4 comments about The Runaway.

1. I loved this film; I kind of wish it would get the Oscars; Unfortunately, it was originally aired on TV: You have these two boys born on the same day; One is black and the other is white; They hook up and become the best of friends; Yet, this is 1940s Georgia; And the black boy's sister gets pregnant presumably by her white employer, then someone turns up dead and things get right ugly. Dean Cain plays the sheriff, who just coming back from WW2, wants to see the right thing done, yet, the prejudices of the time seem to want to stay the same although clearly, times were a-changing; Maya Angelou has a pivotal role as a seer; You can't help but love watching her especially when she hollers "Justice Is Served" in the courtroom. Debbie Morgan, a great yet underrated actress has the role of the black boy's mother; And a performance she gives indeed. A good Hallmark movie indeed;



2. This an excellent film for the entire family. It is a very touching story, very entertaining and gives the family lots of topics to discuss after viewing. I would highly recommend it to anyone.



3. It was a good movie, Hallmark, and all. Kept thinking it could have been better.



4. This was a fantastic movie kept my interest all the way through. I would recommend it to everyone.

5 comments about Balseros.

1. An excellent account of how cubans escaped communist Cuba in 1994 building rafts and sailing across to their dream of America.
   It follows the lives for 5 people who made the crossing. The film follows their struggle on arriving in America and looks at their lives 6 years on.
   This is a True Story which is still happening today.
   The film is in Spanish but there are subtitles.
   Get the hankies ready!



2. "Balseros" is movie of deep commitment executed by a team of heavily talented reporters and film professionals. The work effort covers a period of almost eight years, starting with the so-called "Balseros" crisis of 1994, when - in shades of the Mariel Boatlift in 1980 - a policy shift by Fidel's government sends thousands of industrious Cubans streaming towards the shores of Florida.
   
   The access the film team has to the island is unprecedented. You see the rafts being crafted and carried through the streets. When protagonist Guillermo Armas rides to the shore with this raft, he's cordoned by a wave of joyous bicyclists. What an amazing scene. In the meantime, the camera captures the seedy and rundown nature of present-day Havana.
   
   Where "Balseros" stands apart is in carrying the film through to 2001, when we see what has become of the seven protagonists. You have to give immense credit to co-directors and writers Carles Bosch & Josep Domènech for the effort and skill in putting together this tale.
   
   And, in a film with standout moments, here's mine: the team takes to the waters to document the journeys. At times, it encounters hauntingly empty rafts. The voice over gently tells you about the implications of an empty raft. All you have to do is juxtapose the flimsiness of some of these vessels vs. the raging currents in the straits and it's not difficult to imagine how these journeys came to a ghostly end.
   
   Good complements to "Balseros" are "Finding Mañana" Mirta Ojito's outstanding 2005 memoir of the the Mariel Boatlift, Reinaldo Arenas' "Before Night Falls" (acclaimed author Arenas also came over in Mariel) and "Azucar Amarga," another great film with outstanding live footage (spliced into a compelling fictional story).
   
   The movie follows seven specific protagonists. I found it hard to distinguish the threads at times, but Spanish producer Bausan Films has an outstanding press package on its web site and it contains a little cheat sheet of the seven, which I'm pasting in here because I think it'll really help your watching of the film:
   
   MÉRICYS GONZALEZ
   HER JOURNEY
   AUGUST 1994
   Builds a raft in Havana
   SEPTEMBER 1994
   She sets off to sea. The raft is wrecked and she returns to Cuba
   FIVE YEARS LATER 2001
   She obtains a legal visa and goes to Albuquerque, New Mexico to join her sister
   
   OSCAR DEL VALLE
   HIS JOURNEY
   AUGUST 1994
   Builds a raft in Havana
   SEPTEMBER 1994
   Goes to sea and in U.S. waters is picked up and sent to the naval base at Guantanamo
   OCTOBER/DECEMBER 1995
   Accepted in the U.S.A. he is sent to the Bronx
   FIVE YEARS LATER 2001
   He has moved to York (Pennsylvania)
   
   RAFAEL CANO
   HIS JOURNEY
   AUGUST 1994
   Builds a raft and is thrown out of it
   SEPTEMBER 1994
   In a "new" raft he sets out to sea and is detained in U.S. waters. He is taken to Guantanamo
   OCTOBER/DECEMBER 1995
   Accepted into the U.S. he is sent to Miami
   JUNE 1996
   He goes to Nebraska
   FIVE YEARS LATER 2001
   The TV program broadcast nationally from Miami, Gran Impacto, sets out to find him
   
