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Beyond Borders (Full Screen Edition)

Beyond Borders (Full Screen Edition)

List Price: $12.99
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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A lot better than I expected
Review: I was expecting the worst when it came to this movie. I am a fan of Angelina Jolie, but it didn't do very well at the box office and I didn't really hear anything about it.

Well, none of that matters because this is a very good movie. Angelina does a good job here, as does Clive Owen, her love interest. The story was interesting and eye-opening. It kept my attention even though this isn't a lightning-paced movie. I wanted to know what would happen to Angelina's character. I was also surprised by a few twists that happen unexpectedly. There's a key scene midway through the movie that doesn't mean a lot at the time, but perfectly foreshadows something that happens later on.

I highly recommend this movie. It was very entertaining and it really did make you think. I'm not a big fan of movies like this, but this is an exception. It should have been a bigger hit.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Schock film!
Review: This movie is deeply bitter. It's touchimg and it deals with a premise that we forget too many times , inmersed as we are in our daily activities.
In a beautiful wedding a doctor will suddenly appear and will denounces the injustice for having denied them an important amount of money for the homeless and poor people from Africa.
This breakthrough will twist the life of Sarah Jordan (Angelina Jolie) and she will become the most exhaustive fighter for this noble cause.
Campbell makes a good and haunting movie , even there are some irrelevant scenes , but you never miss the interest in the story . Obviously this world of injustice will generate the unavoidable atraction between them .
Jolie gives a very realistic portrait.
The rest of the story runs for you .
Interesting story , above the average .

