Rating: 
Summary: A Classco Southern Gothic
Review: Everyone should see this Southern Gothic moral tale. Billy Bob Thorton does an incredible characterization as Karl Childers, a guileless mentally retarded man who was put away for murder but has served out his sentence and returned to his home town. Robert Duvall plays Karl Childers father.
There are two version of this move: Sling Blade and Some Folks Call it A Sling Blade. See both. If you can only see one, see the former; the story is more complete. In the latter version, two girls from the local high school newspaper interview Karl Childers before his release from prison. Billy Bob Thorton gives one of the most eerie, riveting, different, and convincing acting performances I've ever seen. The simple Childers elicits waves of sympathy from the viewer. Molly Ringwald is great as one of the girls reporter. I don't remember anything else from this version. Either it ended there or I was too overwhelmed by the opening sequence to remember anything else. Billy Bob Thorton is married to Angelina Jolie in real life, by the way.
Rating:
Summary: Profound and full of heart
Review: Watching Sling blade again on ABC last night reminded me just how much I truly love this film. It's one of my all time favorites. The beauty of this movie is how it connects with it audience on so many levels, but ultimately, at its core, one finds soul and a deep connection to God. The film expresses the meaning of true friendship (the boy and Carl), fatherhood (Carl's fatherly instincts), fatherly-image (the boy's acceptance of Carl as his father-figure), loyalty (Carl's loyalty to the boy and his mother), tenderness (Carl's understanding and reconciliation of his brother, who died immediately after birth), and grace (Carl's ability to ease the tension living in the boy, due to his tough upbringing). As a father of two young boys myself, something about this movie hits a deep nerve.. and I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: touching
Review: I think that "Sling blade" is a rather trivial film (its characters did not seem to me to be fully developed, etc.), but it is not overly pretentious and it is touching. The film is slow and, apart from one truly intense and violent scene, so quiet, that you feel restful while watching it. I recommend you to see it.
Rating:
Summary: I recon this is a good movie..emmm hmmm
Review: Great movie! I would say the overall performance of the supporting actors is poor, but I think this adds "local flavor" to the movie which makes it more enjoyable to watch. There is little "fancy actin'" to detract from the main story. It is simple, as Carl is simple. If your tired of explosions and kick fights and want to get back to a good movie, this is it.
Rating:
Summary: High Qual
Review: This is one of my favorite movies; I'd put it in my top 5. It proves that realistic characters and skillful writing can carry a movie. This movie has true emotion and passion, in forms we rarely see from the typical Hollywood fodder. If the frontal lobes of your brain are functional, you will enjoy this movie.
Rating:
Summary: I wished I could give it 10 stars!
Review: I will never forget the superb acting in this movie. When Billy Bob first spoke, he had me! John Ritter, Dwight Yoakum, all excellent. A definite must see. I'm just embarrassed that I hadn't seen it before now. Billy Bob is a true genius.
Rating: 
Summary: Such a great movie!
Review: Billy Bob Thornton demonstrates his extraordinary talent on a variety of levels in this incredible movie; as an actor, he becomes a completely other person, totally immersing himself in his character, Karl. As a director, he shows a keen eye for Just The Right Angle in many scenes, which results in an really aesthetically pleasing film. On top of this, he also wrote the screenplay and developed all of the characters himself - truly amazing! His choice of soundtrack pieces increases the film's overall beauty, and, as soundtracks should, drives home the action on the screen. There is some discussion of serious violence in the story, but almost none occurs on-screen; there is only one scene in the movie that is at all violent, and there is no blood or gore shown (but it is, um, "heavily implied.") While there isn't any on-screen sexuality or blood, this isn't precisely a movie for children - the subjects dealt with are very adult, and despite the charming relationship between Karl and Frank, the themes and ethics of the story may upset some people. The pacing of the film is fairly slow, but this isn't at all a detraction from its overall impact, and highlights how the laconic Karl plods through life with great presence, almost accidentally. There are many lessons to be learned from this "simplistic" film, on a variety of levels, and even though the basic premise has been done before, few have ever done it this well. Sadly, the DVD doesn't have any extra treats on it - it would have been really great to have a commentary by Billy Bob to let us know what he was thinking and feeling at different points of the filming process, alas. Still, the sound quality is superb, and the video is lovely. This is one of those movies I plan to pull out from time to time, simply because it's so enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: good acting, touching story, perfection from Billy Bob
Review: First of all, this film features Billy Bob Thornton at his absolute best--phenomenal writing, admirable directing, and flawless acting. Secondly, this profound and powerful film brings tears to my eyes even now, weeks later. I've heard people link it to To Kill a Mockingbird and Forrest Gump, but I don't believe it needs to ride the coattails of anything--it's strong on its own. This movie is ultimately about sacrifice, but it holds its own on all kinds of subjects, ranging from the treatment of criminally insane to domestic violence to child abuse. John Ritter beautifully brings to life a warm, loving, stable gay character, and that, in my book, only adds to the film's far-reaching appeal. The surprise performance: Dwight Yoakam's portrayal of the drunken, abusive Doyle. This film is perfection.
Rating:
Summary: heartbreaking masterpiece
Review: wow, i watched sling blade last weekend and have been thinking about it often ever since. i'm not going to re-cap the story here, but i will say that Sling Blade has everything that a great movie needs, most importantly, heart, honesty, and belief in the characters and the paths that they walk and run through. carl's relationship with the young boy is relationship that i think only few people achieve, the simple bond of TRUST is what brings such a love between them.
billy bob thornton is one of my favorite actors, now directors, too. it takes a deep man with a big heart to develop a story like this, even though part of me thinks it might've been a bit autobiographical in some parts, but who knows? i didn't even know it was he who was playing carl at first. but check out carl's eyes, you'll be thinking about them later on. billy bob totally envelopes carl.
sling blade reminds me a little of forrest gump, one of my other favorite movies, but sling blade has a simplicity and honest ugliness and beauty to it that forrest gump did not capture.
if this doesn't make you cry, or want to cry, i just won't understand.
Rating:
Summary: 5 Star Cinema
Review: I caught Sling Blade by accident, that is I actually paid to see David Cronenberg's Crash but walked out after about twenty minutes. Sling Blade was in the theater next door and just starting, so I figured what the hell. It turned out to be one of THE BEST movies I have ever seen. Billy Bob Thornton plays Carl, a semi-retarded man who has been locked up in a mental facility for the better portion of his life for killing his mother and a boy his age with a sling blade. So, now Carl is released from the institution with nowhere to go and no money in his pocket. He is befriended by a lonely boy whose mother allows him to stay in their garage. From the beginning of Sling Blade, it is clear that Carl is a good man and that the circumstances of his incarceration are in some way more than justified in his own mind. Billy Bob Thornton literally transformed himself into Carl who is a simple, loving man with a really cool accent. In the beginning of the film when Carl is told he is to be released, his reaction is not one of jubilation but terror. This man has been institutionalized his whole life and now at 50 the state has deemed him fixed. Carl encounters a lot of good in the world and a lot of bad. Some of the more memorable performances in Sling Blade come from Dwight Yoakam as the abusive (both mentally and physically) boyfriend and John Ritter as a gay store owner where Frank's mom works. Sling Blade raises more questions than it answers during its running time which keeps the viewers attention. After watching the film for about an hour it becomes pretty clear what is going to happen but never the less it is still an enthralling watch thanks in large part to the fantastic performances by Thornton, Yoakam, and Ritter. This is undoubtedly one of the best films of the 90's. Highest Recommendation.
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