14 - "October Sky" (1999)

    Here's another film that was missed by the masses and should be seen by everyone. The movie is based on the life of Homer Hickam, who would go from a life in a small coal-mining town in West Virginia to become an engineer for NASA. The film is based on his autobiography entitle "Rocket Boys". Homer, played by the wonderful Jake Gyllenhaal, is a bit of an underachiever in high school with not much of a future to look forward to. Almost every male in the town once they get out of school follows their fathers to the main job in town, the coal mines. Homer's father John (Chris Cooper) is the foreman of the mine, and while he loves his family, we sense he loves being in the mine more. This is what he was born to do. Homer is heading there as well, until one night in 1957 when the Russians launch Sputnik, the first man-made satellite. The townspeople all gather outside and watch to the skies as Sputnik races by. This signals a change in Homer's life. While most people think Sputnik is ultimately a device the Soviets will use to attack us, Homer is thrilled by it and becomes determined to go into space. Homer wants to make a rocket but he has never been good in math. He puts forth the effort though to learn and enlists the help of two people; his teacher Miss Riley (Laura Dern), and the school nerd Quentin (Chris Owen). Quentin is a math genius but is a loner so when he is approached by Homer, he is not receptive to helping at first. Eventually though, he sees Homer is not trying to pick on him and is sincerely interested in his help. Homer and Quentin are joined by two other schoolmates, Roy Lee (William Lee Scott) and O'Dell (Chad Lindberg), and these foursome make up the "rocket boys", who hope to enter the county science fair. Their first rocket is a disaster and they blow up the picket fence at Homer's house. After a couple of other misfires the boys start to get the hang of it though. As their rockets become bigger, they need more advanced supplies and turn to some of the townspeople to help. Homer's father is not happy with this and thinks his son is wasting his time with this "rocket stuff" and should be down in the mine. The relationship between Homer and his father provides the central backdrop to the story. Chris Cooper and Jake Gyllenhaal are both at their absolute best here, especially in the scenes they have together. Laura Dern is also fabulous in her small, but important, role as Homer's teacher who provides him with the inspiration he doesn't get from his father. October Sky is a very emotional film and it's hard to have dry eyes at the end. It teaches you to follow your dreams, even if the odds appear insurmountable.