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: 'Beyond' Logic
Review: I admired the political messages of "Beyond Borders," but I can't say the same for the love story. It seemed out-of-place and forced. Sara (Angelina Jolie) was a troubled housewife who was deeply moved by a doctor's efforts to feed starving children in Ethiopia, Cambodia and Chechnya. She journeyed to those countries over a decade and eventually fell in love with the doctor (Clive Owen). The movie tried very hard to be a politically motivated film and I respect that. They should've left out the love story but kept the level of passion for their cause to rise throughout the movie. You don't know whether to feel for the characters in the end or the whole charade they went through to make a difference, to help. But, it's worth your time and it's a lot different than most movies.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: one day my prince will come...
Review: Clive Owen electrifies the screen, as he always does, particularly in such passionate, intense roles like this one, in which he plays a relief worker/doctor. His devotion to his cause and willingness to undertake "renegade" operations in the name of his cause ignites a kind of passion in Sarah (Angelina Jolie), a socialite-cum-relief worker/activist. While losing herself (and her marriage) to the plights she sees in various parts of the world, she also falls in love with Owen's character. Unfortunately I think the seriousness of the issues with which these relief workers grapple would make a good enough story without this implausible love story thrown into the mix (reminds me of Titanic that way... the tragedy of the ship sinking would have been a good enough story, but filmmakers, I guess, don't trust that a story is good enough or emotionally gripping enough without ridiculous couples falling in love, so we have individuals to latch onto when the ending turns out unhappy). Naturally, this story, too, ends unhappily, as Jolie and Owen's characters go globetrotting and carrying on an affair of sorts.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Engrossing Story
Review: This movie was not nearly as bad as I expected it to be--in fact, it was quite engrossing and, like other reviewers, I found that it stayed with me after it was over. I would agree that Angelina Jolie was probably miscast but she did a respectable job and Clive Owen was dead on. The scenes of mass starvation, corrupt officials, rebel leaders destroying their own people, brutality and political connivance and venality were all stunning and very well presented--believable and appalling. I am glad there was a romance, however brief or star-crossed, to provide a little relief from the otherwise overwhelming grimness. Further, I can't imagine any American audience going to see a film of totally unrelieved misery, as one reviewer seemed to be suggesting they would do. The plot did have some gaps which could have been filled in better for the understanding of what was really going on in the bizantine world of international relief but I think they did the best they could without extending the film beyond reason. In all, I found the story held my interest and I actually cared about the central characters (and not just Jolie and Owen) and the romance, as are many in such circumstances, was quite poignant. Worth seeing.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: good premise, a great Clive Owen but why the love story?
Review: It's hard to pass up a movie when it's about trying to save starving and dying people in other countries and when the person is played with such a strong presence from Clive Owen (King Arthur, Closer and Gosford Park), you know its gonna be a good movie but putting a love story between him and a miscast Angelina Jolie (Shark Tale, Hackers and Taking Lives)...it doesn't add up. Also starring Teri Polo (Meet The Parents, Meet The Fockers and Domestic Disturbance), Linus Roache (Hart's War, Wings Of The Dove and The Forgotten) and Noah Emmerich (Monument Ave., Miracle and Cellular). Yeah, so, good premise sqandered by love story with miscast Jolie but Owen still holds his own in a strong performance.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: excellent
Review: A film that captures the esscence of love in a shocking and realistic background that confronts our often commom projected values.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Very Enjoyable Romantic Movie
Review: The storyline of this movie certainly is not very original. It has probably been done in dozens of romance novels. That being said, however, I still found this film to be very entertaining. I must disagree with some of the other reviewers that said Ms Jolie was miscast. I thought she was very good, and the type of woman I could see the male lead falling in love with. Which brings me to Clive Owen who plays the doctor and main male character. He is wonderful in this movie. His acting is super, and he is very sexy, yet believable. I couldn't detect one false move. His performance is the highlight of this movie.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Beyond Borders is riveting and will command your attention
Review: The casting of this movie is actually superb contrary to the opinions of other reviewers. No other actors aside from Jolie and Owen could have pulled this movie together becaue the plot needed to be credible. Despite Jolie's academy award for "Girl Interrupted", this movie required actors that had not yet necessarily earned their 'stripes' or made their debut. Although the movie does contain some digital effects (e.g., with some of the backdrops), it is very realistic. The 'Ethiopian' camp was real (e.g., not a model), the Chechen backdrop, although filmed in Montreal, was based on actual photographs of this war torn area, the extras were actual natives of the land...people that had and may continue to experience hunger, war, and tragedy themselves. Many of the extras were also amputees as a result of their stepping on land mines. Jolie herself provides credibility to the movie by the fact that she is currently a Goodwill Ambassador for the UNHCR, a result of her studying for her role in this film. Jolie also insisted on learning to play difficult piano pieces herself for the beautiful piano scenes. Jolie "found" herself in this movie and it is extremely gratifying to watch her personal transformation as the movie progresses. Over the course of '11 years' that the movie spans, there are three scenes from which the movie takes place: Ethiopia, Cambodia, and Chechnya (minus England where 'Sarah', Jolie's character, resides with her husband). Having all three scenes in the movie makes it rather 'busy' but never boring. If anything, these scenes show us the lives of people who work in the relief business, and who may get tangled up in other affairs. The only complaint I have about the movie is the fact that the audience is never really informed as to how and why Owen ends up in war torn Chechnya after being in Cambodia. We are simply informed in a sort of round about way that he ends up in Chechnya because, aside from his relief work, he is now doing underground business for the CIA. Overall, unless I am mistaken, I am surprised that this movie wasn't as lauded with recognition as it should have been. If anything, your eyes will open from this movie because it involves a topic that is, unfortunately, very little addressed in Hollywood. If you at least become more familiar with UNHCR and their work, then the movie would have accomplished it's mission.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Okay, I'll admit it....
Review: With that rich baritone voice and British accent, I'd pay good money just to listen to Clive Owen read the phone book.

That aside, I was genuinely drawn in to this story. It's hard for me to get wrapped up in a love story, so when I do, I remember it! Generally I find Hollywood's version of true love to be, well, Hollywood. Very clean and simple and a bit flat. This film was so full of characters with such altruistic personalities, it was hard not to want them to live happily ever after!

The film makers seemed to leave out a lot of plot either for time or budget purposes. It would have been nicer to have a more detailed explanation of exactly what the CIA guy was finagling. The viewer has to figure out a lot for him/herself. More background on the Angelina Jolie character might have been nice too. At first all we know about her is that she's recently married, then she goes to Ethiopia. Next thing we know she's working for the UN? What exactly was her UN function other than the very shallow scene we see of "setting up aid"? Maybe I need a second viewing, but without giving too much away --what exactly had the Doctor done to irk the Chechen warlord? I'm not sure that was explained. It seemed like a lot was missing and there should have been deleted scenes included on the DVD. Well, maybe a director's version will be released eventually.

All in all, it was an entertaining and thought-provoking film.


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