Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

ChampDavSlim The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

TxMike Looking for something a bit different I found this on Netflix streaming movies. Clean and interesting.The setting is summer camp, filmed in Georgia. There is a history at this camp, bullies will take a target kid to a small island in the lake, called "Goat Island", them strip them and abandon them. In this story we have two campers who get stranded at the same time, a boy Chandler Canterbury, probably about 12 during filming, as Howie, and a girl Annalise Basso, about the same age, as Grace. Both of them wear glasses and get picked on by the older kids.Grace is almost hiding, shivering, wondering what to do, but Howie is different, he encounters her and right away devises a plan to get off the island and take a hike through the woods. Grace can't swim so he gets a large dry tree branch to act as a float for her and off they go.More than anything this is a coming of age story for the two kids, forced to use their wits to get down the road, to find something to wear, something to eat, places to sleep. Through the experience they become best of friends, and eventually picked up by parents.SPOILERS: It turns out Howie was an orphan, he had a rough young life and didn't look forward to going back there. He and Grace kept in contact, she got a letter that he was adopted by a nice family, it seems things are turning out well for both of them.

Amari-Sali For whatever reason, stories like this, Bridge to Terabithia, Little Manhattan and etc., I just find so cute. Mostly because it is so rare they are made, since really who wants to watch two unknown kids deal with bullying and running away, but at the same time a lot of good actors start off as kids. And to me, both Chandler Canterbury and Annalise Basso give the type of performance where you can see that, with the right agent, they both could have fruitful careers in the entertainment business.Characters & StoryThe story of Standing Up deals with two outcasts. One being Howie (played by Chandler Canterbury) and the other Grace (played by Annalise Basso). Both are going to this camp which has a tradition of hazing in which a "goat" is left on this island a mile away from camp and stripped naked. But, the two goats this year, Grace and Howie, don't stick around for the ridicule. Howie, being resourceful, and a bit of a kleptomaniac, guides them on a 2-3 day journey in which as their bond grows stronger, so do they.PraiseDespite the whole bullying thing being what is talked about when it comes to this movie, thankfully it isn't really the main focus. If anything, Standing Up reminds you that as much as bullying is a problem amongst peers, part of the issue isn't just the bully that is the child's age, but parents which are the bullies as well. However, though the topic of bullying is a part of the film, the real focus is the journey Grace and Howie have in which both Basso and Canterbury really display a good emotional complexity which is often absent in adolescent characters.The reason I say this is because though children are often apart of stories in which dramatic, or rather traumatic, things happen, they are usually place in a supporting role so while their feelings are present, they often are secondary. With Standing Up though, you can see these two young people portray the trauma of being ostracized, the awkwardness of receiving kindness from a stranger, and even watching them become interdependent is strange, but at the same time entertaining. Basso, for instance, grows as a character from this sniveling little mouse into a girl who seems to have learn what confidence is, and though Howie surely helped, at the same time you can't say what she learns is fully based on her mimicking him. As for Canterbury, quite honestly, I think he could easily follow in Josh Hutcherson's shoes and maybe have a career like him, or maybe even better. And I say that because he shows the same type of emotional depth Hutcherson did in the movies mentioned above in which a boy is allowed to show his emotions, cry about his situation, and find this weird sort of way to show that despite how often we undermine kids, that they can easily feel like they have as much on their plate as people older than them.CriticismWhen it comes to critiquing this film, I must admit I did find it weird how the kids survived for the days they ran away. I mean, the adults seem pretty oblivious. Between them sneaking into a summer camp and them getting a motel room for the night, I'm not sure if you have to stretch your disbelief or if someone could really do this, and it is just I haven't heard of such a tale yet. Outside of that though, really there are no major issues.Overall: Rental/VODIt is rare for movies like this to be made when kids aren't trying to be cute or are made to be comical, and seemingly just like when popular comedians get to do dramatic roles, certain kids in dramatic roles just flourish. And lest we forget, be it Natalie Portman, Christina Ricci, and those of a younger generation like Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb, movies like this one are what help people discover great actors. And that is why I say this is worth renting or seeing on Video on Demand. For though you may not watch an award worthy performance, you certainly can see potential in the two leads and who doesn't want to see talent at a starting stage and watch it grow?

Jesse Boland I feel like I have a sever head cold as I write this. My sinuses are only just starting to recover from this movie. I only wish I had the words to describe the vibrant beauty with which this movie was shot, always bright, and alive the forest is always a welcome, and soft texture framing the story. This is a dear sweet coming of age film about love and the invisible umbrella of protection that a story can be. These two children are so frail, and fragile, but are as adept as any seasoned actor at becoming more like a dog getting it's mane up, these kids learn to Stand up, and learn that trusting in each other can get you through the toughest times. Val Kilmer is hilarious in his dead pan performance that could not have seemed creepier if he had tried. I am so jealous of these two children, and the fact that they found each other in the exact time on this earth when I was looking for my perfect "Grace" that I still have yet to meet. You will enjoy this story, and see the truth in a lot of our worst childhood fears and how small they get when brought out into the light of day.

wilandmari This movie left me wondering if the author and/or director are pedophiles. I thought this was a family movie but was horrified to watch it with my children. The sexual tension between these 12 year old kids throughout the movie was just plain creepy. They start out being left naked on an island. the girl wakes up the next morning on the shore of a river, having been covered by the boy with a blanket. They steal clothes to wear and the girl pulls her pants down far enough to prove to the boy that she is not wearing panties. There is a sexually charged scene where preteens are slow-dancing at a summer camp, groping each other and making out. The boy and girl wind up spending the night together in a motel room in the same bed (no implication that anything happens). There is a shot of the girl in the shower. Any positive anti-bullying message was completely overshadowed by the inappropriateness of depicting children as sexual beings. This movie was just plain sick and should be viewed by no one.