Rating: 
Summary: Sentimental Twaddle
Review: Just when you thought there were plenty of tearjerkers out there, another one arrives with zealous comedian/actor Robin Williams holding its limp foundation on his star-powered shoulders. Williams arrives fresh from an Oscar win from the Damon/Affleck juggernaut "Good Will Hunting" and plays it straight again, this time chock-full o' feigned waterworks and insufferable gloom. There is nothing but a river of tears and sorrow to row this pitiful storyline along, a tale that relentlessly tugs at the heart strings with concepts such as traversing the boundaries of hell to rescue the people you love the most. I think I'm getting weepy myself...sniff...With Oscar-winning Technicolor scenery that screams Photoshop, "What Dreams May Come" is a web designer's wet dream and a film critic's worst nightmare. Its ocean of visual aura is not enough to keep its mawkish screenplay afloat and therefore every performance, whether mediocre or exceptional, suffers as a result. The story begins with a man named Chris Nielsen (Williams) vacationing in the beautiful countryside of Sweden where he meets his future wife Annie (Sciorra); their encounter is endearing and they almost immediately fall in love. From there, it flashes forward with small segments of their marriage and then to a beautiful home where they are parents to a teenage daughter and son. The film doesn't waste any time converting to a somber note when their children are killed in a fatal car crash. Chris follows them to the hereafter only years later, dying in a horrid collision himself and Annie is left all alone, a victim of unpreventable circumstance coping with the deaths of the people she loved the most. Chris, on the other hand, must elucidate and understand the extraordinary bond between he and his wife, tapping each other's souls through the light years between heaven and earth. There may not be any real romance in this movie, but there isn't an ounce of chemistry between Williams and his co-star, he never acute at the leading man bit and Sciorra not much of a romantic figure herself. Out of all the crybabies in this dour ditty, she's the best of the bawlers; sad to say it's her ONLY asset. Had she been paired with a more prominent and charismatic actor, her role might've been more noteworthy. Williams is practiced at sculpting a pitiable mug, the watery eyes and lip biting his key devices (watch "Mrs. Doubtfire", "Good Morning, Vietnam" and "Patch Adams" for the signature sniveling). Unfortunately, you not only have sympathy for his character but you feel sorry for Williams himself for undertaking such a schmaltzy assignment. I feel that Robin is capable of more than this and "Good Will Hunting" proved that. He has a fellow Oscar winner working alongside him; Cuba Gooding, Jr. is Chris's watchdog, a sentinel who makes sure that Chris makes a smooth transition from death to the hereafter. He does an admiral job but this is not the movie for him, either. If you really want to see Cuba work some magic, watch his Oscar-winning performance in "Jerry Maguire" or his sympathetic portrayal of a ghetto-raised adolescent in "Boyz N' The Hood". "What Dreams May Come" may be a visually stunning piece, but its lackluster and certainly hackneyed dialogue and overly emotional sentiments make it a maudlin cataclysm. I'd take Disney thoroughfare over this big-budget balderdash any day.
Rating: 
Summary: The Movie Your Preacher/Pastor/Priest would like to Burn...
Review: This Movie is so Absolutely Incredible, that I went to see it Twice at the movie theater! I rarely watch a movie twice, unless I wait a few years, between viewings....but, "What Dreams May Come" is a breakthrough in Visually understanding the After-Life. Most of the concepts explored in this movie are blatant depictions of Hermetic Knowledge....stuff you could only learn from the Secret Schools, after studying the books The Pope tried to Burn out of existence. This is pure Science (Hermetic Science): "Raising and Lowering the Vibratory Rate (Level of Consciousness)" to go to whatever level of the Astral Plane of existence ("Heaven" /"Hell" / "Limbo") a person should wish to travel in the After-World. This movie makes Sense out of Dogma and shows that "Heaven" and "Hell" are just "States of Mind." If you are depressed, "evil," tormented, etc., Mentally...then you are in "Hell." However, if your basic "Vibratory Rate" is a happy, satisfied, struggling towards understanding, or in-love "State of Mind"....you find "Heaven." This movie makes so much sense and explains Dreams, The After-Life and Psychology in such a Wonderful and Beautiful format, that I must place it on my "Top-Ten" list!!! Be happy, when you make the Transition to the Next Life....and be happy that this is money well-spent ! Believe me, you cannnot only watch this film once--so save trips to the Video Rental Store!
Rating: 
Summary: Listen to the Director's commentary!
Review: If you see this on DVD, you should listen to what the director says about his film. It might explain some things, like how this is not really a movie about the afterlife at all, but how we relate to each other in this life in the here and now.On a lighter note, it really is amusing when the director is describing Annie viewing the tombstones of her children when all we ever see is Chris' tombstone. He also comments on the poor portral of the afterlife in many movies, showing clouds, etc. He is mostly right about that, but one great exception is the film "Defending Your Life". While "What Dreams May Come" is without joy even in Heaven, "Defending Your Life" is quite the opposite. There is no Hell here ("although I hear Los Angeles is getting pretty close") :-)
Rating: 
Summary: For the Intellectuals
Review: This movie is unquestionably for the deep thinker. The plots and overall theme seem to appeal to those whom decide to see things more than they are on the screen. Being a huge Robin Williams fan, I expected a lot of humor. The movie did deliver humor on a few occasions, but the atmosphere created by the director didn't seem to allow for it. The themes presented are harsh and are delivered bluntly throughout the video. While Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding Jr. and all the rest of the actors and actresses did a fabulous job working with what they were given. It leaves the viewer wondering what realy happened and, by the end of some of the scenes, second guessing what the viewer thought he/she already knew. Don't get me wrong, it's a great movie and has good values and morals with deep meanings, but I think that the writer could have given the viewer a little more information on what was going on so that the general public can follow along.
