The Forger

2011 "Love by design, Friendship by paint, Death by brush."
5.3| 1h36m| PG-13| en| More Info
Released: 09 March 2011 Released
Producted By: Jetlag Productions
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

While staying at a picturesque village, a teen encounters the underground world of art forgery.

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Reviews

Larry Silverstein I found this film to offer mostly stilted dialogue and terribly contrived plot elements as I felt it played like a made for TV movie.Josh Hutcherson stars as a 15 year old drifter and hustler but who has amazing artistic talent. Set in the affluent community of Carmel, California, he breaks into a house owned by an art dealer Everly Campbell, portrayed by the wonderful veteran actor Victor Molina. Wow! What a coincidence! Molina is really a dealer of forged art for high prices whose main forger has just died and he needs someone to finish forging a famous Winslow Homer painting which he can sell for millions. So with Hutcherson's talent he's of course the right man for the job.Down the road lives Anne Marie Cole. played by the legendary actress Lauren Bacall, who is a famous artist in her own right but has some secrets of her own.One of the major problems with the believability of the movie is that Hutcherson exhibits clear nearly uncontrollable impulse and anger controls, perhaps even bordering on being a sociopath. However, everyone seems to welcome into their homes, show him where their valuables are kept and have him even live there. Bacall especially, being rich, aged, and alone sees no problem in wanting him to live with her although she barely knows him. In the real world, this leads to usually serious consequences. Even a girl who lives in the town (Hayden Panettiere) wants to perhaps have a relationship with him, even after his anger had led to two serious physical confrontations with her own brother.The whole thing is just not credible and as mentioned way too contrived for me.
Carson Meadows I new nothing about this movie when I picked it up at a local Red Box. Judging by the cover, I expected a feel good romantic drama with all the excitement that young love and forgery schemes contain. I will say that I somewhat enjoyed this movie, but overall it was a disappointment. It was a B movie that I could easily imagine appearing on the Hallmark channel. It was predictable, cliché, and the characters were unrealistic. Also, for a movie staring as many talented people as it was, the acting came across as a bit lazy. It was not one of the better movies I've seen, but it certainly wasn't the worst. I give it 4 out of 10 stars.
Boba_Fett1138 This movie is taking a completely wrong approach to its story. Instead of making things lively, fun or thrilling to watch, it's being for most part a slow moving and very uninteresting movie, that is mostly taking a serious dramatic approach, which does boggle the mind.So many directions this movie could had taken and so much they could had done with its concept but they managed to make the wrong choices, with just about everything. It makes the movie as a whole a really redundant one to watch. The movie isn't ever going anywhere good and interesting with its story and besides doesn't really seem to know what it wants to be or do exactly.There is so much going on in this movie that felt like it was being something completely unnecessary for its story. The whole thing about the boy looking for his mother is going absolutely nowhere and the love-story between him and Hayden Panettiere felt completely unnecessary and as if it was being part of a totally different movie. Different story lines don't get handled or developed properly enough, making this movie feel like a messy and pointless one. Lots of story lines and characters could had so easily been left out and probably also should had been left so, so they movie could had focused more on its main plot line.But what is worse is that this movie is feeling like such a lifeless one. They so easily could had spiced up things a bit more and better at times, to at least make this a somewhat entertaining enough little movie to watch. I won't call the movie boring but I only did wish some more good and interesting stuff would had happened in it at times.It's surprising to see how many big names were involved with this movie but I guess that is what happens when you are friendly with the Eastwood's. Director Lawrence Roeck previously worked on a documentary about Clint Eastwood, which also would explain why his wife and son are in this movie. But also actors such as Alfred Molina and Lauren Bacall were involved. It's especially odd seeing Lauren Bacall in this. I mean, here we have an actress that once starred opposite to Humphrey Bogart, as his love interest, in a whole bunch of movies and now she is doing movies like this? She isn't very active in the business anymore, which makes it all the more weird that she agreed to appear in this particular movie, that in essence looks and feels like a made for TV movie. I do admit that she is still amazing looking though. I'm not just talking about her looks but more so about her vitality. She is an 87-year old woman know but she does look and move around like, let's say, an 65-year old.And I'm also really fed up with seeing Hayden Panettiere doing these sort of roles. I honestly think she is an incredibly talented young actress, that just keeps picking the wrong type of roles, which prevent her from ever truly breaking through as an actress and it's the reason why she is always getting typecast in these type of roles. She's always playing the good, cute, happy. friendly girl, that can't stay mad or sad for 30 seconds. Guess this is an image she likes and feels comfortable with but it isn't going to get her anywhere in the serious movie business.I also did wish that the main character of the movie would had been a more interesting and charismatic one. First of all, Josh Hutcherson doesn't exactly look very convincing as a 15-year old boy but he also isn't being really likable enough. The movie tries hard to make you sympathize for him, by inserting all kinds of dramatic stuff, with almost constantly dramatic music playing in the background. It just doesn't work that way and there really isn't enough to either like- or truly care for the movie its main character.Not a very convincing or good or interesting enough movie to watch.5/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
judie_bug Terrible B style movie. Premise is predictable and stupid. The 15 year old actor is antagonistic, inconsistent, and irritating. They did not give much thought to the introduction of Josh's character or the way he was introduced into the art world....in real life he probably would have been shot at the first house he broke into....if not that one, the second. Is this really more believable than if he was discovered working at McDonald's and living in a homeless shelter? At least that would have given his character some redeemable value. Yes....we need to be shown that he is young and naive (WAAAAY too naive for a kid who's been living on the street!). It would have been a much better movie if they modeled the kid more after "Catch me if you Can", rather than making him an *sshole/wimp.