October Sky
1999 Directed by Joe Johnston
Synopsis
Sometimes one dream is enough to light up the whole sky.
October Sky is a 1999 film produced by Charles Gordon, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper and Laura Dern. It is based on the true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes, and eventually became a NASA scientist.
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A movie so formulaic that it’d fit right in in a high school physics textbook.
(Yes, I have a day job that doesn’t involve being funny. Why do you keep asking that?)
I was surprised I haven’t heard of this before. A group of kids getting into rocket science after being inspired by the Sputnik launch? Seems like a direct hit for the coveted Marcin Demographic. But then I realized I never heard of this because it’s simply not a very good movie. It has all the usual set pieces – a small town, a disapproving father, a ragtag team of nerdy underdogs – and goes through the usual motions, including a completely unnecessary, tucked on hot/homely girl dilemma, and…
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One of the reasons I so greatly dislike superhero movies is because they subtextually imply that in order for a human to do great things, one must first be hit by some wave of specialized radiation, or have parents who have billions of dollars. This attitude, which all superhero movies are guilty of purveying, deifies great men, and tells us that it's acceptable to be mediocre because we have not had our spider bite, or our scientific experiment gone wrong. October Sky is a different type of superhero movie, the type that I very much do like. It's the true kind. October Sky is a film about what humans may do when they learn to be soulful.
October Sky didn't…
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The best stories typically come from real-life events, as is the case here. Four boys in a coal-mining town, who are pretty much destined to work in the mines set off on a mission to build a rocket to win a science fair.
There is nothing brilliant about the script or the direction in this film, however the story is sincere and inspiring. It is somewhat cliche and I am stealing this line from George McFly (Back to the Future), but 'If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything'. This is such a story.
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A cliched but a beautiful film, comprising some memorable performances from Gyellenhal, Dern and Cooper.
At the end you fail to hold back you tears and root for the rocket boys.
Brilliant in my opinion, a must watch. Inspirational.
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Skips over some of the rougher adult bits of the riveting book, and ends up a little more predictable for it. But I can't help but absolutely love a movie themed around amateur rocketry.
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The best stories typically come from real-life events, as is the case here. Four boys in a coal-mining town, who are pretty much destined to work in the mines set off on a mission to build a rocket to win a science fair.
There is nothing brilliant about the script or the direction in this film, however the story is sincere and inspiring. It is somewhat cliche and I am stealing this line from George McFly (Back to the Future), but 'If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything'. This is such a story.
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A very uplifting and engaging story about a young teenage boy who would develop rockets in the hopes to find life outside of his mining town.
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The acting leaves much to be desired, but the heartfelt ambition throughout the film will warm you to the core.
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Rockets fly high!
An inspiring story for generations. From the beginning, you know this story will be heartfelt and maybe you will also shed some tears towards the end. The movie starts of fast and stays that way till halfway through when it starts to slow down to focus on personal hardship the characters go through. And towards the end, it picks up steam again.A very well done movie with a smooth flow.
My rating: 8/10
DVD or Blu-ray? I really liked the movie and owing it in DVD would work just fine for me. I don't know if I want to spend the extra dollar for the blu-ray. -
Una mañana, un profesor abrió su clase anunciándonos que había aprendido una nueva palabra: friki. Dícese de aquella persona que se muestra muy interesada por un determinado tema y como consecuencia lógica lo estudia mucho. Para tranquilizarnos se precipitó a aclarar que en su clase no había encontrado ninguno.
Como habrán podido imaginar por esta introducción, la película que me dispongo a recomendar es una película para frikis. No piensen en el loco de los videojuegos. Piensen en aquellos que se despiertan dando un salto mortal. En esos que corren detrás de sus sueños sin miedo de tropezar o de no llegar. En esos que alguna vez se aprendieron todos los nombres de los dinosaurios o intentaron construir una cometa.…
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Una mañana, un profesor abrió su clase anunciándonos que había aprendido una nueva palabra: friki. Dícese de aquella persona que se muestra muy interesada por un determinado tema y como consecuencia lógica lo estudia mucho. Para tranquilizarnos se precipitó a aclarar que en su clase no había encontrado ninguno.
Como habrán podido imaginar por esta introducción, la película que me dispongo a recomendar es una película para frikis. No piensen en el loco de los videojuegos. Piensen en aquellos que se despiertan dando un salto mortal. En esos que corren detrás de sus sueños sin miedo de tropezar o de no llegar. En esos que alguna vez se aprendieron todos los nombres de los dinosaurios o intentaron construir una cometa.…
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October Sky tells the story of the young Homer Hickam, who after seeing the Sputnik fly through the sky, becomes interested in rocket science. The film deliberately tries to play into your emotions (but which film doesn't), and the pacing of the film could have been handled better, but still, October Sky is an inspiring film, that tells us everything is within your reach if you really try, and especially, if you believe in it.
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This movie is a goddamned tear-fest. My eyes were watery for thirty straight minutes at the end.
Good movie. The plot, although a little formulaic, had enough interesting developments to keep it from being boring. I haven't seen a Jake Gyllenhaal film yet that I haven't enjoyed. Chris Cooper is excellent, as always, in his role as "asshole dad", which he has ridiculous amounts of experience playing.