Cortechba Overrated

Marketic It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Skyler Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Shambulla Henry Poole is sad. Sad and angry. No, make that sad, angry and just a little mean. Initially, we don't know why but, naturally, we eventually find out, but EVER. SO. SLOWLY.What we do know is that he's newly arrived in a small Californian suburb where everybody knows your business, sometimes before you do - and that doesn't bode well for a man who would rather be hiding under a rock somewhere no other humans congregate.Unfortunately for poor old Henry, a miracle occurs in his backyard and his dreams of solitude are shattered but, in exchange, he gains something so much more valuable; redemption, freedom and the ability to smile again.There's no doubt this is a beautiful film, one that is lovingly shot and sympathetically cast, however it sits smack damn in the middle of the road between being a wonderful, heartwarming tear-jerker filled with poignant life lessons and a rather average, overly slow, wannabe lesson on the power of faith.If you've ever been sad or lonely or just felt a little hopeless (and who hasn't?), you'll probably enjoy it - or at the very least be thinking of it - and grumpy old Henry - long after you watch this film.

deschreiber I agree with all the other comments here that call this movie far-fetched, treacly, hard to stomach, etc. It may begin with the air of something different, something unHollywood, but soon it reveals itself as Hollywood all the way, with a predictable plot, stupid sentimentality, brainless deference to religion (oh, faith! oh, hope! oh belief! the answers to all life's hardships), wonderful coincidences (gee, I'm lucky, just as I settle down to wait to die I find myself next door to a beautiful, available woman who falls for me) and a standard fairy- tale ending. All that is enough to rate this movie a waste of time. But I would add to what other critics have said that it is S-L-O-W, which is not far off from saying it's boring. Finally, about that sound track--it can sometimes be pretty hard to take; you'll get the feeling of it if you imagine one folk singer after other alone on a stage strumming and bleating.

DQGladstone Luke Wilson is hard not to like. I've tried to dislike him but he slipped by me.I wish this film had maintained a more consistent comic tone. I think if JD Salinger had been on the set, he would have said, "hey, can we throw some jokes here near the end?" At the beginning of the film, I like when Luke chastises the ladies for their trespasses, then he singles out the old woman and they cut to her. It seems to break the damn "tone" of the film but I liked it anyway.Not much later, he and the little girl are in the yard and he makes a joke WHICH SHE DOESN'T LAUGH AT, that "he has to go/he's busy" then he hops on the stationary bike. This is a sophisticated joke, very dry and subtle to deal to a little girl and it suggests that he's respecting her intelligence. She doesn't laugh and neither does he. Of course, she's "mute" but she also doesn't FAKE laugh, to indicate that she gets it. Neither does he. That's a nice moment. Also nice because he's depressed out of his skull but the girl brings intentional humor out of him. It's hard for a kid to dislike an adult who doesn't insult their intelligence as it's hard not to like a kid who shuts up once in a while.Then there's the bit about the clumsy blood-taker. Unnecessary but still appreciated, trying to keep it light.This is an ambitious film that tries to say a lot with music, light, some video-style editing, sun and memory. All the indy music was a bit much but who am I to criticize indy music? Nobody, that's who.Esperanza Martinez, who plays the irritating neighbor, is so good I sometimes wanted to kill her and wished Luke would, she was so damn irritating.When Luke woke up in the hospital and found Esperanza, if he had just called for security, I'd have been more happy.I just wish the film hadn't lost it's sense of humor somewhere along the line.

Topgallant Caveat: This review may contain some spoilers. However, I'll keep it vague and I promise not to reveal any plot or story twists.I'm not a religious person per se but I do on occasion like a spiritually uplifting movie. Is this that type of movie? Well, sort of. Let's put it this way, it has a spiritual message. But getting there is a bit of a downer.The movie is about a guy who moves into a rental house that's a few houses down from the one in which he grew up. To say this guy is depressed is like saying Homer's Odyssey is a story about a boat trip. The thing is, this guy wants to be left alone. He wants to sit in his rental house and stare at the walls. He's short on patience, and he's quite rude to his neighbors and some of the people he meets in town.Obviously, and you realize this right away, this movie is about a person who is about to go through a character arc, and with all character arcs, something needs to happen to trigger the transformation. The 'something' in this story turns out to be what one neighbor -- and soon the whole neighborhood -- believes is the image of Jesus in a stucco stain on the side of the main character's house.I actually liked this movie. I'm a fan of Luke Wilson, and I thought the supporting cast did a terrific job. This is a slow, purposeful movie with a strong spiritual and even a religious side to it. I won't give away the ending except to say that I think it does something unintended. On the face of it, it delivers spiritually and religiously, but it does so in a way that makes you question the depths of the main character's true motivation. Was he simply depressed because of his situation, or was something else going on in his head? For me, when the movie ended and I thought about it a little, I realized it was all allegory.Bob