- This comedic and touching family film follows the adventures of a shy young boy (Haley Joel Osment) who is sent to spend the summer with his eccentric uncles (Michael Caine, Robert Duvall). At first shocked by his uncles’ unconventional behavior that includes ordering African lions through the mail, the boy soon becomes enthralled with unraveling the mystery that has followed the uncles for years.
This comedic and touching family film follows the adventures of a shy young boy (Haley Joel Osment) who is sent to spend the summer with his eccentric uncles (Michael Caine, Robert Duvall). At first shocked by his uncles’ unconventional behavior that includes ordering African lions through the mail, the boy soon becomes enthralled with unraveling the mystery that has followed the uncles for years. Hearing tales of their exotic adventures involving kidnapped princesses, Arabian sheiks and lost treasure, not only brings him closer to his uncles but also teaches him what it means to believe in something… whether it’s true or not.
If you can get past its thick layer of syrup and molasses, Secondhand Lions reveals itself as a thoroughly decent family film that anyone can enjoy. It gets a little sappy sometimes, but there’s something to be said for a movie in which Michael Caine and Robert Duvall play eccentric old brothers who take the easy approach to fishing: instead of a peaceful rod and reel, they use 12-gauge shotguns. When 14-year-old Walter (Haley Joel Osment, teetering on puberty) spends an eventful summer with his great-uncles on their vast Texas farmland (he’s been dumped there by his delinquent mom, played by Kyra Sedgwick), he soon discovers they’ve lived lives full of adventure, excitement, passion, and mystery. Either that or they’re old-time bank robbers with a long criminal record, and writer-director Tim McCanlies (who invested similar warmth into The Iron Giant) does a nice job of concealing the truth until the very end. Full of enriching lessons and homespun humor, Secondhand Lions has more substance than most family films. If you enjoyed Holes, you’ll probably enjoy this movie, too. –Jeff Shannon
Buy “Secondhand Lions “ For Only $4.03
March 4, 2010
#1
Oh my gosh, where do I begin? From the first moment Kyra Sedgewick comes on as a cliche’with her trashy clothes, smart-talkin’, gum-poppin’ southerner, I knew this movie was in huge trouble. This character was completely lifted from “My Girl.”
Even later when she tells everyone “Let’s go, we’re burnin’ daylight”, well, that was taken from “The Cowboys.”
I could not WAIT for this movie to be over. The end was absolutely absurd. No, beyond absurd!!Didn’t the director have any idea how deep a farm pond would have to be to float a huge yacht? Give me a break! Duvall and Caine are doing these junkers only for the money. Even the cartoon comic strip at the end was drawn by the well-known cartoonist Berkeley Breathed. I wondered how the Haley Joel-Osment character could be obviously plaigerizing Breathed. The writer/director did not even bother to inlist the talents of an unknown cartoonist. This was copied too!
Totally unbelievable story and soooo boring just to get to the (please!!!!) ending. I would give this a minus-one if possible.Let’s hope this director does not get any more jobs.
March 4, 2010
#2
This is a bad attempt at making an independent seeming movie from Hollywood. Haley Joel Osment couldn’t act in this movie at all, or was he just retarted? The dogs were cute, but seemed like an afterthought to try to get something memorable in this film. Please leave the good film making to Miramax and the others who know how to do it, Hollywood! The writers seemed to be using some template to write this movie. Have some off-beat characters do some whacky stuff, have something bad happen, have a happy ending, insert cute dog here. Robert Duvall was great, of course, Michael Cain, whatever! Don’t believe the hype.
March 4, 2010
#3
…and I find it very hard to categorize! It’s a some kind of surreal drama, sometimes odd as a fable, one hour longer than it has to be (serious!), and easiest described as a movie not quite going anywhere -it’s like you are waiting for the story to begin, and after a long gasp it is over -and you have no idea what you have spend one hour and fifty minutes on.
Not that it is horrible, but it’s not good. Three talented actors, including two senior-legends hardly do much acting at all -and their roles requires nothing but one look on their faces, and no emotions are shown at all during one hour and fifty minutes..! It’s the strangest movie I’ve seen so far this year -and I’d recommend you to do something else instead.
Warning : It’s not in the category of “Grumpy old men 1 or 2″ in case you wondered -this is very, very different and far from being comparable!
March 4, 2010
#4
This film really pissed me off. Though my kids liked it fine, I felt that it never lived up to its promises. For the first 30 minutes or so, I thought I was watching a classic. Then it fell apart. I kept feeling as thought it had been condensed from a much longer film (or book). After watching the movie, I viewed the alternate/deleted scenes. Oh my God! The director must have shot a different version of virtually every scene in the film! Many of the alternates would’ve led to a COMPLETELY different film. There is even a (much longer) alternate ending. I feel that the director/writer lacked the confidence to commit to one storyline or message and just filmed every idea that came into his head, only to try to sort it out later. The final film reflects that lack of consistency. This is one case of where the included “extras” actually lowered my opinion of the finished film.
March 4, 2010
#5
DVD IS REGION 1 – UNSUTABLE FOR DELIVERY AND USE IN SPAIN