Secondhand Lions (2003)

For a VERY long time I've been disgusted with most of the stuff coming out of Hollywood... too many movies with huge budgets and absolutely NO imagination or talent involved. Lately tho, the Hollywood system has slipped a bit, and a few films by SMART people working with nonformula scripts have been falling through the cracks. And they're a refreshing breeze for those of us that don't bother with "One Weekend Wonders" that generate monster box office receipts for two or three weeks, that involve the latest orgasm generator "stars" and a ton of explosives and guns... just to sink into oblivion afterwards, like TITANIC or PEARL HARBOR.

The LAST intelligent movie I saw was A MIGHTY WIND. Right on it's heels, we get SECONDHAND LIONS.

I've been a Robert Duval fan for a LONG time... there's more than a little bit of Sonny from THE APOSTLE, and a taste of Colonel "Bull" Meecham from THE GREAT SANTINI thrown into the character of Hub. He's done a Tour De Force job with the performance. WONDERFUL!!!

The biggest surprise in all of this tho was Michael Caine's take on playing a Texas redneck! It's hard to imagine that the impeccably English Spitfire squadron commander from BATTLE OF BRITAIN could pull off a crusty, aging Texan, but he DOES it beautifully. He even gets the accent down quite well!

This is a film that's a TON of fun from beginning to end. IMHO it's destined to become a classic, very much like Jean Sheppard's A CHRISTMAS STORY.

It's worth the trip. Pick it up, and you won't be sorry.

Gavno

Fmovies: The first thing I noticed in this film was the farmhouse, a caliche road, and the mailbox--and I knew it was rural Texas. Then I noticed a couple of uncles sitting on their front porch with shotguns, and a young teenage boy not knowing exactly what to think. I was hooked immediately when flipping through the TV channels and seeing Secondhand Lions.

This film was made in Pflugerville, a suburb northeast of Austin, and of course there is a rural road, a farm house, and stock tank (pond). It was the first thing that caught my attention, and it felt like Texas. And then there was Michael Cain and Robert Duval playing characters in Texas. I've seen this movie five times or so, and it is not difficult to imagine Robert Duval playing a character from Texas. However, Michael Cain, well if his Texas accent wasn't perfect, his character was perfectly played! And as brilliant as Cain might have been, Robert Duval was just as good as Robert Duval can be, and that's about as good as it gets. Cain plays Garth, and Duval plays Hub and the 13-or 14-year-old Walter is basically dumped with the uncles by his mother one afternoon. The uncles aren't happy about the situation. Walter's not happy about the stranding with the uncles. But the audience is in for a treat as this story develops.

While Haley Joel Osment played a believable Walter, and Kyra Sedgwick was also excellent as Mae the mom, the movie's writer and director Tim McCanlies has to be given credit for a realistic setting, and an amazing story that allows character development, and what might be a pretty bad situation, child abandonment with strange relatives, to become a wonderful story.

Yes, Cain and Duval play curmudgeonly uncles, but they also play loving and caring uncles who grow so close to Walter, they try to figure out how to protect him from his irresponsible mother. Work in some traveling salesmen, that occasionally succeed in getting past the shotgun blasts from the front porch, to sell garden seeds (in a variety of packages, but only corn grew), or to sell a sickly lioness, and this plot is wonderful.

The lioness is nurtured back to health by Walter, but one day she escapes and heads into the garden of fully grown corn. I probably would have named this movie "Lions in the Cornfield," because that is an extremely strong image from this movie, and seeming ridiculous situation. But Secondhand Lions actually uses the symbol of the uncles as aging, yet protective lions who have had better days, and Jasmine the lioness, to communicate all that is quirky and good in life.

As strong as Duval and Cain may be in their acting roles, the story is equally as idealistic in siding with right, and opposing evil. When a movie is idealistic, and believable, and fun, I can't help but give this film a solid recommendation (9 of 10 stars).

