The Village (Full Screen Edition) - Vista Series

Starring:Jayne Atkinson, Adrien Brody, Frank Collison, Jesse Eisenberg, Brendan Gleeson, Judy Greer, Charlie Hofheimer, Bryce Dallas Howard, William Hurt, Cherry Jones, John Christopher Jones, Fran Kranz, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Pitt (II), Pascale Renate Smith, Scott Sowers, Zack Wall, Sigourney Weaver, Celia Weston
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Touchstone
Product Type: DVD

Description

KEEPING MUM stars Rowan Atkinson as an absent-minded vicar of a rural parish who is so distracted by the pressures of his job that he fails to notice his wife's (Kristin Scott Thomas) dalliance with her brash golf instructor (Patrick Swayze), his daughter's parade of new boyfriends, and his young son's regular trouncing by the school's bullies. Enter their charming new housekeeper, Grace (Maggie Smith), the answer to the family's prayers: a sweet old lady with her own distinctive definition of cleaning house - and a very unusual way of solving problems.

Customer Reviews:

A Killer of a Movie.......2007-06-27

Anyone reared or married into a minister's family will enjoy a vicarious revenge in Maggie Smith's uninhibited, unrepentant determination to level the playing field for her family. It was strange to see Rowan Atkinson in a mostly serious role but he did a good job, mixing sincerity with "serious" humor that only the English can do. I thought the ending was over-the-top and wasn't true to the family's character but the rest of the movie was good enough to make the flaws tolerable.

British comedy at its best.......2007-06-04

Keeping Mum is one of those eccentric British gems. The title itself is a pun and the witticisms keep coming. Great performances by Maggie Smith and Kristin Scott Thomas. The male roles were weak and the ladies were clearly the stronger characters. Grand-daughter Holly (Tamsin Egerton) is a great addition.

I've seen better by Rowan Atkinson, but overall a charming little movie. Maggie Smith as the sweet old-lady killer is classic.

Can't Keep Mum on Mediocrity.......2007-06-02

With its stellar cast, I expected "Keeping Mum" to be full of sophisticated dry wit. NOT! I mean, it isn't a terrible movie, but three stars is actually a generous rating. I'm tempted to demote it a bit for its corniness and hokey sex humor. With the possible exception of Rowan Atkinson's character, the viewer is not inspired to care much about the main players of the story. I was more concerned about the unwitting neighbor and his dog. Animal lovers such as myself will not be pleased with the outcome. I can take a joke but this one is pretty lame. Sorry to rain on the parade of happy campers who seem to like this movie, and I don't know why Amazon has paired "Keeping Mum" with "Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont"; the latter being a MUCH better British film.

Charmingly sweet story cleverly wrapped in a black comedy.......2007-05-30

Keeping Mum is a charmingly sweet story cleverly wrapped in a black comedy, with a dark plot about murder and strong undertones of family love and responsibility. Director and screenwriter Niall Johnson manages to pull it all together in a delightful way that will leave most audience members glad they watched, especially once they realize the pun in the title.
The film starts out 43 years ago on a train. We're introduced to Rosie Jones (a charming Emilia Fox), a smiling, gentle, very pregnant young lady... with a trunk in the train's storage compartment that is seeping blood. When she's turned in to the by the police by a suspicious porter she freely admits that her husband and his lover, or at least the remaining pieces of them, are in the trunk. When one officer asks why she did it, she casually responds "Well, I couldn't very well sit idly by, could I?" Cut to a courtroom where a judge locks her away in an insane asylum.

The audience is then introduced to the Goodfellow family (present day) and the rural English village of Little Wallop. Walter Goodfellow, the town vicar (subtly played by Rowan Atkinson of Mr. Bean fame), is so caught up in his sermons and the nagging members of his congregation that his home life is slipping away from him. His wife Gloria (the brilliant Kristin Scott Thomas) is having an affair with her golf instructor (Patrick Swayze in a hilarious role that feels like it was written just for him), his daughter Holly is coming home with a different boyfriend every other day, and his son is getting bullied at school. Enter Grace Hawkins.

Maggie Smith enters the scene as a renamed, aged Rosie Jones, who believes the best way to solve your problems is to get rid of them, literally. In a slightly twisted, darkly hilarious version of Mary Poppins, Maggie Smith comes to the Goodfellow family as a maid and nanny and in her own way starts to straighten things up. Her antics may be a tad outlandish, but in their own strange way, they're just what the Goodfellow family needs: a touch of Grace.

The acting is top knotch, the humor is decidedly British and dark, and every joke delivers. Patrick Swayze really stands out in a cast of Brits as the libidinized Texas golf instructor trying to seduce the vicar's wife and spy on the vicar's daughter. Throwing himself into the role with reckless abandon shows Swayze's comedic timing and adds an extra layer to the British humor.

The DVD includes several special features, including feature commentary by the director, a rather dry blooper reel, quite a few deleted scenes (I mean "bonus" scenes), and an extended scene of Rowan Atkinson as a soccer goalie that may be the funniest part of the DVD. Keeping Mum is an all around great experience.

Very British Dark Comedy.......2007-05-28

I happen to be a big fan of British comedies, even though I'm American. I rented "Keeping Mum" because I enjoy Rowan Atkinson's performances, and even though he's not really the central character in this movie, he does a fine job -- as do all the actors. Indeed, the casting is just about perfect.

The movie manages to make light of a number of basically grim topics - most notably murder - and it's definitely not for the kiddies. But if you like wry humor, and aren't put off by swearing, partial nudity, and a lot of violence (mostly off-screen) then "Keeping Mum" will tickle your fancy.

Average customer rating:

Decent movie
Ending lacked
Are frightened tourists giving this movie bad reviews!???
not too bad......
Surprisingly good.

