Rating: 
Summary: Misguided-scene-jumping movie.
Review: This movie waited and waited to get going.
I read the short story this was based on and the movie seems to simply hop from scene to scene, trying to get the entire sotry in. But in it's spotty scene selections, it neglects building the relationship with the characters and the subtlelties that King put in the story. When watching, I knew every scene as soon as it popped up from the book,but was undewhelemed when the thing actually got rolling. I think the director of the movie did not read the story by King, if he had, he would have understood the underlying relationship between the two friends.
Save you money on the DVD and read the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Alright
Review: It would be a fine movie, with a moving storyline, but the child actors were the worst I've ever seen in my life. ever. they ruin the movie. they need to get better actors before they make a movie. Yikes. Anthony Hopkins was great though.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing, endearing, and touching
Review: Once again Anthony Hopkins proves himself to be one of our great actors. He plays a drifter who comes to town and touches the life of a fatherless boy and his friends and leaves them with a summer they will never forget. The child actors are terrific as Bobby, Carol, and Sully, 11 year old friends growing up in the big, bad world. A little bit of Stand by Me rings true in this movie, and a bit of mystery in the Hopkins character draws you in....as it does Bobby. From the start, this movie touches something inside and you want to know more, hence you find yourself mesmorized by the desire to find out, and the enchanting, sometimes haunting cinematography just adds to the pleasure of the entire film. Don't miss out on this gem!
Rating:
Summary: Not one of King's best
Review: I never thought Hearts in Atlantis was one of King's best, and unfortunately the movie confirmed that. Despite being a likable movie, the child actors simply were bad, seeming bored with the roles to which they had been assigned. Hopkins, Morse, and the mother were decent, however. Some movies attempt to compensate with a good soundtrack and an atmospheric feel to it, but you need more ingredients than this to make a good flick.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Butchering of a Stephen King novel
Review: I was thoroughly disappointed with this movie, as I usually am with those adapted from Stephen King novels. I read the book first (big mistake if you want to enjoy the movie), and found myself utterly let down by the re-writing of the story. I was really hoping to see the plot on the big screen, and instead I saw someone else's misguided attempt to play down the intensity of a profound topic: war. This movie should never have been made if the writers/directors did not intend to stick with Stephen King's exact writings, with exceptions made for time constraints. Frankly, they didn't even scratch the surface, and the changes they made were appalling.
Rating:
Summary: Simplistic, watered-downed version of a powerful novel.
Review: I read the novel HEARTS IN ATLANTIS about 2 weeks before seeing the movie. While this film stands on its own as a nice film with good performances, it is NOT even close to the novel's powerful stories.
I read two points in another review that I feel are incorrect. First of all, the novel is about 520 pages (not 800), and secondly, while some may choose to see the stories in the novel as separate, I couldn't disagree more.
Watching these character's lives unfold thru the years was incredible. In the novel there was suspense until the end about bobby's fate. In the movie, it was gone - you know from the first minutes how his life turned out.
I guess the bottom line is, if you enjoyed the movie, read the book and get ready for a REAL treat.....
Rating:
Summary: Sweet and moving
Review: Once again, Anthony Hopkins has thrown his pixie dust on another film. This man exudes movie magic. He is so real and the film is so well directed, you quickly forget you're watching a film and soon become a voyeur in the lives of Ted Brautigan (Hopkins) and 11-year-old Bobby Garfield, who find themselves as neighbors and fast friends.Young Bobby Garfield (superbly acted by Anton Yelchin) lives with his widowed mother, who is a bitter, self-absorbed and very selfish woman. She has her own car and is constantly buying herself new dresses, but the only gift she has for her son on his birthday is a free public library card. He is forced to ride on the handlebars of his girlfriend's bike as the two youngsters bond through difficult circumstances. It's the early 60s... post McCarthy era and during the Cold War... and the "low men," assumingly government agents, are seeking Ted for his uncanny gift of reading the hearts of people and seeing things before they happen. While Ted could obviously make a financial killing by placing bets on races he all-too-well knows the outcome of, but we see him do this only once, out of desparation, to be able to skip town to avoid the "low men." He otherwise lives in obscurity and in very modest means. Ted's failing eyesight has him "employing" young Bobby to read the newspaper to him and to keep his eyes out for the "Low men." In return, Ted tutors Bobby and treats him with respect and as a true friend. A father-son relationship soon develops that Bobby's mother is intensely jealous and suspicious of. Bobby is torn... do the "low men" really exist? When he sees signs that they might... does he warn Ted, thereby having Ted flee the town and be out of Bobby's life forever, or does he keep it to himself and hope it all just goes away. Ted is a kind spirit... much like the literary Christ-figures so popular in the "mainstream" Stephen King films such as "The Green Mile" and "The Shawshank Redemption." The emotional bond between Bobby and Ted brings you in and you feel like you are a part of the bond. Many of the scenes are too long and/or too intense for very young viewers, but the PG-13 rating is appropriate. My only regret is that there are no "behind the scenes" clips or interviews w/ the cast on this disc. I highly recommend this film.