   MÍRIAM HERNÁNDEZ
   HER JOURNEY
   AUGUST 1994
   Builds a raft in Batabanó (in southern Cuba)
   SEPTEMBER 1994
   She sets out to sea and is detained in U.S. waters and sent to the naval base in Guantanamo
   OCTOBER/DECEMBER 1995
   Accepted in the U.S. she is sent to Miami
   FIVE YEARS LATER 2001
   She is still waiting for her daughter, who is now eight years old, and who Miriam still has not been able to bring from Cuba
   
   GUILLERMO ARMAS
   HIS JOURNEY
   AUGUST 1994
   Builds a raft in Havana
   SEPTEMBER 1994
   Sets out to sea and is detained in U.S. waters and sent to the naval base at Guantanamo
   MAY 1995
   Accepted in the U.S. he is sent to Miami
   FIVE YEARS LATER 2001
   He lives with his wife and daughter in Miami
   
   JUAN CARLOS AND MISCLAIDA
   THEIR JOURNEYS
   AUGUST 1994
   They build a raft in Havana
   SEPTEMBER 1994
   They set out to sea and are detained in U.S. waters and sent to the naval base at Guantanamo
   OCTOBER/DECEMBER 1995
   Accepted in the U.S. they are sent to Granby, Connecticut
   FIVE YEARS LATER 2001
   They have separated. He lives in Granby. She lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.



3. The documentary is one of the few that Fidel Castro will allow to show on the communist Cuban television. It shows the negative side of the balseros immigrants. Completely pessimist and intentional depressing and some times it make fun about Cubans. No a good example. The director picked a very poor town were everybody is black and unlettered. The other ninety percent of the rafter or Balseros, not showed on this documentary of course, are mostly white, blue collar worker, professionals, and artists. I see then all the time. Why this documentary doesn't show to the world that Cuban is the minority more represented on the highest levels of the united stated government. Balseros that came here to work hard, learn the language, make money without selling drugs. It is the type of material that makes happy those that use to ware Che Gevara tee-shirt. I am sorry about my English, I am just a Balsero that came here eight years ago and now I am American citizen, own a hause, have my own insurance business and most at all, I am free and proud to be a cuban balsero.



4. The movie documents the lives of half a dozen Cubans as they struggle to escape their wretched lives to reach the land of dreams. Seen in a braoder context, I could immediately relate to the hopes and aspirations of people in various corners of the third world as they seek to make a home in the West.
   Most interesting was to note how fragile human relationships are - majority of these 6 Cubans who finally make it to America find loving and living with people against all promises made to loved ones when departing. Since this documentary tracks the lives of these people across several years, it provides a rich historical context to measure the reality against the dreams that these immigrants had when departing for America.
   Thankfully, the movie stays away from any political overtones (as in Castro-bashing, or America/ CIA bashing).



5. This was an interesting documentary about a brief period of time during the Clinton administration in which Cubans were so desperate to leave Cuba (either to reunite with family in the United States or to come to what they thought were cities of gold) that they risked their lives and took to the sea on flimsy rafts that I wouldn't get into a pool on. The film documented several people making their rafts, putting them out to see, being turned back to Cuba to be held at Guantanamo Bay, being given lottery tickets to come to the U.S. and then how they faired once they got here. It seemed, for many, to be a hard life they were leaving and a hard life they were coming to. The documentary doesn't focus much on the politics of what was going on at the time -- there are some brief mentions of Castro opening the flood gates and letting people leave if they wanted and Clinton turning people away for a brief time, but most of the film discusses the hopes and dreams of people thinking there was a better way of life out there and how desperate they were to get to it.
   
   An interesting film and worth watching for some perspective.

5 comments about Kon Tiki.

1. I saw the second of his movies "Ra" and Ra2" in the theaters when I was just a small boy. then I got to go to Norway and visit the Kon tiki museum. So for me this was a treat to see. but my kids 7 & 10 where glued to this movie. afterwards we pull out the world map and looked up everything on the Net. You have to like Documentaries though!
   
   I hope the other movies will be released soon.



2. Kon-Tiki won an Academy Award for Best Documentary in the early 1950s. This one-hour feature documents Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl's voyage across the Pacific Ocean in a balsa-wood raft, to simulate how South American natives might possibly have voyaged west and settled in the islands of Polynesia.
   
