Thursday, December 26, 2013

MOVIE WEEKEND: THE MIGHTY

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

Today we're going all the way back to 1998 to consider The Mighty (PG-13, Available on DVD, Available on Netflix Screaming TILL JAN. 1).


I decided on The Mighty for this week's choice because it's available on Netflix Screaming only until Jan. 1, and because you might want to watch it with your kids while they're out of school. It's NOT a movie for young children, but I think it's okay for youngsters of about 10 and older, with supervision. It has some violence. In fact, this film has quite a few bullies, so it could make for some good discussions.

Maxwell Kane (Elden Henson) lives with his grandparents because his father killed Max's mother when he was quite young. Now he's a very large young man who has difficulty reading, and he's picked on to the point that I don't know what keeps his blood from boiling. Kevin Dillon (Kieran Culkin), who is very small and walks with braces and canes because of a devastating disease, moves in next door to Max. Kevin, a.k.a. "Freak", becomes Max's reading tutor, and they start their work with a book about King Arthur. Kevin teaches Max what it is to be a Knight of the Round Table, and together, they soon become a mighty pair, with Kevin high in the air on Max's shoulders.

I'm surprised I had never seen this movie, but I remember hearing about it when it was released. I like it. It's sad, but, ultimately, it's uplifting. These two boys change each other's lives. Kieran Culkin may not be as famous as his Home Alone older brother, but he's very good, as is Elden Henson. I didn't cry at the end, but some people who comment about it on IMDB feel it's a two or even three hankie movie. I don't have any children hanging around to watch movies with me, and I've stopped stealing children off the streets to be my movie buddies because their silly parents complained. But I'm sure this is a movie I would have allowed The Hurricane and Favorite Young Man to watch–not Middle Child, though, because she was grounded.

I love the Arthurian images throughout the movie. The Mighty also employs two of my favorite themes: the interconnectedness of humankind and writing one's own life.

A warning: Max's father, "Killer" Kane (James Gandolfini), is paroled during the course of the movie. He kidnaps Max, and he be scary. Although The Mighty doesn't have much graphic violence, Gandolfini's demeanor makes Tony Soprano seem kinda sweet. His part is small, though.

My only complaint about this movie is that if you look at the photo I stole lifted borrowed from IMDB, you can't tell that this movie is about Max and Kevin. Why are all those actors with much smaller parts featured so prominently? I guess some idiot moron suit at the studio thought that Culkin and Henson wouldn't be a draw, but it makes the photo misleading.

I say, You go, Max and Kevin! I like you. The Mighty earns The Janie Junebug Seal of Approval.

It's not a long movie. Watch it on Screaming while you can, or go ahead and seek out the DVD.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug



Maxwell Kane: [narrating] It was Freak who told me about King Arthur. How he got this round table, and how he got the bravest knights, and the whole world to sit at that table. You will be brothers, said King Arthur. And you will fight for all those who ask for help. You will be gentle to the weak, but terrible to the wicked. It was Freak who told me about King Arthur. It was Freak who told me everything.

20 comments:

  1. Yeah, who did Sharon Stone play? Her big name is up there, but I don't think you mentioned her. She supposedly has an IQ of 150.

    The movie sounds good.

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    1. Sharon Stone plays Kevin's mom. She's okay. It's not a big part. I've heard that her IQ is really high, and so is James Woods'.

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  2. I had not heard of this movie, either. It looks like one that might be worthwhile to see. Hope you had a nice Christmas!

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    1. I think your kids are probably mature enough to watch this and get something out of it.

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  3. O dear, a weepie.
    I’ll only agree to watch it if it has a happy ending.
    There’s too much misery around already.

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    1. I didn't cry, but I don't cry very often over movies. Some people are more affected by a sad story than I am.

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  4. Hello, Janie Junebug! I love a good movie and I solemnly swear that if I lived a little closer I'd be your movie buddy in a heartbeat. (You wouldn't even have to steal me off the street!) I don't know how I missed The Mighty, but I'm grateful for this review. It got me interested in seeing it because I am drawn to movies and TV shows about social outcasts and people with handicaps and deformities. Freaks (1932), The Blind Side, Life Goes On and Freaks and Geeks spring immediately to mind. I agree with you 1,000 percent that the weasels in suits often use poor judgement when it comes to packaging and promoting entertainment. Obviously they lacked faith in the powerful story of the relationship between these two boys. They sought to cast a wider net by including on the cover images of veteran actress Gena Rowlands, Gillian Anderson of X-Files fame and Sharon Stone, a huge box office draw at the time thanks to her movie hits Basic Instinct and Casino.

    Thank you for this interesting review, dear Janie. I'll be connecting with you again soon!

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    1. You're welcome, and thank you for commenting. Gillian Anderson is barely in this movie, but she's more important than the boys who star in it? I have never seen Freaks, though I've heard of it. I love the other movie and shows you mentioned. When Freaks and Geeks was on TV, The Hurricane and I loved it. I thought two of its stars would go on to big careers: James Franco and Linda Cardellini (may not have spelled her last name correctly). Of course, I was right about James Franco. I had no idea Seth Rogen would become a big name.

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  5. Sad, I don't "get" streaming, figuratively or in actuality. I liked when they sent me actual dvds in the mail. Now that's not even an option.

    And that Middle child... she's feisty. No surprise she would have been grounded. :)

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    1. Middle Child has always been difficult. She was so quiet most of the time I didn't even know she was around. She'd wander off and end up in Hawaii. You can order the streaming for a relatively small fee (less than $10) and watch movies and TV shows on your computer. Not everything is available in streaming, and as Rita and I have complained, sometimes something is suddenly removed from streaming. If you have a smart TV, you can watch Netflix easily on the TV, or you can stream through Wii and I think some other kind of box that isn't terribly expensive. Willy Dunne Wooters used my wi-fi to put Netflix on the TV. The remote even has a Netflix button, further proof that Netflix is taking over the world.

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  6. Okay, I need to know who Maxwell is. You mention him in like all of your posts but I have no idea who he is and it's driving me crazy. haha

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    1. Maxwell was the love of my life. He was killed in a tragic bass fishing accident. I honor him by keeping his name alive on my blog.

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  7. The movie sounds very interesting Junie! Thank you for the review!

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    1. You're welcome. I think you might enjoy this one, Beth.

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  8. I've added it to my quay-way (which is now called a "list" for those of us who don't know how to pronounce "quay-way." Now I have 346 movies in my quay-way. Do you think I can watch them all before I die?

    -andi

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    1. I didn't know how to pronounce quay-way till you told me. If it's in your streaming list, you have to watch it PDQ. And no, you will not watch all those movies before you die, or maybe you will watch them but then you'll forget that you watched them.

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  9. You had me until "Hawaii"... then it all became Techno Chinese. Sadly, we have a Wii and a PS3 for blue ray... I have no idea how to use them.

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  10. Maybe you can Google it and someone will tell you how to use all that techno-crap? Or ask a geeky friend?

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  11. I get so annoyed with Netflix streaming for removing selections all the time. I have six of them in my queue right now that will suddenly be gone shortly. I will see if I can catch this one. Sounds pretty good. Thanks, Janie. :)

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    1. I noticed that a lot of stuff is ending on the 31st or the 1st.

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