Turistas (Unrated Edition)
Starring: Miguel Lunardi , Melissa George , Desmond Askew , Josh Duhamel , and Olivia Wilde
Director: John Stockwell
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000N3AW6G
Release Date: 2007-03-27

Amazon.com

If not for Hostel, we'd never have been treated to the gory, horrific delights so lovingly captured with sadistic detail in Turistas. Together, these movies could be spawning a radical new Hollywood-pedigreed sub-genre of extreme horror. Like Hostel, Turistas concerns a group of American hardbodied kids on an exotic foreign vacation--this time in Brazil. After a suspense-filled opening sequence of a speeding bus careening off a dangerous mountain (it's also tinged with just the right kind of humor), the kids wander into the seeming paradise of a secluded beachfront resort where they think nothing of locals who lure them one by one to their gruesome and shocking deaths. Hey, they're here to party! These excruciatingly graphic scenes unfold in the lair of a madman doctor named Zamora, who harvests organs of the still-living as a way of exacting revenge on American turistas to "give back" to the locals they exploit with their capitalist dollars. One such scene has the donor undergoing surgery without the help of anesthesia wherein the lovely young "patient" has the chance to see her still thriving innards pulsing warmly on her well-formed chest to the tune of her own screams. This stuff is not for the faint of heart (or liver, or kidney, or lungs, for that matter). But there is a fair amount of nicely staged tension, especially a "foot" chase scene in a water-filled cave that will give claustrophobics a whole new way to experience nightmares. The two most familiar faces are Melissa George and Josh Duhamel, from TV's Alias and Vegas respectively. Fans of this new world of extreme gross-out horror should be thankful that TV has plenty of cute young bodies waiting for their big screen break, no matter how many organs they have to donate to get there. --Ted Fry

Description

Rising star Josh Duhamel (TV's Las Vegas) leads a group of young backpackers who find themselves stranded on a remote Brazilian beach; an exotic paradise, with warm sunshine, cool ocean breezes, and plenty of hot bodies. But, after a night of partying, the wayward turistas are drugged and robbed, and their dream vacation becomes a gruesome nightmare. Trapped and desperate, the vulnerable travelers are lured deep into the menacing jungle and beyond, where a dark and twisted fate too terrifying to imagine awaits.

Customer Reviews:

Decent movie .......2007-07-03

Thought this movie was a decent little watch, its not as horrific as you may think, you only see one person get multilated and it looks as though they are under anasthetic so it kind of takes the horrific factor away, the idea of it is scary but it somehow misses the actual scares.
The kids do some idiotic things (as usual) in this movie, like following a stranger through underwater caves (the stranger being the only one with a torch) so it would be pitch black for everyone else (in reality), he probably would not be able to see even with a torch, without goggles how they managed to do it is beyond me and thats coming from a former pro swimmer, the ending is as bad with a 10 minute chase through these underwater caverns, no goggles, holding their breath for minutes at a time while trying to avoid a guy with an arrow, only coming up to breath pockets of air that are trapped at the top of the cave (could be CO2 for all they know).
Worth a watch, though slightly ruined also by the bad english actors (one who used to be in a daytime british soap called "Hollyoaks"), how can I take him seriously !!

Ending lacked.......2007-06-12

The movie was decent, good plot, good characters. The action lacked it was short. The ending also sucked.

Are frightened tourists giving this movie bad reviews!???.......2007-06-10

This is a good well acted fun suspense movie with a scarily real message, "be careful who you trust" I dont just mean on foreign soil but ANYWHERE your not familiar with, as people can have ulterior motive anytime, anywhere. Thats the message of this movie I believe and its presented in a chilling and at times ( although NOTING like Hostel etc) brutal way. What we have here is a group of likeable fun characters who just want to have fun, fighting to survive against a macabre set up by some locals in the area they have happened upon. This movie in no way dserves so many one star reviews, I mean a movies sole purpose is to entertain..this movie entertained... so much so you want your group of characters to survive and get home safely, rather than create people so unlikeable you're praying for that machete to fall asap! Im glad I decided to ignore the trashing of this movie and go with my gut feeling which was : with a beautiful scenary, great actors and actresses ( melissa George, always a pleasure) and a chillingly plausible plot, that a good movie was sure to come out of it. And...it did. i'd give it a go...although gore hounds expecting a HOSTEL rerun, please think again, its not the director, actor or writers fault that this movie was presented to theatres and marketed in such a way!!!!!!!!!!

not too bad.............2007-06-04

Ive seen lots worse than this. The story is good enough to make a movie
about it. Its only a movie, so i did not try to tie in too much logic to it and i ended up liking it. Creepy doctor with a chip on his shoulder dont like tourists and has personal plans for some of them.
I enjoyed the scenery, the waterfalls, the forest...much better than a
movie shot inside a studio.
Bottom line, good for a viewing or two.

Surprisingly good........2007-05-27

Turistas (John Stockwell, 2007)

I think Turistas may hold the record for speed of a theatrical release making it to DVD; I was watching it at home less than three months after it came out in the theaters. And while I have to say I understand why it redefined the term "box-office disaster," it's not nearly as bad a film as I was expecting it to be. Much of the problem, both with my expectations and (I suspect) the turnout at the cinema, had to do with the press' endless comparisons between this film and Hostel, comparisons which are about as warranted as those between, say, My Fair Lady and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Yes, there's the same mix of sex and violence, but in nowhere near the same ratio (nor amount) to be found in the wonderful world of Eli Roth. I'd have a hard time believing that Stockwell had to do anywhere near as much cutting to get his R as Roth did.

Stockwell (Nixon) opens his film with three characters on a Brazilian vacation--Alex (Las Vegas' Josh Duhamel), his sister Bea (Alpha Dog's Olivia Wilde), and her friend Amy (Guess model Beau Garrett). A combination of inattention and aggression in the bus driver causes an accident, and the three of them, along with some newfound friends--Pru (Melissa George, recently of The Amityville Horror), an Australian, and London brothers Finn (The Hills Have Eyes' Desmond Askew) and Liam (TV actor Max Brown)--find what seems to be paradise just down the hill, a white sandy beach with a bar run by beautiful, mysterious Camila (Brazilian actress Andrea Leal, in her first major American appearance). The six of them hook up with Svend (Gustav Roth) and his girlfriend Annika (Olga Diegues), who have been staying there for the past three days, and the group is set. Oh, except for the token native, Kiko (Agles Steib), a Brazilian who's been studying English, but hasn't had any native speakers on which to test his skills. As with all paradises, you know things are about to go bad quickly. They do.