   Crude, black-and-white grainy 16mm film, simple English narration. The production is bare-bones. But I've seen this film two or three times. Instead of "reality TV" which is far from reality, this is reality. Five guys who set out in a boat they did not know would be able to survive the distance, finding out by hard experience what it might have been like for any ancient mariner who tried to do the same.
   
   Many days were calm, and the crew could lash the steering paddle down, letting the wind and the current carry them toward their Polynesian goal. They could get in a basket below the water line and watch the ocean life, or float lazily away from the main raft in a rubber lifeboat.
   
   Every morning they got up and picked up the flying fish that had landed on the raft and been stranded. Breakfast! At other times they speared and clubbed dolphin fish (not dolphins) for a change of meat. They caught many sharks, mainly to discourage them from following the raft. They worried about whales and other large fish, but were never troubled by them.
   
   In about three month's time, they arrived in Polynesia and were driven toward the coast of a small island. They very nearly were wrecked on the reef. It was by no means certain that they would make it safely to shore, but finally the raft came to rest and they were able to unload the important equipment, set up on shore, and radio their successful landing and their position. They met natives (wearing Western clothing) and eventually a boat was sent to retrieve them.
   
   It is a simple story, told in a straightforward way. It doesn't seem especially dramatic, but it is authentic. Five men in a raft, surviving the elements, testing themselves, reaching their goal and a place in the history books.



3. I was surprised to find that this is a DVD-R. I believe this sort of information should be revealed somewhere in the product description. Also, most sources say KON TIKI runs 73 minutes; the main feature on this disc has a running time of less than an hour. There are additional features on the disc, but that is somewhat beside the point.
   There is an out-of-print Image entertainment DVD of this title available for about the same money. I'd recommend it, as I'm betting its a legitimate pressed (rather than burned) DVD.



4. I received a scratched DVD, and am unable to contact the company (moviemars) to return it. Amazon can't help because they didn't "sell it". I am disappointed - this is the second time I have tried to get this DVD. The first time it was "lost" in the mail with no refund. Now it's scratched. Don't order from this company!
   
   Also, I wish Amazon would take some responsibility for this kind of situation - at least to intercede somehow when materials are not delivered, lost, or damaged. Makes me not want to order through Amazon!



5. I hadn't seen this movie since my early teens, when my uncle took me to see it in La Jolla, California in 1953 or 1954. It was a special evening and we completely enjoyed seeing it, especially since I had read Heyerdahl's book in Life Magazine. Seeing it again just recently, brought back fond memories of my youth and excited me again for the adventure the Heyerdahl crew must have had.
   
   I'll watch the film again,
   
   Ron Lange,
   North Tustin, California

5 comments about The Same River Twice.

1. THE SAME RIVER TWICE is an engrossing "time capsule" viewed twenty years after the fact.
   
   In 1978, a group of free-spirited friends and lovers took a month-long trip down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. They shot the white-water rapids and, for the most part, laid around sans clothing. This adventure was recorded on film by Robb Moss, who twenty years later visited several members of the group to see how their lives had progressed.
   
   Interestingly, all had moved on from their "hippie-like" existence, taking a responsible place in society. All, that is, except the group's leader who still rides the river.
   
   This is a powerful portrait of baby-boomers who played during the 1960s-70s, then grew up.
   
   © Michael B. Druxman



2. A few days ago I watched the film "The Same River Twice." The film is a then-and-now story about some river guides on the Grand Canyon in the 1970s and their lives today. The 1970s portion is shown through some actual film footage taken on a communal trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in 1978. The now portion consists of interviews with some of the people who were on that earlier river trip. I think that the film accurately portrays the choices that some of us have faced, and for some of us, the film may be a little too real. Whether you or your friends were river guides, mountain travel trail hippies, backcountry ski bums, or just youthful wilderness adventurers in the 1970s, this film is about you and your friends - then and now.
   
   The various people portrayed in the film have chosen different strategies to face maturity and middle age. Jim has stayed "on the river" as we used to say. The others have all found lives "off the river." Of the others, I would say that one woman Danny, has been the most successful in finding happiness and contentment in her life. To me, Danny's secret is to stay active and to understand and follow your own inner compass. I cannot over emphasize the point of staying active. Living an active life gives a spark to both Danny and Jim, a spark the others seem to lack. Jim, who stayed "on the river", faces the hardship and loneliness that comes with the vagabond life of a career seasonal river guide. Jim's spark suffers a bit from his appearance of being stuck in time. Danny has a good life and appears satisfied. Jim has a very good life too, but we see the price of his unconventional choices. The others appear less satisfied than either Danny or Jim.
   
