Tacticalin An absolute waste of money

Motompa Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

jacques-c-simon I am so glad I spent time watching this film, a quietly heartwarming film about Father and Son bonding over a short weekend. Both Clive and Jaeden are wonderful in this film, subtle and meaningful especially Jaeden who can put so much in just one glance. Wonderful film, I recommend all Fathers to see this with their young sons.

shadytree-34066 Having read all of the above reviews, I won't waste space by summarizing the story line again. Four points: one, the title is murky; the Anthony's (the son) confirmation is an event that happens after the movie ends; granted, the young son's weekend with his father is a rite of passage, but I don't think the title ties it in; two, I like the fact that the movie has one singular objective, which is to find the Walt's toolbox; in a way, the father's future hangs on it; three, I thought the casting and performances were fine, sincere, workmanlike; the best performance of Clive Owen I've seen is "Words and Pictures"; (check it out); four, the ending was unsatisfying and unrealistic, as another reviewer pointed out; SPOILER ALERT: Walt, Anthony, and Allen return to the pawn shop; Allen steals the toolbox, runs out; all three jump in the car and drive away;cut to the end of the movie, where father and son have a bonding moment and "life will be good." How can it be "good" when, assuming the pawnshop owner is not an idiot, that he wrote down the license plate and contacted the police; Walt used his ex-wife's car which will be traced back to him. The pawnshop owner can identify Walt from their first ruinous encounter. Not being a student of law and not wanting to take the time to elaborate on the crimes committed, I will only say the consequences for Walt, Anthony, and Bonnie (Walt's ex) will damage their relationships. How could writer/director Bob Nelson ignore this outcome? Up to this point, the picture was grounded in the grittiness of the harsh world; Nelson, not dealing with this plot point, spoiled the picture for me.

Russ Hog This is a beautiful little art house film about an alcoholic father who has his son for a weekend - and they bond of a series of misadventures were they work as a team to get back the father's box of stolen tools. The father is played by the masterful Clive Owen - who is seemingly solid in any project he works on. The film has one great scene in particular - where Clive experiences alcohol withdrawals. As a recovering alcoholic myself - who has been clean five years - I have gone through withdrawals - and it is a harrowing experience and to see this played out live - and the fear it puts the child through - it really hit home to me.The performance of the children actors in this movie is also noteworthy - as they hold their own and deliver some masterful work. I believe this was a remake of a foreign film called The Bike Thief - but I have never seen that movie and I just thought this one was solid.We live in a world where Hollywood makes a fortune off terrible films that have no soul - and it is always great to see a solid dramatic film with great characters.

lavatch The strength of "The Confirmation" is the sensitive portrayal of an alcoholic father, as played by Clive Owen. Owen's character Walt has visitation rights with his son, Anthony, and the film traces a wild weekend of "bonding" between father and son.The film is primarily a drama, but it includes comic moments, especially in the cast of seedy characters. Anthony is the little boy who plays the role of caretaker for his beleaguered dad. There is a fine supporting cast with Maria Bello, Matthew Modine, and Robert Forster. But the focal point is that of Owen's character and his youngster, played effectively by Jaeden Lieberher.SPOILER ALERT FOLLOWS: The one curious choice on the part of the filmmakers was to close the film with the theft of the father's tools from a pawn shop. While the film was attempting to pay homage to Vittorio De Sica's famous film "Bicycle Thieves" from 1948, the final sequence didn't work. Unfortunately, the theft of the tools was teaching a horrible lesson to the young boys, and it made no sense in the logic of the film. Surely the owners of the pawn shop would have had Owen's character and the boys prosecuted."The Confirmation" is set in Kent, Washington. There was good footage of the community, which helped to draw the viewer into the film. One of the subtleties of the film was to convey the hardscrabble life of Americans in the twenty-first century. In watching this film, one was almost reminded of America in the Great Depression of the 1930s.