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09/28/07
December Boys (2007)
43
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:65
Fresh:28
Rotten:37
Average Rating:5/10
Consensus: Uneventful and far too sentimental.
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... [More]
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Lee Cormie, Christian Byers, James Fraser
Director: Rod Hardy
Reviews for December Boys
Top CriticA 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.
09/06/07
Top CriticEven Enid Blyton’s toes would be curling tight enough to snap faced with a movie this winsome. Black marks all around – and back to Hogwarts with you, young Radcliffe.
09/14/07
Top CriticRadcliffe has definitely got the hang of the moody teen act.
09/14/07
Top CriticThe coast of Australia is an apt setting for Rod Hardy's precious drama: It's Beaches for men.
02/22/08
Sometimes the hardest movies to review are the ones that are middle-of-the-road, bland and completely uninspiring, movies like December Boys.
09/27/07
Radcliffe is good at showing vulnerability but without the skills to give it gradation. The magic doesn't work for him this time.
11/03/07
Top CriticQuite the most pretentious piffle I've seen all year.
09/14/07
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10/18/08
A story line involving a crusty fisherman and a giant, fabled fish plays as unintentionally comic. Other moments are visually excessive.
09/28/07
"December Boys" is a minor ensemble melodrama that succeeds for the heartfelt efforts of its ensemble.
09/23/07
Daniel Radcliffe indicates he may be able to shake off Harry Potter in this amiable little drama.
09/14/07
Well-intentioned, but teeth-grindingly earnest, with a voice-over that seems to consist entirely of clichés.
09/14/07
With its series of tonally awkward plot developments which seem to have been engineered specifically to meet Radcliffe’s various portfolio needs, the best that could be said of this is that the actor’s next move should be to talk to his agent.
09/14/07
An unavoidable chorus of "ho-hum" starts up in your brain as the film begins. It's nothing you haven't seen a dozen or more times before.
09/13/07
The kind of film people call 'uplifting,' and while it is that much of the way, there are times when it's so oversaturated with sweetness and light, it's likely to uplift more cynical viewers from their seats in the movie theater. No matter.
09/21/07
A little more bite would have done December Boys a power of good.
09/14/07
Radcliffe is good at showing vulnerability but without the skills to give it gradation. The magic doesn't work for him this time.
09/20/07
Top CriticAn absorbing, gentle slice-of-life, light on plot but heavy on smaller moments of keen human interaction and observation.
09/17/07
The film squanders its rich sense of adolescent discovery with an undercurrent of sexism and the uninteresting ebb and flow of water-logged metaphor.
09/09/07
Latest News for December Boys
December 11, 2007:
RT on DVD: Take Harry Potter, Jason Bourne Home for the Holidays
This week, get Bourne (The Bourne Ultimatum) -- or get Potter (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix), or Efron (High School Musical 2), or opt for a different sort of... More...
September 16, 2007:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Jodie Struggles But Still Hits #1
For the second straight weekend, a star-driven action drama aimed at adult audiences opened at number one with $14M in ticket sales from roughly 2,700 theaters. This time it was... More...
September 13, 2007:
Critical Consensus: Brave One Isn't Tops, Mr. Woodcock is Flaccid, Hunting Party is Busted
This week at the movies, we've got vigilantes (The Brave One, starring Jodie Foster), gym teachers (Mr. Woodcock starring Billy Bob Thornton and Susan Sarandon), war... More...
August 25, 2007:
Preview and images. 
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