I am very critical about movies, especially the ones which will pass before the eyes of my 9 & 7-yr old daughters, so I was extremely surprised and impressed with Secondhand Lions. I was washed away by the depth of this movie and challenged by what it presented. Tucked into the mystery of the uncles' past (unraveling in the moonlight) is a revelation of a life well-lived. What drives man to a life of adventure and where does he go when his body can't keep up? What, when, where determines how he passes the wisdom of the ages? Created in the image of God, we are challenged to be fully alive while we have the strength. "Sometimes the things that may or may not be true are the things that man needs to believe in the most" and I won't spoil the movie for you by giving you the carrot. I will tell you that there is a sincere love for life in this story that is utterly compelling. Go read "Waking the Dead" and "If you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat", watch "Secondhand Lions" with your most courageous friends and the loved ones you wish would be so fearless, and then meet me for coffee in Marseille. Bon courage à vivre!

Secondhand Lions fmovies. It sounds like a cliché, but I don't know anybody who didn't like this film. I recommended it to a number of people, and all were impressed with it as I was.

Excellent acting and an interesting low-key story make this a very enjoyable 110 minutes of entertainment. A story about two old geezers who take in a 14-year- old to their home for a month doesn't sound too exciting but this film will surprise you.

It's tough to find two elder gentlemen as good and appealing as Michael Caine and Robert Duvall, anyway, so you have two winners right there. Add a fine, fine young actor in Haley Joel Osment and now you have three excellent actors who comprise most of the lines of the film.

This is one of those rare "guarantee" movies in which you can safely tell your friends to watch it and not regret the recommendation.

Cartoonist Josh Lucas (of "A Beautiful Mind") gets a phone call telling that his two great-uncles have been in an accident. Immediately we see the Lucas character in the form of young Haley Joel Osment as he is literally dropped off with great-uncles Michael Caine and Robert Duvall by lousy mother Kyra Sedgwick in the 1960s. It seems that the two supposedly have a huge fortune somewhere on their property in Texas and Sedgwick, along with several others, have been trying to find the treasures for themselves. Osment seems out-of-place completely at first and his two uncles appear to be cold and unfeeling, but soon Duvall is seen sleep-walking and acts like he is sword-fighting while he does. Osment has never seen anyone act this way before and he becomes curious. He finds a photo of the beautiful and exotic Emmanuelle Vaugier in the house's tower and his want to know the pasts of his uncles' builds. Caine tells Osment of a time at the start of World War I when the duo unwittingly became a part of the French Legion, fighting with the Allies during the war. The war comes and goes and Caine starts to tell of Duvall's love for Vaugier when he was a young man. Naturally she was also wanted by an evil sheik (Adam Ozturk) and thus he had to protect she and himself at all times. Eventually the stories conclude and Osment finds out how the two got their money. But could it be possible that what Caine has been conveying are just stories and not the true reality? "Secondhand Lions" (the title refers to an old lion that Duvall and Caine buy during the course of the picture) is one of those movies that makes you feel that there are still good people in Hollywood who really want to develop nice family-oriented films that cater to all age groups. Writer/director Tim McCanlies shows real potential here and Osment continues to amaze. He holds his own with legends Caine and Duvall from the word go. Osment, who is the most atypical youngster in Hollywood these days (never selling out to be in junk like "Freddy vs. Jason" or "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" remake), just keeps on growing and maturing as a performer. His range was amazing in "The Sixth Sense" and he has not lost his gift, instead he has cultivated it further. Definitely not a perfect film, but still a very enjoyable trip to the movies that stands tall during a year of sub-par movies. With all the shortcomings from Hollywood in 2003, the family films have been surprisingly the best productions by far. 4 stars out of 5.

I have been told by many people this was a great movie and one I needed to watch. Well finally I watched it today and it didn't disappoint me. It has so many great elements to it. I laughed in some parts and cried my eyes out in others. I loved the line "...died with his (or her) boots on." It's a great statement about living your life to the fullest and believing in the things that really matter like love and honor. The actors were fabulous. I think young Haley Joel Osment has a lot to offer films and I hope we see much more of him in the future. Michael Caine never disappoints me and I love his Texas accent in the film. Overall, this is truly one movie fit for all ages. A true heartwarming film with a great message for anyone who will hear it.