Rating: 
Summary: This tears you apart...until the end.
Review: This movie rips into you (if you are one of those people that cries easily). I loved the artistic qualities (her paintings coming to life). This movie had all the makings of being perfect, until the end. I think someone got confused about how it should end. Or maybe they decided to lighten it up and give it a happier ending. The main character was meant to be a tragic person. It didn't make sense that she should try life again. Overall, the movie was pretty good and I recommend owning it.
Rating: 
Summary: Happiness is hard to come by in the beautiful sorrowful film
Review: The movie plays out like an ode to Dante, finding Robin Williams reaching to the depths of hell to find his wife after she commits suicide. A couple things really grabbed me about this movie. One thing was Robin Williams performance and his growing depth as an actor. In the beginning, before he dies, he is visibally a scarred, emotionally conflicted person because of his childrens' deaths. He plays the character with such warmth and down to earth sadness that is almost unmatched. It's clearly a result of award winning work on Good Will Hunting.The second thing that grabbed was the undeniably beautiful visuals. They almost play with the senses by showing us the beauty of heaven in what's probably the best description ever captured on screen. Then, we're taken on a journey through hell. It's unspeakably dark and unspeakably sad. I was moved as Robin Williams went through the pit of all the condemned people and then as he confronted his wife. The scenes are dar, emotional, and disturbing. The movie's only deterrents I think come from the ending. I wasn't really moved by the ending. Two endings are offered on this disc and the one that they went with is the superior one while the alternate ending seemed to be too dramatic and too sad. I guess from a theological perspective, however, the ending that was used didn't work for me. You didn't know whether to feel happy or sad and you didn't feel that it was the right way for things to end. It felt forced and a bit uninspired where the rest of the film was drenched in emotional energy. Despite it's shortcomings, however, Robing Williams's performance, the amazing visuals, and depth of emotion create a pretty compelling and original piece of work.
Rating: 
Summary: Dreams May Come, But this stays with you...
Review: I read the Book What Dreams May Come By Richard Matheson first, long before I saw the movie. The Book was very very good-I really liked it. But The reincarnation I had a hard time understanding-in the book, that is.The movie made it amazingly clear.
Then I saw the movie. It started out quite different from the book-Showing Chris and Annie's first meeting. I really liked this new beginning-it gave them a closer kind of feel.
When their two children died, I felt kind of like I wasn't sitting in my living room anymore-but like my mind was somwhere else-wondering where they had gone-what heaven is like.
When Chris gets to his own personal 'heaven' after his death, I found myself imagining my own personal paradise, one perfectly for me. I loved that feeling that you got throughout this whole movie-like as if you were saying "What if that were me?"
Hell was much liked it had been in the book-utterly terrifying but amazing in its way.
But Annie's personal prison was far worse than any physical Hell-it was the mental hell, the one that we all know we have buried deep deep inside, and if we lived in it, like she would have had to, most of us would go completely and utterly insane-I know I would.
Robin Williams-he's just-he's just. You know. Just...Lets just put it this way-if I could act like that, I'd get a billion requests for movie scripts a year. There could never be another Chris-Robin IS Chris.
Cuba Gooding Jr. is very good as well. His role as Albert could not have been a better pick.
So when all is said and done, and the movie is over and you're sitting in the darkness, pondering what it was all trying to say, you wonder...wonder if maybe that beloved cat or dog you had as a child will come running and will knock you over and cover you with licks when you're dead and up in your heaven amoung the sky-maybe, just like Katie.And maybe, we'll keep our own heaven inside, just like our hell.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty on the surface, but a very shallow film
Review: This film was visually stunning. The special effects in this movie are almost worth the price to rent the movie. However the visual effects seem to be the only redeeming aspects of this film. The first 20 minutes of the film start off good enough and elicit some sorrowful feelings, but after Robin Williams untimely death you are left with a extremely routine and trite movie. As mentioned in the amazon editor review, there is absolutely no chemistry between Williams and Annabella Sciorra which definately detracts from the film, and the flashback storyline falls flat. Additionally, the score to this film is used extensively to try to make you feel weepy, but for me it drove me further away from this film. Constently throughout this film I found myself looking around the room and thinking of other things just to stimulate my mind from going to sleep. So I guess the gist of what I have to say is that if you are in the mood to watch a movie in order to be visually stunned and you find yourself crying because those allstate commercials are just so emotionally compelling perhaps this movie would be good for you. For me however, it just wasn't there.