Where Hostel seemed to me to be far less about plot and more about how much Roth could get away with within the Hollywood machine (rather like Wes Craven's Last House on the Left thirty-plus years previous), Turistas imposes a plot, interesting characters, etc. on the formula (continuing the parallel, think, say, Men Behind the Sun). For the most part, I think, Stockwell quite succeeds, but the trade-off is that the gorehound crowd get not nearly as much of what they're looking for, while the plot-and-character crowd will find their stomachs turned by what little gore there is (there's really not enough nudity to cause anyone to squirm, and what there is is, with the exception of one comedic scene, presented in the least sexy way possible; Stockwell was not out to titillate here). Thus, like so many neglected movies, the main problem with Turistas is not really a problem at all: it's just a movie that no one knows how to categorize, and thus how to market, and the audience who would've found it enjoyable were too busy dismissing it as either too gory or not gory enough.

If you didn't catch it the first time round, and you almost certainly didn't, it's worth a rental, if you're into that sort of thing. *** ½

Average customer rating:

Ethan Hawke brings no expectation of acting skills to a totally ridiculous film!
Beautifull movie filmed in a beautifull place.
Every Artist....
Greatest love story ever!!!
Exceeded Expectations

Great Expectations (1998)
Starring: Ethan Hawke , Gwyneth Paltrow , Hank Azaria , Chris Cooper , and Anne Bancroft
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000035Z20
Release Date: 2002-05-21

Amazon.com

The key ingredient in this modern-day version of Charles Dickens's classic is director Alfonso Cuarón, who made the glowing, estimable A Little Princess. If you saw that (and you should), understand that Expectations has those ingredients (great sense of time, place, and timing) but adds modern music and sex appeal; the latter personified by the long-legged Gwyneth Paltrow.

Finnegan Bell (Ethan Hawke as an adult, Jeremy James Kissner at age 10) is the new version of Dickens's Pip. He's a child wise beyond his years, befriending an escaped convict (Robert De Niro) in the warm waters of Florida's Gulf Coast. Finn is also the plaything for Estella (Paltrow as an adult, Raquel Beaudene at age 10), the niece of the coast's richest and most eccentric lady, Ms. Dinsmoor (a fun and flamboyant Anne Bancroft). The prudish Estella likes Finn (catch the best first kiss scene in many a moon) but has been brought up to disdain men; she'll break hearts. As the object of Finn's desires, Estella unfortunately is a one-dimensional character, yet what a dimension! Clad in Donna Karan dresses and her long, sun-kissed hair, Paltrow is luminous. She and Hawke make a very sexy couple.

Mitch Glazer's script does better by Finn. He's a blue-collar worker with a gift for drawing (artwork by Francesco Clemente). Following his Uncle Joe's (Chris Cooper) honest ways, Finn grows up as a fisherman, thoughts of Estella and art drifting away in the hard work. When a mysterious benefactor allows him to follow his dream, Finn finds himself in New York, preparing for a once-in-a-lifetime art exhibit--and in the arms of the engaged Estella.

Filled with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki's golden-drenched light, the film has an irresistible, wildly romantic look. Dinsmoor's place is certainly gothic, Estella and Finn's longing encounters glamorous. Cuarón uses an MTV-friendly soundtrack with a confident touch. Songs by Tori Amos and the band Pulp--along with Patrick Doyle's silky score--create passionate scenes. It all ends far too swiftly with a seemingly tacked-on ending (reflecting the book, as it happens) but the film is splendid storytelling. It's a stylish, sweet valentine. --Doug Thomas

Description

The moment young Finn sets eyes on Estella, she becomes his inspiration and his obsession. Despite being warned, "she'll only break your heart," he vowed to win her love. Years later, thanks to a mysterious benefactor, aspiring artist Finn is off to New York, where he is reunited with the icy and beautiful Estella. When she agrees to model for him, Finn's dearest hopes may at last be realized-along with his darkest fears!

Customer Reviews:

Ethan Hawke brings no expectation of acting skills to a totally ridiculous film!.......2007-06-29

Where do I begin??? Well...how about UGH!? I tried to pinpoint what I found particularly annoying about this version of GREAT EXPECTATIONS...and then it came to me; there was nothing about any one character for which I felt a single shred of emotion! I might as well have been Estella herself! I freely admit that even Dicken's original story is my least favorite of all Dickens' novels. I have seen three other film adaptations and still did not particularly care for the story or the characters (here the names have been changed as well as the time and the country).Perhaps Ethan Hawke, who plays the "Pip" character,Finnegan Bell, was my biggest objection to this film. I found him to be 100% lifeless,uninteresting and not at all an embodiment of understanding and kindness.With your lead character being so terribly portrayed, the story really never jelled for me. Gwyneth Paltrow as Estella, on the other hand, fares much better as the ice cold and victimized Estella. She seems to understand her character's tragic upbringing and the sexy allure with which she has been educated by Nora Dinsmore (a somewhat odd and uneven portrayal by Anne Bancroft).

I found the New York shots to be totally implausible. Where does anyone walk in New York TOTALLY ALONE on bright,gorgeous sunny days in Central Park West???? Come on!!! Where do leaves cascade down alley ways tucked far,far away from any living green thing??? (I understand the symbolism, but this simply doesn't work with New York City).

The design for the Dinsmore house never once changes over the years of neglect! The same vines that entwined the house when Finn was a young boy on his first visit are exactly the same as when he arrives years later. Vines grow!!!

This entire film was so implausible,senseless and uneven in production.

Patrick Doyle's original soundtrack seemed to me totally incorrect for the sensibility of this adaptation. He must have still been in his Kenneth Branagh mode!

Sorry, but this film is a throwaway...not totally...but still a throwaway!

Beautifull movie filmed in a beautifull place........2007-06-10

I love this modern adaptation of the classic Dickens novel. Although, part of that could be because I lived in south Florida for a long time, and spent many days wondering the Ringling museum, where this movie was filmed. The sound track is also worth a listen.

Every Artist...........2007-05-16

This movie is magic. So many true artists can relate to this story because every true artist has that sole inspiration that is never quite hers/his. It's a film about passion, about the one that got away, about trusting in fate, taking risks, and staying true to your purpose. I highly recommend this to anyone who has ever let the dream guide them.

