Rating: 
Summary: Hopkins isn't enough for an extra star
Review: I had high hopes for "Hearts in Atlantis." Many valuable individuals were involved with it. I loved the novel, and when I heard "Low Men in Yellow Coats" was being made into a movie, I was happy, figuring that would be the best segment for a movie to be based on.Unfortunately, it was not to be. This is an utterly horrid waste of film. Even Anthony Hopkins, one of my favorite actors, isn't enough to save it. Many of the non-Anthony Hopkins actors are just mediocre. The plot is rather disjointed, feeling rather jumpy compared to the book. The characterization in this movie is just appalling. In the book, the characters had actual personalities. They had motives. Not so in the movie. Sure, Ted, Bobby, and Liz are developed a bit, but all the other characters mights as well be robots for all the difference it makes in the plot. Take the head bully. Assuming I didn't actually fall asleep in the middle of the movie, he really doesn't change emotion at all, the sheerly stunning revelation from another character aside. In the book, one better understands his relationship with those he bullies. He has actual depth. Basically, the movie is a boring shadow of the vastly superior segment in the book. Save a few dollars and just read the book. The other segments in the book make it well worth the while. If you have read the book, avoid this movie. If you must see it performed, just do it yourself with sock puppets. You really won't miss much.
Rating: 
Summary: Another high quality Stephen King adaption...
Review: Set in the early 1960's, Anthony Hopkins plays a mysterious elderly gentleman of unknown background with powerful psychic abilities. He rents an apartment over a house in the suburbs. Downstairs lives a single mother and her ten year old son. Anthony Hopkins develops a grandfatherly relationship with the boy, but his mother is very suspicious of him.
This is the time of the cold war, and it seems that Anthony Hopkins is also hiding from government agents who have been forcing him to use his psychic powers to gather intelligence from the Russians (I assume).
Very good movie. Based on a novel by Stephen King. I have yet to see a non-horror movie based on Stephen King material that was not good.
Rating: 
Summary: Simply a beautiful film
Review: Buddhist monks believe there can be beauty in the simplest and most often repeated tasks. Sweeping a path, carrying water and even cooking a simple meal can bring a sense of wonder. The true beauty lies in their execution. This movie is a lot like that. There is nothing new in Hearts in Atlantis. We've all seen the coming of age story done before. The first kiss on the Ferris wheel, lazy summer afternoons spent with friends in the huge, cool forests that seemed to shrink down to small groves of trees in our adulthood. They're all there. The mother who doesn't understand and won't listen? She's there too. What about the older man that not only remembers what it's like to be a kid, but seems to know the young hero better than he knows himself? Yep, him too. The bicycle that must be earned and the bully that must be fought and conquered are present, along with the loss of innocence and journey to understanding of the parent. Everything you expect to be there is there, but there's more. For those that haven't read the book (or seen the film yet) I won't spoil anything here, but Ted isn't quite what he seems. It's a twist that could have been added and dominated the film, but doesn't. Ted is what he is and it is a part of the story, but not the biggest part. The greatest achievement here is the melding of everything we've seen before into a film that is greater than the sum of it's cliches. Anthony Hopkins wonderfully underplays his role here. Just the look on his face while he makes the observation- "Yeah, all kids think farts are funny." is worth the price of renting this disk. This is not a movie to be discussed in depth or over analyzed. It's a film to slip into like an old comfy sweater on a rainy afternoon. It's just a film to be enjoyed.
Rating:
Summary: 'Stand By Me" with a kick
Review: I rented the DVD and after watching the film, went back and watched it again with the director's comments. As great as "Stand By Me" is (and I guess comparisons are inevitable here) this one is better. Anton Yelchin and Mika Boren are absolutely wonderful as Bobby and Carol, on the brink of growing up. Yelchin acts rings around an old pro like Hopkins. The cinematography is excellent, and it's worth investing the time to watch with Hicks' comments on why he shot certain things as he did. I was a little surprised to see the the Virginia Beach lighthouses looming over the carnival the kids attend, though. The locale of the unnamed city did not seem to be anywhere near that area. I haven't read the book, so I wasn't disappointed in changes from the original. Whatever the source, this movie is excellent.
Rating: 
Summary: If you've already read the book...
Review: ... this will be a very disappointing film. Only the first segment of the book is covered - Bobby Garfield and Ted Brautigan. The characters are well-portrayed - Bobby, his mother, Carol, and Anthony Hopkins as Brautigan. Hence my two-star rating. But the rest of King's fine book - Bobby's depression and descent into juvenile delinquincy, Pete Riley and Carol at college, Carol's transformation into the political radical "Red Carol," the "penance" of "Blind Willie" Shearman, and John Sullivan's bizarre death - are all missing. We're told at the end of the film that Carol is dead. The final reunion, which so beautifully concluded the book, is also missing. Bobby never hears from Brautigan again - no rose petals. It's hard to believe that King allowed this stripped-down version to be filmed. Even the title - "Hearts In Atlantis" - is meaningless in the context of this film. I thought King cared more about his work than this.
