Columbus Day (2008)

Wonderful character development!

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

This movie is such an incredible hidden gem of talent, excitement and entertainment. I had no expectations going in, but was totally engrossed in each and every second of the film. This film has real staying power because of it's inventive and creative plot, superb acting and interesting twists and turns. I love a movie that is truly suspenseful and interesting and this is definitely it.Val Kilmer gives a shockingly good performance that will leave you without wanting for more. The other actors are also incredible - phenomenal supports and completely believable portrayals.Definitely two thumbs way up for Columbus Day.

I don't know what movie a few of those reviewers were watching because this is Val Kilmer at his best. Columbus Day is a fantastic film all of the way through. I absolutely loved it. To start, the acting is superb. Even more importantly is the exquisite way in which this film was shot. The attention to detail, high level camera work and manner in which the story unfolded and was depicted was beyond impressive. I was also fully engrossed in the story and the romantic plot was organic and engrossing. I think that this film is totally underrated and deserves high level praise because it was a seriously captivating and entertaining watch for me.

I'm with llanderson - I really signed up today on IMDb just to leave a comment on this movie. I was surprised to someone else had the same thought, and within 24 hours of me.I'm a Val Kilmer fan - I saw this in RedBox and was surprised I hadn't seen it, and expected something along the lines of Spartan or Heat, or even that movie where he's like 1/32nd Indian and he's an FBI agent out on some reservation. He literally walks around in a park the ENTIRE movie, makes a gazillion phone calls to three cute actresses you recognize but probably don't know their names and Fez from that 70's show. Fez tells him at one point that his colleagues buddy probably has his nuts in a vice somewhere and is giving him up, so you really expect to see some hardcore torture or gruesome action coming up, but instead Val pays some guy feeding pigeons to take care of the unusually short kid who's been following him around all day. That really is it.

Bobb'e J. Thompson (playing an African American boy, who befriends Val Kilmer in the movie, "Columbus Day" (2008), have a wonderful chemistry. It is their friendship, and their experience in Echo Park where Kilmer is hiding out, that makes the dialog work. Wilmer Valderrama puts in an electrifying performance. Marg Helgenberger provides much emotion and tension, as we learn about her relationship with Kilmer, and the little girl he does not know.The acting, editing, cinematography, and music are good. The dialog is written effectively, so that it pulls you in, and makes you want to know more about the individual relationships interwoven with the people Kilmer telephones from Echo Park. Without any doubt, an excellent script helps to bring the people together, in a custom-designed patchwork quilt of messages (on the telephone) and conversations (in Echo Park). Bobb'e J. Thompson's goal is to help Val Kilmer find a better life. Will the boy succeed? This film is definitely worth watching, and I rate it an 8 out of 10.