The greatest movie ever made..!

recommended

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I saw this movie without a clue what it was about. I had just been given the cover and glanced at the front, believing it to be a comedy in the likes of American Pie and such.Well, after getting over the initial surprise about what this movie was actually about, I found it to be nice anyway. It tells a good story and you can easily follow the characters and understand their personalities.The cast was good and it had some nice supporting roles as well. Especially the parents, they were well cast and did a great job bringing their roles to life.The movie is uplifting and have fun moments, but I don't believe it is the type of movie that you will watch more than once.

The elements that were designed to visually encompass this film, are absolutely great! From the house, the clothing (or lack of) of Aaron's character family to the lighting schemes in every situation, Whole New Thing is exactly what Hollywood should tackle: a good story that resonates with real life situations, and a treatment where twists and turns, not manipulation, lead to a very convincing film.The textures of every small detail were almost handcrafted, especially the music. This is one of the reasons why Canadian films are important: they are a counterweight to American films, (though I still believe that Canadians, as Chileans, Mexicans and all of America's peoples are American).I'm proud of this film and the way it explores (maybe not in depth, because it was not its purpose) a really difficult issue to which we all close our eyes and ears, and think as impossible and weird. My hat off too for the co-writer and actor Daniel McIvor.Maybe you'll love to see this film over and over again just to discover how well done it is!

This is a touching movie about Emerson, the 13-year-old son of hippies in rural Nova Scotia. He's been home-schooled; hoping to interest him more in academics, his mother decides to send him to the local school for the first time. As he becomes the target of bullies, more and more he develops a crush on his English teacher, Mr. Grant, who as it turns out is a closeted gay man who frequents the highway rest stop. His artless advances towards Mr. Grant scare the hell out of him, leaving Emerson hurt and confused. Meanwhile, his parents' marriage is in a crisis that they try unsuccessfully to camouflage from him.There were a few thin spots (a few threads were left hanging ), but in general it's a sweet, reflective movie that compels us to identify with Emerson and invites us to think about the emotional reactions it raises in us. Another lovely Canadian (and specifically Maritime) queer film in the tradition of The Hanging Garden.

I saw this to a packed audience at the Toronto International Film Festival today with director, lead actor, and producers in attendance.This film exceeded my expectations and was enjoyable to watch. This film explores sexuality and relationships mainly through a home-schooled boy whose family integrates him into a regular school, coming into contact with students and one teacher in particular. This was an engrossing and very interesting exploration of this topic with tenderness, realism, and an excellent screenplay.A few outstanding aspects:1) SCREENPLAY: very intelligent, strong characters, motivations, with some very witty lines that really worked and, at times, got me laughing. Good flow.2) VERY STRONG ACTING: The lead actor (first film for Aaron Webber) was very well cast, not to mention the performances from all leads was very strong. Kudos to the director for pulling this together.3) VISUALS: The scenes and visuals are slightly out of the ordinary resulting in something that intrigues and makes it worth watching.There is, however, one small area that was lacking believability which would make this an otherwise outstanding film: the evolving relationship of the lead character with his teacher. A bit more care with this crescendo is what is needed. With a few tweaks highlighting a special moment, or an additional scene, the movie would be perfect. I was thoroughly engrossed in the characters and story and give this movie a very strong endorsement.