Rating: Summary: The underlying premise a tough sell but well worth viewing.. Review: For no other reason than to watch Tom Hanks, the master. The supporting cast worked in an ensemble-like manner with Hanks. The protaganists are allowed substantial character development (after all, they had 188 minutes to achieve this). Special F/X - lightbulbs breaking - overdone; executions - too many, too explicit, death row inmates (except Wild Billy)- probably too sympathetic (liberal Hollywood - no surprise there), sets - great, real depression/1935 feel. Mouse was an interesting device and cleverly becomes central to the film's development & direction. Race issue nicely downplayed and treated in an adult manner. The end was especially thought provoking; this is the only philosophizing I will do here - the ironic punishment for Hanks' character "doing his job", facilitating the early demise of others, is to significantly and almost perversely outlive his peers, loved ones and even his children, accompanied only by the mouse, a daily reminder that he allowed (not his fault) an innocent person to be put to death. He's had to live with this for 64 of his 108 years and, judging by the age of the mouse, will probably endure for several more years. So will the heartache.
Rating: Summary: green mile Review: I thought the movie was excellent it kept me on the edge of my seat it was almost like the book and as good as the book. I would recommend this movie and book to the movie hall of fame also Stephen King should get a star on the sidewalk at the chinese theater.
Rating: Summary: The Best Movie I Have Ever Seen Review: The Green Mile is the best movie I have ever seen. Most movies that are based on books will keep important scenes out of them, but this one had it all. This movie gave me chills from the beginning to the end. It motivated me and made me feel good when John Coffey took Paul Edgecome's hand and showed him what the truth really was. The cast of characters was incredible. They couldn't have picked better actors to play Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) or John Coffey (Michael Duncan). If there is one movie you should see, it's this one.
Rating: Summary: excellent movie Review: I read this book when it first came out & it was so hard waiting for the next chapter to come out. The movie was wonderful. Really followed the story line. The actors fit the parts perfect. If you liked this book you will love the movie. I know I will watch it again and again. It is very sad in some parts. You will get angry in some parts and you will be jumping for joy in some parts. it is a must see movie. And it is not really too long. buy this movie.
Rating: Summary: Close, but read the book first! Review: I'd have loved to give the film version of "The Green Mile" five stars like I did the book but the adaptation left it with considerably more flaws. If I hadn't read the book first, I really doubt I would have liked this movie as much as I did. In fact, I might have wondered if the story line was put together by a committee.Negatives first (fewer of them!): No novel can translate to film untouched and some things that work on print just don't on the screen and vice versa. And as this movie was already three hours long considerable cutting was necessary. But if so, then why put in a gratuitous and somewhat senseless extra scene at the end? Moreover, the film cut all the narration that tied together the different subplots in the book; the movie would have improved immeasurably if just a little had been retained. Acting was unformly high quality but a character who's supposed to be a dangerous sadist comes off as simply petulant and dumb; you're even tempted to feel a little sorry for him in the end. And exploding light bulbs can be a great effect in small doses; here it was so overused I started expecting to see some old trusty doing lightbulb-changing chores, grumbling that these guys go through them like water.... Pluses! The main set just took my breath away; I watched the first half hour over and over just to catch the full-length shots of it. All the acting is superb but Hanks is particularly subtle; watch for tiny but significant changes in facial expression and vocal quality. And listen carefully to the sound track; it's very powerful and affecting without going overboard on volume, an excess all too popular in movies in recent years. See it! But read the book first; you'll appreciate it more and be able to fill in the blanks.