Rating: 
Summary: Another SK novel turned movie
Review: To begin with, I haven't read the book so I had no preconceived ideas about the film. I noticed though that the style was very similar to how Green Mile was written & made for film. It's a flashback story, telling how the lead character (in this case, Bobby-o) met & got involved with the 'supernatural' character (Ted Brautigan). A drama with a touch of the 'supernaturals' to add some mystery. However, the reference to the "low men" was so superficial that it did not leave any mark at all. Maybe, that idea was more explained in the book. Whatever shortcomings the film had were tremendously offset by the acting of our lead characters. As usual, Anthony Hopkins was great. His subtle performance as an aging psychic leaves a lasting & distinct mark. Not to be outperformed were the child artists Anton Yelchin (Bobby) & Mika Boorem (Carol) who were likewise exceptional. Overall, I found the movie satisfactory. Having seen the film first before reading the novel made me appreciate the story more. Maybe, after reading the book, I might agree with one of the viewers who preferred the book more than the film version. But in the meantime,I remain with my positive reviews.
Rating:
Summary: Read the book, Skip the Movie
Review: I read the book first and it was fantastic. First off, the book contains 5 stories all related back to the first one. The movie is based on the first one, and I guess the fifth although it changed a lot. Yet, about the movie, it was boring, to be blunt. The movie skipped all the good parts of the book and if it didn't skip it, the movie had it different and for the worse. I was expecting a much better film so I of course went out and purchased the dvd. If anything- rent it. And if you haven't seen the movie or read the book then I highly recommend the book and skip the movie.
Rating:
Summary: Hopkins is wonderful as usual
Review: I bought this title because Anthony Hopkins is one of my favorite actors. No matter how dull the theme may be he is always brilliant and always worth watching. Always. The story is one of those nostalgia films, where the hero, Bobby Garfield, returns as an adult (played by David Morse) to his old home town, ala The Big Chill, after the death and funeral of a friend where he learns also that the love of his life has died a few years previously. Visiting their old neighborhood, he learns as we all do the old adage that we can't go home again. Nothing is ever the same. Standing in the ruins of the old house in which he had lived with his widowed mother, he recalls his eleventh birthday and the days following during which he meets a mysterious border in the apartment upstairs and develops a growing loyalty to him. The story has the appeal of a time past, the early 60s when life was supposedly simpler, but probably--almost certainly--wasn't. The young Bobby is living with his angry, self centered and rather naive mother who has intimated that Bobby's father was an irresponsible gambler whose death left them destitute. She gives the boy a free library card as his birthday gift, emphasizing that she would love to have given him a new bike as he wishes, but his father has left them with nothing but bills. When his friend Carol notes that he hasn't gotten his bike, the boy defends his mother by reiterating her own excuse, but Carol notes that Bobby's mother has plenty of money for pretty new dresses. The tone of the movie is set in these relationships until the arrival of the mysterious Ted Brautigan (Anthony Hopkins ) who has taken the apartment upstairs in the old house. Here the story truly begins as Bobby learns lessons important to his life. He learns the truth about his father, confronts the reality of his mother's selfishness and comes to view and forgive her as the human being she is, and most importantly, he comes to realize the power in himself to make decisions and take command of his destiny. The story is a little far fetched with respect to Hopkin's character, though he's at his best as usual. It's as though the author (Stephen King) doesn't quite know where to go with the interesting beginning to the story, follows up the paths of the various characters adding mystery as spice, and ends up with two stories: that of a mystic character pursued by villains and that of a boy growing up in difficult circumstances. The relationship of the stories seem tenuous at best, but it's a charming tale for the most part. It's not quite what I'd expected from a Stephen King novel--though I've not read one I admit.
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