Raise Your Voice : Why does everybody hate this movie?

well i would say the movie was good but alot of ppl are right. the plot was like similar to a movie i saw (dont know the name)

I'll just start off by saying that I don't hate the movie. No, I actually enjoyed it. There was just one big problem in the movie that made it less enjoyable. And that was Hilary Duff. If they had hired a different actress, I would have liked it more. I'm sorry, but I can't stand Hilary Duff.



I can't think of a good signature.

Yall if you actually got the point of this movie.. you'd love it.. ok.. now why dont yall just stop with Hilary Duff was in it..!!! First of all i dont like HIlary Duff AT ALL!! But i got the point of this movie and i loved it.. I like some of her songs but i dont like her at all!.. now just cut the crap. aight?

I still love the fact that everyone here sits and makes fun of hilary duff and says her music sucks but in fact there must be something good with it considering all 3 of her albums went platinum. ^.^ i love people who sit and make fun of celebrities who have WAY more money than they will ever have. and i know she has more money considering the fact that you are actually sitting here complaining about her

i dont really have a problem with what others think..everyone has their own opinion.. but if you think that Hilary is the best singer in the world then you seriously must have been living in a cave for half your life..


"Dra meg n baklengs inn i fuglekassa!"

Oh. im sorry. i made a mistake with my last post on this page. Her first CD went TRIPPLE platinum. my mistake. what was i thinking?

Honestly, I love this movie. Not a big Hilary Duff fan but I must say she's an amazing actress. This movie is well-acted and has a good storyline. I don't understand why some of you people see the worst in movies? Hilary Duff is a great actress and I like her as one! And her in A Cinderella Story was really good. So you guys need to stop hating on movies because Hilary Duff is in it. I don't like her either as like a singer but she's excellent actress and her singing in this movie was great! I loved this movie.

I loved this movie too. In my own opinion, most of the people that voted for this movie haven't even seen it. They just give it a low rating just because Hilary Duff is in it. I will agree, Hilary Duff is a terrible actor and she's done some pretty crappy movies, but this one was very good. It would probably have a higher rating if Hilary Duff wasn't in it. But that's just my opinion.

I despise this movie.
I have watched it once and never watched it again.
Hilary duff cant sing to save her life.
It always turns out perfect in the end.
It goes on and on
She has some serious issues.
Everytime she sees a light she starts spazzing out cuz it reminds her of her dead brother.
If she spazzes out every time she sees a light why is she there is first place.
If you listen to her voice when she sings it realy high and squeaky.
but then when she goes to the concert her voice sounds perfect cuz she is lyp singing.
I just think this is the stupidest movie in the world.

I just thought the writing was REALLY BAD. I totally could not get into the story. Sooooo boring!

True, the story is predictable, but I've seen other movies that have the "small town girl moves to big city and isn't popular at first, but then gets popular" story, beforebut they weren't like this

But I have to say that Hilary Duff's acting was horrendous and really phony on some occasions and nearly ruined the whole movie for me. Many of the scenes were just unbelievably cheesy, too. That and Hilary's voice sounds like its prerecorded every timenow, I know that actors and actresses voice are prerecorded in most films, but at least it sounds a capella when it's supposed to. Her voice sounded like her CD was somewhere playing. Her crying scenes were also just bad. Usually there should be a bit more believable angst.

Now, no one attack me, alright? I really did enjoyed some of it and a lot of the songs I liked. (Ending theme especially ) And it's not as if the movie hurt anyone. It was a nice, simple little feel-good movie with a story we may have all heard before, but whatever. 2.5/5

"Au revoir, les enfants."

I'm 22 and I love this movie. I think it has a good story line and the main purpose of the movie isn't about her going to this school, it's about accepting that she can still be happy even though her brother isn't around, it's about overcoming the hopelessness of the situation. She even says in the movie "It's like this voice comes into my head and it's like 'How can you be happy when Paul is dead.'" I think a lot of people relate to this movie, overcoming the death of someone you love, and I think that's what makes it such a good movie. I think Hilary Duff is a great actress and there aren't many of her movies I don't like. As for her singing, it's not really my style, but I like some of her music, including what was in the movie. The songs were relevant to the movie, and that's why they were put in.

