Rating: 
Summary: This kid is incredible!!!
Review: Not only does Josh Waitzkin possess a certain genius that most human beings can't begin to understand, but Max Pomeranc's portrayal of Waitzkin is phenominal in this movie. Pomeranc's performance rivals that of Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense. His performance is possibly the best of any child actor that I have ever seen. Spot on! However, good acting is only the icing on a very good cake. Searching for Bobby Fischer is extremely well written and riveting. The entire movie just grabs you from the beginning and doesn't let you go until the credits roll. I won't go into its plot. There are plenty of other places on the internet to find out specifics about the movie's content. Just know that it is an essential movie for anyone who is a parent. And it's a perfect movie for the whole family. A top 10 favorite of mine. Possibly number 1. A+
Rating: 
Summary: Nice
Review: This movie based on the gifted chess player Josh Waitzkin, who is among the best young chess players in the United States. The title of the movie is metaphorical; it is not actually about searching for Bobby Fischer (who disappeared from the public), but trying to find someone as gifted in chess as him. Good family film.
Rating:
Summary: A superb movie that illustrates some wonderful things
Review: I really love this movie. It has a lot of wonderful points to make about the gifts children have and the way adults have to work to discover them, nurture the child while developing the gifts, teaching the child about using their gifts, but not going too far and not latching onto the child and living through them.The film is at its most touching when Josh struggles and the adults in his life struggle even more to try and find ways to help him. Finally, the dad (superbly played by Joe Montegna) lets Josh off the hook and takes him fishing. Josh then returns to competition and can take possession of his gift and competitiveness on his own terms. In real life, Josh Waitzkin has been a superb, but not dominant chess player, but I gather he has led a happy life which should be enough for everyone and is really the point of things, not gathering trophies or empty titles. Josh learns a bit about the cruelty of real life competition in a painful but not destructive way. Yet, of course, the film has the final crisis against a very threatening opponent. I am sure you can figure out what happens. But this final scene isn't really the message of the movie, it is just the ending. Laurence Fishburne has a great role he plays wonderfully. Joan Allen is great as the loving and intelligent mother who is protective but not over protective. And Ben Kingsley plays Bruce Pandolfini who is the teacher of Josh. I do not know what was made dramatic for the movie and what is drawn from real life. But it doesn't matter. What do matter are the real life lessons the movie portrays in such a tender and beautiful way. Just glorious.
Rating:
Summary: Love, love, love this movie!
Review: I many ways this is a dreadfully dull film, and yet I remain captivated every time I watch it. A film about a chess prodigy, by all rights, should be about as boring as watching paint dry. But this character-driven story is so compelling and so affecting that it's an actual excitement that comes from watching it. Joan Allen, Joe Mantega, Ben Kingsley, Laurence Fishburn are amazing. And as much as I hate child actors, Max Pomeranc is about brilliant as a kid can be in any film. I've forced many people to watch this movie over the last ten years, and every one of them has loved it.
Rating:
Summary: Fatherhood
Review: A great script by Steven (Schindler's List, Gangs of New York) Zaillian, directed by same, based on the true life story of the father and son relationship between Fred Waitzkin (Joe Mantegna) and his seven year old child, Josh (Max Pomeranc) Chess is secondary. What the film is really about is the dilemma loving parents face in deciding what's best. Some decisions are easy, but others . . . In this one, your son is a prodigy and you have a simple choice: Should you inspire and push him to the limit, or simply let him have a 'normal childhood '---and fail? It's one or the other. As any sportswriter will tell you, no kid who lived a 'normal childhood' ever won an Olympic medal in anything, regardless of talent. The competition is brutal. As is the training the child must follow. Ironically, Josh's father is a sportswriter. Damned if you do, dammned it you don't. Much as you try to logically figure it out, there's no way to foretell the consequences. Will your choice help him actualize his potential, and attain all the good that you want for him, or royally mess up his mind and his future? Good luck, dad. Great performances by Mantegna, Lawrence Fishburne and Ben Kingsley. Yes, we all know these are great actors but in this film they surpass themselves. Mantegna steadily builds the tension, he carries the film without a single false moment. Fishburne is riveting as Vinnie, the taunting 'chess hustler' in Washington Square Park who befriends and protects Josh. Kingsley plays a has-been former Grandmaster, hired by Mantegna to coach his son who becomes ruthlessly determined that Josh not suffer his own fate, even if it means manipulating a goodhearted child into acquiring a " killer instinct " ---and contempt for all the world. If you thought he was great as Ghandi, trust me, he will not dissapoint you here. One of my favorite moments is when a former competitor turned coach snidely compares Kingsley to his own protege: " He reminds me a lot of you when you were young---only he never gives up. " Kingsley's reaction to this slap on the face is phenomenal: He shows none. Doesn't even break stride. The silence plays better than a scream. A lesser actor would have butchered it. Not only one of the best films of the 1990's, this little known gem is one of the most satisfying and enjoyable films of any decade.
