Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Livestonth 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

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Rich Wright I've seen some dysfunctional families in my time, but Thomas REALLY has it rough. His mother is about to give birth and doesn't get off his case, his dad seems to take orders from a teddy called Rex, as well as being completely useless... and there's his brother Charlie. Who happens to be severely autistic. We're talking about constantly rocking back and forth, unable to communicate apart from with sign language, having random fits in public and rushing into total stranger's houses to use their bathroom facilities. To call him a 'handful' would be a gross understatement.Thomas wants out. He's fed up of doing everything around the house, his sibling embarrassing him in public and being bullied at school due to his 'situation'. Then, thanks in part to his brother's antics, he meets a lovely girl called Jackie, and things start looking up. Not only is she a beautiful, warm, compassionate human being, she can seemingly look past Charlie's bizarre behaviour and appreciate who he is. Even if he does steal tampons from her bag and suck on them...The key to the success of The Black Balloon is it really puts us in Thomas's shoes, and we suffer alongside him as he tries to make the best of a very stressful lifestyle. It's bad enough having to watch his brother 24/7, but when he starts acting up around people who don't understand his condition and they just look on with contempt, what can he do? He hates his brother due to the unwanted attention he attracts everywhere, and you can understand why he lashes out at Charlie several times. Only judge if you've worked a mile in their shoes, etc.The performances are out of this world, is Luke Ford (as Charlie) not disabled in real life? Every little detail, from the facial expressions, to the little tics he displays rings true. Note to Dustin Hoffman: THIS is someone with a serious handicap, not your card-counting, won't-go-on-plane has-difficulty-dancing social misfit from Rain Man. We dislike Charlie for the way he disrupts everyone's lives... but he can't help it, and he still shows enough during his quieter moments to demonstrate he can be very good-natured. Rhys Wakefield also effectively garners sympathy as the woe-be-gone Thomas, and Toni Collette as usual adds a touch of class as the mum of this chaotic brood.Filled with heartbreaking and inspirational moments, it's a treasure of a film... especially for those who have to live this way. If it teaches us anything, it's that should never give up on those you love. The more you put in, the more you'll get back in the long run... 8/10

apoormonkeybutler Lots of water symbolism in this movie, like with Charlie's Noah's Ark play, and his brother Thomas' lifeguard training. And there's a bathtub scene at the end! There's also a scene at an abandoned army training field with Thomas' girlfriend who kind of looks like Amanda Seyfried that probably also has some symbolic undercurrent, like after Thomas gives her a "beautiful" empty ammunition shell pendant (during a rain storm), she tells him to close his eyes, and says she imagines beyond the fuzzy blackness, she can see her mom. Charlie is there too!Thomas' mom's name is Maggie, which is a diminutive of Margaret, which derives from the Greek word for pearl. So maybe the shell had something to do with mom (pearl)? Mom's portrayed by Toni Collette, who later had a role on the United States of Leeland (Tara) as a mom of a daughter who sat on balloons for a web-cam fetish site. Coincidence!?! Probably! She's a good actress! Thomas' dad works for the Army. His name is Simon and he consults a teddy bear named Rex for advice, and his home life is a disaster! The part where he finally outwits the bullies and rides around the block on his big-wheel is probably the best part of the film!See this movie, even if it's Australian and doesn't have Noah Taylor. It features an artistic kid rubbing poop into carpet and has a great soundtrack!

poddylobo I found this film on BBC iPlayer, reading the setting in the description as 'South Wales' and disregarding the 'New'.So expecting a slightly earlier rendition of 'Submarine', I was disappointed and then thrilled to be taken to a story down under.Thrilled because the story was moving and the story moved. The film does not get obsessed with its own themes of disability and otherness, but rather uses these to good effect as a backdrop for a more general coming-of-age journey.Sudden changes in tempo and dynamics between and within scenes make this journey a turbulent one, from quite lengthy chase scenes to placid family dinners culminating in difficult-to-watch violence. Human strength and weakness battle it out, struggling for balance.

westhamu Osmosis, I don't care whether you liked the film or not. That's a personal choice. Personally, I thought it was great. 'Fraudulently obtained' taxpayer money? Fraudulently obtained obviously because you didn't like it. It didn't fit into your box. Does a film that you like that I don't (that has been funded by Government Filmcorps) also fall into the 'fraudulently obtained' category. I'm guessing not. I've always been amazed at this line of thought. Money wasted you say. I'm quite happy to let Government bodies fund crap films until the cows come home. As long as about one in ten is a classic. Which usually happens. Good public money spent! And what is a quasi-plagiarist rip-off? You're either a plagiarist or you're not (no quasi about it) and plagiarist rip-off is the oxymoron of all oxymorons. And I've got to add: "Obviously the American Film Industry has been totally conned into believing our mainstream people have talent which explains the constant stream of ever worsening quality of films these days." That doesn't make any sense whatsoever. Do you mean the American Film Industry has taken all our talent so now there's no-one left and as a result our films are crap or do you mean that Americans are making our films huge box-office hits, through their naivety (being conned), and so we keep making the films you don't like. The latter premise is nonsense because our films don't make big Hollywood money whilst the first premise is self-evident by your logic. As Tarantino had Michael Madsen say 'I'm betting you're a big Lee Marvin fan'. I'm betting you're a big Crocodile Dundee fan. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I have it myself. But there's different ways to watch different films. I hate Elton John's music but I can understand why people like it. You obviously have an oligarchical problem with some film board. Script rejected?