Rating: 
Summary: A Great Movie, And Yes That Does Include Brad Pitt!
Review: I am astonished at the number of reviews for this movie, it clearly made a great impact on a lot of people, including me. Yes yes, I heard all the negative reviews from critics last year, I know it bombed at the box office, and romances are not top of my list as film choices go. I remained open minded, however, as I have enjoyed the vast majority of BOTH leading actors work. As it turned out, I will be honest and say I had trouble getting into it...for the first ten minutes! Why? I felt Anthony Hopkins was not totally convincing me, but after this initial uncertainty he suddenly found his form and maintained it throughout the remainder of the film. What a great film too. I was expecting to be entertained by Hopkins and Brad Pitt, but this film just got better and better for many additional reasons. The supporting cast were uniformly excellent, the story of Death (Pitt) deciding to take human form on Earth, (to experience life, love, and peanut butter), entertaining, and at times gently amusing, the love aspect between him and Hopkins' daughter not at all sickly, (though I do wish Ms. Forlani had tried to widen her range of facial expressions!), but best of all some of the dialogue, which really drew me in and was quite emotionally rewarding (and really hit home personally a couple of times), leading to a final forty five minutes or so where I was totally bound up in the situation, which was so cleverly resolved, when it had seemed impossible to do so! To the lovers of this movie, (the majority of which I sincerely doubt are silly teenagers who adore Brad Pitt and nothing else), I am glad you gave it a chance to shine. To the critics, (reading some of the reviews here was almost as entertaining as the movie...hmmm...maybe not!), I was very disappointed in your lack of reasoning. There is no getting away from the fact that Brad Pitt is an attractive man, why does this make people jealous enough that they accuse his acting of being sub-standard? You all go on about poor Mr. Hopkins being embroiled in a nonsense film way below his talents, with Pitt the main protagonist in this offence, infact both are excellent parts of a fulfilling whole. One reviewer did make a worthy remark, that saying 'patience will be rewarded' is tantamount to saying 'survive the dross and you'll love the ending', where infact the whole film must be rewarding to adulate it. However they chose the wrong film to attach such a statement to, as clearly it is extremely rewarding throughout. Finally as to length at three hours. I don't argue that the film HAD to last that duration, what I do say is that it does not matter that it did. It is rediculous to say the film was boring because it was so long. If you didn't find the story compelling I doubt any amount of editing would have lead you to enjoy it. I do know that a majority of people find a two hour film about all they can endure. Even a smash hit like Independence Day, at forty minutes LESS than 'Meet Joe Black', was considered overlong by a lot of my friends,(I felt it could have been a little longer). If you love a film why do you want it to end? To the reviewer who feels sorry for me and others for giving this film five stars, when it is their opinion c**p, your two line critique indicates your lack of genuine opinion, or maybe, as with the film, you just like to get things over quickly! To others with open minds, take a chance here and you'll be amply rewarded
Rating:
Summary: The Truth! Can you handle it!
Review: No matter how great and special something is. There always seems to be a few people that have nothing to do but be negative. Maybe they are jealous or just don't have a life. Figure it out! But if you look at all the reviews. There seems to be a hell lot more positive comments than negative ones. The truth is majority over rules. Don't you agree!
Rating:
Summary: WOW - what a movie. It's spellbinding.
Review: After purchasing this movie, started watching it on my notebook computer DVD player wearing headphones. I knew it was a 3 hour movie so figured I would just start it to get an idea what it was like. It was mesmerizing! Right away it's spooky when Hopkins hears voices. Then there's that wonderful scene with Susan talking with the stranger in the coffee shop that has got to make movie history! Later at dinner Hopkins hears more voices and who should show up but DEATH himself. Too weird. Then Susan sees the stranger (Joe Black) at dinner and Hopkins realizes that "Joe" (death) has been talking with his daughter. Very eerie.Well I couldn't stop watching the movie. After 1AM, I finally had to plug in the battery charger on the computer. I finished the movie well after 1:30 in the morning. I told my wife about it and we watched it on the TV the next night. We both loved it! The scenes are so captivating with the music and the beautiful surroundings. The drama continues to play one card after the next for each scene. It's like a great book. You just can't put it down, wondering what will happen next. I didn't expect a romance to be so intriging or a drama to be so romantic. Performances are excellent by all the main and supporting actors. In relatively little time (a period of 3 days) Susan and Joe are furiously in love and Hopkins is just furious. I'll say no more. Ya gotta see this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring
Review: We rented this movie (DVD) yesterday and I was very dissapointed. I expected a great movie, in stead we got a perfect sleeping remedy! (I actually slept very well for the first time in weeks) Brad Pitt is playing mister beautifull (who he isn't) and the scenes are tooooooo long. The movie has no plot, you could have seen this one coming after watching 30 minutes or so. So unless you have trouble sleeping, don't spent your money on this movie.
