Rating: 
Summary: A story worth telling - I loved it
Review: I saw this movie on New Year's Day and I found that Denzel Washington did an outstanding job in bringing this film to the big screen. The actor D. Luke was phenominal. Now about the movie, I hope that Antwone Fisher's motivation for telling his story is not lost and that people, especially those in the foster care system, find hope. Antwone's story proves that even the worst of circumstances and situations can be overcomed. I cried and I was overjoyed but mostly I was impressed that such a film would be told so that the world can see that there are a lot of Antwone Fishers in the foster care system that story needs to be told. I would also hope that this movie allows us as human beings to check what kind of people are raising our children especially our boys. This is definitely a must see.
Rating:
Summary: incredible film
Review: It's a pity this film will be overlooked while the market is being flooded with war movies and a host of other films that cheapen humanity. Not only was it refreshing to see men portrayed in non-stereotypical ways (deep, sensitive, strong and wise) but doubly wonderful that the film featured black men in these roles. I was deeply moved by the story and it will stay with me for a long time to come. It's a story of true courage with not an ounce of exploitation or voyeurism. Stories like these have the power to heal and I'm grateful Antwone had the courage to share it with us.
Rating:
Summary: The most heartfelt film of 2003
Review: Antwone Fisher tells the real life story of the title character. A young black navy seaman faces his tough and miserable past with the help of a caring navy psychologist and then sets out to change his situation by confronting his inner struggles and finding the love of the family that he never knew. The film is beyond brilliant. Denzel Washington, hot off of his Oscar winning performance in Training Day, scores big with Antwone Fisher. He not only stars as the psychologist, but directs this flawless drama in his first ever debut in the director's chair. Derek Luke, a name that is destined to shine in years to come, portrays Fisher with such conviction that he successfully steals the show in the scenes he's in with Denzel. The film is very heartfelt. It will bring tears to your eyes. A very recommended movie. A+
Rating: 
Summary: The movie's approach subverts the drama.
Review: "Antwone Fisher," the story of a bright black Naval officer who addresses his violence through therapy sessions with a psychologist, was delivered a built-in comparison schematic during its theatrical run; more than a few viewers and critics labeled it a minority version of "Good Will Hunting." In fact, the movie, as directed by Denzel Washington and written by Fisher himself, separates itself from "Hunting" in one important way: Whereas the Damon/Affleck picture made no squeals about only referencing childhood traumas in its narrative, Washington and Fisher show these abuse scenes consistently and interspersed with therapy scenes. That the movie should present itself like this, as a kind of "Ordinary People" with more than dysfunction at its heart, instead of a straight, harrowing experience, speaks to just how ingrained the psychotherapy ethic has become. Whereas "Hunting" is about the therapy itself, the rhythms it can take, the mood of it, "Antwone Fisher" uses Washington's character, Jerome Davenport, as a kind of admission price to the meat of the movie; this isn't therapy, it's exposition. By hewing us so close to Antwone's voice-over explanation of traumatic events, the trauma itself is robbed of impacting us in any way aside the version that the manipulative screenplay would prefer. The lead performances by Washington and Derek Luke, who plays Fisher, are genial enough, as is the work by the va-va-va Joy Bryant. But the movie is not about a solution to Fisher's troubles -- it knows the solution, and metes it out slowly to the audiences in the talking bits that occur between flashback traumas. There is an emotional scene at movie's end that works on pure dramatic value alone. But Washington, and the real life Fisher, hold the abuse scenes too dear to their heart; they are graphic, and very, very sad, but they merely shock, and nothing else; they exist in such a specific framework of the movie that they are little more than cues. Which is not to say Washington is a poor filmmaker. Visually, he shows promise, although that is not hard in today's directorial climate. Washington has an eye for performance, and beautiful women, and he uses the camera in a subtle, slightly lingering fashion to export far more out of Bryant's character than there is on the written page. Washington seems to know, and we seem to agree, that this is one seriously beautiful woman Antwone's involved with. She provides, without us really acknowledging it, the movie's real motivation for success. Washington, too, enjoys the brooding passivity of Luke's performance, as he smolders just underneath the surface of dispassionate analysis. Luke tells his ugly story as if he's turned over so many times as to learn how to tell it well, and while it steals some from the flashbacks, it marks Luke as a formidable player in the room with Washington. For his part, Washington sits back and waits too confidently; his Davenport acts as though he's read the screenplay and is merely waiting for Luke to fire off the first line. "Antwone Fisher" is deeply earnest, and pretty much on the level, and you cannot fault it for those things. It means very well. But it isn't very cinematic and you can see its gears churning before it ever gets there. As much as Luke works himself up, and as good as Bryant looks, the movie never seems to happen away from the preordained movement of the screenplay. It's honest, moving...and boring.
Rating: 
Summary: PUSHES ALL THE RIGHT BUTTONS
Review: Denzel Washington is among the more balanced people in Hollywood so it's unsurprising that his directorial debut should be less a showy artistic statement and more an attempt to smack the ball right up the middle.
As you watch this drama about a troubled young man who confronts his dark past with the help of a therapist/father figure, you can't miss echoes of films such as Ordinary People, Good Will Hunting, Finding Forrester. But it's not easy to dismiss Antwone Fisher as derivative as its considerable emotional power and its crafty use of these familiar elements to tell a story about African-American families feels new after all.
