Rating: 
Summary: What a surprise!
Review: The storyline seemed to indicate this is a suspense movie. It's actually a lot of things: family relationships and conflict, romance, drama, and some comedy. It's a really unusual subject so it makes you think about all the concepts it's presenting. I love a movie you can analyze and think about for days afterward. This is the kind of movie you can discuss with friends or relatives and compare notes on how each of you interpreted different scenes.The movie is beautifully done and roles wonderfully played by the actors. Brad Pitt is noteable is his performance portraying death. The interpretation is an unusual one where death is not used to having a body so he's stiff at first. Critics actually blasted Pitt for acting like a zombie or a robot. It was obviously part of the act portraying death. He also acted rather peculiar at the dinner table at first (smelling the food, and not knowing what to do with the plate of rolls). Later he attends a board meeting (uninvited) and makes the mistake of asking for cookies and tea and gets into a discussion about death and taxes while Drew is trying to conduct the meeting. It's all innocent on the part of death, but comes across as being funny. Death is like a child learning the ropes and making plenty of mistakes along the way. As the movie progressed, I wanted death to fall in love and get Susan away from Drew as the tension between Drew and Joe builds. The movie score is first rate. It's really emotional and full of feeling that's in the movie. Since getting the DVD, I've watched the movie several times checking parts I didn't quite get the first time. Seldom is so much packed into a single movie!
Rating:
Summary: Dynamite romantic fantasy &music - What an experience!
Review: I thought this might be a sad movie, but when it started out and Hopkins is hearing voices it really got me intrigued. Actually the saddest part was early in the movie. After Susan and "Joe Cool" (Brad Pitt in the coffee shop) meet, share some personal thoughts, have some laughs and then (presumeably without exchanging phone numbers) go their separate ways. They each alternate looking back at each other leaving the scene. Pitt (character name unknown at that point) has such a forlorned look on his face as if he may miss the chance to see Susan again. I really enjoyed the humor and tone of this movie... also the passionate romance that builds between Susan and Joe Black. The music is really intense too. Claire Forlani is seems so natural in her role as Susan. Hopkins and Pitt are excellent together with their sometimes supporting and sometimes conficting roles. The setting of the movie is GREAT! It's interesting seeing how the extemely wealthy live in such opulent surroundings. Most of the movie seems so real that you forget it's a fantasy. So you may have a hard time grasping parts that aren't believeable. I let go of reality for the full 3 hours and just accepted the notion that anythings possible in the movies! This movie is so full of feeling. I absolutely loved it. The DVD extra segment on behind the scenes details was cool too.
Rating: 
Summary: I'd rather be MACE'ed
Review: I would rather be MACE'ed twice than watch this movie again. I feel like making Anthony Hopkins, Brad Pitt and whats her face watch me take a dump for 3 hours so they will know how I felt watching this movie. I did give it 1 star though cuz that one chick is some eye candy even though she spends the whole movie crying about her dad dying or anything else...I did feel really bad for her, must be hard being the extremely rich daughter of a gazillionaire...boo hoo hoo. Lets see...what else sucked about this movie...oh yeah, the half-retarded grim reaper. I would fire Joe Black if he worked for me, his job is to kill people and instead he goes around eating peanut butter and cookies like an idiot. Brad Pitt getting tagged with the car was pretty sweet also, that got weighted into my 1 star rating. Too bad Anthony Hopkins couldn't get mowed over by a bus or something also and we all could have saved a few hours of our life. Too all these people that are sprung on this movie I say get a life and get a hobby.
Rating:
Summary: Why this didnt get an oscar i dont know.
Review: William Parrish (Anthony Hopkins) is approaching his 65th b-day and a few days before the ceremony he literally meets the angel of death which is played by Brad Pitt. Joe Black (Brad Pitt) wants to experience life. he wants to experience the wonders of love and friendship all through the guidance of Mr. Parrish. Susan Parrish (Claire Forlani) the daughter of William unmistakenably falls for this Joe Black never to know his true identity. This 3 hour long film plays with your emotions like no film can. The acting done by Brad Pitt is truly something that can be only done by talented actors. the word talented doesn't match up to the acting done by Brad and Anthony Hopkins. The newcomer Claire Forlani played the character Susan perfectly as if she was Susan. Anthony Hopkins does it again with this riveting performance of Mr. Parrish. MArcia Gay Harden is another talented actress that is never given the credit she deserves. I give this film *****.