For once I'd like to see someone defending this movie with some other argument besides "ur so mean, hilary rox! ure 2 stupid". I believe the original poster asked why people disliked this movie, and I believe a fair share of the people who have replied here have done so in a coherent and thorough manner. I think I'll add in my $0.02. While I don't hate this movie, I do believe it's highly overrated:

First of all, get over it, the movie is incredibly cliche. Yes C-L-I-C-H-E. The fact that it borrows elements from a variety of "teeny bopper" films does nothing to deter the obvious. I could atleast name a dozen movies with a plot too similar to "Raise your Voice". So, reason #1 the movie is overrated: The plot has been exhausted and beaten to death, overdone and too cliche.

On to the acting and singing. Look, I have nothing against Duff; I actually enjoyed Lizzie McGuire (and I was around 17 when it finished its run). But you fans have to give it up. Hilary can't sing worth a damn. No, she's not the worst ever..but she doesn't have the talent or authentic skill to back up the sort of performance her character was supposed to pull off. On with Ms. Duff; her acting is very one-dimensional, she portrays the same type of character in almost every film she makes. Her performance is somewhat bland and unappealing; it's entertaining for a while, but it's too much sugar and not enough substance. I guess that summed up reason #2 why the film is overrated.

Didn't the boyfriend's drinking problem bother anyone else? Yes, I think it was made quite clear that the guy had a *problem*. But the issue was neither cleared up or resolved. If they were only to address it for dramatic purposes and not bring any sort of resolution to it at all..then why use that plot device in the first place?

I suppose I delved into the biggest issues to do with this film. Anything else that escapes me at the moment was probably too little a matter anyway. But it goes without saying that there are minor details which make Raise your Voice even less appealing and more appalling.

P.S: This movie just fails miserably in trying to encompass too much. It borrows from so many other plots and fails to deliver in any of them 100%/
>If you want to see a movie about a younger sister who deals with her older brother's death, just watch: "Looking for David's Heart".
>If you want to watch a movie about a small town girl chasing her stardom dreams and falling in love (God, there's too many to name), I think one of the originals was "Two Tickets to Broadway" with Janet Leigh. For a cheaper version go see Crossroads, or heaven forbid Glitter. [For extra points, if you want to see a relatively "small" town girl making it Big..and with the added bonus of stage fright (much like Duff's character) watch Coyote Ugly.]
>If you were moved by the relationship between student and teacher, then there's like 200 films to see..but all right, teeny bopper-ish..Mona Lisa Smile?
>If you feel like seeing a movie about a girl who struggles to build her future and go against the odds to make it to a school, I recommend the TV movie "Homeless to Harvard".
> If you want to see a movie which highly stereotypes every teen character in it and makes their performances and lives to be highly cliche and predictable..watch ANY Molly Ringwald movie from the 80s.
>If what got you hooked where all the "Star" cameos..then you might as well watch "Mars Attacks!". Worst movie ever, but boy does it have an A List of protagonists.

Amen, Dagger Angel. I love it when people give good critiques like yours. I agree with you completely, so it would be useless to express my opinion, as I would just be repeating what you've already said.

Instead, I would like to address the people who keep talking about Hilary's money. That has no relevance to the topic AT ALL. And telling people who differ in opinion that they'll never have the amount of money she has is an extremely crude and stupid way of saying that person is wrong. Money is in no way a measure of talent.

Ok. Some of you guys need to stop saying that she is a great singer, cause shes not- at all. Haven't you guys heard of digital voice editing? It edits her voice to make it sound better. And if you didn't notice the digitized Hilary singiing voice than you need bigger Tv speakers- or a hearing aid. I'm not trying to say shes a bad singer, shes actually okay, she just can't reach those high notes real well. And before you guys say I have no clue what I'm talking about, I'm going to say that I played Cosette in Les Miz on Broadway (Before that I played young Cosette). Ya know, that play that Ashley Tisdale was in? Well, anyways, I think Hilary Duff is an okay actress, and maybe in a few years she'll be more respected in Hollywood.

Because it sucked.

This is my signature. AREN'T YOU EXCITED?!

I'm very musical, and I have quite a few friends who are too, this film in terms of music is okay.

However, I only watched it because of my Night School course, and it SUCKED.

I'm sorry, it's for 12 year old girls. That's it.

