Astronaut

Angus (Richard Dreyfuss) is an old man who lives with his daughter's family and is a widower. Angus has had a lifelong dream of one day becoming an Astronaut and going into space. But unfortunately for Angus, this never happened in his life. However, Angus soon discovers that a billionaire is running a new competition which will allow one lucky winner to go into space. Angus decides to enter to the competition, but in order to qualify he lies about his age. Soon it is announced across the world that Angus is now a runner up and it's up to the world to vote who gets to be the winner. Astronaut is a drama film but thankfully there are many heart felt moments which I feel many movie fans will find appealing. It's also a nice feeling to see actor Richard Dreyfuss as a leading character in a film again. His performance here is very satisfying. However, Angus as character is somewhat vague, particularly at the start of this film. As an audience, it is unfortunate that at first we don't quite understand all of Angus's reasons and desires for wanting to go into space. While answers are given and explained later in the film, it's revealed at an unusual moment in the film and feels like it would have been more suited to come earlier. As an overall film I will confess that I personally really wrestled with this film back and forth. While I can say the story is a heartfelt one and the performance by Richard Dreyfuss is positive, I felt there are a few minor elements that really held this movie back. Some of these elements include how the film is loaded with many coincidences. For example, every time a TV or radio is turned on it talks about the space competition. Side characters with side stories develop but never feel like anything gets properly resolved, instead the film's prime focus going back to Angus. But for a good portion of this film I struggled to develop feelings or a connection. Overall, it's welcoming to see actor Richard Dreyfuss take a lead in this heart felt drama. Performances from the leading actor are positive and the story here is truly a great concept. Unfortunately, as a film there were moments where I didn't feel the emotions the film intended for me to feel. There are multiple reasons as to why I feel this way and I truly wrestled with my score on this film. Thankfully, there were many moments that movie lovers will enjoy as we witness a man trying to fulfil a long life dream. 5.6/10 - Walkden Entertainment

A fabulous first feature- length movie for actress/ writer / director Shelagh McLeod. Wonderful performances from this stellar cast, telling Shelagh's beautiful story of hope. This touching film has something special about it - leaving audiences thinking long after the popcorn and coke have been digested .There are even a few laughs ! Loved every minute and look forward to more from this promising new director .

I initially wasn't sure if I was going to watch this film but I'm a big fan of Richard Dreyfus so I stuck with it and I'm so glad I watched the whole film , towards the end of the film it nearly brought me to tears which rarely happens to me , watching an old gentleman's dreams unfold finally , I felt part of the lead characters family hence the tears towards the end .

Get in. Why? We're headin' to Torono. What for? You're an astronaut, ain't ya? Well ya. Well, there's lot of astronautin' jobs in Torono. Let's get movin' then. There's a rainbow in Torono. Where Maritimers are told. They always get a pot full. But they never get a pot of gold. But full credit to the filmmakers for their fully diverse lineup of every Canadian with an ACTRA card. In fact, it could be fun to mke up some Canadian Actor bingo cards and hand them out to everyone in the room before playing the movie.

Dreyfus plays a lonely widower in poor health who has always wanted to go into space. When a competition is announced he applies, much to the concern of his family. Slow, sweet, sentimental and extremely unlikely, this is a pleasant enough piece of whimsy about old age not being the end of things, thanks pretty much entirely to the huge screen presence and performance of its star.

Wonderful acting, excellent casting,, beautiful theme, great visual compositions. Every moment felt real & ramg true on so many levels - particularly those of us who are of the age of dealing with or losing, or have lost a parent(s). Wish more movies were like this!

Another example of a typical Canadian movie. Too much art and not enough entertainment. Canadian films suffer from directors and writers who believe that people will watch their movies out of loyalty to Canadian film makers. Unbearably long sequences with mournful music in the background, static shots of talentless actors staring into the distance with no dialogue. Even a talented actor like Richard Dreyfuss can't save this movie from the plodding, slow moving, badly written efforts of the production team.. An example is the nursing home staff. Every time Angus' family mentions he doesn't do something at the time the Nursing home specifies they answer back with "He will". They're portrayed as brainless robots who lack any emotion or concern for their patient. So cliche And that's how the entire movie goes. No creativity from the writer or director. It doesn't cater to the viewer, it panders to the pretentious self-absorbed art community in downtown Toronto. The rest of the world be damned. The problem is that Canadian content rules dictate that Canadian cable providers must program a certain percentage of government approved films and music. This means that it doesn't matter the whether content is entertaining as long as it meets the prescribed Canadian content standards. It's a quota system. I challenge anyone to name their favorite Canadian movie or actor/actress. You're likely to get a blank stare and no answer. So here you have a potentially good story compromised by over regulation and government interference. This will continue until Canadian film makers stop taking handouts from government agencies and learn to rely on box office revenue. I believe that will break the curse of the Canadian content rules give Viewers something truly engaging and entertaining.