The Ranger, the Cook and a Hole in the Sky

I checked this one out simply on the strength of Sam Elliott who I find can make any film worth watching. This certainly holds true here but even better was how good this little made for TV number turned out to be. Adapted from the Norman Maclean (A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT) short story this deals with a young woodsman and the adventures of the year before he turns 18. Jerry O'Connell does duty as Mac and is amazing well casted here and I'm tempted to sat this is the best work I've seen him do. While Elliott is great as always and is joined by card master extrodinaire Ricky Jay and Molly Parker it is the minor cast that blew me away. A virtual all-star number of Canadian character actors make this a great face watcher and with damn near 90 % of the cast being X-FILES or BATTLESTAR GALACTICA alumni sci-fi heads will have a blast with this one. Don S Davis, Michael Tayles, Tom Butler and Robert Wisden to name a few all add a special flavor to the mix making this one extremly pleasurable view. May be a bit slow for some but I thought this added to the charm and director John Kent Harrison has a work to be proud of here. Excellent score provided by veteran Lawrence Shragge only sweetens the pot here.