Rating: 
Summary: excellent movie for romantics like myself
Review: This was an excellent romantic movie i have ever seen...this movie is a must see if you are a hopeless romantic like myself.
Rating: 
Summary: Pointless coarsening of a classic tale
Review: I am not against modernising and re-locating classic novels if this means modern audiences are more likely to view the work as still valid and alive rather than a dusty relic of the schoolroom or as a museum piece
I do ask that the interpretation respects the feel of the original and is true to its spirit
This travesty does neither.
The classic yarn is updated to 1980's Florida and New York,and in particular to New York art society circles.We still have the childhood meeting between the young hero and an escaped convict,we still have the rise of the working class boy to fame and fortune thanks to a mysterious benefactor,we still have the eccentric recluse and her daughter with whom the hero is in loveWhat we dont have is any subtlety or restraint in the visuals merely a regular diet of soft-core couplings set to instantly forgettable songs and a syrupy string score
What we dont have is even an approximation to a decent performance,even from normally reliable performers like De Niro,Paltrow and Bancroft(her performance indeed is simply dreadful,proceeding with a plethora of mistimed lines and over-emphatic gestures,that had me pining for Martita Hunt's performance in David Lean's bastly superior forties version) It looks like a Duran Duran video and about as empty of intelligence and weight Leave modernising classics to people who do it well like Baz Luhrman,IanMcKellan or at a pinch Kenneth Branagh.
Do yourself a favour and check out the David Lean version instead
for a demonstration of what can be achieved by a director rather than a jumped up magazine photographer like Alfonso Cuaron who can make with the visuals but is woefully inept at storytelling with a camera
Rating: 
Summary: A modern update that works well
Review: I know that there are plenty of Dickens fans out there that won't like this adaptation because it doesn't stick closely to the book. I however (and yes I had read the book beforehand) really enjoyed this. In typical Hollywood style, just like with 'The Beach', the romantic side of the novel has been spiced up and pushed to the forefront. Yet this to me seemed necessary in a modern adaptation, as subplots with Magwitch and Herbert would tend to bog down a movie and make it overlong. Still, there are some good parallels drawn between the cruel society that Pip encounters and the pretensions and idiocies of the modern art world. Also, the acting is great, with Gwyneth Paltrow perfectly conveying the enigmatic, beautiful Estella. Ethan Hawke was also good value as the slightly goofy Finn. In fact, my only problem with the characters was Anne Bancroft's Mrs Havisham. As much as I see it to be unrealistic in a modern adaptation, I would like to have seen her wedding banquet covered in cobwebs and dress in tatters. At the end of the day though, the majority of the credit has to go to Dickens himself, who has created a story that perfectly focuses on the frustration and torment that comes with unsatisfied love, and the mournful feel that life has been wasted. This is particularly well evoked in the film, with Finn running through the rain as we see Estella jet off to a new life with a different man. Bravo to the movie for keeping Dickens' ending, with the narrative being almost exact to the book. All in all, not only a very solid adaptation but also a fun one.
Rating:
Summary: A must-miss movie
Review: I gave this movie 2 stars because of the photography and Anne
Bancroft. There's not much else to praise here. I didn't mind the "update" of the original story, but was it neccessary? Ethan Hawke was dull as ever. He can kill an otherwise good movie, and the one thing that would have saved this one would have been an interesting Pip. He needs to close his mouth once in a while- he's always catching flies.
Rating:
Summary: A great telling of a wonderful tale. Visually stunning!