Rating: Summary: Another great Darabont conversion Review: When it comes to movies based on Stephen King stories we tend to either get pure garbage or masterpieces. I am happy to say this is one of the latter. Thankfully this project was left in the hands of Frank Darabont who is responsible for the stellar film version of King's Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. The movie actually deserves 4.5 stars. (hopefully amazon will one day allow half stars) Frank does a very good job keeping in the spirit of the novel and assembled a wonderful crew. Yes we all knew that Hanks would be good...long gone are his days of Volunteers and Joe Vs the Valcano (thank GOD). But the remainder of the cast was every bit as good from the guy playing John Cofey down to the crazy guy that played Wild Bill. (I hope they will forgive me for not knowing their names) While not quite as good as Darabont's Shawshank, it is definitely worth a look. It truly is a movie that embodies the often over used expression "truiumph of the human spirit"
Rating: Summary: You will be moved beyond control of emotion Review: We had a friend tell us to watch this movie. We bought it for our DVD and sat down several times to watch it, however we have three daughters, one an infant and it was dubbed the "hexed" movie because something would always happen when we would get it started, and would prevent our seeing this movie. (More than three seperate nights) I was eager to see it, because our friend had said that if I loved Shawshank Redemption, (which I did) I would love this one more. Impossible, I thought. Well with the baby in bed and the other two gone for the night, we sat down in our skittish attempt to see this movie. How worth all that was it? Sooooo very worth it. We sat eyes forward, mostly quiet and at times open mouthed in our amazement about some scenes. The next day at lunch, I asked my husband if he cried. He said he did. I said, "I did too." (I only cry sometimes) He told me that I didn't cry, I sobbed like a baby!!!! I knew I did. I was so taken into this movie, my emotions got ahold of me and made me feel as though I was crying for my best friend. Michael Clarke Duncan made me want to reach in there and hold him like a little baby. This is without a doubt, the absolutely most intense movie I have ever seen. You will be moved.
Rating: Summary: Interminable, mawkish, and playing on the white subconscious Review: Stephen King botches the religious themes with which he plays here. John Coffey is, at the same time, Jesus Christ ("J.C." converting Hanks' "Paul" along the "mile"), Steinbeck's Lenny ("Of Mice and Men"), and Uncle Tom. The result, apparently by accident, is an oddly offensive racial stereotype: a huge, black man accused of raping 2 white children [the stereotypical white fear of "the black man"] who at first intimidates the white prison guards, but soon captures their hearts (and those of the audience) by being scared of the dark, mentally imbecilic, and living only to "help" the white folk and "the bossman." I think of myself as hating the whole P.C. nonsense, but I really think anyone who fell in love with this story must ask themselves why they are attracted to a self-sacrificing Christ figure who just happens to represent the wishes and fears of the white representation of the black man. Were I black, I'd at least want to be treated as a Christ figure for what I am and have sacrificed, and not what white culture has so often stereotyped me as: the noble savage. Add to this an unnecessary hour of easily cut scenes, two dimensional characters [played by brilliant actors, admittedly], and a highly offensive -- not to say illogical and unnecessary-- moral decision by "Paul" at the end, and you have just what you'd expect when Stephen King tries to do Shakespeare meets New Testament meets Walt Disney.
Rating: Summary: Emotionally wrenching! Review: I haven't felt this much emotional impact from a movie in many years. The incredible amount of feeling in this film makes you feel as if you had been a part of the experience that the guards, inmates, and even the warden had been through. I have seen mention of the great performances of a marvelous cast in this movie many times, but I would like to add to that how impressed I was with the performance of Michael Jeter. I don't know how he could have done any better. Yes, the movie is long. Yes, it is depressing. But the "good guys" win. The "bad guys"lose. And after all of this we still manage to come up with an uplifting ending which, with everything we have been through, I think we deserve. Be warned, there are some violent execution scenes in this movie that I wish we could have done without. And in places it is a real tear-jerker. But, as always, in the end, John Coffey makes everything alright. Definitely well worth watching, and probably a great picture to add to your personal library. This one is definitely a keeper!
Rating: Summary: Good but the book is much much better Review: Have read the book before seeing this movies and I personally like the book much much more as it include a lot of details that the movie had left out. But overall, it's a great movie and worth the time (3 hours) as well as money.
|