See Minneapolis skyways on the big screen

Aurora Borealis opens locally today. It's playing in less than 10 theaters around the country. So why is it playing here? Well, although most of it seems to shot in Canada, it's set right here in the Twin Cities; the Vikings and Paul Westerberg get prominent mentions. Some shooting was done here; you get to see some choice exterior shots of local landmarks including the required skyway scene and Grain Belt brewery sign.

Joshua Jackson (who did time as a pre-teen here while filming The Mighty Ducks) plays under-employed Duncan. He's still in recovery from the premature death of his father a decade earlier and is now coping with his slowly fading grandfather (Donald Sutherland.) Juliette Lewis places the spunky love interest. I'm grateful that this isn't a tale of wacky family a la Little Miss Sunshine and it grapples with big issues (including the biggest - Death,) but despite a zippy script scene to scene, the whole thing still felt like a Movie of the Week. The drama never built enough to keep you gripped the way you want a feature to keep you gripped.

That said, it's pleasant to spend a couple hours watching Joshua Jackson and Donald Sutherland. Jackson could be a serious lead actor some day. He's the strong and smirky type. He's got chemistry with both Sutherland and Lewis.