Fantastic!

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

OK, my subject line makes this movie sound like a real mess, and it's not. Shane Walsh takes a break from browbeating Dale and hooks up with Mad Men's Peggy Olson.OK, I'm being ridiculous. But Netflix is currently featuring this somewhat forgotten, somewhat interesting character study movie that has a younger Jon Bernthal (Dixon in this film, Shane in Walking Dead) cast as a pro-duty draftee.I have to think that Bernthal's rising star and his past affiliation with the now hugely popular Walking Dead is the main reason this movie is available now on NetFlix.The reviews that excoriate this film for being anti-war or pro-war are moronic and completely false in their allegations. The war is the ever present backdrop to the characters but it's really not explored except in terms of the usual political rhetoric we heard about the Iraq invasion. I honestly think this film takes no sides: it's even handed in depicting each character's support or derision for the war. The movie was apparently filmed in 2006 so it's a good snapshot of feelings about the middle east war around that time. This is really a film about male friendships and relationships when the friends in question are tested by a politically divisive reality, and each chooses his own path and way to deal with the news.The writer, Elijah Wood, seems to mainly be used as a sort of comic relief until a shock scene at the end, and he appears to be about 10 years younger than his two friends - like a physical 18 year old around 30 somethings. He's terrified of being thrust into a situation where he has to display physical prowess and, well, balls. Dixon (Bernthal) is the hard-knocks-life cabbie who is gung ho about duty. The attorney pal, Chris Klein, tries to leverage personal connections to get out of the draft and researches conscientious objector status and other loopholes.All three characters surprise in some way by the end of the movie. We find that the cabbie is really not such an a-hole and has deeper recesses of character, the attorney is not such a coward, and the writer guy is capable of mental toughness and preparation... to the extreme.There is a fight scene in a gay bar that is pretty cringe worthy and shows a lot of development of one character.This is really an updated Viet Nam war movie. The rhetoric, the ideas, the ideals, and the interpersonal conflicts are quite familiar to those of us who grew up in the 1960s. Transpose Dixon with Archie Bunker and Rifkin (the lawyer) with Mike Stivic and you get the idea.Not Citizen Kane, but worthy and very deserving of 90 minutes of your time.

This movie addresses the reality of our times. Its a movie that can take on a common thought for everyone in my generation. I am a 22 year old male who knows people who fight and have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. The reality of the draft can be overwhelming. I don't want to pretend that I have a unique perspective, because I think many people my age have adopted the same unique understanding that I have. What I am trying to say is that I treat our soldiers like everyone I know. There is so much tension in this world...with the economy, and with the war. You have to treat soldiers with the utmost respect, and this can only be done by sharing a relationship. This movie takes on the task of understanding the war without denying the truth. The truth is that men and women serve to protect our country, but what they go through emotionally is beyond our comprehension. As much as we can argue, the people who serve believe in our freedom. I want more movies like this that can address what goes on in the mind of the people who are willing to give their lives. Sometimes, a man doesn't know that he is willing.

The movie takes place in the near future, where a draft has been re-instated and three friends in New York find themselves faced with their own fears and beliefs as they deal with their call to serve. George a successful lawyer, Dixon a tough-as-nails cab driver, and Feller a writer with a host of insecurities, face their inner demons in the thirty days they are given to report to duty. I was lucky enough to see this movie at Tribeca, not once, but three times. I loved it more each time and got to enjoy all the little nuances I missed from previous viewings. New York was the perfect setting for this movie and the city is like another character in the film. This is a very character driven story and there is not one weak performance in the lot. Everyone is wonderful, with the stand-out performances being Ginnifer Goodwin as George's wife, Sofia Vassilieva in a small but effective part, and Elijah Wood who manages to be both hilarious and heartbreaking in one of his best roles to date. A touching a thought-provoking film, this one is not-to-miss.

I was fortunate enough to be a the 4-29-07 NYC premiere screening of Day Zero, starring Elijah Wood, Jon Bernthal and Chris Klein. The story is about the turmoil created in the lives of these men after they receive a draft notice. Wood is Aaron Feller, a sensitive, troubled, young writer, frightened by life's challenges, who decides he needs to explore more of what life has to offer but ends up, instead, releasing some inner demons. Klein is George Rifkin, a married, successful attorney with a politically connected father, who might get his notice quashed. Unfortunately, Rifkin misdirects his rage and lashes out at the wrong persons. Bernthal is Dixon, a take charge kind of guy whether he's being a Prince Charming to a pubescent neighbor or Savior to his friends. You get the sense he's always been totally in control of his life but surprisingly finds himself falling in love and for the first time must struggle with his choices.I didn't know what to expect going in but I enjoyed the movie quite a lot and felt all three actors had good chemistry as well as some great scenes together. There were some light moments but this is a serious and compelling drama.