Rennie's Landing (2001)

Great Film overall

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

This movie is a waste of time. Though it has actors who have the potential to do something decent, the acting in the movie is sub-par, and has a cliché point. "You never know what's going to happen tomorrow, so live your life to the fullest and do what makes you happy." That sentence saves you from wasting hours of your life on this movie. People who like this movie are the same people who would enjoy sitting for two hours before finding that the entire movie was a dream sequence. If the most important part of the movie isn't even going to happen, at least make it enjoyable to watch and captivating. There's a reason this project didn't make a theatrical release, and though indy films can turn out very good, this one does not even come close.

I just wondered at what point in the movie did it become a fantasy? I know that the whole bank robbing part was not real, but were they really planning on robbing the bank or was that all fake too? I bought this on DVD and just watched it for the first time and thought all of the actors did a great job. It was great to see Ethan Embry and Peter Facinelli do another movie together after Can't Hardly Wait. Plus Kiele Sanchez one of the hottest stars on TV as Emily the bank teller. The storyline about Casey and Kylie was not that enjoyable to me, but the rest of the characters made up for that. My favorite part in the whole movie is when Ethan Embry starts to do his acting thing in the middle of the bank robbery.

I know, it's not rare to see really small movies with developed, interesting characters and a great storyline in theaters, but I wish some of them didn't slip through the Hollywood cracks so easily. This movie is so great, and I can't even pick a specific reason why. While not Oscar-worthy, I just liked all of it: the characters, the performances, the photography, the editing, the story, everything. Not to mention that it's thought-provoking, which is more than I can say for the majority of movies with wide releases. Movies like this are perfect examples for why independent movies need to paid more respect than they are.

This movie has a great Gen Y ensemble cast, including Peter Facinelli (Riding in Cars With Boys), Ethan Embry (Can't Hardly Wait), Scott Foley (Felicity), and a cameo by Jennifer Garner (Alias). The clever script has its ups and downs, but is generally carried well throughout the movie. Marc Fusco's (Steven Spielberg's personal assistant) direction is stylized and stimulating, thoroughly disguising the use of digital video. Although it starts out as a millennial update to Saint Elmo's Fire, the unique spirit of this film saves it from tedium, and the twisty ending elevates it far above the ordinary. Rennie's Landing sucks you in from the first frames, and doesn't let go until long after the credits have rolled.