However, there's some films for 12 year old girls that are funny to watch..like.uhno waitI was thinking 12 year old films in general.


Well..goodbye.

" I loved this movie. It was a sweet, charming film, that is one of my favorites. "

Okay, I'm gonna choose to respond to this quote cause it's the general stupid quote you get from 12 year old girls.


Let me tell you something.

There's a thousand films like these.

That's why it sucked.

Cause the story, the theme, everything that was this movie has been overdone to the extent of being so damn boring that it's just plain silly.



Now I'm the guy who picks up on repeatetive themes and usually knows what's going to happen in an average film, I can watch it and predict what's going to happen in 10 min for example. In the case of this film, I could predict the outcome of every character and that just plain ruins any thoughts of enjoying a film.

But as I stated earlier, only reason why I watched this is because my Night School teacher chose to show us this movie for our Unit of adolecent troubles.



P.S. This film sucked hard, so hard that even if Hillary was doing the sucking I'd say stop.

Reasons why Raise Your Voice sucked:

1. Hilary Duff was in it.
2. It contained all the elements of a by-the-numbers follow-your-dreams movie: Small-town girl going to big city to pursue dreams of stardom, cute overseas boy, bitchy popular girl who happens to be cute overseas boy's ex, token black chick, Gothic girl who never talks to anyone, nerdy guy with weird name and crush on Gothic girl, supportive teacher, evil teacher, supportive family save for dad, someone dies because a drunk driver ran a red light. Take your pick - I've got more.
3. The password to the dorm was actually "monkeys". What the hell kind of password is that?
4. Hilary Duff was in it.
5. John Corbett's talent was wasted to an incredible degree.
6. So was that of Kat Dennings.
7. The relationship between Terri and Paul was reminiscent of Katherine and Sebastian in "Cruel Intentions" . . . though not as graphic.
8. Hilary Duff was in it.
9. It made some of Hilary Duff's other movies look good.
10. Hilary Duff can't sing worth a damn.
11. The general consensus among movie reviewers was that it sucked.
12. You felt a need to ask for someone to write this list.
13. Hilary Duff was in it.
14. Hilary Duff was in it.
15. Hilary Duff was in it.



You are indeed my new hero

I can't say I hate the movie.
I hate the movie because of Hilary Duff,she is the worst actress I know

The movie could have been better if:
1. Hilary Duff wasn't in it.
2. It wasn't so predictable.

It wasn't so bad. JMO but I think this was the best film Hilary Duff has ever been in so far. The rest of her movies weren't all to great.

As I said in a previous post, I really enjoyed the first twenty minutes of this movie. It was a well thought out plot, the unusual family dynamics were realistic, the relationship between her and her brother was something I would have liked to seen explored in a bit more detail, but the chemistry was there. But, after the first twenty minutes, the movie went downhill and never recovered.

But, my point for this post is that, although at times, Hilary's acting is right on the money, for the majority of the time, she's overly dramatic, and makes me cringe. It's almost as if she's trying too hard.

And, as for those who keep insisting that her voice is the best that they have ever heard: I'm not going to say that it's infact the worst that I've heard, because goodness knows I've heard worse, but she is definitely not the best. Her voice ranks in at about average.

But, if you listen to her sing in this movie, for the more difficult singing tasks, it is infact not her singing. They also had a voice double in the Lizzie McGuire movie. If you listen, you don't even have to listen carefully to tell the difference, but if you listen, it's as clear as day.

I thought the movie was ok, except I was kind've surprised she didn't the competition.


Do I CAUSE YOUR DEATH? Just like you caused Erin's?
Maserati7777

I don't know if I'm the only one who notices this, but HAS ANYONE ELSE REALIZED THAT BARELY ANYONE IN THIS MOVIE CAN PLAY A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT?! As a violinist for 10 years and a flutist for 3, I can assure you that when Denise is playing, her bowings and fingerings do not match up to the audio. Also, lots of other audio and visual are unsynchronized, showing that pretty much everyone was dubbed. I don't see why they couldn't acutally hire musiciansAlso, Hilary Duff sounds just like her normal self (computerized) at the beginning, but when she does her scale for the class, it's quite obvious that it's not really her. The voice in the scales vibrates on some notes, which Hilary Duff obviously can't really do, because she doesn't do it in any of her other songs. That is what bothers me about hereven if her voice was really her ownIT'S NOT GOOD! I don't know who hasn't seen a movie with this exact same plot, but they're all the same: melodramatic, cheesy and continuing to recycle every teen movie cliche in the book.

