Rating: 
Summary: Deeply Over-rated
Review: This is a fine movie, a good film, watchable, enjoyable, entertaining and, at times, informing. What it is not is groundbreaking, compelling, affecting or, simply, great.Russel Crowe's performance was typically good, but nowhere near his stunning turn in The Insider. In this movie he is playing the troubled genius, and there's really nothing all that new to his performance. Beyond Russel Crowe, everything else is sort of facile. Technically well executed, the film simply doesn't have the impact that many of it's reviews--and accolades--would seem to indicate.
Rating: 
Summary: An Excellent Film
Review: While many complain that Ron Howard whitewashed much of John Nash's life in A BEAUTIFUL MIND, those same fail to acknowledge that the film as it stands is in and of itself quite a strong picture. And while those same people scream of sentimentality throughout, there is nothing here that suggests anything sentimental or even likable about the person of John Nash. Granted, there are a few moments where scenes with his wife teeter on sappy, but overall I think the film depicts rather well the horror that must have been, and still is, Nash's life as a schizophrenic. The acting is uniformly excellent--Russell Crowe shows far more of his capability(and should have got the Oscar) here as an actor than in GLADIATOR The supporting cast is also first-rate--Jennifer Connelly gives a quiet, beautifully restrained performance as Alicia Nash(and I think it's safe to say the Oscar wasn't completely unjustified), and there's also equally fine work from Ed Harris, Paul Bettany, and Christopher Plummer. Best Picture of the year? Nope, that would have been LORD OF THE RINGS. But I think this is a solid second choice.
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Lie
Review: If you are planning to buy or rent this movie to know the story of John Nash, you should read the book instead. The only similarity between the movie and the biography was that he was nuts and he was brilliant. Another review mentioned this was the true story of John Nash. Nothing can be further from the truth. In the movie Nash was working for the government to protect against the Russians. In his bio he was actually talking to space aliens about forming a world government. Also there was no mention of Nash's many relationships with men in the movie. A few other facts about Nash not mentioned in the movie was that he has an illegitimate son. He was not the loving, caring husband the movie made him out to be. In fact he was a real jerk for a long time. He didn't even try to care for anyone. I saw the movie and then read the book. I still think "A Beautiful Mind" was a good movie, but it wasn't even close to being an accurate protrayal of Nash.
Rating:
Summary: THIS IS A SMART AND RIVIOTING FILM
Review: RUSSEL CROWE TOPS HIMSELF ONCE MORE. HIS PREFORMANCE WAS AMAZING AND NONE LIKE ONE OTHERS. THIS FILM WILL KEEP YOU GUESSING ABOUT THE REALITY OF HIS TRUE LIFE. THIS FILM WILL BLOW YOU AWAY, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THIS AMAZING FILM.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant filmmaking, superb acting
Review: Ron Howard (Splash, Cocoon, Backdraft, Apollo 13) has done excellent work as a director for which he has gotten little credit over the years. With this film comes a best director Oscar and a best picture Oscar and finally the recognition he deserves. Howard has always been good at presenting human stories, be they comedy or drama. He has a intuitive understanding of character motivation and is excellent at making his characters elicit strong emotions in the viewer. This is particularly true in this film. The story is based on the life of John Forbes Nash, Jr., a mathematician and Nobel laureate who suffered from schizophrenia. The film gives us a unique first person perspective of the disease, drawing us into his world and allowing us to see what Nash sees. Howard's presentation is brilliant. At first Nash is presented as a bit eccentric, but lucid. As we experience his world, reality and illusion are so perfectly intertwined that we are not sure where the world ends and the mind begins. By fooling the audience Howard makes the subtle point that to the schizophrenic it all seems real. In attempting to evaluate Nash's world we get a distant understanding of the confusion that results when a rational person attempts to cope with a world that is part real and part hallucination. While this is a biopic, it is more fiction than fact. A great deal of dramatic license is taken since Nash freely admits that he has little recollection of the years when he suffered from the disease. The powerful speech at the end of the film where he thanks his wife after receiving his Nobel Prize is pure Hollywood. Included in the DVD is footage of the actual Nobel ceremony and no speeches were given. Yet, we can forgive the latitude taken because the story is so inspirational. From a production standpoint, special note must be given to the makeup department, which ages Russell Crowe so magnificently. As the movie progresses through four decades, Nash is realistically depicted and aged appropriately. Likewise, the art department does a fine job rendering four different periods, matching costumes, props and sets to the times. Yet, with all the fine production values, this film excels most in the acting. Russell Crowe turns in a career performance in a career abundant in great performances. This character is the antithesis of the Russell Crowe we've come to expect. Instead of strong, tough and balanced, with a sharp worldly intelligence, he plays an eccentric and convoluted man with quirks, nervous habits and a psyche obviously out of balance. Crowe completely immerses himself in the enormous volume of the role, effortlessly moving between its elements from audacity to paranoia to tenderness to genius. This is an accomplishment that is light years beyond his Academy Award performance in "Gladiator", good as it was. Jennifer Connelly puts herself on the map with an Oscar for best supporting actress. It is always difficult to avoid getting lost in the presence of an actor as powerful as Crowe, but Connelly stays right with him, delivering a moving performance as Nash's steadfast wife. Ed Harris was my favorite to nose out Crowe for best actor in last year's Academy Awards. Harris gave a brilliant performance playing Jackson Pollock in "Pollock" (also featuring Jennifer Connelly in a small role) that was trampled under by the "Gladiator" Oscar juggernaut. As if to say, "If you can't beat him, join him", Harris goes toe to toe with Crowe in some of the most intense scenes in the film. Harris lends significant energy and intrigue to the movie with an urgent performance as the operative who recruits Nash to break codes for the government. This film is nothing short of fantastic. It is expertly directed, superbly acted and meticulously crafted. It presents great drama while also bringing insight into a stigmatizing disease to a wide audience. I rated it a 10/10. It rightfully ran away with the Best Picture Oscar. If you see only one motion picture this year, make sure it is this one.
