My summary rewrites the famous U2 song from their "War" album because it's appropriate to describe the mood of this movie. In a way, it's a peaceful, almost happy last moments between a boy and his grandfather.

Compared to my recent watching of the Swedish "Svinalängorna", it's almost a day and night for a same situation. Here, there isn't tension, cry or shouts. Maybe this difference comes that Al is really warmly with his grandson unlike Noomi was distant and cold with her mother.

It may not be the best part of Al but so far, it's the one in which he is almost totally disabled as he doesn't move: he can rely only with his hands and his eyes and in a look similar to the old Godfather at the end of Part III, he manages to pass emotion. The good surprise of the movie is that it has a lot more to offer: it's also a sort of "stand by me" in the big depression as the young boy learns life lessons from unexpected and unusual moments: It's subtle and intelligent as the boy's quest for 25 cents mirrors the demands of the jobless. It has also a clear, colorful vision of the 30s that finally looks like the 50s except for the TV and the music. Its final message about enjoying life whatever happens is hopeful at least.

Personally, it parallels also my life as I can also pinpoint my grandparents death with events as grandpa died on Christmas day and grandma died on my nephews birthday. Next, the movie closes as the boy's family urges him kindly to go away from the dead body of his grandfather in a way to protect him. Mine, precisely my mother, slapped me because i didn't want to see the dead body of my grandfather to protect me!

I tend to be a sucker for coming-of-age dramas like these, and this is one of the good ones. The premise of a boy wanting to accumulate 25 cents to go to the movies is simple but engaging and effective. Modern day viewers might look at his quest as stupid and redundant, but that's easy to say when you have enough money to go the movies every weekend. To this little boy, it's his dream to go to the new local cinema on opening day. Plus, in the days of the depression, the cinema meant much more than it does now. Nowadays, people don't respect the institution. You see people put their feet up on the chairs in front of them, throw popcorn at the screen, shamelessly talk amongst themselves and to give a thoroughly modern example, let their cell phones ring. I think it was Gene Siskel, who said the most beautiful sight is seeing a movie audience as the screen shines over them and their eyes are glued to the screen. Cinema just had that magical feeling to people. So though I was born five decades later, I was still able to put myself in the main character's shoes.

Joseph Stefano, known mostly for his screenplay for "Psycho," wrote this nice character-driven drama that took me on a journey. Of course, that's also thanks to the child actor who played the main character. He has a certain authenticity to him that not all child actors have. If a child actor can say his lines like he means them and deliver emotions without dialogue, he's doing a good-enough job. Not only that, but he holds his own opposite the brilliant Al Pacino. Like always, Pacino gives a powerful performance, and I felt the character he played was different and unique. This time he's not a gangster or a cop. Though he has a supporting role, he makes his screen time memorable. Mary Elizabeth (I'm not gonna attempt to say her last name) is great as well.

The situations our protagonist gets into are sometimes funny, sometimes sad. As trivial as his quest to get 25 cents may seem, I wanted him to accomplish it. The ending is sad, though not unexpected. Mainly, it's the richly developed characters and their interactions that make this a solid film.

My score: 8 (out of 10)

"Two Bits" was a noticeable change for Al Pacino, casting him as a man getting his grandson (Jerry Barone) to rectify an age-old matter in 1933 Philadelphia in exchange for a chance to go to the movies. Watching the movie, one gets a sense of the poverty characteristic of the Great Depression, but also how people understood that they had to try and go on no matter what. I realize that some people may consider it bad taste - if not unethical - to use the Great Depression for the setting of a nearly magical story, but I wish to assert that the movie did a very impressive job portraying the setting without getting sappy; then again, how could an Al Pacino movie be sappy? I recommend it. Also starring Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio.