Good story, Not enough for a whole film

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Carried by two preteen actors this raw, gritty, real inner city tale has you rooting for a miracle the whole time. A drama based in Brooklyn has the two main characters on their own and in hiding from Child Welfare services so they can avoid the NY foster care system doing what they have to to survive until their parents (hopefully) return. Difficult to watch as the writing, acting, directing et al. brought this sad take on hardship and American poverty to life. An important, enjoyable film.

You may have two female singers turned actors, you may have Anthony Mackie and Jeffrey Wright (in roles you might not expect them, especially the former), but the real stars are the two kids. It's amazing how they play their roles. This movie is really gripping and it's all because of the two children who make this movie. The casting people and whoever else was responsible for getting them cannot get enough praise for the job they did.Same as mentioned above goes for the children, but also the script and the directing. You never feel like you are being preached at and it still manages to convey its message. On the disc I watched there are a few deleted scenes, which are also worth watching. Some might even say, they should've been in the movie too. That's for you to judge, but won't take anything from the impact of the movie, only enhance it

Children survived without parents that loved them. The tragic ending was the capture of the children to which the state held them captive. The point of view of children is far more realistic than adults. Children understand the difference from being cared for because they are loved, and being cared for because the state gets paid to do so. Plainly children perceive abuse when the state cares for them for money. Why adults do not perceive this fact is beyond me. When a state gets paid to take care of children its child abuse. How the state justifies child abuse is beyond me. I question the benefit of taking a child from abusive parents just to replace the abuse parents with another another abusive system. Children understand the difference from someone doing their job responsibility and someone who cares for them merely that they love them. So the movie was realistic, it is a ten star movie, I claim to only be a eight star movie, merely that it conveys the benefit of the state, when in most cases the state does more harm than good.

This movie is all around amazing! (Acting was phenomenal!) It's so moving and so gut wrenchingly realistic, it's mind blowing. It pulls so many emotions from you at once, it will leave you breathless. I would recommend this film to anyone regardless of race or class because this story transcends all those lines. I especially recommend it for teachers, parents, and those children who are mature enough to handle the subject matter because this is something that should be discussed with the younger generation.I saw this movie at a private screening and we had a Q&A afterwards. It was very interesting to hear people's opinion (some of whom were from similar backgrounds as the two boys ) and see how it affected the entire audience was.