Saw the movie a couple of days ago on DVD. I believe it was basically fair adaptation of Carl Hiassen's bestselling novel, which I've read recently and also enjoyed. I liked the movie too and the only serious problem for me was its short runtime. I suppose that making a movie as short as it is possible it's a dream of any director/producer/screenwriter but that's not the best approach. In Hoot they cutted some parts of the book which caused that the scenes in the movie are not always well connected with each other.
However much more important thing is that bright satirical stile of Hiassen's novel has survived in the movie making it a decent choice both for children and grownups. This kind of humor is not crude and vulgar as we used to see in most of modern comedies but just sweet and lively. Add also beautiful shots of wild nature, original story with quirky characters and good message inside. Combine all of this together and in the result you'll get Hoot, one of the best family movies of the year, very lively and enjoyable.
The acting is at least decent, particularly for that kind of movies. Logan Lerman who's indeed a very talented actor was very good as the main character. He impressed me in his previous works I've seen before (leading roles in "A Painted House" and "The Butterfly Effect") and this movie didn't become an exception. Overall all young actors' performances are uniformly strong and likable. Much more surprising for me was Luke Wison's performance. He was simply terrific in his supporting role of officer Delinko that every his appearance on screen at least brought a smile to my face. It's impossible not to mention also excellent performance of Tim Blake Nelson (Curly Branitt) with perfectly suitable for his character accent and both John Archie and Robert Donner in their little but memorable supporting parts.
The last thing but not the least is the music. Never been interested in Jimmy Buffett music before and to be honest never heard of him before I watched a trailer for Hoot featured his song from the movie. Anyway his style has caught my attention and even bought two of his albums. His compositions featured in the movie including final theme "Good Guys Win" perfectly fit in the movie, they are so much riveting, lighthearted and lively. There is also a fragment of Brie Larson's song in the movie which is too short to create an opinion on her vocal talents or lack of them.
I've almost forgotten one of the most important things about Hoot. The owls are really cute and so beautiful.
Overall grade: 8 out 10. It definitely has its flaws and most likely it won't win any significant award but it's one the most likable and enjoyable family movies I've seen recently and what's even more important it's heart is in the right place.
However much more important thing is that bright satirical stile of Hiassen's novel has survived in the movie making it a decent choice both for children and grownups. This kind of humor is not crude and vulgar as we used to see in most of modern comedies but just sweet and lively. Add also beautiful shots of wild nature, original story with quirky characters and good message inside. Combine all of this together and in the result you'll get Hoot, one of the best family movies of the year, very lively and enjoyable.
The acting is at least decent, particularly for that kind of movies. Logan Lerman who's indeed a very talented actor was very good as the main character. He impressed me in his previous works I've seen before (leading roles in "A Painted House" and "The Butterfly Effect") and this movie didn't become an exception. Overall all young actors' performances are uniformly strong and likable. Much more surprising for me was Luke Wison's performance. He was simply terrific in his supporting role of officer Delinko that every his appearance on screen at least brought a smile to my face. It's impossible not to mention also excellent performance of Tim Blake Nelson (Curly Branitt) with perfectly suitable for his character accent and both John Archie and Robert Donner in their little but memorable supporting parts.
The last thing but not the least is the music. Never been interested in Jimmy Buffett music before and to be honest never heard of him before I watched a trailer for Hoot featured his song from the movie. Anyway his style has caught my attention and even bought two of his albums. His compositions featured in the movie including final theme "Good Guys Win" perfectly fit in the movie, they are so much riveting, lighthearted and lively. There is also a fragment of Brie Larson's song in the movie which is too short to create an opinion on her vocal talents or lack of them.
I've almost forgotten one of the most important things about Hoot. The owls are really cute and so beautiful.
Overall grade: 8 out 10. It definitely has its flaws and most likely it won't win any significant award but it's one the most likable and enjoyable family movies I've seen recently and what's even more important it's heart is in the right place.