Rating:
Summary: WOW -- So much to experience and feel!
Review: What a great film! There are so many interesting scenes -- It's non-stop fascination for three hours. It starts out like a Hitchcock movie with this huge lighted mansion engulfed in the mist. While trying to sleep Hopkins hears voices... Then there's the helicopter scene with Hopkin's telling his daughter Susan to wait for lightning to strike and find her true passion and love in her life - as the helicopter starts to approach Manhatten Island. The coffee shop scene is classic with Brad Pitt - what a charmer! Susan is swept off her feet after just a few minutes. Then the departure scene - sooo sad... the look on Pitt's face as he watches Susan (Forlani) walk away. Like something from Romeo and Juliet. The scene where Death meets Hopkins (Bill) and tells him "how it's going to be" is spooky. The following dinner scene is hilarious with everyone watching this "stranger" encounter dinner for the first time. I loved the humor that Pitt injects into his part of Death, the love Hopkins shows for his family, and Claire Forlani's portrayal of Susan thinking she's found the love of her life and then possibly losing those she loves. Death played as a gentle, innocent and amusing character made this romantic movie light and enjoyable rather than heavy or depressing. I especially enjoyed seeing Brad Pitt play a character with so much diversity and play it so well. He shows a lot of maturity as an actor in this role. The love scene was so amazing to watch - you feel the intensity of the moment as first experienced by Death. Actually all the scenes between Pitt and Forlani are wonderful. There's such a feeling of passionate attraction between these two! The background music for this movie is fantastic, too. It really adds so much emotion to every scene.
Rating:
Summary: Love this movie - it conveys so much feeling!
Review: The actors obviously took great pains to get real sensitivity into this romanic drama. There are so many stories presented so it conveys many emotions: conflict, joy, sadness, and love. Hopkins provides an excellent performance. He plays such a strong yet loving person. Strong in convictions and tender with his family. The scene where talks about how he thinks of his wife everyday is brief but well done. Forlani and Pitt are great together. She's wonderful as Susan. Pitt plays the role of death in a most peculiar, but very entertaining way. I love his deadpan humour. He also played "Joe Cool/Joe College" in the coffee shop extremely well. What a charmer! Not shy around the ladies, huh Brad? On the negative side, the VHS tape isn't widescreen. Get the DVD to appreciate all this artful work has to offer. Also, there's not much action or special effects for those who require that stimulous in a movie. It's mostly a thought provoking, intellectual type of entertainment that must be internalized to appreciate the sensitivity and feeling that's presented in this wonderful story and fantastic music. If that doesn't appeal to you then skip this movie - there are plenty of other movies out there that are visually entertaining.
Rating: 
Summary: Great beginning, great end... inbetween?
Review: Wow, this movie starts of excellent. The story develops at a good pace, it is interesting and I'm excited to watch the rest of the movie. Of course that changes after the coffee shop scene, and it really takes an unexpected turn that makes you completely unaware of what is going to happen afterwards. And unfortunately, not to ruin anything, I didn't exactly think the story was structured well after that. Don't get me wrong, I could see how this would be great as an old, classic story on film, which it is. But my feeling was with such great, modern dramatic set up for a dilemma in the film and the way it made the viewer feel, the real important part of the story seemed mis-developed. I thought Brad Pitt's character was too unknowing and should've been more selectively naive, shall I say. It got irritating and ridiculous to see him fool around for so long, ridiculousness that would make the movie better and more legitimate if it was removed or modified. The movie also tries to take simple and personal exchanges of words realistic and heartfelt, but somehow misses a sense of sincerity that the film possessed at the beginning very well, something that makes them more genuine and basically believeable, which the story relies on very much. Some scenes called for awkwardness between the characters, but the amount of awkwardness was subdued and the result was that it seemed a little silly, like they had more to say. Scenes between Hopkins and his daughters are good, and great acting. But Brad Pitt is unfairly characterized as the good guy in this movie, because anyone who's job, girl, and mentor was being taken by a random punk would be pissed as well. But Brad Pitt is Brad Pitt, and this is his role, which is the producers' fault for not writing a more dynamic and exciting character for him (dynamic in the sense that he pushes dialogue rather than simply observes others for 90 minutes). But hey, I am nitpicking and this is a great movie, different but much better than I expected. I liked the length, and the end is subtle but I think works well. See it for sure, Hopkins is a great actor and you will feel good about the important things in life afterward. Aside from criticism, this movie is really great, and I really got good feelings from it all the way through, including tragedy to (all kinds of) love.
