SnoopyStyle
DJ (Cuba Gooding Jr.) is a counselor who is trying to save some of girls at the youth correctional facility. He leads a group of girls volunteering to battle wildfires. The girls each have their own problems that they working through while some have problems with other girls in the facility.The confrontations and the atmosphere inside are all well done. The acting is very good especially Q'orianka Kilcher (The New World) and DeWanda Wise. This is a very sincere Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie. It does get into slow melodrama territory sometimes.
Alex Vojacek
Seeing all the big budget movies these days with almost no redeeming value whatsoever it's a delight to find a jewel like this just out of pure good fortune.A movie made for TV, with Cuba Jr seemed at first a normal to mediocre movie about girls in a correctional facility, but what appeared to be a regular movie turn out to be wonderful because of the little details.Cuba is great at showing as the good guy, this role suits him perfectly, it doesn't seem forced, the rest of the girls plays their part too, with impeccable acting. What stand out the most about this movie is it's kindness toward humanity, the good message that flows through the movie and don't come out forced, incredible so.DeWanda Wise truly shines in this movie, it's character is by far the more complex in this movie, the direction and script also gave her a lot of freedom to express as a truly wonderful actress, the sad parts really made me cry and it's partly due to her wonderful work.it's hard to find movies with a true heart these days, where violence and killing are glorified by Hollywood as trademarks of "entertainment". This movie is anti-violence on it's guts, beautifully shot, with very good timing and without being forced upon.If you're in for a good movie about human mistakes and redemption (not religious) this movie IS for you.Nicely done!Now i'm thrilled, there is still plenty of good movies out there to watch and there is still good art to be found in the cinema industry.A solid 8 out of 10.
edwagreen
Another excellent Hallmark film is depicted here. It is essentially about young women who have been incarcerated learning about themselves and to do positive things for society.As is the case with any prison, there are groups ready to repent and move on in a positive way in their lives; of course, there are the recalcitrant, those who will not adhere to society's rules no matter what.Cuba Gooding is totally sympathetic and firm as the youth counselor in the correctional facility.While the story is supposedly about girls fighting fires, it's much more than that. Two girls in particular learn what life is all about.Others might criticize the actions of the parole board here. Yet, this is their job-to be firm, and to make sure that the girls have sufficiently shown they deserve parole while making sure their lives will be positive on the outside.This is an inspirational movie for all to see.
boblipton
The Hallmark Channel has a winner in this very slow-starting but finally compelling movie of how young girls redeem themselves at a Youth Correctional Facility. The movie starts out looking a lot like a standard girls in prison movie -- without the usual cheap-movie lesbian subtext -- as Q'orianka Kilcher winds up in prison and is tempted by the safety and rewards of a gang and the self-respect of joining a firefighting group. In many ways this movie is a throwback to the prison reform movies of the 1930s.Although Cuba Gooding Jr. is the big name for this movie and Ms. Kilcher the lead, the script shows us other girls, to illustrate the various choices and phases of the process. DeWanda Wise has the most interestingly written role and performs well.Although there is little out of the ordinary in this movie, its earnest good will and insistence on the basics of real story-telling -- the change of human character -- make it a superior work that made my eyes tear up towards the end.
AD
