ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Mabel Munoz Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

easy2please I'm an easy-2-please kind of a person. With all the crap coming out of Hollywood, all I ask these days is that movies DON'T SUCK. I don't ask that they be good. This movie fails to meet even that low standard I've set. Hollywood crap would be better.Various reviews below pointed out the movie failed because of this or that. Whatever the reason, it isn't even a half-decent after-school special.Flaw #0: The movie just drags. If this weren't a HBO's Project Green Ligh (PGL) production I would have changed the channel after 15 minutes (30 minutes max).Flaw #1: I guess the main point of using "new" directors is to get a fresh look and style that studio films lack. The standard studio look and style would have been a plus. The "look" couldn't be blander, boring even. Flaw #2: The main character (Kelly) is an unlikable smart-mouth / smart-a**.I think they were trying to portray Kelly as quick-witted tortured soul but failed miserably. Sometimes there's that kid in every high school who is going through some undeserved hardship and you sympathize with him/her. But then there's that smart-mouth a**hole who deserve all the trouble he/she bring onto themselves. Kelly is that a**hole. Why would I care for his troubles?Flaw #3: the climax of the film (where he is kissed by an older woman and then eventually emotionally hurt by her) is so short and thin I almost missed it.Flaw #4: there's nothing new. Style is... no style. The main character (Kelly) is in conflict with his parents. Kelly gets into trouble at school because he is an outsider. He loves a girl/woman who is out of his league. Kelly is tormented by a school bully. Kelly takes revenge on the bully via some "smart", unique and a clever way. Another girl has a crush on Kelly but he doesn't seem to notice her. Yada, yada, yada...Flaw #5: the story is told in such a way that I can't identify with anybody's pains. Not the main character (Kelly), the older woman who's marrying a man she doesn't love, the mother who is troubled by the schism between the father and the son, the father who might be dying, the friend who's life is already planned out by his father, more Yada, yada, yada...Flaw #6: The actor Shia (Kelly) over acts every scene. I read in other review how good his acting is in this film, but I strongly disagree. His over acting isn't obvious as the cheesy double takes in a comedy, but still bad. Compare his acting with the young actors in "Stand by me" and you'll agree that it is bad.=== If you look at other reviews below, there is a large cluster of positive reviews early in the movie's release. I suspect these are people who:(1) are fans of PGL, (2) are fellow filmmakers who sympathize with the difficulty of directing a film, (3) were expecting a train-wreak like the first PGL's "Stolen Summer" but got something "better", (4) got caught up in the PGL's "opening night" fanfare. Almost all later reviews are very negative, in contrast. Go do the math.Even if you get a chance to see this movie on cable TV "for free"... don't bother. It is a complete waste of your 1.5 hours.

joshdiva I don't know if it was the script...or the directing...or the behind the scenes things that the Hollywood Producers did that we don't know about...but I didn't like this film...mainly because I didn't believe it...I didn't believe one minute of this film...everything seemed fake. Project Greenlight has now used 2 scripts that people don't want to see...There wasn't one scene in Shaker heights that rang true to me...

slane0 This movie demonstrates that you cannot make movies by committee. You need a clear vision of the end product before you begin, which these directors obviously didn't have. But it's harmless enough. I didn't laugh. I didn't cry. I've seen much, much worse.

javamikey Like many folks who watched Project Greenlight, I was hoping that the HBO show was just being dramatic and playful about the filmmaking events... but at the end of the day, everything would be okay.Unfortunately for the BATTLE OF SHAKER HEIGHTS, everything is not okay.With a million budget, this team had the tools to make a decent movie. All one has to do is look at CLERKS, CHASING AMY, the original HALLOWEEN, and BETTER LUCK TOMORROW to see what can be done for a few hundred grand or less. Instead, SHAKER HEIGHTS looks like it was made by a group that concluded a million dollars was no money and they'd put on a good show (more for the HBO audience than the theatre audience, apparently).Once the project was picked, this group had the luxury of making a feature film without using their own money, going in debt to finish it up, feverishly look for investors, or the chore of finding a distributor (that may explain the mediocre result). This movie had NINE PRODUCERS, TWO DIRECTORS, and THE WRITER ON SET to answer questions. Sadly, it looks like little got done.The directors adding a custom "Hot Lips" license plate to the army Jeep served no grand purpose. That use of thought and power could have been better served elsewhere. As a whole, the movie looked like it was hacked to pieces in the editing bay. One minute the lead character Kelly (played quite nicely by Shia LeBeouf) gets to drive the Jeep... then he's huffing it on a bike... then he has the Jeep again... then is back huffing it on the bike. It looks like info was missing as to why the character would alternate.As far as locations, they didn't have many: 3 houses, a school, a hospital, some woods, and a grocery store. Funny thing was, there were never many customers in the store. Heck, the Quick Stop in CLERKS had more customers (a.k.a. production value).Even more strange, the filmmakers appeared to recycle establishing shots. I could swear I saw the same establishing shots of Kelly's house and the grocery store recycled as if they didn't shoot different angles... and used the same shot more than once.Then, there is 'the kiss.' We've waited most of the movie for Kelly's big kiss with 'Tabby' (Amy Smart's character)... and it's a Jr. High kiss.All in all, THE BATTLE OF SHAKER HEIGHTS plays like a cheap TV movie that lacked a clear leader.In the future, I hope Miramax and Project Greenlight takes a good look at their system. Maybe a million dollars is too much... maybe nine producers are too many... maybe the crews are too big... maybe having too many trucks doesn't allow the filmmakers to be mobile and do better work.But one thing is certain: With all the resources given, the movies of Project Greenlight need to get better than the first two.