Rating:
Summary: A movie *I* should have written!
Review: Sure, this is no Star Wars or Sound of Music, but the questionably overly-fantastic visuals are a necessary and fun way to convey a rhobust and intellectually intriguing view on the afterlife. I'm withholding a star for it's SciFi-Channel-esque seperation between audiance and characters. This movie was well placed for production style on the SciFi channel, but the content of the message and the effective portrayal of heaven, hell, and the unusual and fantastically beautiful bond between the characters was quie effective, if once in a while a little dry. For me, the moderate dryness of some of the near-monologue descriptive style of the script was made up for by the creativity of the message. While this might have been done better in a "version 2" with a more "blockbuster" attitude and a less "pristine clean" look we're seeing from the boomers trying to appeal to the Gen-Y's, I was positively thrilled to see someone writing down and acting out this version of the afterlife. For me the story of the characters' struggle was no more or less a tearjerker than the theolgical views being described. The theology alone makes the movie well worth watching. Robin Williams' brilliance shines in this venue, even though the combination threatens to be too lighthearted or a little too SciFi-Channel-shallow. This very sweet story of transcendantal love is well worth watching, but by doing so you will run the risk of positively adoring it! I have a second perspective, however, which must be emphasized. The hair! This movie has some seriously top-of-the-line Bob Haircut content! Whoever chose and styled Annabella Sciorra's hair truly knows the beauty of the Bob, and in this case the Pageboy! (my apologies for not being able to give credit by name here) For appearance (and acting) this role couldn't have been better cast! If ever I were to recommend movies based on hairstyles to someone with an affinity for the Bob, this would be one of my top choices. Lots of Bob content, excellently done. If the story and theolofy themselves weren't enough, anyone wishing to add to the Bob Haircut movie collection could do far worse than to add this one to their library! If you liked Drop Dead Fred, Real Genius, The Professional, The Amateur, or anything with Louise Brooks because of the hair, add this one to your wish list ASAP! + Five stars for vision and casting,
- minus one for SciFi-channel-esque-ness in direction and production,
- minus one for some scripting style,
+ plus one for the hair!
Rating:
Summary: when you need a good cry
Review: I saw this movie when it was first released and I rented it on video...then watched it on the sci-fi channel.......I am not a critic of movies but this movie to me has a message that you have to look deep into your own beliefs about your perpective on death and love.....all I can say is I hope death is like the movie and I hope that I have love in my life that will be reflected in the afterlife......I think the actors were all great and the colors were wonderful.....I loved the dog being part of the afterlife scenerio......the end was predicable but at least there was an end whereas most movies now a days don't have one......final opinion is I cried every time I viewed this film and felt good after watching it.......it's a good fantasy......I LOVED IT...no two people will walk away from it with the same opinion......
Rating: 
Summary: God Awful...