Greatest love story ever!!!.......2007-03-24

I've always been against chick flicks... but my girlfriend make me watch this one and it was amazing!! You HAVE to see it!!

Exceeded Expectations.......2007-03-19

This movie is a beautful story of the struggle to find love. A must see.

Average customer rating:

fun, scary, and thought-provoking
Those We Often Speak Of
A Good Place to Visit
The Village - more great M-Night
The story line itself is fatally flawed

The Village (Widescreen Vista Series)
Starring: Jayne Atkinson , Adrien Brody , Frank Collison , Jesse Eisenberg , and Brendan Gleeson
Manufacturer: Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Touchstone
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00064LJVE
Release Date: 2005-01-11

Amazon.com

Even when his trademark twist-ending formula wears worrisomely thin as it does in The Village, M. Night Shyamalan is a true showman who knows how to serve up a spookfest. He's derailed this time by a howler of a "surprise" lifted almost directly from "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim," an episode of The Twilight Zone starring Cliff Robertson that originally aired in 1961. Even if you're unfamiliar with that Rod Serling scenario, you'll have a good chance of guessing the surprise, which ranks well below The Sixth Sense and Signs on Shyamalan's shock-o-meter. That leaves you to appreciate Shyamalan's proven strengths, including a sharp eye for fear-laden compositions, a general sense of unease, delicate handling of fine actors (alas, most of them wasted here, save for Bryce Dallas Howard in a promising debut), and the cautious concealment of his ruse, which in this case involves a 19th-century village that maintains an anxious truce with dreadful creatures that live in the forbidden woods nearby. Will any of this take anyone by genuine surprise? That seems unlikely, since Emperor Shyamalan has clearly lost his clothes in The Village, but it's nice to have him around to scare us, even if he doesn't always succeed. --Jeff Shannon

Description

M. Night Shyamalan (SIGNS, UNBREAKABLE, THE SIXTH SENSE), the director who brought you the world's greatest thrillers on DVD, now creates his most thought-provoking triumph yet ... breaking international records and dazzling audiences around the globe! THE VILLAGE is a smart, edge-of-your-seat chiller crawling with terrifying surprises and frightening twists and turns. An isolated, tight-knit community lives in mortal fear of an oppressive evil inhabiting the forbidden forest just beyond their tiny village. So frightening that no one ventures into the woods ... until one villager dares to face the unknown. With unforgettable performances from Joaquin Phoenix, Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, Adrien Brody, and newcomer Bryce Dallas Howard, this powerful motion picture is one of Hollywood's best psychological thrillers and ranks with the best of Hitchcock!

Customer Reviews:

fun, scary, and thought-provoking.......2007-07-03

I love thriller films, especially when they make a worthwhile point, and this one definitely fits. Not only was it an excellently-made movie with a plot that took many unexpected turns, but it also made me think about the role fear plays in our lives and the use of lies to perpetuate fear and control people. I see that a lot of people didn't really care for this film, but I really liked it.

Those We Often Speak Of.......2007-06-21

Although this film was widely successful, many felt that it did not live up to Mr. Shyamalan's previous efforts. I beilieve that is an incorrect assessment.

The Village is a truly beautiful film which tells one of the finest love stories in many years. The performances by all are top-notch, especially by the two leads, Joaquin Phoenix and Bryce Dallas Howard. The dialogue and usage of symbolism are exceptional, yet only part of the movie's many charms. The first time I tried to watch the movie, I found it slow and uninvolving. I was greatly mistaken. Much time is spent developing the state of the setting and establishing the main characters, rather than immediately jumping headlong into the action. This makes for a much more satisfying picture for those who like to think, as is the case with all of Night's films (save perhaps Lady in the Water, which is questoinable).

Few motion pictures capture the depths of mystery the way The Village does. Some say that they guessed the ending long before it came, but I find that unlikely. The clues are definitely there, as they should be, but everything has been orchestrated so perfectly it is hard to tear yourself away from the story long enough to consider the hidden truth.

Night is a master at revealing the right details at the right times. The pace can really only be thought of as slow if the viewer doesn't care to pay attention to everthing that is going on within this small village. Love is the unsung hero of the village, whose roots run deep within the hearts of nearly every person who lives there. The Village takes us back to a simpler time where morals were the very foundation of a community, where everyone was free to trust everyone else and happiness could be found in even the most mundane things. Churning the butter, sweeping the porch, washing the dishes - these are joyous undertakings in which each member of the town contributes to the good of all.

As for the creatures, termed "Those we do not speak of," they sure do speak of them a lot! Despite the fear the creatures evoke, it also strikes one as just a little humorous that was the term given to the mostly unseen monsters of the woods. Despite this, The Village is very intense indeed. It is mesmorizing to watch as the audience alternates between the goodness of the people and the fear that exists just out of sight.

I cannot say enough goos things about this underrated film. I loved every moment of it. Perhaps the best feature is how it shifts perspectives in mid-stream, but fails to lose any of its credibility. One day when you are feeling particularly low, know that you can count on this wonderful story to move you, to lift you up. The ending is awesome too!

A Good Place to Visit.......2007-06-12

This movie doesn't have quite the scare factor of Shyamalan's "Sixth Sense," nor quite the same level of twist-ending. However it is still an absorbing movie that provides a satisfactory wrap for all the mystifications it dangles along the way. And more than that, it is capable of provoking a lot of serious discussion among any group of friends who see the movie together.

In fact, this would be a good movie to screen for almost any classroom because of the lively, larger debate it invites. It is suitable for almost all individuals old enough to consider such issues, without in any way being a watered down, sanitized "kids' movie."

It is likely to fraction viewers off into the pros and the cons, with all sorts of shadings in between. It is especially relevant when considering communities that set themselves apart, either intentionally, such as the Amish, or through the necessities of historic struggle, such as many Native American communities. How far should things be allowed to go in these instances of isolation? You may well ask yourself that after you have finished watching "The Village."

The Village - more great M-Night.......2007-06-09

I give this movie a thumbs up. Yes it wasn't that scary but I don't think that was M Nights main point to the movie. For me ( spoiler here ) its about a group of people who try to escape society because something criminal and tragic happened to each of them. And though they have set up
a society of there own,tragedy still finds them. The romance and scary
elements are the icing on the cake. I really liked Bryce Dallas Howards
performance.

