Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Fudge-3 It is described as an adult fairy tale and that is true provided you understand it as the traditional definition of fairy tale. Anyway, that's what drew me in and I spent the first twenty minutes utterly bemused and the rest of the film completely transfixed. Toward the end of the movie I caught myself leaning in off my seat so as to not miss the end of the telling.Dean Spanley is funny, charming, bizarre and uplifting. An extraordinary collection of characters, perfectly portrayed with great acting are brought together in this delightful story.It's best watched with no idea of what's coming. So I'm not giving anything away. Who won't like this? Maybe cat ladies, sheep herders and anyone else who doesn't know the rules. Oh; and bunny rabbits, don't watch this if you are a bunny rabbit.

atlasmb I urge viewers not to read any summary of this story that reveals details of the plot or its premises. I will only say that the story is mystical and quixotic. Some will like it, some will not, but as you can see on these pages, this film has many admirers.The story starts with a narration by Young Fisk, who is visiting the elder Fisk at his home. Their relationship is strained and combative. They decide to spend the day together in a rather unusual way. It is the beginning of a journey by Young Fisk that will culminate in some discoveries and some wondrous understandings.Set circa 1910, as the motorcar becomes a symbol for the declining past and the nascent future, one of the best elements of this film, in my opinion, is its richness of tone. Scenes are shot lovingly, with an emphasis on art, and its beauty, as it occurs in architecture, painting, literature, language, music, and the enrichment of the senses."Dean Spanley" reminds one of the joys of the well-written tale, where language enthralls. As a film, it celebrates the well-read line, the poignancy in pauses, the synergy between image and music.And it gives us some performances to be cherished. Though no performance is dissonant in this film, I particularly enjoyed the performances of Peter O'Toole as the elder Fisk and Sam Neill as Dean Spanley. Do yourself a favor and bask in their prodigiousness.

classicsoncall Admittedly, this won't be a film for everyone. Though it has a bit of a quirky premise and the dialog is cleverly humorous at times, the pacing is slower than what most viewers would expect from their movie fare. I got the biggest kick out of Peter O'Toole's character, Horatio Fiske. All you had to do was look at him; his facial expression throughout most of the picture was one of priceless quandary, often trying to make some semblance of sense of the efforts of his son and cohorts for the better part of the picture. Yet the payoff comes as Dean Spanley's life as a dog is brought home to reconcile the old man's feelings of loss over his son in the Boer War, followed by that of his grieving wife. If it's true, as the Swami Prash declares, that a dog amplifies Man's estimation of himself, then the story of Wag and his canine companion finally brings some measure of relief to a man whose heart had not yet hardened beyond repair.

barryjaylevine A lovely film set in early 20th Century England with accomplished actors obviously enjoying their roles. While it's always nice to see Peter O'Toole, here he turns in a fine performance in what is, frankly, not a huge budget mega-blockbuster; and, in fact, it doesn't need to be so. Content is king and the story is well-crafted on-screen. Good script, good actors, good direction.I think I will forever more think of Sam Neill with his nose stuck deep into a glass of wine...inhaling...and being transported to another place and time. What a howl! ;DPerfect for the entire family. No foul language, nothing in any way inappropriate for children. A thoroughly enjoyable film.