Anrachman I bought the DVD many years ago, but I just watched it today, and this is my thought about this movie.This movie is a good quality beautiful drama that will gives you a good and nostalgic feeling. The shots are so cinematic, this movie makes you like you're reading a novel (as the matter of fact this movie is based on novel). And the background music is so beautiful, really fits with the story. And the other plus point is the actors are so good looking on those 50s style that make the scene more enjoyable to watch.The acting quality of the actors are so amazing, no need to ask about the main actor Ryan Merriman because his acting performances are always amazing (but I don't know how his performance in his newer movies since the last time I saw him when he's in Final Destinantion 3 (2006)).Actually I wanted to give this movie 10 stars, but I decided to give it 8 stars because it has a lack for the story. The direction of the story (the theme, the genre) is inconsistent.At the first half, the premise of the story is like about an orphan boy named Eddie (Ryan Merriman) who try to follow his father step to become a pilot. It will makes you think Eddie will train so hard to fly the plane while he also has to face the problem with his uncle (Stanley Tucci), his care taker family Margaret (Dana Delany) and her husband Ernesto (Ruben Blades), and the support from her pretty friend Francesca (Paula Garces), but no, it turned out it's not about that.The last half the story change direction to about Eddie love story with Francesca, how they care each other, and then Francesca is raped by her father, the depression of Francesca, then her father committed suicide. Eddie seems forgetting his plane training and his head is full of Francesca. The story change direction from what they gave at the beginning. I mean yeah, love life of the main character will give a good flavor for the story, but not by changing the story line and the theme from family drama genre to romance genre. This made me disappointed. Just stick to one story premise.But other than that, like I said at the beginning, this movie is a good quality beautiful drama that really really worth to watch, I really suggest you to watch this movie.

vchimpanzee In the 1950s near the Mexican border, Eddie Haley's parents die in a plane crash. Eddie's Uncle Frank takes care of him for a while, but his career with the Air Force requires a lot of travel and he can't take Eddie along. So Eddie is left in the care of Ernesto and Margaret, who run the Haley family ranch.Eddie meets Francesca at the park and they become friends. Francesca's father is mean, and she claims her mother and grandparents don't want anything to do with Francesca and her father.Several years later, Eddie is 17 and sitting in his father's airplane, which is his now. He has no plans to become a pilot, and he doesn't seem to have much of a plan for his life, period. Margaret gets a job teaching at the high school in town, so Eddie goes to school there and makes the football team.Eddie meets Francesca once again. She is very nice and quite pretty, but she has a dark secret. Not only that, but she is poor and Mexican, so she is treated differently by some people. Brad, whose father owns a mine where Eddie's parents died, is Eddie's friend. He knows about the plane crash but not the fact that Eddie's parents were in the plane. Eddie and Brad both want to date Francesca, but only one can, so the other gets Julie.Uncle Frank returns and teaches Eddie how to fly, though Eddie has never gotten over how he was rejected years ago.This starts out as a pleasant enough family film. Toward the end, though, some disturbing themes are introduced. There is nothing explicit except for one scene where there is blood, but no obvious clue as to where it came from unless one is really paying attention (what I mean is that a child wouldn't have to know it was blood). There are bruises, so we know one character was the victim of violence. And there is the suggestion of a despicable deed no child should know about.But the good news is that Eddie shows character and determination as a result of what happens. And an element of excitement is added as well. The film does inspire because of what Eddie has to do. I actually assumed this might have been a real person (otherwise, why did the film have to take such a dark turn?) until I saw the closing credits, which said this movie was fiction.Most of the actors give good performances, but Stanley Tucci stands out as a loving but firm uncle.

ccthemovieman-1 This is one coming-of-age film I really liked and respected. Most of them are not "my cup of tea." However, this one features nothing but likable characters, including the teens. Yeah, they're not perfect; they have a few "moments," but mostly Ryan Merriman ("Eddie") and Paula Garces ("Francesca") are good kids.The adults are even better, just wonderful people. Dana Dalaney ("Margaret") and Reuben Blades ("Ernesto") play a couple who adopts young "Eddie" who loses his parents in a small- plane accident. Stanley Tucci ("Frank") has a key role as a mentor of the boy, a guy who leaves Eddie when he's young but comes back and teaches the now-17-year-old how to fly.Language-wise, there as almost zero profanity for the first hour, but there were cases of it in the last third of the movie. The photography is nice in here, too, especially for a film, I suspect, was low budgeted.This little-known film should be better-known. It's a nice story. I really can't imagine anyone watching this film and not enjoying and respecting it.

isisherbs2000 As other commenters here have noted, Spin is a quiet gem with wonderful performances, breathtaking cinematography and a simple, familiar storyline that never descends into triteness.I think this flick falls into the 'life goes on' category - where Lasse Hallestrom leads the pack. It has true sensitivity without a single false note. I was ready to be disappointed by the scene in which Francesca reveals the nature of her tragedy, but the dialog was perfect - the only thing said was what was needed to be said, and the movie moved on to explore the same themes it had set up in the first 2 acts.In fact, the dialog and direction seem to be what gives Spin its depth - the cast is able to express deep and sometimes-brutal emotions through their interactions rather than through words and gestures. There was simply no artifice to this movie - not in the acting, not in the dialog, not in the images. I do have to disagree with the commenter who felt there were dry spells in the action - I fell into the movie almost from the first scene and felt carried slowly and comfortably along the entire time. They were (mostly) a nice bunch of people to spend a few hours with.I suggest Spin for anyone who would like to be wrapped in the feeling that although the world can be harsh, it doesn't necessarily have to be devastating.