Reviews and More

I like movies that are based on true stories, so when Radio came out way back in 2003, I knew that I would eventually get around to seeing it. That finally happened over the weekend when I borrowed the DVD from a friend. Here’s what I thought of the movie.

Ed Harris stars as Harold Jones, a teacher and coach of the TL Hanna (high school) Yellow Jackets football team in Anderson, South Carolina. Anderson is one of those small towns that lives and dies with its high school sports (particularly football and basketball), so Coach Jones holds a somewhat prominent position in the town.

The film opens with Coach Jones getting his team ready for another season. Things go pretty much as planned until one day after practice Jones discovers that a handful of team members had bound and gagged a local man (played by Cuba Gooding Jr.) and were tormenting him in the equipment shed. The man is mentally retarded and was scared to death, not understanding that the boys were just teasing him. Coach Jones is livid at the way his team members acted, and he resolves to befriend the man and help him if possible.

After a while, the retarded man comes by the practice field again, and Coach Jones invites him in. The man doesn’t speak at all, but Coach Jones and his assistant, Coach Honeycutt (Brent Sexton) decide to call the man Radio because of his fascination with those devices. Radio starts hanging around the practice field more and more, so the two coaches decide to let him help out wiht the team. Radio enjoys that task and looks forward to daily practices as well as Friday night games.

While most people think it’s great that Coach Jones has taken to Radio in this way, some people object, saying that Radio is nothing but a distraction to the team. These critics get their ammo from the fact that the Yellow Jackets hit a losing streak and wind up not doing as well as they should have given the amount of talent on the team. This creates some tension, but Coach Jones sticks to his guns and won’t abandon Radio.

As the film progresses, we get to witness the development of Radio and Coach Jones’s friendship. Radio suffers through several hardships, including the death of his mother and some problems at the high school, but with Coach Jones by his side, he manages to make it through. The principal of the school (Alfre Woodard) even invites Radio to keep coming back to TL Hanna year after year to help with the football team as long as he wants to.

My Reaction: I thought Radio was a decent film, and it was much more enjoyable than its mixed reviews led me to believe. Even though I found the script rather predictable and cliché in some parts, I had no trouble maintaining interest throughout the whole thing. I thought both Harris and Gooding Jr. were wonderful in their roles. They made this unlikely friendship very believable and compelling.

That being said, I felt as though something was missing from this film. It seemed as though the filmmakers wanted the story to be inspiring and uplifting, but they fell short of that in my opinion. I thought the script lacked emotion, and even when I knew I was supposed to be “moved” by what I was seeing, it just didn’t happen.

Overall, I think Radio is definitely a movie that’s worth watching. You might not find it as emotionally satisfying as you hope, but it’s still a decent film. I give it 7.0 stars out of 10.

It’s taken me a long time, but I’m finally starting to be more aware of what my actions are doing to the environment and I’m making a concerted effort to change my lifestyle in order to help protect and preserve the planet. For example, I recycle whenever possible, buy products made from recycled goods, use public transportation and my bicycle instead of a car, and conserve water and electricity in my home. That may sound like a lot, but I know I can do more. For example, I’m thinking about having my family take only vacations that are environmentally friendly instead of ones that contribute to current problems.

Hawaii is obviously a great vacation spot, so I started checking out trips to that locale first. I heard about a local Hawaiian agency called HawaiianBeachRentals.com that specializes in promoting Kauai ecotourism vacation rentals to travelers. Unlike the tours offered by other agencies, I can rest assured that a vacation package from HawaiianBeachRentals.com will be environmentally friendly and won’t damage the fragile, beautiful surroundings. I don’t know about you, but that’s a sure way to help me enjoy my vacations a whole lot more.

If you’re thinking about going to Hawaii in the near future, why don’t you make an eco-friendly vacation your priority as well? Check out HawaiianBeachRentals.com today for travel packages that won’t harm the environment!

I finally remembered to participate in the PPP Carnival this week. I think it’s because the theme was Television, a subject that’s obviously near and dear to my heart! At any rate, I want to thank Colleen over at Simple Kind of Life for hosting this week. She did a great job of organizing all the links and pointing us to some great posts from fellow bloggers. Click this link for more on the Postie Carnival, and be sure to visit all the pages that Colleen highlighted!

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