Rating: Summary: visually compelling, emotional roller coaster Review: The main problem I had with this was that I could understand only about one third of what Sciorra was saying, that is probably because, as my wife is fond of pointing out, most of the world is not as deaf as I am. That said, I suspect what upsets most religionists who have complained about this movie is the idea that one has some kind of choice about where one goes in the afterlife, seemingly. What I find interesting and what I like most about this movie is the exteriors that were shot in Glacier National Park. I have had the privilege of seeing the park in person. It may not look like heaven, but it will definitely do until something more beautiful comes along......I also liked the part where one of the souls in hell said "I only took 30%.)
Rating: Summary: Good visual effects/terrible story Review: Although the visual effects were pretty cool, they were not enough to hold it together. The story was annoying, inconsistent, and choppy. Robin Williams, usually a great actor, was not right for the part. He did not convey his emotions very well, often smiling when it seemed he shouldn't. I found myself wishing he would go away and someone else would take his place. He was THAT bad. Anyway, if you're looking for anything endearing or insightful, look elsewhere. If you want something that you'd probably find at a [bad] movie/art festival, maybe this is for you.
Rating: Summary: an interesting movie Review: I like the way Robin Williams' jaw moves from side to side when he gets emotional. I like the way Robin Williams' facial expressions show over-the-top feeling throughout. In this movie, Robin Williams becomes a caricature of an over-emotional Robin Williams. The music is fitting too. When the orchestra climaxes as Robin Williams runs into the arms of his daughter in slow motion in Heaven, it makes the viewer stop and think, "I can't believe this over-the-top Hollywood fantasy-flick is making me feel so ... emotional!" But I think this movie is more aligned with ultimate Truth than we might know. God bless Robin Williams and his over-the-top emotional jaw action.
Rating: Summary: Miserable, depressing, and confused Review: This film attempts in every frame to be "important," and fails on so many levels it's almost funny. From the get go, its somber approach of a dead mans search for his dead family through an imagination of classic painters falls flat. The effects are nice, but after 2 minutes of them, you expect the story to go somewhere--and it doesn't. The acting is one note, and so incredibly somber throughout the film has little emotional texture. Really a miserable, depressing film.
Rating: Summary: Oh Vincent, where art thou? Review: This is a film about heaven and hell. My idea of hell is watching Robin Williams walk and talk and smile and cry - all so emotionally overblown and saccharine that it is completely repulsive. When Robin Williams eats a piece of dry toast, it's the most wonderful, illuminating, exciting experience in the world - and make no mistake, he will show you in detail just how incredible and wonderful and illuminating every single moment is! He smiles when he cries! He cries when he smiles! Everything makes him cry. And smile. When he's a doctor he's SO GOOD with the kids. When he's a dad he's SUCH a GREAT dad. Smiling. And Crying. By now you've understood, hopefully, my opinion of Robin Williams. Or should I go on, just to be clear, just so we can all SMILE and LAUGH and CRY all together, in one great outpouring of EMOTION. Another problem with this film is the sickeningly sweet melodramatic score. And now for the good things : the visual effects are stunning. Probably the most dreamy ever depicted on film. Heaven is truly heavenly. Hell is hellish. The colours are perfect. The film has a touching premise - about a love that is stronger than death, that survives the demise of the body, that is worth a descent to hell itself, that is worth risking eternity for. Unfortunately, it suffers from line after line of pretentious, dramatic declarations that render the plot incoherent. About 10- 15 years ago I saw what is one of my favorite films, a film which left me breathless and euphoric and which has been reverberating in my mind ever since. It was "the Navigator" by Vincent Ward - the DVD version of which has just been released (in, I am told, a butchered and unviewable print). So how on earth did this wonderful director come to produce this current film? How could a Kiwi, a species known for their capacity to jump out of airplanes on rocket powered skateboards while cracking witty dry jokes, produce this overblown, oversentimental, overemotional hollywood THING? Sad.
