The Astronaut Farmer

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   I saw the movie last night, so I might as well give you guys a review.

Warning: Very minor spoilers in this review. If you saw the trailers, then these shouldn't be spoilers at all.

Plot:

The story is about a farmer named Charles Farmer, who had to leave NASA in order to save his farm. It had been his dream to go to space, so he decided to build a rocket for himself. The story begins when he is finished with the rocket and is in need of fuel, which is what finally gets the government worried about his plan. The story continues with his struggle to get the rocket off the ground, with plenty of factors holding him back.

The originality of this plot is what made the story so enjoyable. I've never heard of any other movies in which an individual does something of such caliber to follow a dream that many of us share. This is the first movie that let me fully understand the main character's (intended) emotions because I too want to go to space under all costs. 

Acting:

Decent. The story provided plenty of emotional moments, but I definately did not see it on the actor's faces. Even in moments of tragedy, the worst I saw was a small frown and moist eyes. They still took their character roles seriously and avoided speaking in a corny way. One can tell by the inflection in each character's voice that the actors were living the role they were given (with slightly less emotional strength than I expected). I would put it on par with the movie Contact.

Direction and Editing:

The movie did a pretty good job with both. My only problem with it came at a major event in the movie about one hour in. Everything happened almost instantly when they should have taken a bit longer with the scene. It almost made it feel like they were trying to rush an end to the movie when I realized that no movie was that short. 

Camera placements were a bit too close to actors' faces a lot of the time. If they had varied it a little it would not have bothered me enough to mention it.

Effects:

They weren't as good as I expected. I know the rocket is almost featureless when it comes to decoration and body shape, but at one point it was extremely blurry and it made one feel no sense of being there when it took off. That could also be because the theater I went to had an awful sound system.

If there's anything else you want me to review about this movie, state it below.

I think this is a movie worth watching. That's all I can say. The story sets it apart from the other movies in a way that justified choosing this movie over 23, my other option for last night. I don't think you will be disappointed.