N/A

Feels so forced and determined to convey a certain emotion that its authenticity is lost. And when there's no sense of authenticity, there's no emotional attachment.

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06/28/08

N/A

Kevin Bacon turns in a solid, attention grabbing performance as a rigid, scornful man in a deep funk just trying to cling to a familiar world disintegrating all around him.

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06/20/08

2.5/4

DVD is the perfect place for a movie like Rails & Ties. Somehow it's easier to block out the often forced nature of the plot and just enjoy the rich performances and the humane themes.

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06/17/08

6/10

Alison Eastwood has created a film of quiet delicacy, something fragile yet resolute, and shot through with a life affirming thread that is brave enough to suggest that sometimes life does indeed blossom from tragedy.

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02/28/08

N/A

It's hard to get over the implausibility of the premise in Micky Levy's script, even though the characters themselves acknowledge that they're in a ridiculous situation.

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01/02/08

C-

The metaphors flow almost as freely as the tears in this sentimental weepie.

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11/27/07

N/A

There’s just not much here to recommend at all.

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11/12/07

1/4

One highly unlikely circumstance after another become laughable, preventing you from being moved by the family tragedies depicted. They beg for tears, but a script this chock-full of holes is unlikely to elicit the desired effect.

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11/09/07

N/A

Everyone involved will move on to bigger and better things and leave this series of unfortunate events behind on the tracks, waiting for a midnight train to put it out of its considerable misery.

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11/09/07

1.5/4

The younger Eastwood tells her story with sledgehammer blows.

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11/08/07

1.5/4

Either an unsuccessfully manipulative, sappy melodrama or the most deranged concept for a family sitcom anyone has ever developed.

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11/08/07

2.5/4

It's not all bad.

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11/03/07

C-

In the right hands, this might be the stuff of compelling cinema. Instead, Rails and Ties sinks into melodrama.

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11/01/07

B-

While it has the appearance of a made-for-TV weepie, it's well-acted, technically proficient, a solid story with genuine, credible emotions.

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10/29/07

2.5/4

...ultimately redeemed by Kevin Bacon's expectedly engrossing performance.

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10/27/07

3/5

It's closer to a small kind of affecting and simply human story we rarely get to see in mainstream movies anymore.

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10/26/07

2/4

While it features three strong performance and the debut of a promising filmmaker, the story line is obvious and rather melodramatic.

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10/26/07

1/4

Alison Eastwood makes her directing debut with this ludicrous melodrama, in which a troubled couple and a newly orphaned boy heal each others' emotional wounds against a backdrop of blunt metaphors.

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10/26/07