Hoot

My family (two 40-somethings, an 8 year old and my 71 yr old mother) saw this at a sneak preview on April 29th. We all enjoyed the movie very much. The story was a good one, and knowing it was based on real-life events made it that much more enjoyable. Luke Wilson was a hoot (pun intended) to watch as was Tim Blake Nelson. And seeing Neil Flynn play something other than "the mean janitor from Scrubs" was nice. The kids in movie did well and I'm sure they will all appeal to a certain demographic on the heartthrob level. The visuals were just lovely and the Jimmy Buffet music added to the "Florida feel". OK, maybe the story was a little too neat and well packaged for some adults, but hey, who cares? I can't compare it to the book, I honestly hadn't heard of it until the movie came out.

It was just a NICE movie and it had a good message. Plain and simple.

This movie was pretty good. It had a nice upbeat tone throughout and was a pleasant experience to watch.

It's about a kid who moves to Florida and, in addition to being hassled as the 'new kid' at school, gets involved with learning the about the mysterious "barefoot kid" and some little critters in need of help.

What keeps this movie moving along are two things. One is great acting performances by Logan Lerman (lead role), Brie Larson (scary tough girl) and Luke Wilson (police officer). The other is the intrigue level the story maintains by slowly revealing things about the characters and the story.

All in all, this is a pretty nice, well-made, upbeat movie that just can appeal to both kids and adults.

I took a group of young people who were the same age as the protagonists and it appealed to us all. I agree with the other post, the Wilson guy worked a thankless script into a great minor character. It is good to have a movie for a certain age demographic (too old for PG, too young for R). It also shows how they think and maneuver in junior high school. You had to love how well Jimmy Buffet did as the cool teacher. He kept us adults awake. The level of kids questioning authority was kept reasonable. Their motives were specific and not like some A.D.D. rebel. The setting and music were beautiful. Overall, if you enjoyed Holes, this is really similar.

(Synopsis) Roy Eberhardt (Logan Lerman) is a teenager who loves living in the wide open spaces and mountains of Montana. Unfortunately for him, his father's job is forcing him to move once again, this time to a small town in Florida. As the new kid in school, Roy has the usual encounter with the school bully on the bus. While riding on the bus, Roy is also intrigued by a teenage boy who was running like the wind and passed the bus in his bare feet. The next day, Roy gets off the bus and tries to catch him, but loses him at the golf course. Roy eventually meets the boy, known as Mullet Fingers (Cody Linley). Mullet Fingers is a runaway living on an abandoned boat near the golf course and a vacant lot that is about to have a pancake house built on it. All by himself, Mullet Fingers has taken up the cause of protecting the burrow owls that are nesting on the vacant lot. If a pancake house is built on the lot, it will destroy the habitat of the burrow owls. Roy joins forces with Mullet Fingers and his sister Beatrice (Brie Larson) to save the owls.

(My Comment) This is one movie the whole family can see. The story is entertaining and heart-warming for all ages. You will love the music of Jimmy Buffett that was played throughout the movie. Jimmy Buffett produced and played a small part as the marine science teacher. This is a pro-environmental film that shows what can be accomplished by three teenagers using the act of civil disobedience. The film has lots of humor, and a message of saving the environment and some beautiful cinematography of Montana and Florida. And of course, don't forget the owls. (New Line Cinema, Run time 1:30, Rated PG)(6/10)

I wasnt expecting this movie to be decent, the only reason why i watched it all was for the nostalgia value from when i watched this as a kid, but surprisingly this was actually kinda decent. its really wholesome but not overly corny, most "save the environment" flicks end up being waaay too cheezy but you can tell this one tried its best to be as realistic as possible with its message and not talk down to its audience. now dont get me wrong this movie does have its fair share of problems, a lot of the acting preformances werent great, some actors were trying, others werent. theres quite a few conveniences in the script and some of the characters are kinda flat. but overall this was better than i was expecting, it wasnt a great movie by any means but it was a lot more decent than i thought it would be. probably not a movie i would recommend watching but it was still decent for what its worth