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Movies / Upcoming / December Boys
December Boys

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December Boys (2007)

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42 %
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Reviews Counted: 64

Fresh: 27

Rotten:37

Average Rating: 5/10

Consensus: Uneventful and far too sentimental.

Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $0

Synopsis: Based on the novel by Michael Noonan, DECEMBER BOYS is a touching coming-of-age drama set in Australia in the 1960s. Maps (Daniel Radcliffe), Misty (Lee Cormie), Sparks (Christian Byers), and Spit... Based on the novel by Michael Noonan, DECEMBER BOYS is a touching coming-of-age drama set in Australia in the 1960s. Maps (Daniel Radcliffe), Misty (Lee Cormie), Sparks (Christian Byers), and Spit (James Fraser) are four best friends who live in a Catholic orphanage, hoping to be adopted but learning that dreams don't come true--and adults often let kids down. Because they were all born in December, they are the first group of boys who get to travel to a small cove and stay with an older couple, Bandy (Jack Thompson) and Skipper (Kris McQuade), two of the orphanage's benefactors who have offered to house the kids during the Christmas season. Once off on this rare vacation, the boys play in the sand and water, eat well, ride on a motorcycle, go to a carnival, and experience other new and exciting things as they quickly learn that there is more to the world than they ever imagined--and they get to meet some very strange characters in the process. But when Misty overhears that Teresa (Victoria Hill) and her husband, Fearless (Sullivan Stapleton), are considering adopting one of them, the battle is on--except for Maps, who is older than the others and instead spends his time with Lucy (Teresa Palmer), experiencing his first romance. Filmed in Adelaide and on Kangaroo Island and directed by longtime television veteran Rod Hardy, DECEMBER BOYS features beautiful locations, a talented cast, and a terrific soundtrack, including period songs by Norman Greenbaum ("Spirit in the Sky"), the Easybeats ("Friday on My Mind"), and Creedence Clearwater Revival ("Who'll Stop the Rain"). [More]

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Lee Cormie, Christian Byers, James Fraser

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Lee Cormie, Christian Byers, James Fraser, Jack Thompson

Director: Rod Hardy

Director: Rod Hardy
Screenwriter: Marc Rosenberg
Producer: Richard Becker
Composer: Carlo Giacco
Studio: Warner Independent

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Reviews for December Boys

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
09/28/07
Sydney Morning Herald
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A moving coming of age story that canvasses faith and family, The December Boys reminds us why our childhoods often hold the key to our heart.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
09/06/07
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: NPR.org | comment Comment
10/18/08
Bob Mondello
NPR.org

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

The coast of Australia is an apt setting for Rod Hardy's precious drama: It's Beaches for men.

Full Review Source: I.E. Weekly | comment Comment
02/22/08
Amy Nicholson
I.E. Weekly

Fans and industry watchers who wonder whether Radcliffe has what it takes to turn his increasingly sophisticated performances in [Harry Potter] into a full-blown adult career as an actor... can see for themselves: the kid's got talent...

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
12/09/07
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

Radcliffe is good at showing vulnerability but without the skills to give it gradation. The magic doesn't work for him this time.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
11/03/07
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Director Rod Hardy adds some whimsical touches to an otherwise cliche-filled story, but the young orphans never emerge as full-blooded characters.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
10/12/07
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

Conflicted but well-acted.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
10/11/07
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

I was not charmed. I was not moved.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
10/08/07
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Pleasant but pedestrian.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
10/06/07
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

No reason to see it. No reason not to see it, either. Shrug.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
10/02/07
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

Particularly for Radcliffe fans, it's an agreeable journey.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
09/28/07
Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times

A story line involving a crusty fisherman and a giant, fabled fish plays as unintentionally comic. Other moments are visually excessive.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
09/28/07
Carla Meyer
Sacramento Bee

...it's hard to argue with the movie's general good spirits.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
09/28/07
Mike Russell
Oregonian

Sometimes the hardest movies to review are the ones that are middle-of-the-road, bland and completely uninspiring, movies like December Boys.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
09/27/07
Andy Spletzer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Sweet--indeed, cloying--coming-of-age tale...the barrage of messages it carries ultimately proves too heavy a cargo.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
09/24/07
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

There is nothing on display in the coming-of-age drama December Boys that you haven’t already seen dozens of times before.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
09/24/07
Peter Sobczynski
eFilmCritic.com

"December Boys" is a minor ensemble melodrama that succeeds for the heartfelt efforts of its ensemble.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
09/23/07
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

There seem to be two movies going on here at the same time, and December Boys would have been better off going all the way with one of them.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
09/21/07
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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