Home Room

Rating:
Summary: WELL WORTH THE TIME
Review: I WASN'T SURE IF I WAS GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE. I SAW "HOSTAGE HIGH" WITH RICK SCHROEDER AND FREDDIE PRINZE JR. ABOUT 6 MONTHS AGO AND WAS EXPECTING THIS MOVIE TO BE SOMETHING LIKE THAT. BOY WAS I SURPRISED. THIS IS A WONDERFUL, EMOTIONAL, AND HONESTLY A VERY HEART-WRENCHING MOVIE STARRING TWO VERY TALENTED ACTRESSES, BUSY PHILLIPS AND ERIKA CHRISTENSEN. I REALLY DID LIKE HOSTAGE HIGH BUT I LIKED THIS MOVIE SO MUCH MORE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT MORE I CAN SAY ABOUT "HOME ROOM" THAT THE OTHER NUMEROUS REVIEWERS HAVEN'T ALREADY SAID BUT I DO HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT. AND EVEN THOUGH IT NEVER SPECIFICALLY ANSWERS THE QUESTION "WHY DO SCHOOL SHOOTINGS OCCUR" IT DOES GIVE THE VIEWER A VERY CLOSE LOOK AT THE IMPACT THEY (THE SHOOTINGS THAT IS) HAVE ON THOSE WHO SURVIVE ONE. A VERY HUMAN STORY. IN OTHER WORDS, A MUST-SEE. 5 STARS.

Rating:
Summary: Totally Contrived Movie
Review: I've had the opportunity of seeing this movie on DVD recently and I have to say that I wish that I would have my time and money back. The characterization, performances, and premise of the movie was totally contrived and also this movie never explains how and why school shootings occur(which is mainly why I watched this movie in the first place), which I think is an exercise in futility and is totally overlooking the real issue here.

If anyone wants to see a good movie that really makes you think about how and, most importantly, why school shootings happen I would recommend the "Zero Day" movie(which I think is still playing in select areas) instead of "Home Room".

Rating:
Summary: Powerful, wonderfully acted film.
Review: If there is one movie that will be completly ignored and shouldn't be at this years Academy Awards it's Home Room. One of the most intense, heartbreaking films I have seen all year. Turning in a career making performance is Busy Phillips (Audrey of Dawson's Creek). Here she proves to be one of the best young talents today delivering an emotional performance as Alicia. Busy Phillips is the embodiment of the word versatile. She can play the crazy, outgoing, and fun Audrey on Dawsons to the angry, bitter, depressed Alicia in Home Room. She makes the film worth seeing. Erica Christenson also turns in a heartbreaking performance. Her portrayel of Deanna is so sincere and honest. The 2 have an amazing chemistry. Everyone please see this film. It's very powerful and has some of the best performances of the year.

Rating:
Summary: Some good performances, but never delivers the goods.
Review: If this were simply meant to be a story about two girls from different social worlds that learn about life, themselves and each other, then this would be a nice little film. But then the film pretends to actually have something new or meaningful to say about recent school shootings, and the whole thing becomes pathetic. A major theme of the film is supposedly about trying to understand why school shootings occur, yet hardly any attention is payed to the actual shooter, so we can instead spend hours hanging out with his goth girlfriend and a peppy preppie that he shot in the head during his rampage. With an intellectually dishonest and insulting attitude that presumes that simply saying that there's no real explanation counts as an explanation of some kind, and supporting this sad argument with cliched helpful teachers and misunderstanding parents, and led by a couple of cops with ham-fisted dialogue about as subtle as an episode of Dragnet, Home Room does little more than attempt to successfully tackle a controversial subject by not really saying too much about it. It's rather hard to get some insight into events like Columbine if the writer/directers attemping to tackle the subject on film have no real insights of their own. Great performances by the two girls, however.

Rating:
Summary: Everyone has a story
Review: OMG! This movie kicks! It's complete irony til the end. K, there's this terrible shooting @ school. The only one who saw the whole thing is this "goth" chick named Alicia. Well, the police and the principle want her to tell them exactly what happened... she doesn't give a s***. Well, the days go by.The police come, blah blah blah.... she ends up at a funeral for one of the students that were killed. Hates it there. Ends up at a hospital to sit with one of the injured students. The girl's name is Deanna. What seems like an " I hate you, You hate me" relationship blooms into a real friendship. But for some reason, Alicia hates the hospital. But why??? and since she hates it so much, why does she keep coming back to visit some prep?? Like i said earlier, the story is complete irony to the last seens... The question still stands, why does Alicia hate the hospital so much? especially that particular room, room # 201. I'll let you figure it out. There's a touching ending, so get your tissues ready!!!!!!! I urge anyone who has ever felt alone or has ever hated someone b/c of what they look like, i promise, it'll change your perspective... b/c EVERYONE HAS A STORY...

