the Next Generation, two of the Indy movies, some Star wars, sports comedies and dance movies. And in order to have a constant supply of "new" movies, I buy second hand DVDs that look promising. Secondhand Lions is such a purchase, and boy, am I glad I bought it!!
Michael Caine and Robert Duvall starr as Uncle Garth and Uncle Hub, two eccentric and apparently very wealthy old brothers, who have retired in some remote place in Texas, where they amuse themselves by shooting at travelling salesmen. Hub, as we find out, is weary of life and ready to go out in a blaze, but the arrival of their young great-nephew Walter (Haley Joel Osment) changes everything. Walter has been dumped on their doorstep by his flighty mum - and he is charged with the task to find out where the old men have hidden their fortune....
This delightful movie is full of unexpected twists and turns, it is colourful and magical, mostly because the two crusty old men are more fun than a barrel of monkeys, the performances are perfect, the casting excellent, the script is clever and imaginative and often funny, and the direction is flawless.
Awesome.
Also, Buffyverse fans may be happy to hear that Christian Kane aka Wolfram & Hart's Lindsey appears as Robert Duvall's younger self in some very dashing and colourful flashback scenes. He looks quite different, but still yummie. Personally, I really liked the moustache.... Definitely worth a look.
We have a Friday night tradition in our family. We prepare a nice dinner, mostly cold stuff like tomatoes with mozarella, cold cuts, bread, beefsteak tartare, fruit, and sometimes muffins or yell-o. We carry everything to the sofa and watch a movie, while we eat. This may not sound special to some, but in Germany, eating in front of the TV is actually frowned upon, the kind of thing you don't admit you're doing. Anyway, we don't just watch TV, but we watch a nice DVD together, all four of us. We started out watching Disney movies, but lately it gets more difficult to find things to watch. The girls are no longer at an age, where they want to watch the same movies again and again. They want new movies, the kind that grownups watch. So, we watched stuff like Back to the Future, two Seasons of Star Trek the Next Generation, two of the Indy movies, some Star wars, sports comedies and dance movies. And in order to have a constant supply of "new" movies, I buy second hand DVDs that look promising. Secondhand Lions is such a purchase, and boy, am I glad I bought it!!
Michael Caine and Robert Duvall starr as Uncle Garth and Uncle Hub, two eccentric and apparently very wealthy old brothers, who have retired in some remote place in Texas, where they amuse themselves by shooting at travelling salesmen. Hub, as we find out, is weary of life and ready to go out in a blaze, but the arrival of their young great-nephew Walter (Haley Joel Osment) changes everything. Walter has been dumped on their doorstep by his flighty mum - and he is charged with the task to find out where the old men have hidden their fortune....
This delightful movie is full of unexpected twists and turns, it is colourful and magical, mostly because the two crusty old men are more fun than a barrel of monkeys, the performances are perfect, the casting excellent, the script is clever and imaginative and often funny, and the direction is flawless.
Awesome.
Also, Buffyverse fans may be happy to hear that Christian Kane aka Wolfram & Hart's Lindsey appears as Robert Duvall's younger self in some very dashing and colourful flashback scenes. He looks quite different, but still yummie. Personally, I really liked the moustache.... Definitely worth a look.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-07-18 07:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 07:18 am (UTC)In the early Eighties, when I was living in London, I managed to watch his Iprcress movies and stuff like Alfie.
Michael Caine is fabulous!!!
I am not surprised that other people on my flist love Secondhand Lions. I have a smart flist. Hee. :-)
*hug*
no subject
Date: 2008-07-18 09:50 pm (UTC)And for me, this film was a case of colliding fandoms, because I instantly recognized the swordfighting style as that of Anthony DeLongis, one of Hollywood's top swordmasters/fight coordinators. He appeared twice as a K'IMMIE (bad immortal, starts with K, you figure it out) on Highlander, and was terrific both times because he and Adrian Paul were so well-matched in their ability to use swords! I've met him, watched him work, taken a class with his partner Bob "The Bob" Chapin, and literally shrieked out loud in the movie theatre when I finally saw his name in the credits - vindication! LOL! AND I read somewhere that it was because Christian Kane had learned from Anthony that he was able to suggest to the Angel folks that he and Angel should fight with swords in... what ep? Welcome Home, right?
Cool, huh?
no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 07:22 am (UTC)I must admit, I never heard of deLongis, but from now on, I will keep my eyes open for his name in the credits....
Awesome, I like trivia stories like this. In any case, it was a pleasure seeing Christian Kane in the movie.
And yes, Robert Duvall's speech is fantastic and should be required listening. So true!! Our 9-year-old daughter loved the movie, I can't wait to show it to our 11-year-old - but she's currently on holiday with a friend....
:-)
no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 03:17 pm (UTC)Actually, it's easier to link to Anthony's website, where you can read all about his amazing talent: http://www.delongis.com/index.html
My favorite memory is of the big Highlander con which marked the end of the series, and my first venture into totally insane fandom. Anthony and F. Braun McAsh (Highlander swordmaster) did a demonstration of how to stage a swordfight, emphasizing the details including safety vs. style, and then Adrian Paul walked onto the stage, watched the fight choreography ONCE, did the moves ONCE with Tony in slow motion,, and then the two of them saluted each other and did the whole sequence full out, top speed. It was breathtaking! And could only have been done by two pros. I mean, c'mon, those swords were REAL!
no subject
Date: 2008-07-18 11:42 pm (UTC)I'm trying to think of more movies that older kids and adults can enjoy. Your daughters might not be as interested as my son was, but when he was about eight he loved the movie 'October Sky'.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 07:34 am (UTC)Our current favourites are:
Little Princess, The Secret Garden, Over the Hedge, Naturally blond, Ella Enchanted, Traumschiff Surprise (a very funny German Star Trek spoof), VC Venus (a German soccer comedy, about a group of disgruntled wives challenging their soccer-crazy husbands to a soccer match - if they win the men have to give up soccer for good), Bend it like Beckham... and the Potter movies, of course.
Strangely enough, Vicky loves Pride and Predjudice with Kiera Knightly, but she does not like Sense and Sensibility. Go figure. :-)