Rating:
Summary: 2 thumbs up
Review: A Perfect Movie!!! This movie reminds you of everything that's good about life and love. Those of you who have not seen this movie, you don't know what you've been missing. Trust me. A must see!!!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent romantic drama. * * * * *
Review: This movie has superb acting and cinematography. It really shows a lot of depth in the characters so takes some time developing the story. This is not an Aaron Spelling formula movie so it keeps you guessing as to how it's all going to work out. It's no surprise to find all the five star reviews that customers sent in. It's such an appealing movie for those who enjoy drama and romantic fantasies. What does surprise me are the number of one star reviews with complaints about the movie being sentimental and long. For anyone who saw the movie preview or read the movie description on the back of the video tape, the movie should not be a dissapointment. The posters and pictures show everyone in formal attire conveying a sophisticated film. It's exactly as advertised... sensitive, romantic, comical, dramatic. Did some people expect death to start swinging a laser sabre and take out everyone in his path? Instead they experienced an example of movie making at its best, without special effects, stunts, high speed action or explosives lighting up the screen -- just extraordinary acting talent, gorgeous settings and a terrific score by Thomas Newman.
Rating:
Summary: A great mix of emotions.
Review: The actors do a great job in this movie. They convey so many feelings throughout the story. Joe seems to be caught up in tension and conflict with both Drew and Bill at the same time while trying to win the affection of Susan and quickly falling in love. At first, Susan is suspicious about Joe even though she is falling for him. She decides to let her feelings take their course even though she knows so little about this stranger. Then she has to be careful about sharing her feelings about Joe with her father because he doesn't want her falling for Joe. Drew starts out being congenial with Joe but as he feels threatened by Joe's presence at work the tension builds. When Joe shows interest in his girlfriend Susan, the conflict really heats up. As feelings between Susan and Joe intensify, Joe and Bill clash. Eventually the whole thing blows and there's an angry discussion between the two. This scene is excellent! These two extremely talented actors verbally duking it out with each other is truly sensational. While speaking their minds they maintain such a sophisticated demeanor. It's impressive to watch. Later the two team up and do sort of a stand up comedy routine that's hilarious. They do it so seriously, and the gestures are priceless. Don't take it seriously, just have a few laughs!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent story and character study.
Review: This is the kind of movie you can really sink your teeth into. It has so much to think about regarding personal relationships and priorities in life. If you can appreciate this movie then you're still in touch with the simple things in life. All the chaos we see on the news and fast paced life we experience daily hasn't done any permanent damage. The music is fantastic. What a soundtrack! It's a mix of oldies, sad melodies and wonderful orchestrations. It keeps the movie upbeat in places that might otherwise seem melancholy. This movie will certainly appeal to the romantic types who appreciate sensitivity in films. It's about falling in love and finding the right person and so much more. I thought it was a great movie and would love to see it again.
Rating:
Summary: At last! A movie worth seeing again and again
Review: Well I've seen it half a dozen times already - no kidding! It's that good. At first, it was to discover more and more that I missed the first time. After that I found the interaction between Joe and Susan so wonderful to watch I just started watching when ever I could. This romantic fantasy actually covers plenty of serious, thought-provoking issues surrounding life and death, love and relationships. I loved the message that Hopkins gives his daughter, Susan concerning passion and finding someone who makes you want to dance. The rest of the film develops around that theme. "If you haven't loved, you haven't lived at all". I see from the customer reviews that most of the other viewers also feel passionately about this film. I can't add much to what they have already written, but certainly agree about the wonderful aspects of the film. I don't get the part about the movie being too long. It's only 3 hours. That's a lot less time than it takes to read a great book. Looks like some of the viewers didn't care for the movie. (One star? The music alone is worth more!) How unfortunate... I guess it would be impossible to make a movie that thrills everybody.
Rating:
Summary: Brad Pitt takes the spotlight!
Review: What a movie! With Anthony Hopkins and Claire Forlani cast in leading roles it has real depth in its characters. But taking center stage is Brad Pitt. He's in nearly every scene playing his parts with such diversity. He plays both roles (coffee shop stranger and death) extremely well. After all the years doing bit parts on TV shows, dull movies with unknown actors, and playing odd ball characters of every sort, Brad Pitt is finally leading in a first rate film. Not that he hasn't done a fine job of acting in his past work - it's just that the films and characters were not all that appealing. In this movie, he plays a real charmer in the coffee shop with Susan Parish (Claire) and doesn't hold back on the compliments. Later as death, he still makes advances toward Susan but in a more timid way. Such a contrast, yet so similar. As death, he's an odd character and so shy that Susan is drawn to him, mostly to find out what he's up to. The similarity is that in both roles, he is direct with Susan indicating his affection for her although he seems somewhat embarrased after telling her. He also takes interest in Susan's views and feelings about the situation. He really listens to what Susan has to say then wants to know why she feels as she does. What woman wouldn't fall for a guy that took that much interest? Even though he's direct about his feelings, he seems naive and possibly unrealistically optimistic about how things might work out. His interaction with Anthony Hopkins is really great. There are so many scenes where they exchange ideas and try to understand each other better. Of course some of the discussion leads to real conflict, tension, anger and frustration. Claire Forlani and Pitt are remarkable together. They appear to be totally drawn to each other. Their affection is a mix of tenderness and passion. The music plays and it's a wonderful world... and a wonderful movie.
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