Before I attempt to answer BubblyBlueberry's question, a response to littlebinaction ("And you all hate Hilary Duff because everything you wanted to be: she's rich, she's famous, she's beautiful, she has a good voice, she's in many films, she's all over on the media."

It doesn't mean she's talented. Like Lindsey Lohan, Jessica Simpson, etc, she's just another piece of "media candy" who will soon fade into oblivion and from our memories. You have no idea how pathetic you make yourself out to be when you blame our dislike for her on the fact that we are supposedly inferior. "You don't like her so it must be because you're jealous and fat." Yes, great reason. That is precisely why I don't like her. I mean seriously, think about it. I can think of people more beautiful, richer, more famous, and can think of just about anyone who can sing better than her, and I have no problem with them. This rationalization is immature and only angers me because whenever someone mentions that they haven't exactly taken to the Blonde of the Month (Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson, Hilary Duff, take your pick), in response they receive "ya well ur a jelus turd!!!1"

I only started disliking Hilary Duff after I saw this movie and soon after had to babysit for my cousins, where I was exposed to Lizzie McGuire for the first time. Then I made the mistake of listening to the radio. Then she was on a magazine. Then her face was plastered everywhere. I was somehow completely ignorant of this actress during her rise to fame (which I'm sure will be a short one) and suddenly I find her everywhere. I'm stating this so you all know that my loathing for her was implanted after I saw the movie and after I had already decided that it was a piece of trash.

Why did I think it was a piece of trash? Well as one user has already mentioned, it's got every cliche in the book. I don't think it was intentional either. Now that I know all about Duff, it's quite obvious that this film was created for the sole purpose of promoting her among her fans and other tweens. There is no other reason why she would have been cast as a girl who is such a great singer that she's accepted into a prestigious musical academy.

My disenchantment with the movie started right around the part where they were leaving school and Teri's brother comes around with a videocamera and starts taping his sister. He continues to do this until his death and frankly, it creeped the hell out of me. The love and affection he has for his sister is above and beyond the norm, enough so that it made me shift uncomfortably in my chair. I mean, I would certainly not be pleased if I found out my brother was secretly videotaping me. It's not cute; it's suspicious. Anyway, we are soon introduced to the rest of the family, all entirely cliche. Brother dies. Cue tears for the next fifteen minutes. Teri finds out she's been accepted, surprise surprise, her whacky aunt helps her get there with a cunning plan. From there she must face serious competition!

Or maybe not so serious. Oh, okay. There was no competition. Her voice sucked. It was shrill and metallic, not unlike a small but high-powered drill. The first time I watched this, I stopped it where they started singing Hallelujah at one of America's top musical schools. I mean, PLEASE. Someone mentioned that during the final performance it seemed as if she had a chorus, which I also find completely disillusioning. Whenever she sang I felt the urge to down a bottle of Tylenol and I only sat through the whole thing so I could come on IMDb and comment on it properly.

The rest of the story was riddled with cliches, including the boyfriend with English accent, his bitchy ex who's out to get Teri (and her little dog too), the crying every fifteen minutes, the black girl who desperately needs moneyI mean, what the hell? There's no way this plot was thought through before they started shooting. Some people like films because they're simple, but in this case "simple" means "predictable." The jokes (the password is monkey, by the way) were unfunny and fell flat. She lets her alcholic boyfriend cheat on her and then welcomes him back with open arms. She goes to bed with her makeup on. I hated this movie.

So all in all, Blueberry, people don't like this movie because it's bad. The only good point is when her brother dies, which was God's punishment for seeing a Blink182 concert. It was also a little unique to give her a phobia of bright lights after the car accident, but it's not worth the rental price. I mean, it's not even worth the 700 megs of downloading space.

Anyway, that's my opinion. Feel free to rip me apart now. >>;

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My disenchantment with the movie started right around the part where they were leaving school and Teri's brother comes around with a videocamera and starts taping his sister. He continues to do this until his death and frankly, it creeped the hell out of me. The love and affection he has for his sister is above and beyond the norm, enough so that it made me shift uncomfortably in my chair. I mean, I would certainly not be pleased if I found out my brother was secretly videotaping me. It's not cute; it's suspicious.

