Tacticalin An absolute waste of money

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Sameeha Pugh It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

SnoopyStyle Leon Bronstein (Jay Baruchel) is a gawky teen who idolizes Leon Trotsky and wants to unionize his father (Saul Rubinek)'s business. He hounds leftist lawyer Frank McGovern (Michael Murphy) unless he agrees to help. He meets older woman Alexandra Leith (Emily Hampshire). He is convinced that he is the reincarnation of Trotsky and she is Leon's first wife Aleksandra. Mocking his Trotsky reincarnation, his father takes him out of boarding school and put into a Montreal public high school. Principal Berkhoff (Colm Feore) runs a tight ship and they soon become adversaries. Leon needs to find his Lenin and joins the student union. He finds fascism in detention and tries to unionize his high school.This is chalk full of charm. It's very cute with the awkward Jay Baruchel. He is adorably delusional. He's never annoying even though his character is stubbornly uncompromising. It could use a more comedic touch with the writing. The socialist references may go over most of the general public and it's not wacky enough for one of those crude teen comedies. It doesn't really fall into an easy category and it doesn't help that it is so laden with Canadiana. When it does go into wacky territories, it doesn't really do it in a LOL fashion. However its heart is in the right place and like Alexandra, one can't avoid the Leon storm and accept his insanity.

BostonSt This is an indie flick that isn't very funny, the situations are contrived and I thought everything was rather dull and unimaginative. The idea for the movie was however creative and the actors sell everything very nicely....but that's exactly where it ends, if you see the first 10 minutes then you'll have seen the whole thing (wink time savers). I think they stole the idea for the movie from an episode of the Wonder Years. If you are a history buff and really enjoyed the story of Leon Trotsky in 1920's Russia then this is your movie. Lots of 3-piece suit action and walking around from the main character, constantly ruminating about unions and high school, and constantly upset with his father and lawyer. Yes, it's a wonderland of laughs! Seriously, if you have some art house friends and you want to grade actors, this comedy is great, make sure you read the Trotsky encyclopedia page first. But if you want to laugh with your roommates, put The Big Lebowski back on.

lewiskendell "It's over. I'm not it. I'm not the man for the job."The Trotsky came out of absolutely nowhere. I don't even know how it appeared on my radar, but I'm glad that it did. It's quite the little gem. It's the story of a teenager (named Leon) from Montreal who believes he is the reincarnation of the Marxist leader Leon Trotsky, and believes that his life will follow that of his predecessor exactly. Right down to exile, relationships, and even cause of death. He finds his "great cause" in the plight of the students at the public high school that his father sends him too, and puts all his energy into forming a union for them.I found myself getting swept up into Leon's struggle against youth apathy very quickly, because he's such a likable character. Jay Baruchel plays him with his typical neurotic performance, but it works. You don't know how seriously to take him at first, but Leon believes so deeply in who he claims to be and what he's doing, that it's easy to let your disbelief go and just roll with it all. All the characters are pretty great, actually, and most of my enjoyment of the movie came from their interactions with each other.So yeah, I'm recommending The Trotsky wholeheartedly. Don't immediately write it off if you have no idea who Leon Trotsky is. It's just a very likable comedy, and it puts a fresh spin on the "high school movie". I enjoyed it.

dbborroughs Leon Bronstein is a young man who thinks he's the reincarnation of Leon Trotsky and he lives his life according to the way Trotsky lived by using his life as blueprint. Along the way he annoys his parents (he calls his dad a fascist) and takes on his school. Along the way he falls in love with an older woman, reawakens the drive of a radical lawyer and sparks his fellow schoolmates to get involved.I saw this on the Tribeca Pay per view service. I was amused, and slightly disappointed. Its has some good performances, some great dialog and very strong sense of self. The trouble is that the film as a whole is very much like the main character, insisting on following a redetermined course as closely as possible. Yes there are small bits that break the mold, but for the most part the film follows a formula its already worked out. I hated that I could guess where it was going, it took the edge off the spontaneity.Its a good film but I wanted to like it more. Its one of those really good films that just misses being great and ends up being disappointing.Worth a look see on cable or as a rental.(A side note the film follows points of Trotsky's life so much that part of me kept wondering if this was going to end as Trotsky did, however this is a feel good film and that was never going to happen)