Review: I just loved the way they updated Great Expecations to the 1990s. What a superb cast! Hawke and Paltrow were mesmirizing. Anne Bancroft and Robert DeNiro both did a great job in supporting roles that were interesting and unique. The courage it takes to update a masterpiece, a classic of literature and bring it in to today' perspective is always challenging for actors. I wish people would stop comparing constantly and not wanting anything to change. Sure I love period pieces, but that can get "old" after awhile if you will excuse the pun. It would be benificial if audiences would appreciate different renderings of classics. This movie is not the original story by Charles Dickens written in the mid-1800's, it is not intended to be. Yet it evokes the main message, it imparts the very same themes that Dickens was trying to convey. Certainly it is in vogue to compare and contrast and to deem the original book more clever, but not everone of this day and time is going to sit down and read Dickens. If this movie can pass on the ideas of Charles Dickens to today's young audience or even encourage a reading of his literature, then the actors have accomplished a wonderful thing. We are entertained and awestruck by the powerful themes of the great master storyteller Charles Dickens 150 years later, but how can that message get out to today's masses out we modernize it? There are the purists who want to read the originals and that clearly is the best way. However, this is a story for the ages, for all to enjoy. Many of today's young people won't pick up a classic to read and enjoy it. The story can be made accessible to everyone and that is why I enjoyed this movie so dearly. It is an age-old theme of love and obsession regardless of the time period the movie or book is set in.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Movie: Interesting reproduction of the book
Review: As a movie, it's 10 stars. As a reproductions of the book, it's 3 stars. There were serious changes in the book, BUT it's still a great love story. There were hardly any scenes or lines that oughta be changed. The soundtrack is superb also. The thing is, that the book is much broader in scope. It deals with Finn's (Pip is his name in the book) aspirations to transcend the working-class life he was born into. It also deals alot with themes that say, basically, "Kindess, symphathy and good qualities have nothing to do with social class." The movie, however, deals alot with the Finn-Estella relationship. I think it's a good movie to go ahead and buy. It gives a new perspective in the book, which should be welcomed. It also deviates from the Victorian England setting and sets it in the 90's, which makes this great for people to relate to. For parents buying for children: there is some sexual innuendo and nudity..Finn's paintings of Estella, Finn and Estella making love, and a make-out scene with Finn-Estella. This movie can be watched at any age, as long as the person has the maturity to watch it. You can show it to a 14 year-old, if he/she has the maturity level to deal with it.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite Hawke movies.
Review: Besides being "Gattaca," as another of my favorite Ethan Hawke movies, "Great Expectations" is another. Equisitely directed, excellent performances by Hawke and sexy costar Gwyneth Paltrow, and great scenery make this a stylized and sexy drama. Finn (Hawke) is encouraged to go to New York to seek an artist's career by an lawyer who represents an art museum director. He gets on a plane and flies there, only to be met up by Paltrow, who he briefly saw several years before, encourages her to come to his apartment for a private artist session. Not only Gwyneth poses, she strips down, baring some tempting curves and voluptous skin for Hawke to draw. This is an excellent modernized Dickens' adaptation, even better than the book, I should say. But you didn't hear ME saying that... Rated R for language, violence, and some generous and gorgeous nudity by the gorgeous Gwyneth.
Rating:
Summary: Remake or not...It's a Gwyneth Palthrow tour-de-force
Review: I'm not going to claim that I have seen the original, nor remember reading the boring novel in literature class, but I did see this DVD. This movie is exceptional, stylish, and captivating. Ethan Hawke is brilliant, as the son of a poor handyman, who falls hard for the daughter of a bitter, old wealthy widow(played exceptionally by Anne Bankroft). The real show-stealer is Gwyneth Palthrow, the object of Hawke's affections, as an iceberg princess, incapable of love or emotion. This film shows that no matter what success we achieve in life, it is all hollow without the affections of those we care about most.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite movies of all time.
Review: I've come to realize that most people that see an adaptation of a novel on the screen hate it not because one is better than the other (regardless- this may be the case), but because the book enjoyed FIRST. Yes, it's all about being FIRST. This movie is second in most people's lives.. except mine. I watched this movie first, loved it, and then went out to the library to read the actual novel. I must say, the movie is better. I felt there was more of a balance between the two storylines (no spoilers, sorry), and that the soundtrack and cinematography added so much to the story. It's a beautiful piece of film, and I truly do recommend it. I didn't know what to expect from this movie, but what I pulled out of it was some serious-good-stuff. (Speaking of the soundtrack, the best song on it is by Mono.. and I think the song is called Mono. It's a great song, and is played throughout.) At first I thought it might be a little too slow for my tastes, but the pace was perfect for the story, so I didn't mind at all. Check it out if you can.
Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Film
Review: I love this movie. I cannot say enough about it. It was beautiful. Had it not come out the same time as 'Titanic' I feel this movie would have gotten the attention it deserved. Ethan Hawke narrating in the very beginning of the movie as Finn was striking, as he opens with, 'There either is, or is not a way things are'. Also, the way he explains, 'I'm not going to tell the story the way it happened, I'm going to tell it the way I remember it', which is where and why this movie gets it's beauty, that it's remembered not in details, but the raw beauty, and the pain and the true memory. The cast in this film was also amazing in each of their characters. So many people watch this movie and say that Estella was horrible to Finn, but it was how she was raised, taught to 'fear sunshine'. Gwenyth Paltrow is an amzing actress, especially as Estella. I have recommended this movie to so many people, with different interests, and it has been very well enjoyed.
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