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Lightning Bug

Lightning Bug (2004)

April. 09,2004
|
6.4
|
PG-13
| Drama Horror Thriller

In this drama thriller set in the South, a young boy named Green (Bret Harrison) longs to escape his unhappy life but feels trapped in his hometown. A gifted special-effects makeup artist, Green has big dreams of working in Hollywood. But the boy's personal demons -- a drunken, abusive stepfather, a group of religious zealots out to destroy his work and the love of a girl who prefers small-town life -- may stand in the way of his dreams.

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Reviews

Lawbolisted
2004/04/09

Powerful

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Protraph
2004/04/10

Lack of good storyline.

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Dynamixor
2004/04/11

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

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Livestonth
2004/04/12

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

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poe-48833
2004/04/13

So much of this one brought back memories- most of them BAD. When I migrated further South (I grew up in "the capitol of the Confederacy"), I was appalled to find myself in what I call "the Soft South" (as in "soft in the head"), where I was referred to as "a damn Yankee" and told that the capitol of the Confederacy was Atlanta, Georgia... "Green" is the kind of friend I would've given anything to have had (especially when I sat through J.R. Bookwalter's THE DEAD NEXT DOOR or perused my own FANGORIA collection). As for the Holier-Than-Thou crowd, be advised that they ARE here (there's literally one church every two blocks here in Crack Town) and they ARE Fanatical (two of my nieces, who were into Goth and Punk, were harassed to the point of having to leave school). The Fanatics have never been able to distinguish between Reality and Religion. (Have the anti-abortionists ever considered having their children spayed and neutered?) It's when LIGHTNING BUG devolves into clumsy clichés that it loses its way (and its Power). (Are we supposed to believe that a self-professed "gore fan" would faint at the sight of his own blood...?) Until that happens, it's a grim but Honest look at Fatherless Southern Kids (the kind I've known my entire life) who have no recourse but Fantasy.

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Claudio Carvalho
2004/04/14

I bought this imported DVD misguided in its genre. I was expecting a horror movie, based on the cover of the DVD, and the sentence: "The Most Frightening Monsters Are All Around Us" highlighted in the back. However, "Lightning Bug" is a powerful coming-to-age suspenseful drama, with an excellent direction and acting. It is difficult to highlight individual performances, since I would be unfair with this stunning cast. However, the sick and disgusting devoted character of Ms. Duvet, magnificently played by Shannon Eubanks, irritated me with her hypocrite life and behavior. The Region 1 DVD has a beautiful package and many features, but unfortunately it does not have English subtitles or closed caption. The accent of some characters of this small Alabama town where the story takes place is quite difficult to be understood by a foreigner, and I lost some words along the story. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Not Released"

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somewhateccentric1
2004/04/15

for relatively novice writer/director Robert Hall and producer Laura Prepon et al., be praised, you have raw creative talent. i saw this film at Philly film festival and was amazed at the depth of plot and level of character development, with only the religious themes being a little cliché or overdone. i recommended the film to all my friends but found the most negative thing working against the film was its limited release, but that's the name of the game in the film business, isn't it, the distribution and how successful one can be in this regard. i have seen the film offered on the Amazon.com website, but only wish more of the general public and laura's fans from T70sS could have seen it. wouldn't that have been nice if Laura could have met Tom Cruise and had him to do the distribution?

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diamond_inrough
2004/04/16

Lightning Bug is an amazingly honest movie that touched me in more ways than one and I hope everyone gets a chance to see it. The cast is phenomenal and includes talents such as Bret Harrison, Laura Prepon, Kevin Gage, Ashley Laurence, and Hal Sparks just to name a few. Robert Hall brings to life the very real issues of domestic violence and chasing your dreams no matter what people say. It immediately captures the audience's attention and holds it until the end. The music fits in perfectly with each scene and actually adds an extra element. The film allows you to laugh, cry, and cheer throughout pulling from the audience a whole spectrum of emotions. I definitely recommend this movie.

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