Mark Rogers Good films capture the essence of life, of growing up, the pain, the exclusion, the dynamics that are often felt, and less explored.I shared the tears of Conrad during the telling "Walk with Melanie" part in which the self reflection recognizes, in the moment, a special time with an adored person that will never come to anything. The tears flowing perhaps at recognition of that, or that the person is not the idol you make them to appear and that its all for not anyway. Who hasn't had an experience like that during a boyhood crush? The interaction between the brothers is breathtaking and the advice not to share the letter is classic indication of love, of the older brother understanding the pain and not wanting Conrad to further inure his pain.Strangely though the minutes with Melanie ends up being a tonic for Conrad in which he could move through his pain, even obtain reassurance that it was nice that Melanie could even think that Tuesday lunch would be nice with him. Its touching too in that it is obvious that Conrad, and Jonah are intellects and the girl, in reality, through the described misplaced High School hierarchy, probably looks up to Conrad as well albeit this can't be communicated within the high school corridors of cool.I comment extensively on the Walk with Melanie part of the movie because it is one of the classic unsequestered young love moments captured in modern film. So eloquent even within the context of what the sadand tenuous connection was. Walking an inebriated girl home and there being no other connection. With the soundtrack grabbing hold at that exact moment and reprised in the closing credits with the namesake "louder than bombs" perfectly capturing the emotion of the film. The whole film is mesmerizing albeit I felt the mother, played by Isabel Huppert was weak. Perhaps because she was so unlikable. The movie did not accurately or meaningfully depict how a women would chose war correspondence over caring for her children or how and why that would occur. Nor did it explain a women falling for a despicably played Richard (David Straithairn) who I have liked in films but who played an unlikable character in this one. Plus that she is married to Gabriel Byrne. One has to suspend belief to believe that somebody would prefer Straithairn over Byrne. Or that his children would find him so unlikable. Perhaps some casting mistakes but the brothers, and Melanie, and the teacher were letter perfect casting.

jimsearlephotography Being a photographer, and having huge respect for photojournalism (and good movie's about photojournalists such as "The Bang Bang Club" - must watch it!) I felt somewhat inclined to watch this movie when coming across it by chance. Although the movie speaks little of photojournalism, what is said regarding the mothers job as a photojournalist is in my opinion, quite profound. What I think the movie is really about, in broad terms, is about family relationships and dealing with issues as time passes and things change within a family, and I think the way that this theme is conducted throughout is natural and relatable. I also really enjoyed the cinematography and thought the movie was shot very well, again with a very natural feel to it, although the style of the movie is not extremely unique (not necessarily a bad thing just a comment) Overall I think it was a great film, and would like to see what else this director has been involved in!

Gordon-11 This film tells the story of a father and his two teenage sons, who core cope with the untimely death of their wife / mother due to a traffic accident. Their grief is further complicated by a breakdown on communication.I tried very hard to understand the story, but honestly I didn't understand a thing. "Louder Than Bombs" tries to tell a story of a dysfunctional family, but it ends up being an aimless drivel. I have no idea what the story is trying to convey. It jumps between the past and present inexplicably, and there is little continuity and connection between the past and present. And what's the fascination with decomposition of bodies? Those scenes are just plain gross. Perhaps the scenes are there to be provocative, but they simply alienate viewers from the film. Furthermore, it is not interesting to see teenagers sulk all the time. I regret having wasted my time watching this indecipherable collage of scenes.

sammyboo21-999-252517 There is a scene towards the end where a teenage boy is walking a drunk teenage girl home after a late party. He is a quiet boy and she is the cheerleader. They walk through the neighborhood in the early hours of the morning right before the sun rises. This scene is what I like to call a Life scene. It goes on and on just like real life. Its a real and beautiful moment. It is true. Louder than bombs consist of a few more scenes like this and although I didn't Love the movie as a whole I did Love a lot of scenes. Jesse Eisenberg gave one of his worst performances in Batman V Superman and now he gives one of his best performances. He is sly and cunning and seems that have everything in check. So does the father played by gabrielle Byrne. In the beginning in seems like the youngest son is the most lost after the death of the mother played by the always excellent isabelle huppbert, but it isn't until the end that we see that the youngest son was the one that was the most put together. Louder than Bombs is a good movie, maybe not great but good and it has terrific performances from the entire cast. ***1/2 out of 5.