Rating: 
Summary: Thought provoking, yet disturbing!
Review: After reading all the reviews for this movie, I realized it was not only controversial, it was a movie I wanted to review. There was something deeper, a theme as old as time, perhaps even a fight between good and evil, yet a subtle fight.This is in fact an emotionally engaging movie about deceit, denial and breaking the rules. There are also many contradictions which do not seem true to life. First, you have Dr. Wilbur Larch (played convincingly by Michael Caine) who not only runs a Maine orphanage, he performs abortions. He seems content to incinerate aborted babies, but is saddened by the death of a child living at the orphanage. He displays a very human side and yet his flippant attitude about life and religion made him seem to be a conflicted soul, who could neither earn my respect nor garner my pity. Dr. Larch seemed plagued with guilt and seeks solace in an ether addiction. This story is more about Homer Wells (played by Tobey Maguire) and his journey from being born at the orphanage to performing abortions himself. It is a journey from his distain for abortion to his acceptance of it in a circumstance he feels justifies such action. He seems to make up whatever rules are needed to suit the occasion. I found his story to be compelling, yet sad. He portrays a childlike character who's innocent nature reaches out to others, yet he fails to show character and morality. Tobey Maguire was only perfect for the role, because he portrayed the innocence of the character. I felt his acting did not reach the depth needed in two of the scenes, which required a more pensive mood. I found his acting to be mildly goofy and he was almost grinning as he confronted a child molester. That to me was very disturbing and showed a lack of depth. Even Candy, his girlfriend showed more depth of character in that scene. This movie is so packed with issues, it seemed they were being listed in front of us on the screen one after the other. Abortion is not the only issue, but seemed to be the theme. I did think this movie did not portray a honest view of women who have had abortions. They had no remorse and did not seem to ever think about it. The women are freed physically from having a child, but their emotional state after the abortion was not dealt with honestly. If the director, Lasse Hallstrom, was trying to glorify abortion, he failed. He also took on highly emotional issues of young love, murder, suicide, incest, moral values, death and war and treated them lightly. When Mr. Rose says: "Sometimes you've got to break some rules to put things straight." I could not help thinking that if someone in this story had stood up for the moral rules of mankind, nothing would have been crooked. This movie is gripping if you consider how human the characters are, but horrifying if you consider that someone might just be convinced that it is perfectly fine to kill a human life. My only hope is that this movie might make women think twice about getting an abortion and that it will show them that today we have so many more options. While adoption was difficult then, now many families are looking for children, to the extent of having to go overseas to find them. The children who are saved, join the orphanage and add some "life" to this movie. It also showed the sadness children feel when they don't have homes or are not wanted. "Nobody ever wants me." --Curly, a little boy at the orphanage who never finds a home. While I thought this was one of the best movies I have seen this year, I just had to wonder if picking to have a child or not have one...should be as easy as picking a good apple or throwing a bad apple away? Watch for the scene when Dr. Larch chooses one apple over the other, in a way...it is very symbolic. The score is worth purchasing on its own and the cinematography is beautiful. The acting is also quite good, especially by the children. When the children asked questions, you might begin to ask a few of your own. For one, why would anyone want to destroy such beautiful innocent souls...and secondly, how can women live with the decision to end a life, for the rest of theirs? There are no central values to govern the decisions anyone makes in this movie. Going against the rules is easy. Keeping them is a challenge and no one seems to succeed. I think that by relying on a higher power, these characters could have risen above themselves instead of just being human. They only relied on themselves and seemed alone on the earth. There was no beauty in good! The only good in this movie was the beautiful Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont scenery which contrasted sharply with the unnatural act of abortion.
Rating: 
Summary: A pleasant surprise
Review: As you may have surmised, I was surprised by this film. Note the term film, one that I reserve for true works of cinematic art. I was surprised when I found myself enjoying this film due to the subject matter, which is abortion. I imagine that I am what most people would consider extremely pro-life, however, this film did not offend my sensibilities at all. The subject matter was, in my opinion, handled very tactfully. It did not change my views, but then, it was not meant to. To say that this film is a pro-abortion movie is to say that Apocalypse Now was anti-Vietnam. While both statements are true, the focus of the movies lies elsewhere. At its core The Cider House Rules is a masterfully crafted love story and coming-of-age drama. It is magnificentally photographed, well-acted, and superbly transfered to the big screen by John Irving from his novel. Special kudos to Micheal Caine and Lasse Hallstrom!
