Rating: 
Summary: C+
Review: the thing about this movie is, river phoenix is f-ing amazing in it and so is martha plimton. this is a really good movie.
Rating: 
Summary: plimpton and phoenix rule
Review: the thing about this movie is, river phoenix is f-ing amazing in it and so is martha plimton. this is a really good movie.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect title for a wonderful movie
Review: The title perfectly captures the essence of this gut-wrenching movie.I watched it when it first came out in '88 & it absolutely blew me away. First rate acting by all the primary cast members bar none. River, Christine, Judd (I checked out TAXI after this), Martha etc, all provided genuine, emotionally-filled performances. The score & soundtrack was inch perfect cause it truly captured the emotional background of the film as the story unfolded. It was the first time I heard 'Fire & Rain' & I became a James Taylor fan almost immediately. The ending, when Judd instructs River to take his bike off the truck, "now....get on it" was deeply wrenching for a father who finally acknowledges that he has to let his son go his own path, knowing full well they will never see each other again. "We ALL love you. Now go out there and make a difference", that scene totally broke my heart. This is a very, very good film. Do yourself a favour & watch it.
Rating:
Summary: Simply life changing, miss this one you have lost indeed
Review: There are so many things that i might say about this film, but trully it changed my life after seeing it, it made me want more out of life....and when river died and i heard it on the news my heart sank for the world might never see such deepth on the surface like only he could reveal. But for the sake of such excellance don't pass over this one, put it on your must see list. This film lacks nothing in what you expect out of a movie, whoever you are, it is a film fitting every age group.
Rating:
Summary: C+
Review: This is a film of a family on the run because the parents ( Christine Lahti and Judd Hirsh ) are radicals who started a fire that killed a man in the sixties. The film takes us on a journey of how their two sons ( River Phoenix, being one )deals with the situation. After a while the film gets very predictable. River's character has an amazing piano playing talent he wants to pursue. Meanwhile he falls in love with ( Martha Plimpton, the most annoying actress known to man ) and spills his guts about who his parents truly are. By the end River's character gets to live out his dreams of pursuing his career as a pianist while his family sadly agrees to leave him behind. The acting was decent. The plot was dry and at times not believable. The family was supposed to be hiding from everyone around them yet when they wanted to do something outrageous ( like inviting Martha Plimpton to the mother's birthday party ) they did it with no questions asked. Christine Lahti held down her part as the mother. Judd Hirsh was a loud bore. He was way over the top and overacted like his life depended on it. River didn't knock my socks off either ( his mumbling nearly killed me ) but he was believable in his part. Martha Plimpton sucked as usual and I hated having to sit through her boring acting once again. All in all the film was okay. It's nothing to shout about and definitely nothing you HAVE to see. On the other hand it gives River Phoenix fans another chance to be touched by his grace.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Movie, Poor DVD
Review: This is a nice DVD, if you don't mind that 27.9 percent of the original theatrical image has been removed for the DVD exhibition, so that the DVD image fills your entire 4:3 television screen (theatrical aspect ratio - 1.85:1; DVD aspect ratio - 4:3). If you're okay with that, enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Edge-of-Your-Seat Film with a Disappointing Ending..
Review: This is a story of how your past sins have the potential to haunt you for the rest of your life. With Annie and Arthur always running from the authorities, you begin to look behind every corner to see if they will get caught. However, I will let you see the movie to find out if they ever do! I was struck with the closeness of the family. Even though I would not condone the behavior of Annie and Arthur for their bombing of the napalm lab in 1971, nor their willingness to drag their two boys through a life of fear and lies, I do applaud them for their family love and respect of each other. In our society today, family is not valued as it should be. This family was close and knew how to enjoy each other to the fullest - what a gift! I was disappointed with the excessive use of bad language. 95% of it was unnecessary and the other 5% was avoidable! To me, this destroyed the movie and I will most likely sell my copy. I was impressed with the discreteness of the "sexual" scenes. Thank you Warner Brothers for that! The ending was abrupt. You could see they were going to end the movie, but you kept hoping they would add a little to it. It left so many unanswered questions in my head. The movie is worth seeing if you have TVGuardian for the language.
Rating:
Summary: Sincere, poignant, moving drama
Review: This is doubtlessly one of the most underrated movies out there. The entire cast is just flawless. I watch this DVD and find myself truly saddened that such a talent as River Phoenix was so needlessly lost. Phoenix earned a well-deserved Oscar nomination for his role as Danny Pope, the undisputable emotional center of this movie. His performance was superlative. To me, this is one of the two or three highest points of Phoenix's all-too-short career; probably the top of the list, actually, in my opinion. His interplay with Judd Hirsch, the piano scene with Christine Lahti, the amazing chemistry with Martha Plimpton -- it really is just spellbinding. Christine Lahti is completely incredible as Annie Pope and the restaurant scene with her father is just devastating. I can't think of another word. Every time I watch it, I'm almost overwhelmed. Like many other reviewers, I applaud the absolutely perfect inclusion of James Taylor's "Fire and Rain" into the movie -- it just flat-out worked. Honestly, if you haven't seen this movie, treat yourself. It's a masterpiece.
Rating: 
Summary: Great movie - terrible DVD
Review: This is one of my all-time favorite movies, but I think this DVD must have been one of WB's first releases back in 1998. It desperatly needs to be updated. There are no special features whatsoever and worst of all, it's presented in FULL SCREEN only! I don't even think it was digitally remastered, as it looks no better than a VHS copy. But if you haven't seen it, or can't wait for a version more worthy of its brilliance, go ahead and pick this turkey up. You'll probably find it on the bargain shelf somewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie - terrible DVD
Review: This is one of my all-time favorite movies, but I think this DVD must have been one of WB's first releases back in 1998. It desperatly needs to be updated. There are no special features whatsoever and worst of all, it's presented in FULL SCREEN only! I don't even think it was digitally remastered, as it looks no better than a VHS copy. But if you haven't seen it, or can't wait for a version more worthy of its brilliance, go ahead and pick this turkey up. You'll probably find it on the bargain shelf somewhere.
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