Rating:
Summary: Everyone has a story
Review: OMG! This movie kicks! It's complete irony til the end. K, there's this terrible shooting @ school. The only one who saw the whole thing is this "goth" chick named Alicia. Well, the police and the principle want her to tell them exactly what happened... she doesn't give a s***. Well, the days go by.The police come, blah blah blah.... she ends up at a funeral for one of the students that were killed. Hates it there. Ends up at a hospital to sit with one of the injured students. The girl's name is Deanna. What seems like an " I hate you, You hate me" relationship blooms into a real friendship. But for some reason, Alicia hates the hospital. But why??? and since she hates it so much, why does she keep coming back to visit some prep?? Like i said earlier, the story is complete irony to the last seens... The question still stands, why does Alicia hate the hospital so much? especially that particular room, room # 201. I'll let you figure it out. There's a touching ending, so get your tissues ready!!!!!!! I urge anyone who has ever felt alone or has ever hated someone b/c of what they look like, i promise, it'll change your perspective... b/c EVERYONE HAS A STORY...

Rating:
Summary: A good solid movie
Review: Some characters can be a little predictable but the ones that matter are all 3-dimensional.

It seems to be a fairly realistic showing of the emotional implications of a school shooting.

I must warn you that the digital transfer is absolutely attrocious. That's why I had to knock off a star. All of the darker solid colors pixelate and crawl very badly. It was distracting and annoyed me greatly. I'm surprised no one else has mentioned that to my knowledge.

Rating:
Summary: Deserves more respect than "Bowling for Columbine"
Review: This is brilliant. One of those movies that makes you tingle a little after you see it because it's so emotionally gripping. The acting is amazing. I know some people exactly like the characters portrayed in this movie. There are alot of cool plot twists and it has a cool message as well. Makes you think alot. It's a good picture of modern youth culture, and no I'm not just some 45 year old parent or whatever saying that because my daughter has a couple of friends that I like. I'm a 15 year old kid, and I originally picked this movie up because I thought Busy Philipps was hot(I still do actually). I got alot more out of it, however, than something to entertain me for two hours. Even if you aren't really a movie rat(I'm not), if you want in on something that 'bowling for columbine', or the news won't give you on the topic of school shootings, watch this movie. It'll surprise you. It scared me with how real it was.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling. Poignant. Ultimately redemptive.
Review: This is not your average movie about school shootings. For one thing, the movie begins after the tragedy. For another, there is no graphic violence nor copious amounts of blood, but the emotional impact is a punch to the gut just the same.

Busy Philipps and Erika Christensen star as the two high-schoolers who form a tenuous relationship shortly after the tragedy. Busy is Alicia, the rebellious teen who's apparently beyond reach, who seems blaise and callous about the shootings. Erika is Deanna, the quintessentially perfect high school student who doesn't know how the deal with the nightmares and flashbacks that seem to be overwhelming her. Victor Garber portrays Det. Martin Van Zandt, the police detective who is under pressure to find someone to blame and arrest, but is increasingly uncomfortable with the direction that his boss wants to move in.

There are no easy answers in this movie, just as in life. Alicia's angry exterior is off-putting at first; she acts like she knows it all and would be easy to dismiss as another hostile teenager. Until you get to know her. Then you realize that she's just as much a kid inside as Deanna, a kid in desperate need of understanding and acceptance. Ms. Philipps was incredible in this role, handling the anger and raw emotion flawlessly.

Every parent and teenager should watch this movie together and then talk about it. {Warning: This film is rated R for explicit language, but it fits perfectly into the characters.) Every teacher should see this movie. I am a teacher of young children and the idea of those precious little souls growing up to experience something like the movie's events just broke my heart. Teens need caring, involved adults in their lives just as much, if not more, than little ones do. Especially the ones who seem the least receptive. Senseless tragedy is hard enough to deal with for adults; imagine the difficulty for children, who believe that adults have all the answers, and you have this movie.

Beautifully filmed and scored; there are several long scenes with just music that powerfully express the horror these kids went through in subtle ways. Brilliantly acted by all involved, including a stellar supporting cast. Sensitively written and edited, it's a film that will make you think and make you feel, maybe even make you reach out to that struggling teen you know.

I had the good fortune to see this movie on the big screen, at the Los Angeles premiere. Twice. I was very moved both times, particularly the second, once I knew the whole story. There are other movies coming out that deal with school shootings; most will probably build up to the tragedy and leave you there, as though that were the end. But the shootings are really just a moment in time, a small fragment of the whole tragic situation. The aftermath goes on forever for those involved, and I am grateful to the makers of this film for showing a small slice of that experience.

Rating:
Summary: Home Room- Not Another Day At School
Review: This is one of the best movies I have ever seen. This is not another school shooting, anti-gun, anti NRA, adults are brainless type movie. Home Room is story about two young women, from completely different backgrounds, who's worlds come together after a high school shooting. It's about feelings and relationships but is told in a way that is far from being a chick flick. It is a movie that makes you stop and think. Home Room keeps you on the edge of your seat trying to figure out what is going on in Busy Phillips character "Alicia's" mind. Erika Christensen's character starts off as the goody two shoes "good girl" who got wounded in the shooting but we soon find a troubled "pleaser" who has many personal demons that, as her character puts it, "are killing me from the inside". This is an intelligent movie that let's you draw your own conclusions.