Historian-3 I saw this on Netflix, which offered only the very briefest of descriptions, so I had no idea what to expect. But since Netflix had it listed in the LGBT category, I did at least expect a gay-ish theme. But the repeated and somewhat heavy-handed references early in the film to evangelical Christianity (citing of Biblical verses, the prayer at the funeral, the lyrics of the overtly evangelical hymn in the sound track) left me very confused. I am left with the impression of a screenwriter who is gay but also a devout evangelical Christian, a juxtaposition that I personally find troubling. Still, I tried to give the film some benefit of doubt. I was not successful. The writing was uneven and at times very unrealistic, especially in the way Nick's social abilities ... as a person with Asperger's ... vacillated across a wide range. It was as though he suddenly stopped having Asperger's when the writer/director needed him to be able to emote "normally."And the characters seemed too contrived. Wealthy family with domineering and controlling father, submissive pill-popping mother, "perfect" elder son, challenged younger son. It was all too transparent. But the composition of the boys' poker group! One wealthy white with a prestige car, one probable Latino with a mother who worked as a maid, one black guy who looked like he was channeling Pharrell, and one South Asian. It was like a little United Nations! And it seemed totally artificial. The acting was not great, either. I love both BD Wong and Joan Chen, but neither performance impressed me. But this may be due to the limitations of the material with which they had to work. The boys (Poker Group plus Nick) were very unevenly matched, from Justin Martin's downright bad acting to Gregg Sulkin's roller-coaster of scene-by-scene good-to-bad-to-good-again. Call me crazy, but this entire film might have worked better if a) the overt references to evangelical Christianity were removed and b) the setting were shifted from the wealthy suburbs of LA to a working class neighborhood in middle America.

Paul Magne Haakonsen "White Frog" really surprised me as I watched it. Why? Well, because the movie had a fairly nice story, but what really impressed me was the acting in the movie.The story is about a young boy named Nick, who has Asperger's syndrome, whose older brother dies in a tragic accident. Not fitting into the world around him, Nick struggles to get closer to the world that his older brother lived in.There are some really nice moments to the movie, which were nicely portrayed and executed on the screen. But the great performances from the actors and actresses really helped bring this movie to life.I can't really claim to be familiar with the acting talent of Booboo Stewart, but he really carried this movie so nicely. But it wasn't him alone, everyone in the movie were doing great jobs. And it was also particularly nice to see Joan Chen in a movie such as this.If you enjoy drama movies that are carried by a proper and solid story, then you definitely should check out "White Frog". And this movie easily earns a 7 out of 10 stars rating from me, no doubt about it.

jm10701 Most of the other online reviews of White Frog seem to have been written by teenagers who have seen more TV than movies, so I'll try to give an adult perspective, in case any other adults are thinking about renting or buying this movie.First of all, except for two of the adults, I had never before seen or heard of any of the actors in this movie. So a statement like "Booboo Stewart gives, by far, his best performance to date" just leaves me puzzled. A person named Booboo has made movies before? Wow.Others who rattle off other movies or TV shows these cast members have appeared in together, or refer to a "handsome teen idol cast" also leave me (and probably many other adults) clueless.Second, I was not ever for even one second moved to tears while watching this movie. Not anywhere close. It is EXTREMELY sappy and manipulative - and painfully predictable. If you are eager to be swept up in shallow emotionalism - or are an adolescent who can't help it - then you may love this movie. It just made me want to pull my hair out.Finally, if this really is Booboo's "best performance to date", he might want to consider a different career while he's still young enough to change easily. Only very young people who have seen very little of life and the world could be impressed by his performance in this movie. He looked down and mumbled all through the movie... and THAT is supposed to be a great performance? Only in an adolescent TV universe could that be true.So I'd advise adults to look elsewhere and leave this movie to the kids, with their innocent enthusiasms and the rampant emotions that seethe just under the surface of their lives. It may be better than the TV they're used to, but as a movie it's not worth watching.

in1984 6.9 of 10. Classic indies have solid, sometimes great, stories that are carried out with a very low budget, but with a couple half-stars to keep it from complete obscurity and extended periods with actors who can't handle their characters. In this case, it's as if it was filmed, directed, and acted by an after-school special crew. Fortunately, there's a great story to integrate it all and seem natural.Despite a rough, choppy start with abbreviated plot development, the film is highly watchable by half-way through, mixing humor and drama well. Only a few inconsistent performances and story elements to keep it from keeping you totally immersed.