Rating:
Summary: Authentic
Review: Eight years ago I spent about 48 hours being delusional. Frightening, dangerous delusions of paranoia. Giddy, distorted delusions of grandeur. I was an undiagnosed victim of manic depression, you see. When people ask what it was like for me, I now say "See 'A Beautiful Mind'."
Besides, I can't get enough of Mr. Crowe in a tight white tee-shirt.
This DVD is being sold in both full frame and wide screen formats. Be careful to look closely at the cover, lest you purchase the wrong type. You see, you can't get both; it's either one or the other.
Thank God for Ron Howard for bringing to a wide audience this story of someone who deals with mental illness with courage, tenacity, humor, and humanity. Thank God for people like John and Alicia Nash.
With empowering stories like this, the shameful stigma shrinks.
By the way, anyone who complains that the biographical info in this film is incomplete should simply read the book of the same name by Sylvia Nasar. After all, no one wants to watch "Amadeus" in order to discern what Mozart's favorite color was and no one wants to watch "Shine" to find out whether David Helfgott prefers boxers or briefs! (Lighten up y'all; it's a MOVIE. And if Akiva Goldsmith included every last detail in the screenplay, well, we'd have numb posteriors by fade-out!) :)
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful story.
Review: There is something beautiful about the way in which an incredibly intelligent mind processes information, and thanks to a fine performance by Russell Crowe as real-life mathematician John Nash, this movie succeeds in capturing it. It's also nice to see scenes from Princeton, which was my "dream school" when I was back in high school. It should also be added that Jennifer Connelly won best supporting actress for playing the protagonist's best supporting spouse. Without giving the plot away, let me just warn you though that despite the beautiful wife, Mr. Nash's life was less than beautiful in all its parts. See the movie.
Rating: 
Summary: A moving picture that deserved best picture
Review: I know, I know, some people may disagree with me on that considering the other films that were nominated for best picture (and best director), but this film earned each award and every good review it has garnered. It was beautifully done, wonderfully directed, written and acted by members of the Hollywood A-list. Russel Crowe plays John Nash, a brilliant mathemitician who was also has schizophrenia. Now granted people who have schizophrenia usually hear their delusions and do not see them, but it is possible for them to also see them, as it is with Nash in this movie. The performances from all actors are superb and Russel Crowe is excellent as the troubled Nash who has to deal with his disease and learn to live with himself in the course of the movie. The supporting cast are just as good with Ed Harris and jennifer Connely turning in the best performances though the other cast are no slouches by any means. This is a movie to be respected and taken on its merits of mature moviemaking. It may not be as flashy as "Lord of the Rings," or as mind-bending as "Memento," but it is a movie not to miss. It deserved best picture, seeing the movie only cements that achievement.
Rating:
Summary: Oscar deserving
Review: Yes I'm one of those people who didn't see this amazing film up until just now. And it is truly amazing. I think about it quite a lot and it's been about two weeks since I've seen it. No doubt that John Nash was a true mathematical genius, but he was also an extrodinary human being, as was his wife Alicia. I say this because of the mental illness and the disease they both had to and have to live with. It's an amazing testament to them both that they survive day to day with this......and this film alone does not do justice to that, but gives us a glimpse into that world. Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's personal journey to bring this to the screen is important. The DVD extras are wonderful, from the deleted scenes to makeup to music to meeting John Nash himself. This is a DVD to definitely cherish in your library. But what haunts me most and why I'm glad I own this is because I need to watch it again. I need to see what I couldn't see the first time. Please watch this and try to understand what I can't begin to tell you. Truly deserving of the Oscar it received, I hope you enjoy this magnificent film.
Rating: 
Summary: Grass Growing
Review: I never liked this guy. He was never interesting. I thought he was less intelegent than his peers. As for the Movie...... I love Ron Howard but this one was a Dead film....
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