Rating: 
Summary: It missed completely
Review: Having read the book before seeing this movie all I can say is that it missed completely in capturing magic, the evil and the otherworldly eeriness that made the book such an enjoyable read. What is left is a "B" grade version of "My Girl" told from the boy's prospective with a unlikable mom and a weird old guy with ESP. If you've read the book, skip this movie. If you haven't read the book skip this movie and read the book.
Rating:
Summary: If you read the book..... DON"T WATCH THIS MOVIE!!!
Review: This has to be the lamest movie I've ever seen. Having read the book and loved every page, I can say that this is NOTHING like the book. They leave out everything important. The portrayal of the "low men" is probably the biggest let down of the movie. The book was way too long and in-depth to ever become a movie, anyway. Why they thought they could pull off the switch is beyond me.
Rating:
Summary: Fine, Entertaining Movie
Review: I rented this movie some months ago, liked it a lot, then decided to
listen to the audio book (on the recommendation of Roger Ebert's review).
I somehow got through 19 hours of listening, but I think reading the book
would have been a much better idea. Last night I watched the movie again to
complete the "gestalt." It's hard for me to understand quite a few of the comments I've read
about this movie. Some people seem to think that if a movie is based on
a Stephen King novel it must be full of "terror." Others claim that the
screenplay does not do justice to the novel. My opinion is a big thumbs up
for "Hearts in Atlantis," a very well done, touching movie, and thank God,
almost no violence! One can only assume that when filmmakers decide to do a movie based on
a novel they've got to make choices. Clearly with "Hearts in Atlantis" they
choose to focus on the "coming of age" of the main character, Bobby Garfield,
who in the book is in the first and final sections. Thus the thrust of the
movie is Bobby's maturation, specifically in his relationships with his Mother
and girlfriend, and the huge transformation he undergoes after he bonds with
the mysterious psychic Ted Brautigan. So while it can be claimed that the movie doesn't follow the book
(I think it does), I was very moved by the outstanding performances of
Anthony Hopkins and the 2 child actors, and I feel that the depiction of
their relationships and growth are superb. Even the elderly Brautigan
character is transformed, which he admits when he is being taken away by
the low men in his final moments in the movie - he shouts from the car to Bobby
that he wouldn't have missed a moment of their relationship. To me the success of a
drama is judged precisely in the interactions and transformations of the characters,
and on this criterion "Hearts in Atlantis" easily gets an A from me. And I give
the moviemakers a lot of credit, because, as another reviewer noted, many pages
of the book are often portrayed very well in just a few seconds in the movie. Indeed the psychic aspect of Brautigan's character, and who he really is,
is not done as well as in the book, but to me this is a relatively minor issue.
I want to "give away" that the title of the movie has really nothing to do with
the movie's plot. In the book we learn that "Hearts in Atlantis" is about another
character who goes to college, gets addicted to playing Hearts with his dormmates,
who also listen to the "overly idealistic" song "Atlantis" by Donovan (from the
late '60's). One final comment - if you had any interest in the movie, please get
the book and read the last few pages, for the ending in the book is much better
than the ending in the movie. I do understand why the moviemakers make the choice
they do, but the "real" ending is more touching!
Rating:
Summary: I give this movie five Z's: zzzzz
Review: This is the only movie I have ever literally fallen asleep during in a movie theater. My snoring woke me up. Don't buy it for entertainment, but do buy it if you have trouble swallowing pills and need an occasional melatonin to help you sleep.
Rating:
Summary: Something's Missing..
Review: I was really looking forward to this movie. It seems that when Steven King deviates from horror, great things happen. However, I don't think that was the case here. This movie starts off really great. It has a great cast of characters, a nice little feel about it, and the story starts off intriguing. A strange man shows up this family's house, and befriends the kids. However, there's more to him than meets the eye. He has some sort of unusual powers, and he has these premonitions that someone's coming after him. A plot seems to be lain out, and the story gets interesting. But... ...Just as the movie hooks you, it suddenly ends abruptly. This movie has NO END whatsoever! The story does not go anywhere at all, and at the end you're left with more questions than answers. With an actual end, this could have been a great movie. The kids are very likable, and Anthony Hopkins, as always, does a great job. But, does anything else think he still had some residual creepiness left over from "Hannibal"? He's supposed to be a friendly, good-natured guy, but in some places he's creepy for no reason. Like when he faces down the bullies, you half expect him to whip out a knife and start carving. Anyway, this was ultimately a pretty disappointing movie. It starts out great, but then it just falls apart.
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