"You know I hate when it's over..."

Casey had recommended The Education of Charlie Banks quite a while ago, so when I saw that we had it I knew we had to include it on the list. We are so glad we did because it is such a powerful little movie, and it was really impressive to see what Jason Ritter can do. He was great in Joan of Arcadia but his portrayal of Mick in this film was so well defined and fleshed out that I found myself tensing up every time he came onscreen because I had no idea what he would do. The story is engaging and the pacing is good, with wonderful performances throughout. We were also surprised that it was capably directed by Fred "I Did It All For The Nookie" Durst. Seeing his name in the credits scared us a bit, but he did a fine job. Brandon even admits he wanted to hate it after seeing that, but he said, "even a blind chicken finds a kernel of corn now and then." In the end his only complaint was not getting any full frontal from Eva Amurri. We're not used to seeing her clothed. ;o)