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What Dreams May Come

What Dreams May Come

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My Favorite Movie!!
Review: This is by far my favorite movie ever! It is sooooo good, it's what I think everyone dreams of what "heaven" should be like after they die. This movie is so visually appealing and beautiful with wonderful actors and actresses. It is so sad though, it will bring tears to anyone's eyes I'm sure. So I encourage anyone to go rent and see it. It's well worth it and then if you like it as much as I do, buy it, I did and I couldn't be happier. And I can't stress this enough: it's a [good] movie!!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Smiles when he CRIES.......Bravo!!!
Review: robin williams cry when he smiles and smiles when he cry....not too many can do that but i can't tell the difference so it looks kinda funny but nevertheless mork from ork knows how to give out an emotional performance on cue but its something to get use to if u never seen him act before. the movie is visually fantastic with all the bells and whistles to give one a sense of what heaven and hell could look like. i did cry a little in the end but not cry a river like some might. it has a good ending but gets depressing before that.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Romantic, artistic, and philisophical
Review: Don't let the fact that Robin Williams is in this movie fool you into thinking that this is a comedy, it's far from it. This movie is a swirl of romance, sadness, art, and philosophy.

The visual effects were excellent and made me almost believe that such a world existed -- I wanted to be a part of it. Be prepared for an emotional roller coaster when you watch it -- it's best viewed with a significant other.

The DVD also provided "alternate endings" -- I'm very glad they chose the original ending.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Wonderful visuals
Review: The effects are amazing and so is the music. It's a very different idea as well, I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to watch something new.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Lyrical and romantic
Review: Robin WIlliams has a very mixed record when it comes to serious dramatic roles; he tends toward excessive earnestness and a certain cloying sort of over-emoting. But when he's good, he's very good; "Garp", for example, was aa reasonably good film elevated by an above-average performance by Williams.

In this movie, Williams does occasionally slip into excessive bathos, but I'm willing to forgive him that, as the film is so beautiful overall. The story, as other have recounted, is one of love that lives beyond the grave- to hell and back, as it were. Most of the acting is very good, and dialogue, for the most part, is well written. The film does sometimes slip into what some may see as excessive sentimentalism, but this is a sentimental subject after all, and the film is really a fairy tale. It requires a certain assumption of innocence on the part of the viewer. Approach it that way, and you'l enjoy it.

The cinematography and special effects are breathtaking, and it's worth watching for that alone. But if you can allow yourself to buy into the story, and the romance, you'll find yourself carried away, and elated by this film.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A blemished masterpiece
Review: Due to this film's awe-inspiring cinematography, hugely groundbreaking visual effects, and ultimately imaginative and richly detailed production design, What Dreams May Come is one of the most visually-exuberant and fantastical films that I have ever seen. It is, without question, an artistic and aesthetic triumph that celebrates devotion, tenacity, and the idea that death can open the door to an epic, adventure-filled afterlife. Unfortunately, this movie has disappointingly negative elements to it, making it a blemished and unsound masterpiece. Not everyone will care for this movie, but those who like to see something of ardor and impressive visual rendering will truly embrace it.

The film (which is adapted from Richard Matheson's novel) commences on a Swiss lake where Chris Nielsen (Robin Williams) meets Annie (Annabella Sciorra) when their sail boats bump together. The two fall in love after this chance meeting, and go on to raise a son and daughter. Once their son and daughter reach their teenage years, tragedy strikes, and the two children die in a car accident. The loving Annie exercises the pains induced by this heartrending event through painting. Annie paints one particular painting of all the places that she and Chris have been (among those places is the lake where they met). Shortly afterward, Chris's life ends untimely, as well.

Chris then ventures into an afterlife of his own imagination (this film suggests that heaven is rendered through our own designs and visions). Chris renders heaven as being a giant landscape of Annie's exquisite paintings. Chris is guided through heaven by a charismatic Albert (Cuba Gooding Jr.), and has grand adventures while adapting to his surroundings. Chris is not completely satisfied by this afterlife, however, because Chris cannot be with Annie or his children (the former because she's on Earth, and the latter because Chris was never entirely close to them). Annie cannot cope with her losses and commits an explicable, albeit self-absorbed, act of suicide. Chris still tries to reach out to her, but simply cannot because she, as a result of her mortal sin of despair, must spend an eternity in hell. Chris then ventures on a spiritual journey to hell where he plans to save his wife from endless desolation.

The director, Vincent Ward, approaches What Dreams May Come with much revitalization. Ward makes every shot as magnificent as Annie's paintings, and provides the movie with just the right amount of imagination and flare. The way in which he interprets the scenes in heaven is exhilarating. A scene in which Albert gives Chris flying lessons is especially invigorating and full of elan. The scenes in hell are also very bracing. Hell is portrayed as a world full of conflagration, with an upside-down cathedral, wrecked ships, and roads paved with the faces of those who have sinned. The great German director Werner Herzog--who, like Ward, believes that cinema should have more inspiring visuals--has a cameo as one of the faces, which Chris stumbles upon and realizes is his father.

