all560 Ever lie awake at night, watch something on some obscure cable channel, and end up wondering why you didn't drink yourself into a stupor several hours earlier? I just did. I'd probably feel better tomorrow, had I chosen the booze.THE LOCUSTS is a truly awful film. It's one of those that always makes me ask the questions "WHY was it done and WHERE did the money come from?" Forget the attempts, so en vogue today, of trying to date and sentimentalize a film by mindless overlays of classic music! Genuine inability is timeless.Here is the one good thing I can say about this film: Ms. Judd's make-up artist, Ben Nye, Jr, had the sense to leave her alone. She's radiant...from the safe distance she was photographed. But, everything else is likewise-photographed. I guess the photographer didn't feel comfortable any closer to the storyline.The acting is laughable, especially the three leads. The kid spends two hours trying to do a James Dean and succeeds only in setting back the cause of the speech-impaired a couple decades. He is in rarefied atmosphere here. Only Jennifer Jason Leigh in KANSAS CITY and Richard Gere in BREATHLESS have given comparable performances. Capshaw is, well, Capshaw. Vince who? Doesn't he do novelty records? But the plot takes the cake. To think that human beings would allow themselves to dwell in or near this attempt of some swaggering pump-up to inflict his "values" or "Code of the Cool" on a defenseless kid is ludicrous. The mindset of the executive(s) responsible for the allocation of funds and the filming itself, who must have found SOME potential in the story, is unfathomable. There is none. GIANT and DUEL IN THE SUN and LONG HOT SUMMER have been done before. With taste, opulence, style or length to cover gaps in meaning or worth. This film has none of any of that.Fortunately, the family off themselves at the end, preventing a sequel.I think I now understand why Orion bankrupted.

Philip Van der Veken Normally when I hear or read the title of a movie, I have some idea of what it could be like. That's not always correct, but most of the time it works - especially with famous movies of course. But when I read the title of this movie, I really didn't know what it would be about. Of course I didn't think that it would be a movie about the insect, but I just couldn't form a good idea about it. That's why I just gave it a try, not knowing what to expect, but hoping for the best. And I'm glad that I did, because this certainly was a nice movie."The Locusts" is situated in the 1950's and shows how the arrival of Clay Hewitt changes life drastically in a small town. He's looking for a job and is hired by the local feed ranch's owner, an aging widow who likes to drink and seduce younger men. He quickly becomes her new lover, but also has an eye for her quiet son Flyboy. The boy hasn't spoken a word in years and is completely withdrawn since the death of his father. The only one who he talks to since his recent return from a mental hospital is his pet bull. But Clay wants to give it a try and gradually he manages to get the boy out of his isolation, much against the will of the boy's mother...Even though this is perhaps not the most original story ever, I must say that I had a good time watching this movie. The acting has a lot to do with that of course. Vince Vaughn is very enjoyable as Clay Hewitt and Kate Capshaw did a very fine job portraying Delilah, but in my opinion it is Jeremy Davies as Flyboy, who was the best this time. But overall this is a movie that portrayed its characters well and didn't drown in an overdose of plot twists. This is John Patrick Kelley's first and so far only film, but it certainly makes me look forward to new projects from this man. I give this movie a rating between 7/10 and 7.5/10.

lurch-17 I got lung cancer from all the second-hand smoke. In nearly every scene, cigarettes play a prominent role. Either the director was a cigarette junkie, the cast were nicotine addicts, or tobacco companies funded the entire production.The plot was predictably hokey, the acting mediocre (with the exception of Flyman), and the directing lazy. It seemed to pause often to make some point but never delivered the point. Capshaw was especially disappointing. I managed to struggle through all 2+ hours waiting for something to reach out of this film. It never did.The high point was seeing Vince Vaughn take off his shirt - and I'm straight.Don't waste the time and money. It could drive you to lighting up.

danie-5 I thought this movie was pretty good until the end, which made no sense. NOT an uplifting story, in fact, it's unflaggingly grim. But it's worth seeing for good performances. Refreshing after the endless onslaught of phony Hollywood feel-good stuff like Notting Hill.