Rating: 
Summary: Some serious viewing displeasure
Review: This is one of the most over-rated movies to come down the pike in a long time. I bought this DVD for my wife as a stocking suffer for Christmas; I bought it on a whim and based on favorable word of mouth reviews and some of the reviews I read on here. (And because I got the DVD for a really great sale price.) Boy were we disappointed. We knew it was going to be a long film going in, so we can't fault that per se, although the length does not serve the movie well. (It's basically unnecessary for this movie to run over 3 hours.) The characters were cartoonish at best, even John Coffey and Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks). So it was disappointing to spend 3 hours with such poorly drawn characters. (If you want to spend three hours with some fairly well-drawn characters, try "Heat" or "Braveheart" or "Anna and the King" or "The Insider" -- or even "Shadowlands" though that movie is considerably less than 3 hours long.) It was very disheartening to see a character who realized how love is so often exploited in this world -- the bad guy killed two the little sisters "with the love they had for each other" -- and yet allows himself to be led like a sheep to his own pseudo-Christ-like death (John Coffey . . . initials "J. C."), a death which served no real purpose except to put him out of his own misery. Such dismal self-pity. The world has so little love in it, that he selfishly decides to withhold himself from it. Such silliness. Such silly self-love. Such silly screenwriting. Such silly thinking. (I think the conversation between Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman in "Se7en" when their characters were in the bar and talking about "apathy" is infinitely more interesting and on the mark than the silliness of John Coffey's speech in this movie.) This movie was pathetic from the standpoint of the message it attempted to deliver. The movie probably deserves two or three stars overall, but since, in my opinion, the trend here has been to over-rate this movie, I may be under-rating a bit in some feeble attempt to balance out the overall rating of this movie. Because no way in heck is this a four- or five-star movie. Some good "prison" movie alternatives -- "Dead Man Walking," "American History X," or even "The Chamber" ("The Chamber" was MUCH better than "The Green Mile.") Some good "wake up and get busy living" movie suggestions . . . how about "Fearless" or "Dead Poets Society," to name a couple off the top of my head.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good, Powerful Movie
Review: Did you watch and enjoy "Shawshank Redemption" but found some scenes troubling and hard to watch? Then "Green Mile" will be for you. Like "Shawshank," "Green Mile" is also set in prison and concerns an innocent man who shouldn't be there. The inmate is John Coffey (Michael Duncan) who does an excellent job of being a "gentle giant." Likewise, Tom Hanks portrayl of the head prison guard is excellent. So what makes this movie unique? John Coffey has a special ability (don't read further is you hate spoilers) and that is to heal people in a unique way you just have to see. However, it does tax him, and Tom Hanks and the other guards (except one which you'll learn to hate) take a liking to him -- yet he's sentenced to die at their hands. So the human condition and "what's right" is certainly addressed and will make you think. And where does the "Green Mile" come into play? The "Mile" deals specifically with the death row area of prison. That said, there are some scenes and images which are disturbing and hard to watch (primarily, scenes involving the execution of prisoners by the electric chair) which will stick with you for a long time afterwards, so it's not for young kids or weak stomachs. But if you're not in either of those categories, I'd highly recommend it. Also note it's slightly longer than 3 hours, and while it doesn't have an "epic feel" to it, the time will go quickly.
Rating:
Summary: It's Worth Every Step of the Mile!!
Review: I am most certainly not a fan of Stephen King and his mindless boogey-man novels, so I have never read this book. IMAGINE MY SURPRISE when I rented this movie, and was riveted to my seat: I spent my entire Saturday WATCHING IT TWICE! This movie is brilliant and emotional, and the casting is absolutely inspired. Tom Hanks is mesmorizing; you can FEEL his character's pain in being torn between carrying out the condemned man's wishes, and letting him escape because he is most certainly, but unprovably, innocent. There is a scene in the prison where Hanks' character speaks of "standing before the Lord in judgement," that made me want to stand up and applaud, right there in my livingroom. There is no word for this movie other than "brilliant."
Rating:
Summary: Painful World
Review: The Green Mile is a very powerful show. The main plot of the movie revolves around the execution block of a prison, or death row. You are introduced to all of the prisoners there, and create an opinion about them. Many of them are not as you would expect, and it hurts to know that eventually they must die. It is almost ironic how you can fall in love with murderers and criminals. This is not the case, however, with all the prisoners. Some of the prisoners push you to the point of anger and rage. These prisoners you wish would die sooner. This is also the case with one of the jail guards. He is so cruel to the prisoners, it also fills you with anger and rage. It is this cruelty the movie is based on. There is one character who can feel the pain and cruelty that people cause each other. "I can't stand all the pain people cause each other in the world." This theme creates an image in the viewers' mind that may even promote change in their heart. I would not recommend this movie to anyone with a squeemish stomach. There are graphic and shocking parts. However, for anyone with a love for fine acting and a good plot, this is a good choice.
