The Forger (2011)

Pretty Good

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Better Late Then Never

Absolutely amazing

Without exaggerating, this could quite possibly be the best movie I have ever seen. Joshua, a 16 year old boy abandoned by his mother and left homeless, must struggle to survive. His talent for art is his saving grace. Without going overboard into "wholesome" territory, The Forger tackles some heavy themes such as integrity and how to treat women. This is one of those films that can be enjoyed by adults, yet could also be shown to a youth group. It's that good. And yes, Josh Hutcherson is amazing. He shows off his acting chops in his portrayal of a confused teenage boy. Oh, and one funny thing...I watched this whole movie without realizing Lauren Bacall was in it (head smack)! I should have known by her voice. Definitely put The Forger as #1 in your Netflix queue.

What a awesome story. This film has a uniqueness of it's own. I've never seen a film that evolves around a young motherless child who's gifted at painting art. Movies like this are good. Keep you looking at individual characters to see who's worth routing for. The lighting was perfect, the editing was perfect of course but I think the casting was very good. Each person played the role very very well. Before watching this film, I never knew people forged paintings. I always just assumed people stole them and tried to sell them. This film has given me a new insight on the authenticity of works in general. You have to really look deep into things to be sure of it's authenticity.

I suppose, well, no, I know, that most of the reviews before mine are right about the many holes in the script, the flimsy dialog, the wrong casting for the main character (a twenty year old actor to represent a fifteen year old character) and several other flaws.But I enjoyed the movie from beginning to end.I just watched it as if it was a Walt Disney production, knowing that I couldn't expect more than what was offered and so, I wasn't as disappointed as the other reviewers that were waiting to see an Eric Rohmer's "My Night at Maud's".Well, sorry, There was only ONE Eric Rohmer, and he wasn't here. So, back to THIS movie: If you lower your expectations it isn't a bad movie to spend a couple of hours watching some very good actors practicing their trade in a gorgeous environment (Carmel) with some nice eye candy (Hayden Panettiere and Scott Eastwood) a very dignified Lauren Bacall and a born actor, Alfred Molina.In contrast to all the other critics, what really bothered me as the weakest point of the script was the unpolished way to represent the forgery of an old painting (too long to go into specifics) but just one enormous flaw: Molina was an expert forger and surely he should have known that no matter how much you clean an old canvas to erase the original painting, traces of that painting will be seen when looking through the new layer of paint with special equipment.Forget about all those weak points within the script and enjoy this movie as a very good piece of light entertainment.

Why would anybody with any sensibilities to the advancement of humanity and the nurturing of our youth invest money and time into this travesty? I saw Bacall, Molina and the Eastwood kids and I thought it might be OK, but no... it's drivel. The "kid" protagonist is a creepy brat thief who should garner no sympathy, but why the producers would want to engender that is reproachable. Besides all that, it's just a stinker script with no character development, bad over-lighting of scenes and worn out plot devices. And why does the punk kid deserve to get the girl? Is this really what we need to be saying in our media? Yes -it does matter. Did I say I wasn't wild about this flick...?