Hesher

Marie wants to watch everything and anything that stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I am a bit more discriminating. Hesher wasn't any good.

And Marie agreed.

JGL is a Cliff Burton inspired character who essentially freeloads from a family he meets through happenstance. Hesher is somewhat cro-magnon in his look and in his actions. Very blunt. As it turns out, his ability to deal with reality in a head-on fashion is just the antidote needed for the family he meets. They're trying to deal withe death of a loved one, and not doing such a good job (to put it mildly). Hesher is their unruly wake-up call.

Overall, I just wasn't all that engaged. I coulda left at any point and not cared. It sucks for the main kid. You definitely sympathize with him, but it's hard to get close because his character is forcing people away. He doesn't let you in. Then there's the dad...well, there's no connection there. And there's Hesher. I don't think JGL is all that great of an actor to be honest. I don't know what aspect of acting you could say he excels at. I find he plays things down too much. The only time I thought he was truly great was in Brick. Otherwise, he just seems like an indie heart-throb for girls to swoon over. The character of Hesher was over the top. I think he could have been played with a bit more humanity. Too one dimensional.

If Natalie Portman had taken those damn glasses off for more of the movie then she could have saved it by virtue of her being THAT hot. She's a legitimately good actress and I enjoyed her character the most. She had the deepest and most honest portrayal of any character.

The thing I liked most about the film was the marketing. I dug the posters. And of course I liked the soundtrack, which was choice cuts from the first two Metallica records.

Not 'orrible by any means. But not worth watching.