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THIS, right here, is what drives me crazy! This is like, at least, the 10th remark about the sibling relationship in this movie. There is a notable flaw in your comment: Paul did not SECRETLY tape her at any one point. This is demonstrated at the point of the film when he walks into her room and she says "Hello, annoying", and then goes back to working on her music. She also clearly was aware he was filming her in front of the bathroom mirror; and she was completely comfortable with it, playing into the situation by singing along and dancing to the music. She was ALWAYS aware Paul was there and filming her (except for maybe when she was in the choir). She just returned to her work while he filmed because she was in the middle of something and, clearly, knew the reason he was in the vicinity. How is this "beyond the norm"? Aspiring film-makers do it all of the time, and there was no indication of romantic intent behind any actions. I'm sorry you, and other people who have said the same thing, clearly do not have close ties with your sibling(s).

And, I'm sorry, but Paul turned it into a DVD and sent it in to the academy in hopes of giving Terri a better chance of getting in. What exactly is so weird about that? That he was trying to HELP his sister? Oh, yeah, I'm totally freaked out. It's just so wrong on so many levels

Get real.

How in the world filming your brother/sister doing things they love and just having fun ever became "creepy", "disturbing", or any kind of innuendo is beyond me - and, frankly, completely ridiculous. It's absurd to feel discomfort from such a familial bond just because you don't have one yourself.

I'm sure there are some rather creepy sibling relationships out there, but this is most definitely NOT one of them.


Anyway, on subject: I'm half and half about this film. While I enjoyed it in general, there were some parts that, I admit, were a bit cringe-worthy - and, I mean, on H.D's part. The one moment I can easily point out is when she is singing with her friends at the park or so while Denise is performing. Hilary's voice was ratheryikes, there.

Still, it's a decent movie that is rather enjoyable when you're bored and having nothing better to do. While it is certainly not one of my favorites, I've also seen much worse (nothing will EVER top the horrible nonsense and pathetic excuse for a comedy that is "Spanglish"). Plus, the film did have a good performance of "Someone's Watching Over Me" by Hilary herself. And, you CAN tell she is singing that song - it sounds exactly the same on her CD.


"Who are you to decide who's special and who's not?" - Claire Bennet

its a pretty entertaining movie, but hilary duff lets it down.. i watched it coz of oliver james .. that the only reason.. lol

I didn't hate the movie, but I didn't love it either. Hilary Duff being in the movie is probably why it has a low rating.

I miss you Kayla

Yeah, I think Hilary Duff ruined everything. She was way too preppy acting in this movie, and I hate how she talks. She has a cute voice and all but I didn't like any of the songs in this movie. Honestly I don't like any of her songs, if someone else better than her sang it it'd be fine. And the way they sang the songsjesus it sounded so fake. That's probably what annoyed people the most.

But all in all, I liked this movie only because it was so sad, the whole brother thing. But I hated everything else.

Well a lot of people were complaining about her not doing something different instead of the same roles. Raise Your Voice and The Perfect Man saw her maturing into more serious roles. Theres just no pleasing people.

.~~The Power Of Three Will Set You Free~~.

The first reply answers the question perfectly.

Someone said "Raise Your Voice and The Perfect Man saw her maturing into more serious roles. Theres just no pleasing people"

Serious role??? Are you kidding???? This whole movie was a joke. Seriously, when all the music students were sitting around on the green grass in the sun playing their instruments which were all magically carted outside and were all magically plugged into electricity, as well as being magically in sync, was when I stopped cringing and started laughing. It was so hideously unrealistic and cheesy that the director should be banished to a deserted island. Serious role?? My god, what is the world coming to. Watch a REAL movie.

And her voice honestly made my ears bleed. I wanted to like this movie, I really did. I have nothing against Hilary duff. I loved the lizzie maguire show. It was quirky enough. As soon as she began to sing things went downhill however.

After this movie finished I rushed home and listened to Jewel, Tori Amos, Ani difranco, lily allen and Sarah Blasko consecutively - women who can ACTUALLY SING, and to get that horrible sound of Duffs voice resonating in my brain shudder.