Rating:
Summary: Checkmate
Review: You are eight years old. Your father (Joe Montagne) teaches you chess for the first time. After three games, you beat him. After that, you beat everyone else. And are thrown into competitions, and compare to Bobby Fisher, the greatest chess player of all time... Ben Kingsly plays the chess teacher searching for the next Bobby Fisher, hoping it will fulfill his own shortcomings. He has found a wunderkind in Josh, who in a very short time, has the vision to see 20 moves into the game (something only Masters can do), but lacks the killer instinct. Josh just wants to play the game. Lawrence Fishburn plays the drug addict Central Park player who teaches Josh that the game is all about The Game. The film portrays the difference between what drives adults to succeed at life, and what drives a child just to fit in. Flawlessly infused is actual footage of Bobby Fisher playing multiple players, while Josh narrates Bobby's expectations and ultimate mental breakdowns. This is a seamless film, and does a superb job of creating the razor's edge between adult expectations, and a boy's innocence. I am never wrong about good movies. This is one of them.
Rating:
Summary: searching for bobby fischer
Review: A wonderful movie for ages 7 and above. Warning to parents: Don't pressure your kids to excel greatly in chess. I've read some true to life stories of great grand masters who lost their sanity playing the game.
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie -- For Adults and Kids
Review: This is a great movie, both for adults and kids. I bought this primarily for myself, since I love chess, but also for my wife. We have seen it many times and enjoy it time. If you thought chess was only for braniacs, this movie will show you otherwise. It is very much a sport. In fact, many very good athletes who also play chess will tell you that a chess tournament is physically more draining than many sport competitions. I would certainly agree. The tournament play is realistic as is the jaunts to chess clubs in Manhattan and Washington Square, which I visit as often as I can when we go to New York City. The stress, fun, elation, effort, exhaustion, sound and everything about the tournaments are great. The "moral of the story" is the greatest part, though (no, I won't mention it here). The sound is fantastic. The cinematography is accurate and great. The editing is very good. The transfer to DVD is very good. Definitely a movie to have available for guests.
Rating:
Summary: A Fantastic Movie!
Review: This is one of the greatest, and most popular movies you can find. Although it's about 10 years old it's great. Some parts of it are even humorous, and most parts are exciting, from the part where Josh Waitzkin, (Max Pomeranc) starts getting taught by Bruce Pandolfini, (Ben Kingsley) to when he competes for the nationals. One other thing: I have no idea why this movie is rated PG. Anyone can watch, and love it. Along with Monsters, Inc. and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, this is one of the movies you can watch over 32 times, (I've watched all three many more than 30 times), and not get sick of. You don't have to know or like the game of chess to enjoy every minute of this VHS.
Rating:
Summary: An Exciting Movie about...Chess??!!
Review: Some friends of mine and I discovered this movie one day on cable, and it has become one of my all-time favorites. The acting by all participants is incredible. The conflict between father and son that arises is poignant. Josh, just wanting to be a kid and play a game, is played incredibly well by this young actor. You don't even have to like chess to enjoy this movie, but that's because this movie isn't really even about chess. Its about being a kid. All the more amazing because this movie is based on a real person.
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