Missy and the Maxinator

Gr 7 Up—Missy and Max have been friends forever and talk to each other about anything and everything. But now that they are in high school and Max realizes that he is falling in love with Missy, he really can't stand listening to her complain about her obnoxious boyfriend. Max is having lunch in the school cafeteria when he realizes that he can hear conversations from across the room. Later in the day, he's stunned when he can see through the blackboard into the next classroom. Max is hesitant to tell Missy about the strange things happening to him, but she and his friends are not astonished when they witness his superhuman powers—they accept them without question. When Max, Missy, and Sean stumble across a teacher's plan to dominate the world, they know that Max is the only one who can save humanity. Reluctantly, Max embraces his new role as superhero and saves the day and the heroine. Independent filmmaker Daniel J. Lynch enlisted real teens to act in this labor-of-love production. Although their inexperience is apparent, it actually adds a layer of charm to the movie. On occasion the movie bogs down, and there are times when the action is so fast that it becomes confusing. The soundtrack is exciting and intense and occasionally overpowers the dialogue. These quibbles aside, this is a fun, family-friendly movie that exhibits a whole lot of heart and plenty of great scenes set in a suburban high school—and even a comical scene in the school library!—Wendy Woodfill, Hennepin County Library, Minnetonka, MN