I would also like to add, how DARE this movie quote ludwig van beethoven at the start of the movie?!?!? *Cringe* ALl in all, this movie sucked.

I totally agree with RioMadeira on the 1st comment and cherrytop100 above mine, couldn't agree more. I cant imagine why someone really think that this is their "Best" movie!?? It made all the movies I 've seen sounds like a joke. I think HD fans tried to hard to defend her. I lost focus for the movie since I heard her weird high-pitched speaking voice. It made my ears bleed too. I dont know what the director sees in her? (oops, actually I do!?) What a waste on some other good casts.

You know, I actually quite like Hilary Duff at times, and this film might have been bearable, had it been about a local music group or a school summer music thing, but the fact that it was about a conservatoire (or conservatory as it is in America) was really stupid, and acually quite offensive, knowing just how much work and talent has to go into getting into these places. And why were all the pianists and violinists so fantastic, and all the singers so awfulI just didn't get it, but believe me, they dont sing like that in conservatoires!!

i kinda liked this film, it certainly want the worst movie ive ever seen, but it could have been made SOOOO mcuh better if they had just hired some who could sing.




i mean really, what an awful movie to cast her in, when the whole damn thing is about how freakishly talented she is.she looked the part, i guess, and her acting was ok, but really.

ok. i know a lot of people hate hilary duff movies and a whole lot of people also like hilary duff movies.
I'm not here to defend hilary duff or bash her. but for the haters: why don't you like her? and don't say she sings with a falsetto, cause girls don't have falsetto. and if you don't understand why people like her movies, i guess cause it's closer to real life.
and to the people who like hilary or her movies, don't even bother to change people's minds about her or her movies, cause people have a right to speak their mind, and hilary duff isn't the greatest actress ever(though she isn't the worst either) and she isn't the greatest singer too(though she doesn't really suck)..

and to those people who think they should've hired someone who could sing?
why should they? alot of movies hire alot of people who can't sing, because now a days, people don't care if you can sing or not, as long as a large number of people like the actor/actress(that goes for acting too)

I thought this movie was great, plus she sang in it, so that made it even better!

Loving Hilary Duff and Jesse Mccartney!
I lOvE hIgH sChOoL mUsIcAl!!!!

THis is not my type of movie, and by far not my fav, but I really enjoyed it.

All the great movies were filmed in the south.

She is poo. Utter constipated poo. And jennie, for example, WTF?! Like she's talented and great singer who have you been listening to lately? Your f-ing cat?
Okay some ask why does everyone hate her? You can't ask that, unless we ask why on earth you are so defensive and love her - how can you love her if you don't even know her? All you see is her on TV and her all prettied up and in movies. Actually, you get to see a lot of her personality because she doesn't really ACT in her movies, just reads lines. poo poo poOOO!!! she BLOWS. she's a mistake and i strongly pity any imbecile who thinks she's a good inspiration. like 'someones watching over meee" oo-er! like she knows any pain at all. she's just a rich little spoiled brat who is famous for NO reason thats why we alll hate her.

Poeple like JOJO should be getting the publicity she does, only Jojo isn't as hhappy happy go lucky head in the clouds pretending to be someone she ain't. She's real. and no one likes reality unfortunately. SO Boo to hilary and yay to Jojo.
hilary = Boo
Jojo = best singer ever.
AND WHAT WAS That award hilary got in 2003 or somehting? hottest female star with best acting and singing abilities. OMFG!! THATS SO FUNNY! THE WORLD MUST BE OUT OF THEIR F - ING MIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNDDDDDDD!!!

honeybubbles I pretty much agree with everything you say. Everyone, if you really like chick-flicks or Hilary Duff, then you will probably like this movie. It's just not my kind of thing; I'm a girl yet am into Reservoir Dogs, Shaun of the Dead, Donnie Darko, Layer Cake, and other awesome movies like that

I didn't hate it.

But you just gave a valuable reason to hate it : it feeds the illiterate.

Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken. - Tyler Durden

I love this movie.

i hate it because it was a cliche movie with bad acting, it's unrealistic, teri is really overrated in the movie to me because her voice isn't that great, and the plot is too simple and cheesy. All the scenes with her and the brother and dealing with his death is the best acting in the movie. All the other parts were really lamecore.