The story line itself is fatally flawed.......2007-06-04

My problem with this work, which I viewed for the first time last night on television rather than though a DVD, is that what should have been a great movie with many good points in its favour turned out to be a "Bomb". This was no fault of the excellent casts and the artistic cinematography. The projection of an almost Amish like isolated Victorian era village community was very well -handled. As at least one other reviewer has written, the damp leafless November woods and mists lend as eeriness most suitable to the setting of the story. However, the story line itself is fatally flawed. The ending could have been saved had a better extra twist been added than the one we are shown. I do not want to include any spoilers here. In fact part of my problem is that I learnt too much about the movie before I watched it. Inevitably when there are so many dismal film works shown indiscriminately on TV channels one resorts to site such as Amazon or IMdB for some sense of whether a film to be screened on TV is worth watching or taping.

I am very fond of what might be called "twilight zone" genre films despite the fact that so few of this kind are successful. It is probably one of the most challenging film script genres to write. So I would have incorporated and expanded the feeble attempt at an extra twist right at the end of the film of a kind that would have strengthened the predictable and not very impressive main twist with a less predictable ending. This is not a movie that most people might enjoy, even if it were improved by such suitable amendments and additions that might occur at some time in the future, but for a minority it is an extremely well done if not a perfectly finished work of art. Thus I give it three stars.

Average customer rating:

Zorba the Greek
Wow!
Zorba the Great!
great film!
IT IS ALL A CLASSIC SHOULD BE

Zorba the Greek
Starring: Anthony Quinn , Alan Bates , Irene Papas , Lila Kedrova , and Sotiris Moustakas
Director: Mihalis Kakogiannis
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0001XALGY
Release Date: 2004-08-03

Amazon.com

If you think Zorba the Greek is a simple-minded homage to a man with a zest for life, then you haven't seen the movie. Basil (Alan Bates), a reticent British writer, comes to the Mediterranean island of Crete to revive a mine his father owned. On the way, he meets a Greek roustabout named Zorba (Anthony Quinn) and hires him to help, little suspecting that Zorba's exuberance will lead him to some dark and troubling places--frankly, if the last 30 minutes of Zorba the Greek are what it means to embrace life, some viewers will want to shut the door in life's face. But there's no denying the movie's ambitious scope and implacable force, even as it paints an alien and disturbing portrait of life in a Greek village. On top of that, gorgeous cinematography and one of the greatest film scores ever give this movie almost demonic energy. --Bret Fetzer

Description

On the Greek isle of Crete, Basil (Alan Bates), a shy inhibited writer from England is befriended by Zorba (Anthony Quinn) a boisterous peasant with an astonishing love for life. When Zorba agrees to work at Basil's abandoned mine, it is the beginning of a lesson for the young man as he gradually moves from an observer of the world to a participant. This acclaimed classic co-stars Irene Paps and Lila Kedrova in an Oscar winning performance. "An utterly absorbing and sharply memorable film" (The Hollywood Reporter)

Customer Reviews:

Zorba the Greek.......2007-07-02

Based on the novel by Nikos Kazantzakis, the multiple Oscar-winning "Zorba" is all about Quinn's indelible, galvanic performance. A bon vivant who exhorts Basil to "loosen your belt and go find trouble", Zorba is a hurricane of manic energy and strapping muscularity, but also great tenderness. Bates portrays the cerebral, sissyish Basil with perfect restraint, while Oscar winner Kedrova (as ailing French hotelier Mme. Hortense) and Eleni Anousaki (as a stunningly gorgeous widow) provide excellent support as doomed love interests. Zesty and passionate, even in its darkest half-hour, Cacoyannis's "Zorba" is an irresistibly salty portrait of Greek life.

Wow!.......2007-06-11

Basil, an English writer caught up in orderliness ("I write essays") meets up with Zobra, a Greek with a huge lust for life. Basil hires Zorba to help him restart a mine he inherrited, and Zorba teaches Basil to get more out of life. It's more than a typical buddy scenario - the lessons are clearly only one way, and they're not always good ones.

There are several strong points in the movie. The humor is frequently dark, and not sanitized hollywood. The Buddhist undercurrents and morality are shown, lightly told, but no over-preachy. And rather than present a purely rosy picture of "living large" the darker sides are also explored.

It's a great movie, certainly worthy of the oscars it won, and perhaps it deserved a few more.

Zorba the Great!.......2007-05-13

This film is, has been and always will be one of the 10 ten films ever made in my opnion. Anthony Quinn's performance is magnificent as well as Alan Bates' and Lila Kedrova's. I was fortunate enough back in the '80s to see him do Zorba at Ford's Theatre in D.C. And Lila was in it also. Sadly they have both passed away.

great film!.......2007-05-07

My introduction to this film was actually the wonderful soundtrack on vinyl, played while a small child, in our family living room. Much of this great music, with traditional Greek accompaniment, is often heard at Greek restaurants, too. I always had wonderful memories of souflaki, piping hot spanakopita and saganaki, associated with all of the songs!

It wasn't until some years later that I saw this great film, starring Anthony Quinn, as Zorba, with Alan Bates, as Basil, the young English writer he befriends and helps awaken to the sights and sounds of life. There is more to this film than meets the eye. For starters, it isn't all dancing and singing. There are also some very dramatic moments that I won't elaborate on, here, so as not to spoil the plot for you! I will say that the acting is superb, that Irene Papas and Lila Kedrova are fabulous co-stars, and the music will linger in your ears for days following your intial viewing of the film.

IT IS ALL A CLASSIC SHOULD BE.......2007-03-26

What can you expect from a classic? "Zorba" is simply excellent. Anthony Quinn, Alan Bates and Irene Papas are the big guns that make this an unforgettable movie.