Rating: 
Summary: What is this about anyway?
Review: The easy answer is that "The Cider House Rules" is about abortion. Though life is pretty in the WWII New England mileau in which this flick is set, there are still unwanted children (many of whom are sickly) and no shortage of people who would save everybody the trouble of even having children to leave for adoption by getting a (then illegal) abortion. Homer (Tobey McGuire) is an orphan raised by the saintly Dr. Larch (Michael Caine), and slowly trained to experienced perfection in every aspect of gynecological procedure. Larch's proto-choice views are tempered (for those with pro-life/anti-choice types) by a seeming boundless compassion for the children housed in his orphanage, and also by the quiet dignity of his debates on the subject with Homer. Homer staunchly opposes the idea, but the basis for his objection is not as clear (is it blind devotion to anti-abortion laws? Is he stuck on the idea of life from conception?) While the two charachters repeatedly discuss the right and wrong of abortion, and Homer reaches an apotheosis by the end of the story when (as if we couldn't see this coming a mile away) circumstances lead him to perform an abortion of his own, the director keeps the subject from becoming the story's focus. When a young couple (Charlize Theron and Paul Rudd) invite Homer to come away with them, Homer, who has never gone far from the orphanage and hasn't even see the ocean once, jumps at the chance. Leaving the hopelessness of Larch's orphanage (and the possibility he may have to perform the procedure that dare not mention its name), Homer joins a community of migrant laborers working for Theron's family. Becoming an Apple-picker, Homer sees a world more rustic than he had ever known. There is a sort of honesty to the hardy life of migrant labor, one that initially entrances Homer with its sincerity. (The title takes its name from the sets of rules posted by Theron's mother in the living quarters for the workers. Hoemr decides to return the favor by posting some rules of his own.) The world of cider-making seems no-less mythic and insulated from the rest of the world than the orphanage, but Homer soon learns otheriwse. An illicit affair with Charlize Theron and the specter of incest weaken Homer's once rock-solid resolve to his morals. But it's all so forced. Mcquire's passion for Theron seems so perfunctory - it comes out of nowehere. And the supporting charachters- migrant-workers who spearhead the sea-change in Homer's anti-abortion views seem to exist only for that purpose: whether abortion or simply not smoking in the cider-house, Homer's instinct is to follow the rules. But the workers and Theron's charachter seem to exist only to break Homer down. It's impossible to say how hard the effort is because Homer seems to collapse whenever the chance arises. The passage of time (which seems as ephemeral as in "Aspen Extreme") doesn't help - just how long has Homer held out before giving in? Instead of confronting the abortion issue, the script is happy enough to turn Homer around until he is ready to assume the mantle of Larch himself. Whether you agree with choice/abortion or not, there is no underscoring the trauma that turns Homer around. Thus "Cider House Rules" disengenuously takes the tragedy of moral compromise and serves it up as a triumph.
Rating:
Summary: Curiously Overrated
Review: I'm not quite one-hundred percent on just what happened to the Academy last year, but someone might say they chickened out. What do I mean? I mean there were many excellent films that deserved more attention then they received, and lesser films were given the nod due to their commercial potential. Of course audiences loved "The Green Mile." It was a crowd pleaser. It handled the material tactfully and skillfully, but it was nothing remarkable. The same goes to "The Sixth Sense." I can hear them now. Hey, what about that one? It's made millions, and the critical consensus was fairly good, why not? "The Sixth Sense" was nothing spectacular, much like "Unbreakable." It was effective, and intelligent, but not a masterpiece. As for "The Cider House Rules," it wasn't very good. It had some scenes that put a sweet smile on my face, but nothing more. Reviews were mixed, and it was a bomb until the Academy gave it a nod. Then the campaigning skyrockeeted the box office numbers. It was all too vague on it's underlying themes, and was predictable and well as porrly paced. I don't know what got into their heads. Now I'm through complaining. The remaining nominees, one being the winner, were deserving. "American Beauty" and "The Insider." Here's my list of what I would have nominated: Best Picture- American Beauty The Insider Being John Malkovich Three Kings Magnolia And just because these nods ticked me off, (and for the sake of smug indulgence-) Best Actor- Kevin Spacey (American Beauty) Jim Carrey (Man on the Moon) Tom Hanks (The Green Mile) Russel Crowe (The Insider) Matt Damon (The Talented Mr. Ripley) Best Supporting Actor- Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense) John Malkovich (Being John Malkovich) Spike Jonze (Three Kings) Tom Cruise (Magnolia) Michael Clark Duncan (The Green Mile) Best Director- Sam Mendes (American Beauty) Micheal Mann (The Insider) David O. Russel (Three Kings) Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich) Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia)
Rating:
Summary: A great movie...Until the Theme is Revealed
Review: A great movie for adults and growing teenagers of the maturing of an orphan (Tobey Maguire) who decides to take his risks of living out in the open world instead of the confined spaces of the welcoming home he grew up in. The movie touches every corner of a modern-day classic, with its theme and direction. The cinematography is used just right to create the specific moods, and the screenplay, adapted from John Irving's classic, was well-done in taking a literary epic and putting it on the big screen. However, the movie is not for everyone. The movie will most likely offend conservative views and lift the liberal points of life. The major theme of the movie and the answer to your question if you should see it or not is, "Is abortion just?"
