Popcorn Panel: 'Amelia'

Skip It

Amelia Earhart lived an exciting life. She literally traveled the world and saw things most people of either gender never will. She was a pioneer during the infancy of the aviation industry. She did not live a boring life; for this she was rewarded with a boring biopic. Filled with toothy smiles and bad accents, "Amelia" is a clunker. One where the audience continuously checks the time. There are some nice shots of the planes flying over the clouds but nothing worth seeing. "Amelia" is not really a bad film, just a boring one. Recommended only for insomniacs.

Ty Nelson,

Joliet resident

www.boxwatcher.net

Skip It

Produced by and starring Hilary Swank, Amelia is a gorgeous biopic featuring pretty vistas and period details. However, while the performances are passable, the characters, and thus their motivations, never show much depth. To be sure, Amelia Earhart is a feminist hero, but "Amelia" fails to inspire when it skims through her accomplishments with dull obligation. The movie glosses over Earhart's feelings -- for the loves in her life, not to mention for flying, too; instead, it dutifully recreates her final radio transmissions, punctuated by the mind-numbing repetition of her call sign. Circumnavigation of the earth shouldn't be so boring.

William McGee,

Joliet resident

Skip It

Let me first say that I love Hilary Swank as an actress and have the greatest respect for her supporting cast in this movie. But this film is a formulaic biopic that attempts to plot out the life of a famous historical figure but fails to make it entertaining. In all likelihood, it stays true to the factual events that made Amelia Earhart famous. Unfortunately, it falls short of showing us Amelia Earhart, the person who wanted to do what no woman or man before her could accomplish. All in all, I was disappointed and I left the theater with more questions than answers about this great woman in history. I could have just read a history book.

David Smith,

New Lenox resident