Review: Finally caught this on the sci-fi channel and eagerly anticipated watching it after a few folks told me how impressed they were. I have to wonder now about the sanity of these few folks. Or the "majority" of reviewers here who have averaged out this total piece of gargage to 4 stars. Amazon, you should REALLY allow reviewers to give a film ZERO stars, or BELOW ZERO. I feel guilty now that I HAVE to give this one star when it deserves about MINUS TEN. If there is a hell, I think it be would something like being strapped down in a chair with your eyes forced open (like in Clockwork Orange), and being forced to watch this complete misfire over and over and over again, for all eternity. Sci-fi channel shows SO many commercials when they have a feature film, but this time, the commercials were a welcome relief. Wish I had taped this, but if I had I guess I would've just started fast forwarding 10 minutes in, and missed this little glimpse of cinematic hell. This movie reminds me of other big time losers like Mission to Mars, Battlefield Earth, Thin Red Line, and so on. Lots of pretty effects, but there is nothing else. Put on a nice screensaver and play some music instead. Bad story, bad concept, plotholes enough to fill a stadium, good actors caught up in script-hell, sappy music, makes no sense from start to painful finish. This is a 4 alka seltzer special. They should take the original film, cut it into individual frames, re-arrange those frames randomly, and it would be a big improvement. Slow, slow, slow, stupidity and bad dialogue at every turn. This is like watching Spielberg's "1941" on acid. It's like biting down hard on a big rusty nail and hearing the crunch of your former teeth. It's like having someone take a big sloppy bucket of foul-smelling brightly colored paint, dipping a huge mop into it, and shoving it into your eyes until they exit the back of your head, along with your brains. I bet this screenplay was written with crayons, by the "devil" himself to torture us all. I kept expecting Robin Williams to turn straight towards the camera and scream "help me, how do I get out of this hellish film?!" I think they should add a warning to the beginning of this, "may cause brain cancer, glaucoma, loss of hearing, and tooth rot." Within a half an hour I was glad there were so many commercials because I had the runs. I found breathing difficult throughout so much that I almost called 911. I wish I could write the filmmakers and ask for a refund of the tiny little amount of time in my whole life that was completely wasted watching this utter nonsense. More painful than a root canal with a power drill. It's a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad movie. I really have to question the sanity of anyone who actually likes this. This is paint by numbers filmmaking, done by artists without any hands or toes, or SOUL. This is like listening to a Carpenters album while watching the 700 Club while eating a big bowl of you-know-what sprinkled with brown sugar. I think those responsible for this should be banned from Hollyweird for life. Have I said enough about how much I hated this? Not really. If you have ANY brain cells at all, avoid this hellish experience at all costs. You've been warned...
Rating:
Summary: After life there is more...
Review: Terrific film. I loved it. The acting wonderful. This nearly lead me to tears. This movie and patch adams is one of robin williams best roles. I remember in 1998 when my family watch this at crown casino we just loved it. The special effects are the best. It's like half of heaven is like a painting and the other half is real. It's really wonderful. I hope robin williams does another film like this. It's really a sad film. The actors did a beautiful job. I wish this film won an oscar for best picture, best actor robin williams, best speical effects and best director. Rent this film, watch it, buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Awful!
Review: This movie is among the worst movies I've ever seen. It lacks a coherent plot. The story wanders all over the place without ever getting anywhere. The movie relies on maudlin scenes between the characters. Unfortunately, the characters are so weak that you don't really care what happens to them. Save your money. This movie isn't worth your time.
Rating:
Summary: Eye-Candy!
Review: One of the best movies ever. The eye candy provided in the technique of oil-painting on film screen (newly developed for this movie) makes the film worth seeing by itself- it's one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen in my life (on- or off-screen). The metaphysics is unfortunately all over the map and very off-target, but I don't recommend going to the movies for good theology. The movie does have some very inspiring messages about the need for hope; without which we die. I appreciated the perspective that hell is where people go when they no longer have hope- it made the best sense I had ever seen of the idea that suicides would go to hell. The basis of depression is a lack of hope, and lack of hope at it's basis is sin- in the sense of the original Hebrew, meaning "to miss the mark". God's best for us was to have hope- to trust, and to have, as the Greek defines the word, "expectant Joy". As expressed in What Dreams, suicide is the ultimate expression of a lack of hope- in essence one is choosing to not trust God, and choosing to not be in the place of hope, but the place of despair. If we are designed for hope, and choose to deny that, we have denied the basis of all reality. Annie chooses depression, and so her world becomes what she desires, and what she can handle- a world without hope. hell. Because of it's treatment of hope and despair, I would recommend that if you are feeling depressed, see this movie. It won't solve your problems, but it can begin to help you resolve them.
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