   It is a good film. The title comes from the saying attributed to the Greek philosopher Heraclitus who said something similar to, "You cannot step in the same river twice, for the waters are continually flowing onward"; a statement that I've remembered many times in my life. You may recognize yourself in parts of the film and I hope that your life is closer to Danny's or Jim's depending on your own chosen path. You are either on the river or you are off the river.



3. Having spent my youth in the Southwest rock climbing and kayaking and now pushing 50 plus this documentary brought it all back!



4. Th is was a great, nostalgic look at a group of good friends who took "time out" while I was going to college instead. It was a great movie to what to get one view of "the road not traveled". Excellent movie and insightful to watch.



5. Looks like someone's old home movies.A bunch of old hippies recounting happier days.I found it boring and not worth the money

5 comments about Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk (IMAX).

1. I presumed the video, "Grand Canyon Adventure", to be an adventure-based, scenic video tour of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River. Having never been there, I had hoped to "tour" the Canyon vicariously via this BD offering.
   
   Sadly, it was nothing of the sort, being instead an environmentalist's message about dwindling water levels of the river itself. This was the theme of the entire video... a message about choices of water usage.
   
   While there were several very nice shots of parts of the canyon, they were presented with a message, which detracted from the desired 'adventure' theme. I guess I should have been a more critical reader of the reviews before purchasing the video.
   
   In conclusion, if you are interested in viewing/learning of opinions about the current "health" of the river, i.e. water levels and flow, then this video may be just right for you. On the other hand, if you are looking for a nicely done tour of the canyon or of the river, as I was, then you'll want to look elsewhere.



2. Piste française présente mais sans aucun sous-titre français. Image fabuleuse, une des meilleures du marché. Region free.



3. This is Imax at its finest with the highest possible video quality available as there's a vast difference to me when a film is shot in HD compared to a standard definition DVD that has been upgraded/transferred to the Blu-ray format as this type of film really shows what Blu-ray is all about which is far above regular definition videos. If you love Western scenery like I do and love to see it in the highest quality, then this is for you with the conservation message being a plus.



4. Picute quality: Visually stunning
   
   Another, short subject documentary, winner by MacGillivray Freeman
   
   White water rafting in the Colorado River accompanied by the music of the Dave Matthews Band (DTS HD Master Audio 5.1).
   
   Lots of breathtaking aerials of the Grand Canyon. Beautiful shots inside the canyon. A definite home theater reference Blu-ray disc.



5. If you expect to see a film on the grandeur of the Canyon, this will be a grand disappointment. Instead expect little snippets of the canyon interspersed between the "made for silent films" voice of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. preaching on how bad all the rest of us are. Except for the quality of hi-def, this film is more exemplary of a mediocre family film, i.e. Kennedy.

5 comments about Mystery of the Nile (IMAX).

1. immagini molto definite audio non da meno è sempre uno spettacolo vedere un filmato in imax superconsigliato



2. This video is not a beautiful travel log of the Nile, it is a documentary about a journey on ONLY A PORTION of the Nile, and a lot of it was about the travelers difficulty getting the movie made and what they had to go through.



3. Oh man this was so boring. We expected more then what it was. It was a 100 day journey in 70mins. This was a disappointment. There really wasnt anything you would watch to get info on Egypt. There werent any mysteries. A lot of people know that the Nile is dangerous, if not, well i just told you, there goes the whole story, your welcome. I think its funny how they said so many people died doing the rafting of it, yet they had beginers with then. They tried to over play everything an dit was boring. Good scenes some time, but if I wanted that i would have bought SCENIC ROUTE AFRICA.



4. This falls in line with all of these series, the filming and narration are first class on all of them, the picture and sound quality are absolutely fantastic, and the narration and filming make it very interesting and educational all the way through to the end. I have been very happy with all of these series I have gotten so far, and looking forward to getting all of them that are released.



5. I have been using this film to begin my Egypt unit for 6th grade history. This film hooks em!

2 comments about Scream.

1. Godawful movie that I was very much looking forward to seeing on DVD, particularly for the director's commentary. Unfortunately, pre-orders were so low that the release has been cancelled. So, in a futile gesture, I will now pre-order it.
   