It's a simple movie with well-timed breakthrough every 20 minutes or so. In facing his demons from the past, our protagonist has swinging ups and downs that reveal several painful layers of his battered but steadfast ego. The courageous debut performance of Derek Luke leaves no psychological stone unturned in this regard.
The story ends as you may expect, our troubled man becoming a well-adjusted human being and marrying his longtime sweetheart. May come across as a somewhat stock plot resolution in what's become a genre role, as is Washington's performance as the Mentor Who Learns As Much As He Teaches, but this is based on an autobiographical book.
Recommended rental but be prepared for a discerning mood.
Rating:
Summary: If it were at all possible...
Review: ...i would give this film ten stars even, more if there were a way. I saw this movie when it first came out on DVD in 2003, and i think i pretty much understood it for what it was, but i still didn't feel it for what it was. Then, i saw it again last night for the first time since 2003, when it very first arrived on DVD. This time, i both understood it for what it was meant to be and felt it the way it was meant to be felt. As a young, black writer trying to make my way along the same path that people like Toni Morrison, Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, J. K. Rowling, Antwone Fisher and Ralph Ellison have paved before me, it is always a very interesting thing to see such an honest and heartfelt screenplay make it to the big screen. The actors are superb throughout the entire picture, and they always manage stay in character. Just when you expect the characters to suddenly change due to some happy or sad or traumatic event in their life at the moment, BAM, reality is smashed into your face. This, more than anything else in the film besides the truth to the story, made watching it very worthwhile. Because Life often has no happy ending, and things rarely ever turn so quickly in real life, as they do in hundreds of other films. I don't exactly know how to describe watching this film. I'll just say that it moved me to tears several times throughout with no shame whatsoever. I was a child who was abandoned by his father completely, and i didn't have the best family life, growing up poor in a very small town. I loved this film so much that i got a copy for my best friend recently, as a Christmas gift. I thought that he must see it, if only to give him some view of what it was like growing up me or like me, although i know i didn't have it as badly as Mr. Fisher did. All in all, very great film, great acting, very realistc, very compelling, and most of all, completely honest, even when it hurts. Watching this film, you begin to understand that most personal problems stem from somewhere, most likely childhood, even if you've never seen or thought about this before. We are all truly sponges as children. See this film. You will not regret it. It may even help you to watch it. it helped me, after all. It allowed me to see that there is hope, this second time around.
Hawksmoor...From The Bleed
Rating:
Summary: Definitely worth watching
Review: I waited a long time to finally watch this movie. I shouldn't have. This movie is very well crafted, and I can't think of anything I didn't like about the film. It really made me think about how our childhood (or in Antwone's case - lack of one) can shape our adult life. It was interesting to see how the main character "acted out" with violence because he had been abused during much of his young years.
The acting in this production is top notch. I can't think of a single cast member who didn't pull his or her own weight in this one. The scenes were done to perfection, and I wish I hadn't waited so long to see this movie. Even with all the disturbing information we learn about Atwone Fisher, the film manages to be a positive work, geared towards making the watcher realize even the biggest obstacles in life can be overcome.
If you haven't seen Antwone Fisher yet, don't wait any longer. Buy it, rent it, borrow it - but make sure to see it one way or another. It's worth the time and / or money.
See ya next review.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: Let me start by saying that it takes a lot for a movie to move me. Two of my favorite movies are "The Shawshank Redemption" and "To Kill a Mockingbird". "Antwone Fisher totally blew me away. The acting and directing are flawless, but what is really wonderful about this movie is its portrayal of the irony that life is; the revelation of a young man that one cannot move forward until he's look behind him. Some of it was hard to take in, but it is what many foster children go through. I know that I am a smarter person after having seen this movie. I know that I have better wisdom because I sat down for two hours and watched this masterpiece. Believe it or not, this movie made me a better me.
Rating:
Summary: A good movie, good acting, inspirational...a bit painful...
Review: ****
This movie was a great viewing experience, based on a true story. It is about how childhood abuse and abandonment affects the life and career of a Navy enlisted man, especially in the area of anger. It is a little painful to watch at times, because as Antwone Fisher (beautifully played by Derek Luke) remembers his pain, you also experience it in a way. Ultimately, however, the effect is not dark but inspirational. The movie is about how Antwone struggles to be strong and to overcome his past---this struggle, to one degree or another, is one we all can identify with.
The acting was wonderful and the writing was also. The special features that came on the DVD version I bought (widescreen version) included information and a feature about the real Antwone Fisher. After he left the Navy, he was a security guard. A producer discovered his background, believed in him, and supported him in writing the screenplay himself. So the film is especially poignant in that it was written by the man who experienced it, one who does not have a writing background or college degree, yet who writes movingly, realistically, and wonderfully.
Although the subject is serious, the film does not leave you with a depressing feeling, but encouraged and uplifted about the human experience. I would have given it five starts, but I save that rating for "great" movies; although this movie was not great, it was moving and very worthwhile to watch and own.
****
Rating:
Summary: Top 5 movies EVER!
Review: This is in my top 5 movies ever created! The most moving saddest movie on my list.
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