Ian (Flash Review)Imagine you are an impressionable 12 year old or so and your father is taken from you in the worst ever attack on American soil? This is a story about how this boy, with some sort of OCD behavior, attempts to cope and deal with the loss of his father. Based on various factors and his father's influence, he searches all over Manhattan for a lock to a key he found in his father's closet and comes across all walks of life; needle in a haystack. This was a crisply and smartly edited movie with good emotional moments. And it took a unique a tasteful angle on a very tragic situation. The boy carries the movie as Hanks and Bullock, his parents, are only in a few scenes. Neat little take on that event.

TheBlueHairedLawyer To be fair, I do think that most of the actors did a good job, and that the general plot of this film as well as its camera work, it was all done very well. But the main character, that annoying as hell little boy, he got on my last nerve and his behaviour (which by the way has been chalked up to autism in the film, because I suppose all autistic children must be little monsters who bother people and slap their parents and curse and swear) got on my last nerve every time. I loved the scenes with the various people who he meets on his journey through New York, from a friendly drag queen to a woman going through a messy breakup with her husband, but we hardly get much more than a glimpse into all their lives because the film is so focused on this self-indulgent, bratty and rude little snot of a child who whines repeatedly in narration about what a huge toll 9/11 took on his own life, but who is too focused on himself to see what the disaster did to his mother or to anyone else who lost loved ones when it happened. I think that the doorman (only a minor character) and the grandfather were both certainly some of the most interesting in the story, bringing some comic relief to various scenes, and later on profound sadness in the grandfather's case. 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' is in many ways akin to the 2015 film 'The Rainbow Kid' with its journey of quirky characters met along the way, except that in the case of the latter, the main character was actually likable. I mean this boy in here is so pretentious and nasty and self-centered that it almost had me thinking he'd make a good villain! I felt horrible for his mother and kept wishing under my breath that she'd lock him out of the apartment during one of his little day trips just to teach him a lesson in respect.

Josh Extremely loud and incredibly close is such a gem, I am sad that it took me this long to see it. The cast is excellent, especially Thomas Horn, the main character. The story starts out in a bit of confusion, and you are not quite sure what to expect. Then, slowly over the span of the film, little connections begin to pop up as you begin to make sense of it all. I loved every moment of the film. There are ups, and downs, and everything in between, and even if you have never experienced exactly what Oskar experiences, you feel connected to his character, and you feel just as motivated to resolve his quest as he is. This film is well directed, and the style is amazing. I never felt like I knew what would happen next, and that made me happy. It is a great family film, and there is a very nice message attached to it.

Screen_Blitz It was September 11, 2001 when our nation was gripped with a devastating tragedy, a tragedy that lead to the disappearance of the twin towers at the hands of terrorists from Al-Qaeda. As the planes crashed and the towers collapsed, millions of people watched as thousands of innocent lives were lost. Since this day, it has become a day America will never forget. This catastrophic event serves as the emotional backdrop of this melodramatic drama inspired by the novel of the same name by Jonathan Safran Foer. Director Stephen Daldry, the man responsible for 'Billy Elliot', 'The Hours', and 'The Reader' makes a somewhat competent translation of Foer's novel which strictly centers on a youth struggling to make sense of the tragic event that snatched a great chunk of his life away from him. It is safe to say Daldry's efforts pay off in some areas but still leave something more to be desired in the process. This film stars young Thomas Horn as 11-year old Oskar Schell who's developed a close relationship with his father Thomas Schell (played by Tom Hanks) through their adventures of trekking the streets of Manhattan in their scavenger hunts. When the 9/11 attacks suddenly hit New York, young Oskar and his mother Linda (played by Sandra Bullock) are abruptly hit with tragedy upon learning Thomas is killed in the catastrophe. One years rolls by and Oskar wanders into his father's closet to find a key on his coat. Out of curiosity, Oskar goes on an emotional trek to find where his father's secret key leads to while forming a bond with a silent elder man (played by Max Von Sydow).This emotionally charged drama piece is certainly doesn't turn out as the firmly haunting vehicle Stephen Daldry and writer Eric Roth aim for. But it is clear that this movie at least has it's heart in the right place. After all, the film efficaciously builds up a deeply emotional atmosphere surrounding the tragedy that leaves the lead character lost in a sea of uncertainty and loneliness. The young lad has just lost his father, he has no friends, and has ever since felt emotionally distant from his mother who he rarely takes the time to talk to. As the story proceeds, Oskar morphs into a character you learn to sympathize with, especially for those who have to dealt with a similar tragedy or perhaps lost a loved one in the 9/11 attacks. The main area in which the film falters is the story elements. Stephen Daldry and Eric Roth engineer a story that desperately calls for viewers to weep buckets. While some of the story elements are somewhat successful at scoring this, the others tend to come off a bit contrived to the point of being a little exploitative than genuine. That is not to say Eric Roth doesn't know how to come up with a realistic tale, especially one that hits close to home. After all, the performances are at least decent, particularly Max Von Sydow as the muted elderly man who's performance is limited to sign language and him writing words on his bare hands when communicating with the lead character. Tom Hanks does a fine job but his severely limited screen time render his performance less memorable than most of his other roles, the same can be said about Sandra Bullock in her role as the mother. Finally, Thomas Horn's performance is pretty average, constantly alternating back and forth between genuine and emotionally forced. Then again, Eric Roth's screenplay is easily the reason behind this.Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a mildly solid drama that has the performances, the direction, and the ingenious message about learning the accept the reality of how some things are left unanswered to make for a marginally entertaining cinematic piece. In other hand, its overly contrived script is a major factor that keeps the film from reaching the masterful cinematic piece to sets out to be.