Ok, so maybe you are like me and like to just stay home on New Years Eve and cook up a nice big pot of comfort food (tonight's fare will be Chicken and Sausage Gumbo and corn bread), invite some friends over and eat and curl up for a nice movie or two. Ok, well I think I might have at least one good suggestion in the movie catagory. I recently rented two movies I thought would be appropriate to write about in here. The first I was less than happy with, but the second is definately worth watching.

The first one is called "Fern Hill". It is all about the adventures of four 13 year old boys as they venture into the wilderness of the mountains of Colorado to find the wreckage of a plane that was lost seven years prior. It is the father of one of the boys who was lost in the plane, and so he is on a quest to find it and maybe find out what happened to his father. This movie sounded so good and I was so excited to see it...and so dissapointed when I did! This movie turns out to be just a cheap try at immitating one of my all-time favorite movies, "Stand By Me". It even has a scene where one of the boys says,"This reminds me of 'Stand By Me'". Well, it reminded ME of "Stand By Me", but in all the wrong ways. I hate it when film makers can't come up with anything original, so they resort to copying a really good film in order to try and ride out a wave of fame that has already peaked. I'm sorry but this is but a cheap imitation of the real thing. If you want to see this kind of a movie, then watch the real thing, "Stand By Me"...now THAT is an excellent movie. I guess if there is one saving grace for this film, it might be the musical score. I thought it was pretty good.

The second movie is far better. It is called "Clipping Adam". It stars Evan Peters as a young teenage boy, Adam Sheppard, who is just about ready to go from Middle School to High School. But Adam has a big problem; one of the traditions at the High School is that the upper classmen initiate the younger boys by cutting thier hair really short. Adam hasn't had his hair cut since his mom died years ago because she was the one who always gave him his hair cuts. Although this movie sounds kind of simple, it is the excellent acting of Evan Peters and his band of friends that just makes this one. Also, Adam is befriended by a local Catholic Priest, who really does become a good friend and helps him through a very difficult time in his life. This is a movie about friendship, loyalty, love and loss and I think you will love it.

So, my recomendation....stay away from "Fern Hill" unless you have a wierd love for total rip-off movies, but by all means rent "Clipping Adam", I think you will be glad you did. And have a Happy and very safe New Years!