The cast is pitch-perfect. Williams is remarkable as Chris, mainly because he himself has an element of fantasy and whim, and plays the passionate character with ardor and a sense of wonder. Cuba Gooding Jr. is, as usual, crowd-pleasing as Albert, and Sciorra holds her own as the grieving Annie. Max von Sydow, along with Williams, is the standout as the sagacious Tracker, an archetypal role that Sydow is able to play with panache. The cast, along with Ward, made me feel for the characters.

The visual grandeur and overall magnificence of this impressively elaborate movie make it very worthy of acclaim. Unfortunately, the movie has very lucid flaws that are frustrating to watch. The dialogue is either dramatic or foolish. There are many inept attempts at humor that handicap the emotional impact that this movie is meant to succeed in pulling off. Also, the ending is permeated with maudlin sentimentality and is far too conventional for its own good. This film was meant to be something of substance in addition to being something of impressive visual images, and these flaws exasperatingly prevent it from being just that. Furthermore, along with all of the movie's imperfections, the movie might be too melancholic and aesthetic for all tastes. If this film was to compliment its messages with more well-written dialogue and a better--or even darker--ending with a stronger statement, then What Dreams May Come would have been one of the best films of the late nineties.

In a way, it's no wonder why What Dreams May Come was not one of the most critically-applauded films of 1998. The film is artistically crafted but laden with the conventional Hollywood elements. If this movie had a screenplay and an ending that could match its glorious and artistic look and heartfelt story, the film would have been better accepted. There is no motion picture that is flawless, but if What Dreams May Come was as well-written as it was well-told, then it would have been pretty close.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best movies I've ever seen
Review: This is one of the most passionate, romantic and powerful movies I've ever seen. It's about soul-mates and how two people transcend time, space, heaven, and hell for love and their desire to be with each other. The visual and special effects of this movie are really incredible. You have to be a bit of a hopeless romantic to enjoy this movie though.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A stunning film.
Review: Most unique and unforgettable story told about love.

After his death in a car accident, Chris Nelson begins to adapt to his new existence in heaven (that place can only be described as such). Shortly after, his bond to his mortal wife Annie is broken as she takes her own life and is banished to an eternal damnation. Guided with his unconditional love Chris begins the journey to hell and back to rescue Annie's sole, so they can share eternity together.

Complemented with great performances, great writing and simple but excellent story, this film is truly a visual masterpiece.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Breathtakingly brilliant & somber torrent
Review: This is the film that I should have written. It is utterly brilliant. I have no idea why I didn't think of this first. The visuals in this film are incredible but prepare yourself for a very, very sad film. It's somber throughout and you may have problems wanting to watch this again simply because of how brutal it is on your emotions. I can stand it. My wife couldn't and refused to watch it again even though she loved it. I would have changed some things in the discussion of God and heaven and hell nevertheless, I highly recommend this film to anyone who wants to feel what true love is all about even if they don't have it in their lives.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Stunning Visuals....
Review: As a complete film 'What Dreams May Come' fails to meet criteria that critics tend to expect. While the plot is pedestrian it still works on a visceral and metaphoric level. The dialog is frequently mundaine to manipulative, yet isn't that part of the movie going experience? Can't something be interesting without being profound?

For me the answer is yes, not every film needs to be profound. Sometimes I just want to be entertained and that can be in a number of ways. Another negative, the score detracts because it is so obvious, yet with all of these problems I sat through the film in awe and bought into the idea of a person's will to make things right. It's archetypal drama that dares to be positive in a time where ambigious and tragic films or mindless comedies that rely on shock value and often ugly humor seem to be all the rage.

The acting is very good, Robin Williams doesn't mug his way through the part as some have implied. Some backlash could be the 'nice guy' syndrome around his previous and even future films. If you identify with that issue you'll not enjoy what is a multifaceted performance.

Any film that can get me to suspend disbelief even in poorly scripted moments does something right and in this case there are several positives to mention.

The set design and lighting are dazzling. The realization of living your own reality is the films strongest suit because the design flawlessly creates the various worlds in What Dreams May Come.

Besides the great, oscar winning visual effects the casting is excellent with enough genuinely surprising moments to keep suspense while developing the slender plot. Cuba Gooding Jr. does great work as a guide in heaven or wherever you care to call it. As an actor he has learned to become whatever the character requires without overacting.

While a moody, even sombre film, What Dreams May Come is visually arresting with solid acting that makes a hackneyed Hollywood script emotionally satisfying and even gives you something to think about.

Although not a 5 star film, What Dreams May Come still satisfies in terms of entertainment. The DVD is as vibrant as the film and has interesting extras.


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