Rating:
Summary: TOBEY MAGUIRE IS THE NEXT GENERATION OF GREAT ACTORS
Review: This movie is another great story about life in small town america. An orphan by the name if Homer Wells is played by Tobe Maguire. He was recently in Pleasentville. I can't believe he is not considered for an Oscar. Homer is raised in an orphanage/abortion clinic in the 1940's. Michael Cain plays a doctor who teaches Homer all about medicine. By the time Homer developes into an adult, he wants to see the world.. Without giving away anymore....GET THIS ONE.
Rating:
Summary: A movie full of organic beauty and thought provoking themes
Review: I was very pleasantly surprised by this movie. I did not know what to expect. This is the type of movie that just keeps drawing you in slowly until you become part of the movie and totally attached to it emotionally. The character development is quite fascinating, especially the parts played by Michael Caine and Tobey MacGuire. Set in Maine during the IInd World War, this movie follows the lives of a Doctor at an orphanage in Maine and a boy who grows up in the orphanage. The movie goes through all sorts of issues such as parenthood, abortion, incest, life. It moves slowly, but is never uninteresting. It really haunted me after I saw it, as it is the type of movie that one cannot get out of one's mind. See this one....it is well worth a good viewing.
Rating: 
Summary: Poetic And Provocative Drama
Review: For some older stars, no longer having to carry a movie seems a palpable relief. So it is, one suspects, for Caine, 66, who in this absorbing coming-of-age drama gives a perfectly nuanced performance as a kindly doctor who attends to children in a Maine orphanage in the 1930s and '40s-and, on the side, performs illegal abortions for women in need. The chore of shouldering Cider House, directed by Lasse Hallström (What's Eating Gilbert Grape) and ably adapted for the screen by John Irving from his own 1985 novel, falls to Maguire, who proves up to the task. He plays an orphan who, after apprenticing to Caine, sets out to see the world and, eventually, must decide whether he too will perform abortions. How he finds himself, and an answer, makes for a rewarding movie.
Rating:
Summary: dull
Review: This is what William Goldman would call a "medicinal" movie. Because it's politically correct and addresses serious issues, you're supposed to be in awe of it. Because it's good for you and medicinally sound. One failing is that it is tedious to sit through. And, personally, I can't stand Toby Maguire (even though he's probably a very nice person). His high monotonous voice, and thin-lipped, bulgy-eyed face and narrow acting annoys me. The movie is beautifully shot...but what big budget studio movie isn't beautifully shot these days. Caine and others are good, etc. But when people say "The stars were good, but the material wasn't" it should sink into their skulls that acting is much easier to pull off than writing (10 year olds win asting Oscars, but not writing Oscars...that tells you something). If you're a sucker for period pieces and don't mind glacial pacing, check this out. But otherwise forget it.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most moving pictures I have seen in a while.
Review: I watched "The Cider House Rules" last night and so thoroughly enjoyed it. I never moved once during the entire movie. It held your attention the entire time. It made me laugh out loud, cry, think about my own life, and the fact that this kind of simple love and caring should exist more today in our fast paced, complicated world that fails to remember the little things that really count. I. too, agree, with some of the other viewers comments that this movie was a far better motion picture than "American Beauty." Kudos to John Irving for writing such a beautiful novel. I also that that the acting was suberb, with all cast members working together to produce this wonderful movie.
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