Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Stephen Alfieri I don't know who is really to blame for this totally uninteresting, formulaic, unmoving film.By watching the Project Greenlight series, you can see that nobody knew exactly what type of movie they were making. From Erica Beeney, to Kyle and Efram, Chris Moore, none of the Mirimax studio executives. There does not seem to even be the potential of a good story in this movie. At least nothing that hasn't been seen over and over again.This is what happens when too many people get involved in the development of a script. This is just a mess.I wish I could say that the acting made this film better, but it doesn't. A waste of one million dollars. 3 out of 10

George Parker "The Battle of Shaker Heights" focuses on a pedantic high school dweeb (LaBeouf) and his involvements with WWII reenactments, a payback prank on a bully, and, most of all, his affections for two girls. An unfortunate little coming-of-ageish flick, "Battle" is lacking in depth, homogeneity, continuity, and the breadth of things we like to see in stories, characters, and screenplays. Unoriginal, unimaginative, off target, and with too much invested in a rather annoying central character, "Battle" isn't all bad and does manage some warmth, personality, and charm though it's largely overshadowed by its many deficits. Passable stuff which will likely play best with teens. (C)

joshdiva I don't know if it was the script...or the directing...or the behind the scenes things that the Hollywood Producers did that we don't know about...but I didn't like this film...mainly because I didn't believe it...I didn't believe one minute of this film...everything seemed fake. Project Greenlight has now used 2 scripts that people don't want to see...There wasn't one scene in Shaker heights that rang true to me...

skipyhigh Shia LaBeouf plays a teen obsessed with war, raised by hippie drug addict parents. His performance is flawless. Despite a lackluster attempt at acting by Amy Smart, Shia is able to carry this film. It is not a cliche coming-of-age story. There are so many levels to this film, it is definitely a movie that you should watch more than once. La Beouf has the innate ability to make you laugh and cry in the very same scene. For many teens today, this film is all too real. Everything from his need to rebel against his liberal parents, to his use of cliche phrases (like when he confronts Amy Smarts character, in a scene that could have been picked right out of a soap opera, with the exception that the feeling behind those words is quite different). This film is subtle, yet quite intelligent and funny. It is definitely worth a closer look.