Rating:
Summary: Don't shed a tear for me
Review: It would so easy to lavish accolades on this movie because it made you misty. But I didn't cry so that's not a problem for me:) The problem for me is to see anything redeeming in a film that portrays apathy and gutlessness as if they were virtue. Over 3 hours of Tom Hanks & Co. hemming and hawing and trying to gain just a small clue about life and doing what is right, instead of playing out a cockamamie version of dumb and dumber in prison garb. But don't get me wrong...Tom Hanks & Co. did a wonderful job convincing me of their cluelessness. But is this really something I need to see portrayed for three hours on film? A film should inspire, entertain, educate. This did none of the above. It just spun its wheels for 3 hours and lapsed into cliche and pulled easy strings to get a tear or two. Overall I give it one star - it was a well-directed, well-acted, well-set-designed, but ultimately meaningless and forgettable sentimental tale about nothing. - Kinda like Seinfeld, except this movie was morose and weak-kneed, and Seinfeld was hilarious and well-written - at least until the last season (but I'll save that for my review of *Seinfeld the Movie* should that ever occur :)
Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest films I have ever seen.
Review: A lot has been made of The Green Mile's length at over 3 hours. But it is the fastest, most extraordenary 3 hours I have ever spent on the couch. All I can say is that Mr. Hanks is one of the greates actors in the history of film (if not THE GREATEST). Michael Clark Duncan Is also amazing. This former steel worker is a giant of a man with such a tender heart and incredible range. The entire cast is amazing. There were disturbing scenes like the electric chair but it did what it was supposed to do for me. It made me emotional and made me realise that even innocent souls have to die sometimes. I love this film and it proudly caps off my DVD collection.
Rating: 
Summary: The Green Mile Review
Review: This was a great movie. I thought it was a true story until Paul Coffey barfed up bugs after grabbing Edgecomb (Hanks). I did not think the movie was grusome. The only close to Grusome part is when Percy sabbotages an execution. I took of one star because it was to long (3hrs 8min)and they could have cut out the part when Percy shoots Wild Bill about six times.
Rating:
Summary: Tear Jerker
Review: This movie brings tears to my eyes. I feel for every character in the movie especially the prisoners. Usually I think prison inmates are scum. Until I got introduced to this film I feel my human side showing. I can only shed tears for the prisoners and the prison guard. You will get introduced to the dark nature as well as the light nature of man. The ending will introduce anyone including unfeeling people to their sensitive side!
Rating:
Summary: Maudlin gibberish
Review: This movie was boring, disheartening, spineless and basically just all around insipid. In fact, it is the first DVD that I will be returning. It was that unbelievably godawful. Shawshank was average. It was very cliché, marginally interesting. But "The Green Mile" was way below average in terms of the story line, the message it attempted to impart, the cross-section of humanity it tried to portray, and basic overall movie-going satisfaction. The movie was poorly written, as were the few pages that I managed to make it through of the book. The characters seemed like they were something out of a children's book, because they had about the same level of complexity and interest. The acting was OK, but that still doesn't change the fact that the basic storyline of the movie was pathetic. The analogy Stephen King and Frank Darabont attempt to draw has been done in much more interesting and emotionally satisfying and complex ways. The symbolism, what little of it I paid attention to, was also banal and never managed to reach above the level of nursery rhymes or children's books. And the movie was over three hours long. BORING! I am through with King. After watching the movie versions of It, The Stand, Dolores Claiborne, The Shawshank Redemption, even Stand By Me, I fail to see any redeeming quality in his storylines and his characters. His storylines are either absurd or intellectually insulting, and his characters are, thankfully, forgetable. (Whereas the bad taste from his plotlines sticks with you a while longer.) As for Frank Darabont, the count is at two strikes. After seeing this movie, I have now put "Shawshank" in the "annoying and worthless moviegoing experience" category. He gets one more try. Hopefully he'll opt not to adapt anything written by King and instead find something a little more challenging and emotionally satisfying.
Rating:
Summary: Stephen King: The Chronicler of Imprisonment
Review: This superbly acted, absorbing movie is based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. It tells the story of a black man, condemned to die for the rape and murder of two young girls in the south during the 1930s, his experience on death row and the revelation of the real killer. All of the performances are sterling, and this is particularly impressive since most of the cast is asked to do one of acting's most demanding jobs: portray good people without seeming simple. Good people is a concept that is particularly difficult when applied to prison guards, normally thought of as cold at best and brutal and sadistic at worse. Tom Hanks, perhaps the leading American actor of his generation, leads a cast as capable as he is. Although I have seen several movie adaptations of King novels -- Carrie, Dolores Clayborn, Misery, The Shining -- this is the first one that convinced me to read the novel. I noticed that one of King's themes is imprisonment. Jack Nicolson's writer is imprisoned by his family and his stalled talent in The Shining; James Caan's writer (hmmmm) is held prisoner by insane fan Cathy Bates in Misery; Carrie is imprisoned by her mother's scarred notion of womanhood. Here, there are several imprisonments: John Coffey's capture in race and accusation and in his own remarkable gifts; the warden's wife's imprisonment in the cancer that changed her personality; Tom Hanks' character's boxing in by his prolonged life and the knowledge that he played a role in ending the life of an innocent man. This is a wonderful movie based on a fine book.
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