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Rating:  - I have been thinking
A very well made independant film!!!!! And two of my favourite subjects rolled into one: Vietnam and Jonathan Brandis!!! Well done!!! I phrase Jonathan Brandis' performance. he was really good. I wish he had been given the oppotunity to take his career forward. I have for the past few months been thinking about Jonathan Brandis and his tragic death. I received news of his death on my birthday. 'What a way to turn 20? finding out that my teen idol who I admired both as a crush, role model and older brother had taken his life.' I thought at the time. 'Is if I didn't have enough issues to deal with.'
It's sad. There have been speculations that he was depressed about his career, if that was the case, I feel if he had just held on and been patient, his time would have come. I have noticed that the peek of most acting careers seems to take place when actors are in their late twenties, early thirties. Look at Matt Damon for example. He was only 27 at the time when he became popular and that was just after Good Will Hunting. I think after the release of the movie that he did with Harvey Keitel might have opened a few doors for him if he had held on.
It's funny. It's been nearly four years since his death, so many great movies have come out and when I focus on a particular character, I always think to myself: 'God, Jonathan Brandis would have been great in that role.'
No offence to the actors who have played these roles, but I think he would have been great as the scarecrow/Jonathan Craine in Batman Begins, Ryan Reynolds' role in Smokin Aces and believe it or not, I feel he would have blowin people away of Thomas Gabriel (The cyber terrorist villain) in Die Hard 4.0. It would have been a huge contrast to his role as Lucas on seaquest. It's weird since I've seen Die Hard 4.0., I have been thinking about Jonathan Brandis.
I always felt he was very good as a villain. He always had that chilling, sadistic and seductive nature as a villain, not to mention he always had that sexy voice. I mean can you remember him in Aladdin and Fall Into Darkness? God that voice of his always brought a chill down my spine.
I still mourn his tragic death. What is worse is that no one will ever know why he did it and what was going through his mind. Something that angers me to this day about his death is that various articles were published quoting that his friends said that Jonathan talked about killing himself, that he was lonely and drank heavily. I feel sorry for his parents, they had enough to deal with losing their son, let alone hearing all that rubbish about him. He was their child for god sake. Whether is true or not I firmly believe you don't say things like that about your friends, especially if they have died under tragic circumstances. My heart goes out to his parents, family and friends. I especially feel for his parents.
I have for the past few months been thinking about Jonathan Brandis and his tragic death. I received news of his death on my birthday. 'What a way to turn 20? finding out that my teen idol who I admired both as a crush, role model and older brother had taken his life.' I thought at the time. 'Is if I didn't have enough issues to deal with.'
It's sad. There have been speculations that he was depressed about his career, if that was the case, I feel if he had just held on and been patient, his time would have come. I have noticed that the peek of most acting careers seems to take place when actors are in their late twenties, early thirties. Look at Matt Damon for example. He was only 27 at the time when he became popular and that was just after Good Will Hunting. I think after the release of the movie that he did with Harvey Keitel might have opened a few doors for him if he had held on.
It's funny. It's been nearly four years since his death, so many great movies have come out and when I focus on a particular character, I always think to myself: 'God, Jonathan Brandis would have been great in that role.'
No offence to the actors who have played these roles, but I think he would have been great as the scarecrow/Jonathan Craine in Batman Begins, Ryan Reynolds' role in Smokin Aces and believe it or not, I feel he would have blowin people away of Thomas Gabriel (The cyber terrorist villain) in Die Hard 4.0. It would have been a huge contrast to his role as Lucas on seaquest. It's weird since I've seen Die Hard 4.0., I have been thinking about Jonathan Brandis.
I always felt he was very good as a villain. He always had that chilling, sadistic and seductive nature as a villain, not to mention he always had that sexy voice. I mean can you remember him in Aladdin and Fall Into Darkness? God that voice of his always brought a chill down my spine.
I still mourn his tragic death. What is worse is that no one will ever know why he did it and what was going through his mind. Something that angers me to this day about his death is that various articles were published quoting that his friends said that Jonathan talked about killing himself, that he was lonely and drank heavily. I feel sorry for his parents, they had enough to deal with losing their son, let alone hearing all that rubbish about him. He was their child for god sake. Whether is true or not I firmly believe you don't say things like that about your friends, especially if they have died under tragic circumstances. My heart goes out to his parents, family and friends. I especially feel for his parents. It's really creepy, I have just seen Fall Into Darkness, Bad Girls and The Year That Trembled and it seems to me that these films seem to foreshadow his untimely and tragic death, especially when he remarks in The Year That Trembled: 'I could die now.' How's that for irony?
