Movies

Mean Creek (2004) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Five teens take a local bully out into the woods to teach him a lesson but things take a tragic turn. The great thing about message boards is you can read other people's opinions and check out a film you normally would have passed over. After all the praise this film got I checked it out and really enjoyed the thing. The only problem is some obvious things lifted from Stand By Me and Deliverance but on the whole this is a pretty incredible little gem. The story doesn't have any false steps and I was pleased with the ending. The film manages to be very funny and that mixes well with the more sad and depressing aspects.

George Tooney (Josh Peck) is a foul-mouthed big kid obsessed with his video camera. Sam Merrick (Rory Culkin) gets into a fight with him and gets beaten up. Sam tells his older brother Rocky who starts planning revenge with his friends Clyde and Marty Blank. They lure George on a fake birthday trip for Sam. Millie (Carly Schroeder) finds George loud but not necessarily mean-spirited. She convinces Sam to change his mind. Despite the change, a conflict escalates on the trip going down the creek.This is River's Edge with younger kids. That is very compelling. The kids are solid actors. They feel real. After the incident, they need time living with the secret. It would be nice to have more conflict time as the cops search for missing George. The second half is set up for more drama.

With an all-child cast, it bears resemblance to "stand by me." A group of kids plot to pay the school bully back for years of abuse. They take him on a boat trip. If you want more, go see it. It was the best film I've seen this year. Throughout the duration of this classic, one element stuck out for me: Carly Schroeder. She is going to be a star and a half. She blows that annoying cherry blossom, Dakota Fanning, away. Rory Culkin, Macauly's little brother, was just perfect for the part of a naive kid, susceptible to his older brother's overbearing testosterone. Go see this film, because you will talk about it for hours on end. Perfect dinner movie. Take your girlfriend, boyfriend, significant other. Kids under 13, though portrayed in the film, just aren't ready for the material of this film, so don't bring your children.