   As for the film itself, so many adjectives apply. Dreamlike, boring, nonsensical, fascinating, impoverished, dull, misguided, spellbinding, asinine, inspirational...



2. 'Scream' (1981), is supposed to be a slasher or thriller, but I didn't find it very thrilling. This movie is just plain boring. It lacked, in that the suspense lead-ups to the "scary parts" were exaggerated to a point where I lost interest, and the gory parts were very quick with minimal viewing.
   
   In my own personal opinion, if the viewers were given more clearly graphic scenes to wet their appetites, it might not have been such a bad or boring movie. Sorry, but I rate this movie from 1-10 as 1. "Awful". A low budget movie. Though this movie was released in 1982, it is definitely a very 1970's type movie.

5 comments about Mystery of the Nile [Blu-ray].

1. immagini molto definite audio non da meno è sempre uno spettacolo vedere un filmato in imax superconsigliato



2. This video is not a beautiful travel log of the Nile, it is a documentary about a journey on ONLY A PORTION of the Nile, and a lot of it was about the travelers difficulty getting the movie made and what they had to go through.



3. Oh man this was so boring. We expected more then what it was. It was a 100 day journey in 70mins. This was a disappointment. There really wasnt anything you would watch to get info on Egypt. There werent any mysteries. A lot of people know that the Nile is dangerous, if not, well i just told you, there goes the whole story, your welcome. I think its funny how they said so many people died doing the rafting of it, yet they had beginers with then. They tried to over play everything an dit was boring. Good scenes some time, but if I wanted that i would have bought SCENIC ROUTE AFRICA.



4. This falls in line with all of these series, the filming and narration are first class on all of them, the picture and sound quality are absolutely fantastic, and the narration and filming make it very interesting and educational all the way through to the end. I have been very happy with all of these series I have gotten so far, and looking forward to getting all of them that are released.



5. I have been using this film to begin my Egypt unit for 6th grade history. This film hooks em!

5 comments about Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk (IMAX) [Blu-ray].

1. I presumed the video, "Grand Canyon Adventure", to be an adventure-based, scenic video tour of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River. Having never been there, I had hoped to "tour" the Canyon vicariously via this BD offering.
   
   Sadly, it was nothing of the sort, being instead an environmentalist's message about dwindling water levels of the river itself. This was the theme of the entire video... a message about choices of water usage.
   
   While there were several very nice shots of parts of the canyon, they were presented with a message, which detracted from the desired 'adventure' theme. I guess I should have been a more critical reader of the reviews before purchasing the video.
   
   In conclusion, if you are interested in viewing/learning of opinions about the current "health" of the river, i.e. water levels and flow, then this video may be just right for you. On the other hand, if you are looking for a nicely done tour of the canyon or of the river, as I was, then you'll want to look elsewhere.



2. Piste française présente mais sans aucun sous-titre français. Image fabuleuse, une des meilleures du marché. Region free.



3. This is Imax at its finest with the highest possible video quality available as there's a vast difference to me when a film is shot in HD compared to a standard definition DVD that has been upgraded/transferred to the Blu-ray format as this type of film really shows what Blu-ray is all about which is far above regular definition videos. If you love Western scenery like I do and love to see it in the highest quality, then this is for you with the conservation message being a plus.



4. Picute quality: Visually stunning
   
   Another, short subject documentary, winner by MacGillivray Freeman
   
   White water rafting in the Colorado River accompanied by the music of the Dave Matthews Band (DTS HD Master Audio 5.1).
   
   Lots of breathtaking aerials of the Grand Canyon. Beautiful shots inside the canyon. A definite home theater reference Blu-ray disc.



5. If you expect to see a film on the grandeur of the Canyon, this will be a grand disappointment. Instead expect little snippets of the canyon interspersed between the "made for silent films" voice of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. preaching on how bad all the rest of us are. Except for the quality of hi-def, this film is more exemplary of a mediocre family film, i.e. Kennedy.

5 comments about The River Wild.

1. This download page is for the 1960 Elia Kazan film WILD RIVER starring Montgomery Clift and Lee Remick. Beautiful film about the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority and the changes it brought to the region - both economically and socially. Love Meryl Streep but this is not that movie.