Average customer rating:

the pope of greenwich village
POPE
Classic 1980's NY
Dirt and Crime Infested
The Pope of Greenwich Village

The Pope of Greenwich Village
Starring: Eric Roberts , Mickey Rourke , Daryl Hannah , Geraldine Page , and Kenneth McMillan
Director: Stuart Rosenberg
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000059TFP
Release Date: 2001-05-08

Amazon.com

Picture if you will two cousins, Charlie (Mickey Rourke) and Paulie (Eric Roberts), prowling the mean streets of New York's Little Italy. Charlie is reasonably put-together, a maitre d' at a chic café who aspires to running his own restaurant someday. Paulie is an incurable flake who can't resist a temptation or a goofball scheme, couldn't tell the truth to save his soul, and keeps splashing Charlie with the street slop of his slewing trajectory through life. This includes drawing him into the circles of Mob crime, most especially Paulie's boss, that supreme sleazebag "Bedbug Eddie" (Burt Young).

Michael Cimino is said to have had a hand in this movie, though the credited director is Stuart Rosenberg--an impersonal craftsman often hired in midshoot after the star and a more volatile director had parted company. This helps account for the picture's overall lack of rhythm and its wavering between overemphatic, Ethnic-with-a-capital-E idiosyncrasy, and low-key befuddlement. Still, it has its charms, most of them deriving from a terrific cast. At the time it came out, in the summer of 1984, Rourke and Roberts were both exciting, unpredictable talents; Roberts in particular had an amazing talent for being somebody brand new--psychologically, even physically--in every film he made. But even though they're hitting on all cylinders, the boys are quietly upstaged by some redoubtable old pros: the great Kenneth McMillan, the ineffable M. Emmet Walsh, and--scoring her umpteenth Oscar® nomination as the mother of an ill-fated cop--Miss Geraldine Page. --Richard T. Jameson

Description

Turn up the Sinatra, put on a leather jacket, and slip into a rollicking, high-voltage movie that produces tears of laughter (New York Daily News). Mickey Rourke (The Rainmaker), EricRoberts (National Security, Runaway Train) and Daryl Hannah (Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Splash) create emotion-charged characters who tingle with energy and play with conviction (The Hollywood Reporter) in this modern-day classic that's as robust and powerful as Italianespresso! In New York's Little Italy, smooth-talking hustler Charlie (Rourke) works in a restaurant and dreams of one day buying his own with his girlfriend Diane (Hannah). His wiry wheeler-dealer cousin Paulie (Roberts) waits tables, skims money off checks and is always scheming to score big. Butthey're all about to pull a scam on the wrong guyBed Bug Eddie (Burt Young, Rocky), the Mafia king of Greenwich Village! Now these small-time con men are in big-time troubletrouble so big that even their mobster uncle might not be able to save them!

Customer Reviews:

the pope of greenwich village.......2007-05-28

fully enjoyed the movie. One of my favorites. also the service and delivery was very fast.Thank you

POPE.......2007-05-12

WATCHED THE VHS TAPE SO MANY TIMES IT FINALLY SNAPPED. WENT OUT AND BOUGHT THE DVD TO PLAY IT SAFE. FANTASTIC MOVIE. THE SONG SUMMER WIND IS USED AT THE PERFECT TIME. SOME SCENES REMINDED ME OF THE GOOD OLD DAYS

Classic 1980's NY.......2007-03-21

I first saw this movie in 1984 when I started my first job in NYC at the tender age of 22. And yes, I saw it right off of Little Italy!

I cringe when I hear people refer to this as a mob movie. IT IS NOT A MOB MOVIE. There are mob elements in it to set the story up but its not a mob story. It just follows two schmucks who are always trying to make it and never seem to. They try various schemes and such and never hit it big. And the stories along the way are poignant, funny, sad, and exciting all rolled into one. Growiing up in NY, we all knew a Charlie or a Paulie. They lived for the moment not for the future. Their clothes were more important than life, their image ruled their world and their world rarely went beyond a mile in either direction. A classic film that it to be owned and not rented. The soundtrack is fantastic!

Dirt and Crime Infested.......2006-06-13

Last of the James Dean style actors, Mickey Rourke has a star turn as the likable, well-dressed, New York City hipster. Cool Hand Luke director, Stewart Rosenberg moves Cool Hand's story north, but this one is more for laughs than drama. Despite the fact that there are a dead detective and a missing appendage in the script, there's very little blood or violence. Mostly we watch Rourke mug for the camera.

I wonder if the thin, tall Ms. Hannah is doing any work lately. She sure can't act, but she does have a good boxing jab. She leaves the story with Rourke's stolen money. Then Rourke punches out his apartment. Then he smacks around his cousin, the good-for-nothing, Paulie. The loser always gets Rourke fired or in trouble with the local crime boss. Rourke's character prefers the wacky cousin to his model girlfriend. That never added up. Being cool, stealing, and winning a horse race are more important than sack time for eternity with the blonde. Nahhhh!

Geraldine Page won an Oscar, which was well deserved as the tough talking, cigarette smoking, mom of a crooked cop. New York City, circa the early 80's, before Mayor Giuliani, it's dirty and crime infested. Rourke sort of likes it that way.

The Pope of Greenwich Village.......2006-03-17

This movie is a classic. If you have not seen it, you are missing out.

Average customer rating:

Jim Carrey's Grinch
So Stupid, It's Funny
The Grinch with Jim Carey
I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!!!
Great holiday fun

The Grinch (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Christine Baranski , Jim Carrey , David Costabile , Michael Dahlen , and Josh Ryan Evans
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The Santa Clause (Widescreen Special Edition)
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National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (Special Edition)

