What a great film. Max Pomeranc will charm you to death with his portrayel of 7 year old Josh Waitzkin, who reveals an incredible talent for playing chess after watching some speed chess being played in Washington Square park. Laurence Fishburne plays homeless player Vinnie, who takes Josh under his wing, while Ben Kingsley plays Josh’s ‘proper’ instructor, Bruce Pandolfini. Joe Mantegna play’s Josh’s father, who like so many parents, gets too caught up in the competition and starts taking all the fun out of playing.

It’s a chess movie, sure, but it could just as well be a Little League (or insert any sport/activity with parents that get overly involved to the detriment of the children playing) movie in a lot of ways. In any case, it was very, very good. See it.