Junge Männer

"The neighborhoods changing." Brian Jardine (Kinnear) is a struggling actor who has just lost his father. He heads to Brooklyn for the funeral and to deal with his fathers estate. He discovers that a small business was costing his father money, and is unable to continue the same deal. This causes tension with him and the owner of the business, which is further enhanced by the fact that Brian's son and the son of the owner are best friends. This is a really good movie that makes you think. You really struggle to decide who is in the right and can see both sides equally. The dynamic of the adults and the kids relationships are really fleshed out and are the true heart of the movie. That said, the movie could have been really good but it stayed a little monotone and the end just kind of happened. When you watch this you will see what I mean. Overall, the acting and writing are good, but it felt a little flat at some parts and really just came to an abrupt end, which hurt the movie a little bit. I disappointingly give this a B-.

This film tells the story of a boy who moves to a new place after his grandfather died. He befriends the neighbour and is very happy with his life, but grown up troubles get in the way, as his parents get into a rental dispute with the neighbour boy's mother.

I thought "Little Men" would be sweet and touching, but unfortunately I was not. The title may suggest that the film is the reality through the youngsters eyes, but the story is really viewed from a third perspective. The pace is slow, and not much really happens. I find Greg Kinnear's character indecisive and unassertive, as he does not deal with the rental problem quickly. It is as if the whole story is unnecessary because it would not have happened if he dealt with the rental problem quickly. I was bored by the film, and was disappointed.

So, when I saw the trailer, I think I may have been mislead about what the movie is really about. They used the star power of actor, Greg Kinnear to sell the movie, and even though he's a big (very big) part of the movie, his story is not the focus.

The heart of the movie is the instant bond that happens between the two young boys in this movie (From the trailer, I thought the title Little Men came from the fact that Kinnear was a man-child, which was not the case).

The kid that played the character Tony was the absolutely best. Watching him in the scenes interacting with all the characters was fantastic. He was not the main boy among the two boys, but he was steeling the show without trying.

Other than this kid, the movie does not grab me at all. The main plot of the two boys bond being tested by their parents disagreement over prime real estate in Brooklyn felt really superficial in it's attempts to get everyone on broad, and although every actor is talented, the delivery of the whole film is too bland.

So the kid Tony was the best part of the film that was overall too dry for my taste.

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I feel like this film was kind of marketed as a comedy, and perhaps that's why the seriousness of the situation at the core of the film really surprised me. It's not that the film is a tragedy, but instead it takes an honest and very real look at these kinds of situations. It's a very carefully and deliberately paced film, and the director has a great handle of the film's tone and atmosphere and is able to really bring the dramatic beats of the story to life. The ensemble cast also seems to have a great handle on the material, never overplaying or underplaying the situation to become unbelievable or become a melodrama. I definitely recommend this and I think it really gives a fascinating portrayal of family and the bonds that exist and how real life can get in the middle of that.

There are three main types of movies, good ones, bad ones and ones that are overlooked by the public. Yes, it is not a masterpiece and has flaws, but still I enjoyed watching this and I was shocked to see the IMDb rating and the box office result. Though independent movies like this don't make much back it still should of made it's 2 million budget. The performance were almost all good, with the exception of a few, it was well paced so I could truly experience the chemistry growth between the two children who come from two entirely different backgrounds.

To conclude it is an underrated movie that brings out a range of emotions, but yes it is not perfect.