Clevercell Very disappointing...

Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

ianlouisiana Air Force Major Frank Haley(Mr S.Tucci)is a typical John Ford hero.Detached and somewhat remote,taciturn,more used to giving orders than taking them and completely comfortable in his own skin.You'd better listen when he speaks because he isn't going to say anything twice. When his brother and sister - in - law are killed in a plane crash("Stormin' Stan Haley" - a very evocative name),the Major acknowledges his responsibilities and takes their 10 year old son into his care. However,he has his duty to perform and flies off to Guam leaving the kid at the family ranch looked after by the Mexican top hand and his Anglo wife((Mr R.Blades and Ms D. Delany). When he returns,the boy has become a somewhat difficult teenager although much - loved and very fond of his foster parents. It is time for the Major to step up to the plate and help the boy become a man. I watched "Spin" on Freeview the other afternoon perfectly prepared for it to be the usual soporific,superficial,glossy and instantly forgettable stuff that is the staple of a channel where the ads are for ambulance chasers and loan sharks, but I was surprised that in fact it was quite harsh and it took me somewhere I hadn't expected to go just when it was looking at it's most routine. Set in 1950's Arizona,it is to all intents and purposes a Western although their is not a horse in sight. Instead we have photogenic old aeroplanes slipping through the endless sky and stunning light,almost like a perpetual gloaming. There is Fordian darkness before the dawn,but the boy grows tall and true, a credit to his father,and is accepted by the Air Force Academy (I nearly wrote "West Point")much to the Major's delight. Mr Tucci is excellent as the Ethan Edwards/Tom Doniphon type. If Andrew McClaglen took the reins from John Ford,then Mr Redford has seamlessly carried on where he left off. "Spin" is a fine film and deserves to be better known.

Mccadoo I was in a local video store that was closing down and selling off their stock, a trend these days it seems due to the emergence of Netflix and the like, and noticed this film. It caught my attention because I'm a pilot so I bought it ($2).It wasn't at all what I'd expected but I was pleasantly surprised none the less. The cinematography and acting are exceptional. The story is a little slow but holds your interest and you become invested in the characters as the movie moves along. They seemed real to me. That alone is saying a lot considering some of what is foisted upon the viewing public these days.While I would classify this as a family movie it does contain some dark material dealing with sexual abuse so I would not say it was for young children. Still and all, it was a pleasant viewing experience and I found it head and shoulders above a lot of what is produced in Hollywood these days.I would recommend Spin for anyone looking for a well done, mostly pleasant viewing experience.

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.

gradyharp SPIN takes a road much traveled - the coming of age tale of a child whose parents are suddenly absent - but the result is much stronger a story than most in this genre. Based on the novel by Donald Everett Axinn and adapted for the screen by writer/director James Redford (yes, son of Robert Redford, but strong enough a talent not to need to depend on shadows!), SPIN is an evocative moment in history (the 1950s) when the world was more quiet and young people would work their ways through the maze of adolescence without clouds of outside threats. This, then, becomes more poignant and sensitive a study of one lad's growing up to become an adult facing mirrors of those faces from the past and the present.Eddie Haley (Max Madore) is very young when his parents die in a plane crash and is placed in the care of his parent's workers Margaret and Ernesto Bejarano (Dana Delaney and Rubén Blades) at the decision of his pilot uncle Major Haley (Stanley Tucci) - a man whose own demons have left him seemingly invulnerable to intimacy and family, electing to move away from the Haley ranch and its responsibilities rather than raising Eddie. Eddie's companion as a child is Francesca (Marissa Baca) who, while not an orphan, is motherless and living with a cruel father. They bond and in addition to the very supportive Bejaranos provide Eddie with as much footing as he is able to manage.Move forward to Eddie as a teenager (Ryan Merriman) and he has become a mild punk, floundering around seeking meaning to life and afraid of relationships - fearing he will be ultimately deserted. Francesca (Paula Garcés) moves back into town from Mexico and gradually the two become close and involved: Eddie's demons and issues riddle him while Francesca's equally brittle demons seem to make her stronger. Major Haley returns, is at first greatly resented by Eddie until the Major teaches Eddie to fly a plane left to him by his departed father. The relationship that develops between the two is as strong as it is difficult. A tragedy involving Francesca and her father occurs resulting finally in Eddie's ability to feel mature emotions and follows his courage and his heart to change his and Francesca's lives.Redford keeps this potentially saccharine story in tight reins, never allowing bathos but always sharing a view that each of us is human and capable of errors, but equally capable of recovering and resolving consequences. The cast is uniformly strong with Tucci giving one of his finest and most subtle performances to date. Merriman is young and shows great promise: Blades and Delany are seasoned veterans and bring a realistic rapport that adds to the credibility of a story also dealing with ethnic prejudice. The cinematography by Paul Ryan is excellent - some of the best aerial photography outside of the usual war scenes on film. Recommended, not because it is a great movie, but because it is an honest one and the first example of James Redford's seemingly generous talent. Grady Harp