ASIN: B00005LOUP
Release Date: 2001-11-20

Amazon.com

Under a thick carpet of green-dyed yak fur and wonderfully expressive Rick Baker makeup, Jim Carrey is up to all of his old tricks (and some nifty new ones) in this live-action movie of Dr. Seuss's holiday classic. He commands the title role with equal parts madness, mayhem, pathos, and improvisational genius, channeling Grinchness through his own screen persona so smoothly that fans of both Carrey and Dr. Seuss will be thoroughly satisfied. Adding to the fun is a perfectly pitched back-story sequence (accompanied by Anthony Hopkins's narration) that explains how the Grinch came to hate Christmas, with a heart "two sizes too small." Ron Howard proves a fine choice for the director's chair with a keen balance of comedy, sentiment, and light-hearted Seussian whimsy. Production designer Michael Corenblith gloriously realizes the wackiness of Whoville architecture, and his rendition of the Grinch's Mt. Crumpit lair is a marvel of cartoonish, subterranean grime. Then there's Cindy Lou Who (Taylor Momsen), the thoughtful imp who rallies her village to recapture the pure spirit of Christmas and melts the gift-stealing Grinch's cold, cold heart. You've even got a dog (the Grinch's good-natured mongrel, Max) who's been perfectly cast, so what's not to like about this dazzling yuletide movie? The production gets a bit overwhelmed by its own ambition, and the citizens of Whoville (including Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, Molly Shannon, and Bill Irwin) pale in comparison to Carrey's inspired lunacy, but who cares? If a movie can unleash Jim Carrey at his finest, revamp the Grinch story, and still pay tribute to the legacy of Dr. Seuss, you can bet it qualifies as rousing entertainment. (Ages 5 and older.) --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Jim Carrey's Grinch.......2007-06-27

Who doesn't love this version? I'm not a big Jim Carrey fan, but this is a Christmas must-see for our family every year.

So Stupid, It's Funny.......2007-02-22

I love this movie! It is so incredibly stupid and funny. It is absolutely ridiculous and slightly crass. The grinch and the whos look like a bunch of clowns. The film was predictable and completely ripped off from the animated TV special. This isn't as stupid as Barney, because at least the makers of this film actually tried to be funny, rather than just childish and retarded. This film has gotten a lot of mixed reviews on amazon.com, so be sure to rent it before you buy it.

The Grinch with Jim Carey.......2007-01-18

I LOVE IT! It is one of the best Christmas movies out there. I watched it 3 times, this past Christmas, and could have watched it again. It is hilarious!!!

I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!!!.......2007-01-08

It never gets old! The deleted scenes are great. This is a fun movie for the whole family. We watch it every year, usually twice! Even if you aren't a Jim Carrey fan, you will be in this one.

Great holiday fun.......2006-12-26

I totally enjoyed the remake of the "The Grinch stole Christmas". It was alot of fun and the special effects were remarkable. I am not a Jim Carrey fan, but this one is absolutely fantastic!! It is alot different than the orginal cartoon story, and if I might say, it is alot better. A must see for holiday fun!!!!

Average customer rating:

A Timeless Film
Interesting Meditation on Love
Review of Snow Falling on Cedars"
Snow falling on my interest...
nibbling on kelp

Snow Falling on Cedars
Starring: Ethan Hawke , Youki Kudoh , Reeve Carney , Anne Suzuki , and Rick Yune
Director: Scott Hicks
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 0783240325
Release Date: 2000-05-30

Amazon.com

Australian director Scott Hicks's follow-up to his widely beloved Shine comes as a small shock. Based on David Guterson's bestselling novel, Snow Falling on Cedars is far removed from the character-driven, pure storytelling of Shine and a comparative plunge into moody atmospherics. Action insinuates itself through the director's determined eye for watercolor composition and free-floating perspective, like random shoots of new growth in an overwhelming rain forest. It's impossible to be complacent as a viewer because Hicks's meditative style paradoxically forces one to locate and make the story happen internally.

The approach makes good aesthetic sense in that Guterson's story couches courtroom drama in dreamy textures, and Hicks is determined to reflect that even if it means turning an audience's idea of narrative on its head. He also gets a lot of help from the weather in the Pacific Northwest: the setting is one of Washington State's San Juan Islands, where rain embraces earth and sky in a singular, introverted personality. There, a Japanese American war hero (Rick Yune) stands accused of murdering a white fisherman in the years following World War II. His wife (Youki Kudoh) is the former childhood sweetheart and lover of a local newspaperman (Ethan Hawke) whose bitterness over the loss--as well as his helplessness during the internment of Japanese Americans, and the crusading legacy of his journalist father (Sam Shepard)--prevents him from coming to the defense of the accused man.

Layered emotions, layered sensations, layered clouds. This is historical fiction of a sort that works best as an experience of time's relativity: flowing, stopping, trickling. Ironically, the film's most commercial element, the trial, is the least interesting aspect, though old pro Max Von Sydow makes those scenes great fun as a wily defense counsel. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

A Timeless Film.......2007-05-12

This is a great movie. It has everything: great scenery and background music, courtroom drama, young love, suspense, and human interest. I view it over and over again, learning something more each time about human frailties and prejudices. It is vastly superior to the trash being produced these days that relies on sex, violence, special effects and ear shattering sound without a plot and very little acting.

Interesting Meditation on Love.......2007-03-22

Ishmael Chambers and his story is really the central theme of this book; the treatment of the Japanese in general and the murder case really are just the "deux ex machina" that allow for the exploration of Ishmael's obsessive love for Hatsue, the Japanese girl he grew up and had an abortive teenage affair with.

It's his reaction to her unilaterally ending their affair that is the core of this story.

The circumstances were particularly hard for him: he receives her goodbye letter while sent away to war, just as he is about to lose his arm (obviously symbolic of the way her leaving him left him unwhole). Probably because of the psychological trauma of his injury, his deep love for Hatsue turns obsessive, and haunts him for a decade. Without rehashing the entire plot, the trial of Hatsue's husband for murder finally allows Ishmael to come to terms with the fact he's lost her, though this is never as explicitly stated in the book as it was in the movie by the defense attorney.

The reader must make some judgments: is not all TRUE love "obessive?" If a lover can be just casually tossed aside like a used Kleenex after [...], was there any "love" to begin with? Or was it really just base exploitation to satisfy an out of control hormone rush? If Ishmael had simply shrugged his shoulders after receiving Hatue's letter and said, "Oh well, bring on Lover #2," what good would such a "love" be?

On the other hand, his obsessiveness tortures Ishmael for years to come, and prevents him from ever finding a new love again. So really, his story is a decade-long search for peace. He finds it, but in a way that is not particularly noble. From the moment Hatsue dropped him, he felt a tremendous sense of powerlessness - it was HIS love to that was taken away, HIS affair nullified, and he never had ANY say in it, and the effect on Ishmael was similar to the most personal sort of rape. For a decade, Hatsue never made any effort to make him feel that their love had mattered to her at all - something which underscores the obessive nature of his continued feelings for her, because in reality they are quite irrational... it's quite clear she never truly "loved" him at all.

