Bones (2010)

Starring: Jimmy Bennett, Zakk Wylde, & Jonna Walsh

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Bones is a terrific independent film, that tells the coming of age story of a group of friends, and the tragic events at the end of summer vacation, that will forever change their young lives. This film brings Jimmy Bennett back together with Jesse James, for the first time since 2005's remake of The Amityville Horror and their chemistry is evident right from the very beginning. Ultimately, Bennett is the star of the film and gives a phenomenal, heart-wrenching performance as young Bones. Bennett has been acting pretty much since birth and he really gets better and better every time I see him in something. What I really liked about this film was that for the first time you really get to see Bennett be himself, a rock n' roll loving teen, making friends, and having fun. A lot of times young actors like him get tight cast as the dopey son with some cute lines and it was a real treat to see Bennett get the chance to open up and just be himself. As for the story, it is the debut from Writer/Director, Frank Pestarino, and I was shocked when I found that out. The quality of the story and the level of writing here are truly ingenious, if this is Pestarino's very first project, I can't wait to see what else he has waiting for us. Pestarino, quite successfully blends teen culture with a serious dramatic theme, and if that wasn't hard enough, he put the whole story in an era twenty-five years earlier and used a cast of mostly young and inexperienced actors. Even legendary guitarist, Zakk Wylde, has a major role in this film and manages to give a great performance. Bones has a lot of things going for it, from it's refreshing young cast to it's ingenious writing, it's ninety minutes of pure drama that can rival anything you will see on the big screen this year.