Rating: Summary: Tear Jerker Review: What a lovely film. The plot is quite different from most of the light-hearted movies of Robin Williams previous credits. There are still areas of comedy, but, overall, this is a film to be watched when you desire a good cry. You would have to have a stone heart not to cry when you watch this. The plot is strong and the charachters interact well. The scenes that describe Anabella's Hell are poinant and well scripted. I have never seen a better depiction of hell. What a surprise ending!
Rating: Summary: Heaven and Hell Choices In The Afterlife Review: One of the most interesting things about this film is the place it has in the career of actor Robin Williams. For those who maybe don't remember his television show and his early movies he was more or less strictly a comedic actor. This movie goes so far beyond the type of work he was doing early in his career in terms of the meaning and topic that it is really pretty wild. He has managed in this film to break so far out of the type cast situation he was in early on that it in and of itself is remarkable. This is a film about heaven and hell and the nature of the afterlife. This film while it does have some funny parts also has some very sad parts because you can only wonder what it would feel like to die and realize your wife who you loved more than any other has gone to hell. What's worse you are partly to blame and she is the only one missing from your family in heaven including as I recall the dog. The portrayal of the afterlife is really pretty cool with heaven being a beautiful and fun place and hell being dark, ugly, and despairing. Would you willfully reject heaven and descend into hell to save your spouse if you are separated in the afterlife? That is a pretty hard question for people of faith given what is generally taught regarding the demons, pain, suffering, despair, and agonies associated with Satan. It is this very 'what if' situation that confronts Williams. This is a fantastic tale for adults if you ask me but frankly it's a little too deep and dark in places to be appropriate for younger members of the family. If you watch it with kids be prepared to explain why the mommy went to hell for committing suicide in ending her life in despair. If your kids are ready to deal with the serious questions regarding the afterlife then it's really not a graphic violent depiction of hell but rather a nightmare come true depiction in which every essence of existence is dark, dirty, decayed, and destitute. No one is on fire or picked on by evil beings in a physical sense it is psychological torture. I really like this film because quite frankly I found it to be incredibly original in it's concept and execution. I can think of no other movie really like it except perhaps Jacobs Ladder but this takes a step beyond it in that Williams starts out in a really beautiful setting when he dies and then descends into the lake of fire to try to save his wife because his love for her is so strong. Yes it is a metaphysical storyline and yet it is about love and making the ultimate sacrifice of one's eternal fate for the love of another. I'll not tell you the end but I will say there are things that you may not expect. I saw this on a rental but it is one of the select titles I myself will be buying for my library because it is something I could watch periodically with friends and family. I recommend it to people of faith, of a spiritual persuasion, and for those who like stunning special effects because it is in my opinion a very special movie with an apocalyptic overtone of sorts (if you see it and are aware of it at any rate). Would you have the courage to sacrifice yourself for another in the end?
Rating: Summary: What Dreams May Come Review: This movie is amazing! A perfect example of what true love is and the extent that people will go to to keep it alive.
Rating: Summary: This is the worst movie ever made in the history of cinema! Review: To continue my title: This is the worst movie ever made in the history of cinema, ever, by anyone,regardless of creed, skin color, blah, blah blah. But it made me laugh. That's right, this film, meant to be a drama, had me in stitches. Its premace is so unbelievably lame that laughing was just the natural course of things for me concerning it. Consider this: First, you have to know I'm not bigoted at all, but Robin Williams' children, both white in life, transformed, in death, into a black doctor-friend of Williams's and an Asian flight attendant named Liona respectively. There are other parts so sreange that they amuse. There's just too many to get into here. I guess what I'm saying is that, dramaticly, rhis movie is a dud, but if you need a good laugh, watch it. What a failure!
Rating: Summary: What my dreams became... Review: I fell upon this while watching the sci-fi channel, and thought that it looked interesting. It ended up being my new favorite movie! It had a very distinct plot, yet I do not recommend this for children under 12. 'What Dreams May Come' follows the quest of a man who dies and goes to heaven. When he finds out that his wife has commited suicide, he ventures off the the underworld to persuade his wife to forgive herself so she can join him in heaven.
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