What finally sets Ishmael free isn't some insight into Hatue's feelings for him, though. No, what sets him free is a decision he makes near the end of the book: for years, he harbored the fantasy she would somehow come back to him. With her husband on trial for his life, it appears to him that the fantasy may in fact possibly come true, after all... yet in the end he makes a decision that frees Hatsue's husband and ensures she never can come back (if indeed she ever would, because in fact their love on her part was never true to begin with).

And that is what finally sets Ishmael free: this time around, it was HIS decision - not just a unilateral one by Hatsue, for now HE TOO concurred that their love should not continue. And with that sense of empowerment, he can finally set aside the awful hurt of victimization he felt when, in his eyes, she took something from him without ever asking him.

A very intelligent book, that provides some deep insights into the nature of human love. It raises important questions, and actually provides some answers. It's up to the reader to decide, though, if "love" really is just a selfish thing, good so long as it is convenient for oneself - but to be cast aside the moment a price is attached, regardless the effect on the other person. There is, of course, a very practical and hardheaded answer to that - but one must wonder what it says about the character of the person that gives it.

Review of Snow Falling on Cedars".......2006-11-30

The film "Snow falling on cedars" by Scott Hicks, which was released in May 2000,
Is about a murder trial in the US. The trial is influenced by prejudice and the clash of culture, between the Americans and Japanese people.

The movie transfers the flashback, which also appears in the book, pretty good by different camera devices, light effects and e.g. the echo of Hatsue's voice. The scenes are linked in a impressive way, so you can easily understand the plot.
You are overwhelmed by the flood of pictures from world war II or how the Japanese people are treated.

The cast is pretty good with actors like Ethan Hawke, Youki Kudoh, Reeve Carney.

A must, for everyone, who love love-story's and exciting movies about prejudice segregation and ww II.

Snow falling on my interest..........2006-06-12

See theres a problem with the way this film was shot, the way this film was directed. It's long, dreary, confussing and at times very boring. That said, the storyline, which I was completly unaware of when renting the film, is not too shaby. It takes place on one of Washington State's San Juan Islands where the weather is always cold, damp, snowing and yes...dreary. Here is where a Japanese American war hero (Rick Yune, 'The Fast and the Furious') is accused of murdering a white fisherman for his land. The man's only hope is the testimony of an American journalist (Ethan Hawke, 'Training Day') who just may have figured out the real events leading up to the mans death, but there is something holding him back from testifying. It's his bitter-love for the accused wife (Youki Kudoh, 'Memiors of a Geisha'). They grew up together and were once lovers, but their racial differences forced them apart. Set in the 1950's shortly after WWII when the Japanese were hated by most American's the injustice is shown in the treatment of the trial and of the accused, and through flashbacks we can see how everyone was affected by the Pearl Harbor incident and so-on. The film as a whole, the idea and the acting is decent, at times brilliant, but with all the flashbacks it becomes difficult to understand whats really going on. So, three and a half stars is the best I can do. If the direction had been just slightly different then I may have been better pleased.

nibbling on kelp.......2006-04-26

Snow falling on ceders has all the warmth and cheer of the wet, dismal, cold and foggy weather of the region. Utterly depressing.

The plot is plodding and stale. No surprises.

None of the characters can one identify or sympathise with. That every group is bigoted is nothing new.

The ending not worth waiting for.

Scenery is lovely as usual but the only redeeming feature of this film is that it portrays the region as it was that began dying out as I was born. The lumber industry and fishing are no longer what they once were. The ferry boats and strawberry fields are still there but tourism is now the biggy.

Average customer rating:

The sweetest movie about an innocent kid and his faith.
Charming
Miracle of Marcelino
Christian - Faith - Fiction
About this release

Miracle of Marcelino
Starring: Rafael Rivelles , Antonio Vico , Juan Calvo , José Marco Davó , and Juanjo Menéndez
Director: Ladislao Vajda
Manufacturer: Vci Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The Song of Bernadette
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ASIN: B0002F6BGK
Release Date: 2004-07-27

Description

VCI is very pleased to present this special classic motion picture in a new digitally mastered version. A Grand Prize Award winner at the International Cannes Film Festival and a heartwarming film, "Marcelino Pan Y Vino," is about a little orphan boy who causes a miracle. Left on the doorstep of a monastery as an infant, Marcelino was raised by the Monks. He was well cared for but lonely and missed having a mother. One day he found a special friend in the forbidden attic... hanging on a cross. A friend that would repay Marcelino's kindness by granting him one heart-felt wish. Bonus Features: Scene Selection| Bios & Filmographies| Sneak Peak of the New 1991 Color Re-make| Original Trailer in Spanish. Specs: DVD5; Dolby Digital Mono; 90 minutes; B&W; 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio; Year - 1955; SRP - $19.99.

Customer Reviews:

The sweetest movie about an innocent kid and his faith. .......2007-06-13

I have been watching this movie all my live!! And every time that I watch it again, I still cry!
My husband remembered how much I love this movie and he gave it to me as a part of the mother's day gift.
The story revolves around Marcelino, a young child abandoned as a baby on a monastery in eighteenth-century in Spain and how he grows into a cute, well-meaning, but lonely boy who is always innocently getting into trouble.
The main story is told in flashback in which a monk visits a sick girl, and tells her the story of Marcelino for inspiration.
You will enjoy it as a quietly moving religious fable. The film remains one of the most famous and successful foreign films of the mid 1950's.

Charming.......2007-04-15

Charming and affecting, 'Miracle of Marcelino' recounts the story of an infant who is left on the steps of a monastery. Not able to find a suitable home, the monks rear the boy with understanding and love. Unable to have a friend to play with when he grows older, the boy resorts to a lot of mischief that doesn't play well with the monks or the townspeople, including an opportunistic mayor who wants custody of the boy. Much of his devilry is fun to watch, though. With a convincing resolution, the boy's problem of loneliness unites the monastery and the town in one leap of faith. (Heartwarming film)

Miracle of Marcelino.......2007-03-16

I watched this movie as a child, when the only language I spoke was Spanish. It made an huge impressio