2. Meryl Streep plays a wife and mother who arranges a family white-water rafting trip. She is near to divorce, and her husband (David Strathairn from Dolores Claiborn) and son (Joseph Mazzello from Jurassic Park) are barely speaking. Enter a trio of ne'er-do-wells, led by the seemingly nice, Wade (Kevin Bacon from Stir Of Echoes, Tremors, Death Sentence, Hollow Man, etc.), and things start to get interesting. The family is forced to fight for their own survival, while seeing each other in whole new ways. Even the whimpy dad has his chance for redemption through heroic acts of bravery. Streep is magnificent as the former rafting guide mum, out to turn the tables on her nemesis and his remaining henchman (John C. Reilly). I love seeing actors do "out of character" material, especially stuff that no one would expect! If you love action / suspense / thrillers with adventure and kick, then THE RIVER WILD should hit you full-force... P.S.- Watch for Benjamin Bratt in a decent cameo as a ranger...



3. If you are looking for a non-stop action flick with top notch suspense, vile villains and heroic leads....keep looking. "The River Wild" packs about the same punch as a Lifetime Network movie, but with an A-List cast.
   
   I normally love Meryl Streep in just about anything, and she does a fine job here, but the material is just so tepid there really isn't anything to work with. David Straithairn looking as though he just stepped out of a power-lunch with the CEO also does a decent job as the city-boy lost in the wild, but again outside of being given the "too-busy-to-enjoy-my-family" schtick, they don't really give him anything to do here. His decent into "survivalist" mode consists of his clothes getting wet and his hair getting messy. The best role in the film is reserved for Kevin Bacon as the heel. Playing the smarmy, backwoodsy killer who takes Streep and family hostage, Bacon does a great job in the film, and is the only reason I recommend giving this movie a spin in the DVD player. But surrounding him with a whiny kid, a dorky co-bad-guy, inept river police etc. and any edge of danger is sucked right out of the character.
   
   The ham-handed direction even sucks the beauty out of the landscape, and the menace out of the rapids. The musical score gets pumped up to ten and...blah. There is nothing surprising or inventive with the film. Take the dullest parts of "Deliverance", and expand them for an hour and half, and you have "The River Wild".



4. I saw this movie, and was in suspense the whole time! I don't think so many people should have been shot... But owell.



5. A glorious movie that has it all - adventure, scenery, soundtrack, casting perfect for the roles and the underlying story set in the wild country of Montana.
   
   It opens with fluid movement of a boat gliding through gold-touched, calm water that grabs the viewer the moment the sound track begins to play; a splendidly filmed intro of Streep rowing in the placid water of an Old Boston setting, complete with the big, gentle river overhung with foilage and it's Revolutionary background of stunning old stonework of building and bridge; she is obviously keeping in shape for her trip back to her homeland and it's wild river; but as it progresses, we glimpse into her psyche; it is not merely an exercise, it is an internal challenge with herself; she must row under the bridge before the train rumbles across it. You witness intimately the determination building in her expression as she makes her thrust into the final stretch. Beginning with this moment, it unfolds into the underlying theme, poignant in it's simplicity - and although it's been said before, "many times, many ways", it pulls it off splendidly as it begins to delve into the best and the worst of us, and of the undiscovered elements lying deep within the character of people we know or should know - best.
   
   It is about Gail, a strong, adventurous Alpha female confident of her abilities, and of sound character played with anticipated magnificence by Meryl Streep; her little boy, Roarke, whom she desires to keep in close contact with her own family roots even though they are living half a continent and culture away, in Boston; her husband, Tom, (great job by David Straithairn) for whom she has lost respect and feels that he is not only struggling in his work as an architect, but has, in the process, sold his soul to it and can think of nothing else. As we discover, nothing could be farther from the truth.
   
   Kevin Bacon as Wade, the modern day outlaw who has masterminded - if that is the right word - an armed robbery of a cattle auction, establishes his "real bad boy" role with talent, and his slow-witted but harmless companion, played by John C. Reilly, has found himself deep in a situation he is ill-equipped to play with. The unlikely combination of individual people and their problems meet fatefully at the wilderness river where they are all embarking down it for entirely different reasons; and from there it becomes a battle of wits, arrogance vs ingenuity and ability, Love against Lost; with the bonds between Gail, Tom and Roarke that have nearly been broken by circumstance brought together once again by need. I suspect that Tom will return to Boston with a new opinion of himself.
   
   A beautiful movie, directed and cast impeccably, this is one for the home collection, in my view - and I highly recommend it as one to watch over and over again, never tiring in the scope of the message - and being transported from the serene, New England intro as it melds into wild white water and mountainous splendor.