Rating:  - Uneven but worthwhile
Films about the 1960s are always difficult -- some go no deeper than the familiar media images, others fail to capture the tone of that unique time. This one does something a little different by looking at the end of the 1960s, following the lives of several high school graduates sharing a house near Kent State after the 1970 shootings. They represent a cross-section of young America at the time, with the late Jonathan Brandis our point-of-view character, aspiring writer Casey Pederson: politically & culturally a bit left of center, but no hippie or radical. (His tragic death shortly after making this film lends it additional poignancy.)
Casey & his friends are waiting for the first draft lottery, which hangs over their summer like a black cloud of potential doom. Having endured the same horrible wait back then, I can attest that the ominous feeling is captured perfectly, as well as the sense that the optimism & ideals of the earlier 1960s were fading away. We all sensed that things were going to be very different in the 1970s, nothing like the golden future of peace & understanding we had envisioned -- and the film conveys this with precision.
The low budget gives it a sort of ramshackle feeling, and at times the quality veers into made-for-TV territory. The script & acting are a bit uneven, especially at first; but as the story continues, a certain emotional power builds up. Characters are forced into narrowing corners with fewer & fewer choices, and several make the wrong ones, both politically & personally. Casey's brooding & uncertainty, his unspoken but obvious need for something genuine, for fidelity & love & faith in the future, is superbly portrayed. It rings just as true today as it did then. And Marin Hinkle gives a warm, wonderful performance as the fired high school teacher who is both guiding mother figure & troubled woman.
Sometimes the necessary intensity or insight is lacking ... but on the whole, this film is a reminder of a time when teenagers thought about more than mass market fads, and considered their place in the world & their need to make something better of it. The cost of bearing that weight, which led to both self-betrayal & rising to idealistic heights, is depicted well. They were all so terribly young.... The film will leave you with a bittersweet afterglow, and a realization that its message is all too relevant again today. Recommended!
Rating: - Would recommend to fans of independent film
Not a big fancy film, but very good for a small independent film. The cast as a whole gave a great performance; Jon Brandis, in one of his last projects, was excellent. I wish this film had been given the wider theatrical release it deserved.
Rating:  - Made me a tad Weepy!
I've been a Jonathan Brandis fan since the days his face adorned the cover of BOP and Tiger Beat magazines. I followed his career with glee and taped every episode of SeaQuest in order to see his baby blues peeking at me from the depts of my tv. And when I found out that he had ended his life I was both heart-broken and outraged.
So when I happened across this movie, I jumped at the chance to buy one of the last films he appeared in. And I wasn't disappointed in the least. I enjoyed seeing "Andy" from Dawson's Creek and "Knox" from Angel, as well.
The trials and tribulations of college-aged kids, trying to grow-up yet still being controlled by the adults around them was enough to make me thankful my childhood was spent without too much home threats of war.
I recommend this flick to any and all who :
1. Love Jonathan Brandis (a line in the movie will break your heart, though: "I could just die right now..." Cuz - ya know - he's not living...)
2. dig a love triangle as complicated as Bermuda's, and
3. oppose War and all it has to "offer."
Rating: - Part of me, part of the USA, part of all of us
I was an extra in this movie and I must say the end product does not do justice to the experience. Being just down the road from the site of the Kent State shootings, I don't think it is possible to portray the reality of the feelings of that era on a television screen. The actors were wonderful to work with and my pride for them blends over into my viewing of their performances. My favorite, by far, is Jonathan Woodward who played "Charlie", the ill-fated all-American young man who accurately represents the situations of many of the drafted soldiers. I enjoyed the various perspectives as we see the citizen who so earnestly believes in his country only to be betrayed by it (Charlie); the draftdodger who escapes to Canada (Hairball); the protester thrown in jail (Judy); the teacher who lost her job over her opinions (Charlie's wife); and the various other character studies throughout the movie. The only sad part was that we spent four hours filming a five minute scene for a section of the movie and it was left on the cutting room floor! I wish there would have been a section on the DVD for extras such as history bites, cast interviews, and definitely those deleted scenes!
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