Rating: 
Summary: This one gets negative 5
Review: I can't believe anyone with depth could like this. It was lame in every area. First of all, the special effects were weird and stupid. They got in the way of the story. The characters were not likeable and so annoying. I didn't believe in the acting, and I didn't care what happened to them. I can't believe this forced, waste of effort moved as many people as it did. Maybe they liked the subject matter. A lot of people just check their brain at the door when they see movies, and like anything that is feed to them. This movie is as bad as it gets.
Rating:
Summary: I'ld Go to the Depths of Hell for You!
Review: Hopeless Romantics...There's hope for you!! This is the epitomy of what love should be. The story is one for the ages. What is your interpretation of what Heaven and Hell are? ...an eye-full of cinemetography. Great Flick.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Movie!
Review: After he dies in a car accident, Chris Nielsen (Williams) finds himself in the sublime paradise of Heaven, introduced to its wonders by a guide, Albert (Gooding). In Heaven, Chris is re-united with his children Ian (Paddock) and Marie (Brooks) who had died in a previous car accident, his pet dog, and old associates. However, as Chris notices that Heaven bears an uncanny resemblance to his wife Annie's paintings, he begins to wonder where she (Sciorra) is... only to find out she went to that... other place. Deciding that Heaven seems empty without his wife, he begins on a quest to re-unite with her, enlisting the help of a mysterious figure known as The Tracker. (Von Sydow) How does our life on Earth determine what our life after will be like? Can love reach across Heaven and Hell, or do our eternal destinations separate us forever?
Rating:
Summary: this movie really sux
Review: if i could, i would give this 0 stars. thankfully robin williams played in it or it would suck even more then does. my dad said he saw the coming attractions for this movie and it looked pretty good, so my family went to see it in the theaters. well, in about the 20 minutes the whole family dies. then, the rest is just so confusing and very hard to follow. i think the movie had really good graphics, but the whole storie line was horrible. sorry but this is not a have-to-see movie.
Rating:
Summary: Like Dating a Beautiful Supermodel With a Degree in Theology
Review: I would purchase this movie on DVD only for the stunning visuals many of which were based on actual famous works of art depicting paradise and hell. Unfortunately, the characters and the story are terribly weak and the pacing is slow. The characters are so earnest and depressed. I never saw any real spark or chemistry between any of them. They seemed to be miserable from the beginning despite beautiful back drops that suggest upper middle class living or a beautiful Valtrex commercial. I also grew tired of Robin Williams constant underbite as a method of acting the part of someone who is really distraught or determined. It is hard to create a movie about the after life without coming across as trite. For example I would hate to believe that we spend an eternity in our own favorite computer screen saver no matter how beautiful it looks. There are other after life logistics that trouble me. Hell as punishment for suicide is not a new concept but still one that seems unjust and unfair. Those who commit suicide often suffer enough already. The afterlife should have been displayed in a more abstract fashion so that we would not be able to grasp it on a logical level, or at least not completely. Think of the ending of Space Odyssey 2001. The main character enters a realm that exists beyond our limited notion of time and space. The same should have happened here. While it would have baffled audiences it would have resisted some criticism. Such criticism comes complete with questions like: if you married two people in your life time, since the first one died, which one would you end up with in heaven? Maybe in the afterlife there is no gender, no age and relationships exist on a dimension we cannot comprehend on earth. The movie does address this to some degree when introducing the protagonist's children in heaven. [Warning spoiler ahead] The movie deals with this by having the children take the form of other identities in heaven both of which are that of ethnic minorities (one Black and one Asian). This leads me to conclude that depressed upper middle class children want to be hip ethnic minorites in the after life to compensate for the white liberal guilt they learned from their parents during their lifetime. Just joking! I am a fan of visual movies even if the plot and characterization are thin (e.g. Peter Greenaways films) so I would be happy with a copy of this beautiful movie which is perfect on DVD.
Rating:
Summary: ONE OF THE GREATEST FILMS EVER MADE
Review: I only caught a glimpse of this movie while watching a TV documentary on special effects. Not only are the visual effects stunning, the whole story and concept is amazing. I have dreamt of heaven and hell. How they depicted hell was very close to the one I saw in my dream. Heaven for me was very different from Robin William's heaven though. I immediately bought the DVD version and YES .. it is one of those rare movies that only comes by once in a blue moon. People who are open-minded about reincarnation, that heaven and hell are states of existence created by the Mind - both personal and universal minds, that our reality is what each of us makes of it, this movie is for you. For people who have fundamentalistic belief or people who don't believe in soulmates, go somewhere else.
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