The Forger (2011)

Without exaggerating, this could quite possibly be the best movie I have ever seen. Joshua, a 16 year old boy abandoned by his mother and left homeless, must struggle to survive. His talent for art is his saving grace. Without going overboard into "wholesome" territory, The Forger tackles some heavy themes such as integrity and how to treat women. This is one of those films that can be enjoyed by adults, yet could also be shown to a youth group. It's that good. And yes, Josh Hutcherson is amazing. He shows off his acting chops in his portrayal of a confused teenage boy. Oh, and one funny thing...I watched this whole movie without realizing Lauren Bacall was in it (head smack)! I should have known by her voice. Definitely put The Forger as #1 in your Netflix queue.

This was a delightful look at forgery. The script was excellent. And the acting very good. I really enjoyed Lauren Bacall in this. Her character and her character's secret are well intertwined in this tale of redemption. From reading the other reviews I was saddened to see that many viewers simply did not understand that every lead character cannot be sympathetic. Here our lead is very messed up teen--but the proof of a good script is that why he is messed up is so well integrated into the story. His redemption is what makes the story well worth the time to watch this move. It is played flawlessly. In fact, the only thing that confused me was why he kept visiting Hayden's character in her bedroom. And then I realized they were never together in the filming of those scenes. The actually scenes where they are together probably could have been shot in a day. HERE IS THE SPOILER...DON'T READ FURTHER IS YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THIS. I got a kick out of the one review that complained that the master forger should have known that in a scientific test, underlying work would show through. Now as a verified LOVEJOY fan I feel like an expert in the area. Perhaps, that is an underlying flaw in this movie--that the scene where the expert sees the underpainting on his computer shows the painting so small and so quickly that without the ability to stop the frame the image that proves this is a forgery could be missed. And some viewers obviously missed just what the underpainting is. It is a painted drawing of Dennis the Menace. What the master forger did not know is that the 'kid' decided not to go through with it. And what is really nice is that many reasons are given for him doing just that. Which makes the character complex and movie very interesting.

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.

I found this one on Netflix streaming movies. It plays much like a Lifetime made for TV movie.Josh Hutcherson is Joshua, who never knew his dad and was abandoned by his mother. He ends up in Carmel on the Pacific Ocean, and trying to survive by hustling. He also happens to be a very talented artist.One day he meets Hayden Panettiere as Amber, when he sees her being hassled by a teacher and Joshua jumps the fence to protect her. Things develop between them, after a couple of rough starts. The most sinister character is Alfred Molina as Everly, an artist who lives beyond his means, and his dark secret is art forgery. When he recognized Joshua's talent, he offers him a home, but his motive is to make $$Millions with Joshua's talent.Even the venerable Lauren Bacall, pushing 90, has a role here as Anne-Marie, local art celebrity, who also takes an interest in Joshua. We could call this "all in the family" as Clint Eastwood's wife, Dina Eastwood as the social worker Vanessa has an critical role, as well as Clint's son, Scott Eastwood as Ryan . There is even a part for Hayden's brother, Jansen Panettiere as Aram .My comments are in no way knocking the choice of actors, Ron Howard used his whole family to fine effect in many of his movies. But this is just not a very good movie. The actors do a pretty good job with the script, but the story is pretty obvious and it ends about where you would expect it to.