Rating:
Summary: Good ol' Fashion Movie
Review: One word to describe this movie is EXCELLENT. I know a few critics do not agree, but they don't know a good film when they see it. Todays movies lack the sensibility as movies from decades gone by, but MEET JOE BLACK brings substance back into a film. Very few films that are centered around romance and conflict are presented in an intelligence manner. They are either targeted towards a particular audience, such as towards the women or towards the men, but this film can be watched by anyone. Though the film is three hours long, those three hours go by real fast when you pay attention to the plot lines. I say lines because there are three events going on at the same time: Death on holiday(Brad Pitt) who wants to take Bill Parrish(Anthony Hopkins) to the world beyond, the ongoing romance that emerged with Susan Parrish(Clare Forlani) and Death--Joe Black, and the company takeover. Actually, there is a fourth minor plot, the finale with Bill Parrish's Birthday gala. The music score was excellent and quite emotional at times, but very effective. If you love movies with meaning, you definitely must watch MEET JOE BLACK. You don't have to be a romantic to enjoy this film. It'll hit your heart naturally.
Rating:
Summary: interesting
Review: well at first when I began watching the movie, it looked pretty boring. Then in the coffee shop scene, the movie got a lot more interesting I have no idea why i guess I like to see people flirting. Some time after that the movie gets less exiting but not boring. Then finally towards the end the excess amount of crying makes the movie pretty sad, and it is a really sad movie since the guy knows he's gonna die, and the girl thinks she's about to lose her new love. Also it's nice how at the end the girl realizes that joe was death and she still liked him. It's a really really good movie overall.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece...
Review: Bill Parrish ( Anthony Hopkins) is a media tycoon who is about to celebreate his 65th birthday. Unfortunately, it is also his time to die as well, because Death ( Brad Pitt) decides to pay Bill a visit. Bill manages to make a deal with Death to keep him alive a little bit longer, in exchange for teaching him what it is like to be human. Things become complicated however, when Death not only takes up an interest in life, but in Bill's beautiful daughter Susan ( Claire Forlani) as well. For some reason "Meet Joe Black" has received mixed reviews from critics and moviegoers. In my opinion, this remake of the 1934 film "Death Takes a Holiday" was one of the best films I have seen in quite some time. The movie has gained a reputation for being long and drawn out because it is 3 hours long. I did not find the film to be drawn out at all, and time flew by for me when watching this film. Brad Pitt is actually a very good actor and shows it in this film. Pitt accurately portrayed how Death would react to the world around him with his endless curiousity and naive behavior. The scene where Death discovers peanut butter for the first time is priceless!! Anthony Hopkins was great as usual, and turns in another oscar worthy performance as Bill Parrish. You come to legitimately feel for his character because you know that it is only a matter of time before the inevitable is coming. The thing that impressed me most about the film, was that the romantic story between Death and Claire Forlani's character Susan is extremely well done, despite the gloom setting that Death's presence brings. I also highly recommend picking up the soundtrack to this film. The musical score used was outstanding. The only piece of advice I can give with this film, is to ignore its reputation and give it a shot. Overall, "Meet Joe Black" is a captivating and touching film with great performances given from the actors and an incredible soundtrack. A solid 5 stars...
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