Another Earth 2011

Anyone see this trailer? Looks interesting, like it's one of those character-driven stories where the sci-fi element serves more as a background, like Monsters or Never Let Me Go.



I am also assuming they either address or completely ignore the issues with having another planet that close to us.

I got around to watching this on BD a couple of nights ago.

The movie was decent enough, but could've (almost) completely lost the sci-fi element and not lost anything. The non-sci-fi story itself was interesting, but every time something with "Earth 2" came up and I thought they were going to run with it (as the trailer leads you to believe), the movie seemed to just gloss over it.

I wish they would've explored more of it. It seemed to quit mid-stride everytime they got to the sci-fi stuff.

Oh well...it was still a decent movie (and I was entertained). Just feel slightly misled that they'd actually explore more of the Earth 2/doppelganger element.

I'm not going to spoiler tag this since the movie is already out:

Immigrant comment: I don't remember the exact immigrant comment in the movie and even though Roanoke was founded quite awhile before Plymouth (and for different reasons: Roanoke for $$ and Plymouth for social reasons), do you really think this is a great thing to nit-pick in a movie when pretty much everyone watching the movie considers Plymouth as among the first immigrants? I mean, I know it's not historically accurate if you take "first immigrants" literally as in the very first people to come here, but are you sure you're not just being a bit over-dramatic about one comment in a movie?

Accident: I remember him being in front of the car on the sidewalk on the side of the road corresponding to the side he was sitting on (the car being hit in the opposite corner. I don't remember if it was implied he went through the windshield. The car was obviously pushed back quite a bit, and it's certainly not unusual for people to be ejected from a car out the side door or window (especially given the angle of the impact on the opposite side of the car). Certainly plausible, but again nit-picky.

Juvenile Records:Exact specifics vary from state to state, but generally juvenile records are not public, but in this case (underage drinker causing an accident), the victim's attorney can choose to petition the court for the information for civil liability purposes, but the victim can only view that petition, which doesn't contain any identifying info. So it's entirely possible the victim won't even know who the juvenile is, and in this case it's perfectly understandable since 2 victims were killed and the other was not conscious. It's entirely possible the victim and the juvenile never even see each other depending on the specifics of the case (in the movie for example, it's pretty obvious the police arrest her on scene and it's an open-shut case that's not going to be tied up in some long drawn out trial or anything.). Once the juvenile becomes an adult, they can petition to have the court records sealed completely, and later possibly expunged (destroyed/wiped).

I would base your assumption here on ignorance around how juvenile court typically works, but it's not a mistake in the movie from what I can tell and my work within the criminal justice system over the last few years (admittedly I am not as familiar with the juvenile court system as the adult one).

Not saying the movie doesn't have flaws (because it does) but you seem to be picking out very minor things to complain about (heck, you didn't even get the cleaning thing was impromptu?). What about the major issue that he has a major hottie in his house and pretty much ignores her? What about that? Huh?

Pretty sure that's entirely possible given circumstances, such as involuntary manslaughter charges that wouldn't even go to a criminal trial (the movie also doesn't go into if he ever requests the identity be released or even if he bursts into the courthouse irate and screaming and threatening everyone).

However, I am currently in a meeting sitting across the table from the Executive Director of the Juvenile Detention Centers Assoc. of PA. I'll ask him about it as soon as we're done, which will be an hour or so. Heck, I'll send him an email....he has his laptop open.

I said as much earlier. We had a break so I talked with him directly, and he's trying to find a document for me (at least how it pertains to PA juvenile law), but he pretty much agreed with us.

He did say the law recently changed and for some of the most serious offenses, if the juvenile is over 14 then the judge can order that the trial can be open to the public (not considered being tried as an adult). He did not know if the case in the movie would fall into one of those offenses, as it would be involuntary manslaughter, and it's not like she burst into the house and held them hostage and executed them or anything (not 1st degree murder or anything like that). He's looking for a definitive answer for me, but it looks like the case in the movie is entirely possible given the details that we know (obviously law is a lot more complicated than the limited items presented in the movie)

I'm putting way too much work into finding this out, but figured I'd make use of him since he's sitting right here

Ok, here's his "definitive" answer for PA. As of recently, if you're over 14 in PA and you commit a crime that would be considered ANY felony if the person was an adult (including involuntary manslaughter), the record is automatically public. That is new though.

Prior to that (and now if you're 12 or 13), here's the list of serious offenses where the juvenile record can be made public if the judge decides it (at least in PA law). All offenses not listed here means the record is sealed and the request has to be filed to get the identity.

• Murder
• Voluntary Manslaughter
• Aggravated Assault (causing Serious Bodily Injury)
• Arson (F-1)
• Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse
• Rape
• Robbery (inflicting or threatening Serious Bodily Injury)
• Robbery of a Motor Vehicle
• Attempt or conspiracy to commit any of the offenses in this paragraph

The request then goes through a long process of approvals, which can be denied for a long list of various reasons.

So yes, entirely possible he either didn't file the request or it was denied, or the record was sealed or expunged for a variety of reasons. Obviously if the law was that cut and dry, we'd all be lawyers.

Again, that's PA. This thread is nothing if not educational

Also, there has been more of a tendency to try young teens as adults (they grow up so fast!).

In the same vein though, there is a need to protect juveniles to rehabilitate them, and having a "childish" mistake at 11 ruin your entire life by making it public should also be avoided. After all, criminal justice should be about rehabilitation, not punishment (at least IMO for a vast majority of the more minor offenses that clog up our justice system). Sadly every time I visit a prison here and ask what the recidivism rate is, it's always up around 80% or more. System is broken.

BTW, you can still get civil damages from juveniles. It's just conducted between attorneys and judges.

That's enough political stuff for me....