October Sky (1999)

Kino

Love the Hard Way

Film.com's FREE movie of the week is "Love the Hard Way." Oscar-winner Adrien Brody and Charlotte Ayanna star in this drama about a thief who falls for a curious, beautiful young woman. As their intimacy grows, a slick cop (Pam Greer) is closing in.

CinemaSource

Studio: Universal Pictures Studio: Universal Pictures

Rating: PG

Release Date: Feb 19, 1999

Running Time: 108 mins. (V)

Country Of Origin: United States

starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Laura Dern, Chris Owen, William Lee Scott, Chad Lindberg, Natalie Canerday, Scott Miles, Randy Stripling, Chris Ellis

director: Joe Johnston

It's 1957 in Coalwood, West Virginia and while most of the town mines the earth, young Homer Hickman dreams of only the sky. Inspired by the dawn of the space age and the historic launching of the Soviet satellite Sputnik, Homer enlists his two best buddies as well as the school's resident math geek to help him design and launch space rockets. After a series of disastrous crash landings, in particular one that sends an entire coal mine full of workers running for cover, Homer's father demands that his son get serious about his future and abandon his silly science projects. However Homer's potential is limitless and when he starts winning science fairs and scholarships he's on a non-stop journey straight to the stars.

April 11, 2001

If you need an antidote for the cynicism of most new movies, the cozy, old-shoe virtues of October Sky may be just the ticket. Based on Rocket Boys, the recently published autobiography of Homer Hickam, who retired from NASA last year after two decades of service as a payload specialist, the film is as TV-earnest as an "Afternoon Special" -- it speaks from the heart.

The time is 1957, the year the Russians launched Sputnik. But in Coalwood, West Virginia, the townsfolk keep their attention…