Everybody's a critic - 'Secondhand Lions'

Three and a half stars (out of four)

I really like "Secondhand Lions" on many levels.

The movie looks good. The cinematography truly depicts Texas in the late 1950s.

Robert Duvall as Hub and Michael Caine as Garth are the two cantankerous uncles Walter is dumped on with orders to discover where the two old codgers have their money hidden. As summer rolls along we learn of Hub and Garth's past and watch as they come to accept and love Walter.

The plot is a little far fetched, but I didn't care. I was too engrossed in the characters and the relationships being built to concern myself with plausibility. I didn't want the movie to end, and apparently neither did others. I found myself watching the credits roll along with the rest of the movie audience. No one left until the lights came on and we had to exit. That says volumes about a movie.

-- Mary Stone, teacher

Four stars (out of four)

This is a great movie. In true Disney fashion, the story is touching, fun, sad and just fantastic.

It's a truly touching coming-of-age story about a young boy who really has no direction. He is literally dumped on his two old uncles' doorstep. The boy is told the uncles have been gone for 40 years, that no one knew where they were, and that they are filthy rich. Besides all their many eccentricities, and they are very eccentric, the uncles tell very wild stories about their youth and where they have been.

Haley Joel Osment, Michael Caine and Robert Duvall do a superb job portraying these characters. It is a family must-see.

Bring the whole family. Excellent acting and an intriguing story line full of joys and sorrows will keep everyone interested through the whole movie.

- Renee Pickett, retired nurse

Four stars (out of four)

This is an all-around good movie. Michael Caine and Robert Duvall portray two eccentric -- and I do mean eccentric -- aging brothers who get their great-nephew dumped on them. None of the three is happy with this situation. The scared boy misses his ne'er-do-well mom, TV, radio and phones. The great-uncles do not want to be bothered with a kid. Mixed in all of this is great humor and fun.

The two brothers get a new lease on life, a reason to keep living. The boy finds what all kids need: adults he can trust, respect, depend on and learn from the values needed to grow up to be a good person. It is simply a story about life.

Anyone involved in this movie should be proud. Take the whole family, and go see it.

-- Sharon Metzger, registered nurse