I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Why so much hype?

Better Late Then Never

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Last week I reviewed a film called The Contender. The title would have been even more appropriate for this week's film Pay It Forward. In the 1954 Oscar-winning film On the Waterfront Marlon Brando has a great speech in which he says, "I could've been a contender, instead of a bum, which is what I am." I left Pay It Forward thinking a great deal about what it could have been.The premise is engaging. Kevin Spacey plays a middle-school teacher who challenges his students to come up with a strategy for changing the world. One of his students, Trevor, comes up with the interesting idea that is the heart of the film. He says that we worry about paying people back when they do us a favor--maybe we should pay it forward. He decides that he will do something for three different people, instructing them each to do something positive for three other people instead of paying him back. If this exponential altruism catches on it might just change the world.One of Trevor's not-so-random acts of kindness is to get his mother together with his teacher. Trevor is an only child living with an overworked alcoholic mother. His teacher is a single man with a badly scarred face. He knows that they would be good for each other and does everything he can to get them together.There are, of course, complications. The primary weakness of the film is best described by quoting Richard Foster. Foster tells of a publisher who responded to a manuscript by saying "this is original and creative . . . unfortunately the parts that are original are not creative, and the parts that are creative are not original." Once we get past the engaging premise the film becomes a virtual compendium of cliches. We move back and forth between the chain of altruism and the budding romance but both plot lines are chock full of melodramatic machinations.The sad thing is that with a little better writing this could have been an excellent film. The performances are outstanding. Kevin Spacey is excellent as always, Helen Hunt gives one of the best performances of her career, and Haley Joel Osment proves that he is, pound for pound, one of the best actors working.I liked the film overall, but I really wanted to like it more than I did. In this season where we are drowning in the politics of self-interest, anything that encourages civility and compassion is a refreshing change. My expectations were so high that I left a bit disappointed. I am hoping that if I lower your expectations you might see it and like it more than you thought you would. It would please me greatly to do you that small favor. If it does work out that way, no need to thank me or pay me back, just pay it forward.

Someone does you a good favor. You pass it on to three other people. They pass it on. And what a wonderful world this will be like the commercial we see on TV these days. That's the theory behind "Pay It Forward,". I would like to say this is a great movie for kids, and parents but parents should be cautious while watching with their kids under 14 years old. This movie has frequent profanity, including one use of the "N" word, as well as a tween boy who calls one of his bullies "a fag." Many of the characters abuse alcohol and drugs, including heroin and marijuana. There are references to severe domestic abuse. There are some fights, one resulting in mortal injury. A character attempts suicide. Another shoots his gun, though no one is injured. A character dies tragically. I personally think this movie deserves more than 7.2 rating. This is a must seen movie for all kids, and parents to raise a better generation.

Have to say that this movie is not one of my favorites, but it also is a movie that is "on the edge" of what pushes jaded "professional reviewers" over that edge.When looking at an overall consensus of "critics" and "viewer" opinions, the actual VIEWERS opinions, those people who watch movies by choice, and not because it's "their job" this movie gets more positive feedback, in fact from what I can see the jaded, "forced to watch it" critics hate this movie.IMDb on the other hand shows ratings based on viewers opinions and it's those opinions lately I go to for a more even handed and realistic view of whether I will like a movie. Even this movie which really is an "over the top" good lord this is just a bit too much to take kind of movie the score is still even handed and fair. Yes it leans past the middle into the positive but quite frankly even if you hate this type of thing it still deserves it.I did enjoy many moments. I did wish the world could be maybe a little bit that maudlin "sometimes" within limits.But overall what it shows me is that IMDb is much closer to showing me scores and reviews that match how I feel about movies compared to almost every other review site. There is some overlap of course, some movies just can't be panned even by the most jaded reviewers.Pay It Forward is a very sappy sugary type of movie but even the worst of us enjoy that type of snack occasionally, even if we would NEVER admit it publicly.

Rarely does a movie come along that attempts to become more than entertainment and hopes to inspire a "movement". This is one of those excellent examples of how real, positive changes to our world can come from film if done properly. "Pay It Forward" is exceptional from it's basic, boring inception from a simple middle-school extra-credit assignment until it's awe-inspiring, global-changing ending. If nothing else, it makes you think. And feel. Director Mimi Leder orchestrated a classy, elegant, gritty and realistic journey through the Las Vegas underbelly and beyond. She masterfully tried giving us a message of triumph over the paralyzing reality of feeling insignificant in this sea of unloving, uninterested humanity on earth. Leslie Dixon's screen writing (based on a novel of the same name, written by Catherine Ryan Hyde) replaces fear and hatred with hope and kindness against overwhelming odds in a huge, indifferent world. It's a message for all-time. The acting is excellent - headed by Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and the exquisite Haley Joel Osment. This trio of actors put forth a special story about a sad but still idealistic 7th grader who believes the world can be a better place, even if his own worthless existence is as pathetic as everyone else's. He formulates a simple premise - Do something big and helpful for three people with no benefit to himself - and ask that person to do the same for three additional people, and so on... Getting proper guidance from two flawed but still hopeful adults, he discovers we can all make a positive difference in this world through small but not insignificant random acts of kindness that resonate over and over again. What he doesn't realize is the magnitude of his "discovery". Think "The Butterfly Effect" by acting out sheer kindness and thoughtfulness toward your neighbor when that neighbor needs you most. If this story can't get your heart and head moving toward finding ways to make small, significant, positive changes in your life and those around you, then you may never understand there is more to this world than our micromanaged little, selfish existences.Surrounding the main trio of actors is a splendid array of character actors - Jim Caviezel, Angie Dickinson (in one of her last roles), Jon Bon Jovi, Jay Mohr... Watching downtrodden character after character receive a random act of kindness when it was most unexpected and needed, then passing that good deed onto the next "at wits end" character, all the while never knowing where those good deeds started or are headed in the end, makes this a fantastic idea. When Spacey's teacher character comments how after giving out the same ridiculous assignment to classroom after classroom year after year with little to no results, the "Pay It Forward" idea actually had a chance to change the world... It was an honest assessment of why we're all here together in the first place.This movie mesmerized my family -- my teenage kids had never seen it and my wife and I had forgotten how special it was. We all discussed afterward how we could "Pay It Forward" and where. It doesn't matter who, what, when or how. What matters is the "act now". I'm thankful we watched it as a family. I'm thankful to see the wisdom and urgency in this message. And I hope all who watch will not only enjoy but apply the premise of this fabulous film. 9 out of 10 as a movie, 11 out of 10 for it's message and hope.