Boobirt Stylish but barely mediocre overall

NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Kayden This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

slightlymad22 Rounding off my look back at Kevin Costner's career, I come to McFarland USA from 2015Plot In A Paragraph: Jim White (Costner) a struggling coach and teacher takes a job in one of the poorest cities in America: McFarland, California. There he discovers buried potential in several high school boys, and slowly turns them into a track team and brings them closer than even he could ever imagine.Hands down my favourite movie of 2015. No matter how many times I watch it, I still get chills at the end. It's funny how many reviews read something like this "predictable, routine, generic" etc however whilst it's true that Disney's sports movie formula is pretty well-worn. You can apply this plot to a lot of movies "Fish out of water comes and turns a team of losers into champions while learning valuable life lessons along the way." Yes It happens every time. However McFarland USA is a true story. Kevin Costner is playing a real man in Jim White, and no they didn't change his name to make it for better. I can't speak highly enough about this movie. It's in my Top 10 Kevin Costner movies."That's not Danny Diaz....... THATS NOT DANNY DIAZ!!!"

kosmasp It's not easy to make this real life stories feel ... real. So while this moves along smoothly and makes it seem easy, it's not as easy to pull it off most of the time. Kevin Costner is no stranger to sports dramas of course and he makes a strong lead. But it's not only him who makes the movie work, it's the other actors too.You'd also have to have a heart of stone not to be touched by some of the very genuine moments in this. At the end, we also see the real people and what happened to them. It's predictable most of the time, but that doesn't take away anything from it or the impact it has on the viewer (those who let themselves dive in).

eddie_baggins Ah the Disney sports movie. I'm sure we've all got our favourite (mines a tie between Remember the Titans and the Mighty Ducks if you're wondering) and I'm sure we all know what to expect from the Mouse House's sports tinged productions, from trials over adversity's, music scored training monologues and fine use of poetic license to tell true stories in a Hollywood themed way. The genre is a well tried and well liked staple of movie fans and McFarland, USA is a finely tuned example of a cookie cutter sports movie that never becomes anything more than we'd expect, and that's absolutely fine.The presence of New Zealand born director Niki Caro is certainly a help to McFarland's non-lofty ambitions, a director who has seen great success in dramas like Whale Rider and North Country and she brings a neat feel to the film here that helps cover up some of the films more pure Disney cheese moments like Kevin Costner's Jim White's daughters birthday bash or some stench ridden dialogue that just does not in the slightest ring true. Without Caro on board behind the scenes this tale of cross country runners from the harsh working class town of McFarland could've really been lost in an abundance of Disney fluff but with her fine work and that of Kevin Costner's, the film coasts by as a likable and fun tale.Once the biggest movie star in the world, the last few years have seen Kevin Costner try his best to once more become relevant and while The Company Men and to a lesser extent Man of Steel are good examples of decent filmmaking, McFarland is quite possibly his most assured film role in some time and reminds us all that he has a unique presence on camera that is put to good use in his Coach White's dealing with his rag tag group of cross country runners who mostly hail from poor Mexican families who rely on fruit picking for a living. Whenever Coach White and the boys take centre stage or even the town of McFarland itself, the film really becomes a blast.Filmed with a nice energy, McFarland, USA is a likable and enjoyable sports movie romp that delivers a telling of a true life tale that will bring a smile to even the unhappiest of faces. After many years of Disney sports movies and sports movies in general, you should go into this film under no illusions as to what you're going to get and the results will be exactly what the movie doctor has ordered.3 ½ enthusiastic flag waving spectators out of 5

Afshin-A In making this movie Kevin Costner stuck to the formula, the one that most feel good sports movies use, and made it work beautifully. There are no unexpected fancy twists in this one. The acting is straight up and solid. The ethnic background of the movie adds to the movie in good way. I enjoy a few of the scenes that involve the interactions between the coach or his family and the locals. They demonstrate how cultural interaction and familiarity can eliminate fear and breakdown the walls that divide us. Don't get me wrong, the movie is not trying to give you a social/cultural lecture, this stuff comes naturally mixed with the main story line.If you like the genre, you'll enjoy this movie.