Reviews

This film is a feast for the senses. Absolutely beautiful depiction of India and Southern France, incredibly sensual and loving photography of food and it's preparation. Solid performances from all actors. Humorous, romantic, and touching story that focuses on the themes of love, home is where the heart is, and peace and respect between different cultures. Soundtrack perfectly meshes with the images. No surprises in the plot but in this film, the pleasure is all in the journey to it's predictable destination.

I'm glad to see that the average user rating is moving up (currently at 7.2) from the mid-6's when it opened. I suspect that the racists who object to multiculturalism and equality submitted their "1" ratings before the film opened and without even watching it.

The overall rating for this movie is obviously an error. I suggest that the editors of IMDb should review the ratings and make a correction. I looked at all 19 reviews, and obviously the average rating is more in the 7 range. Must be a bug in the IMDb rating calculation system.

Anyway - this is a solid and entertaining movie with a tight and fast paced script, good acting, action, a little romance, and a realistic atmosphere and depiction of the gritty underground boxing game. It's as good as any of the "Rocky" movies at a fraction of the production cost. It's a shame that it didn't gain more recognition.

I also wonder what happened to James Marshall. He's a good enough actor and "presence" to carry a leading-man role, but seemed to disappear.

This is a touching, well-acted, and beautiful looking film. Sandra Bullock and Keannu Reeves have great chemistry together and the supporting actors are very competent. The story is absorbing and interesting, and although its a time-travel fantasy, it's logical within it's basic premise.

Don't listen to the people who claim bad acting. The acting is fine and the chemistry between the leads is very real. Anyone who gave this movie a bad rating was definitely in the minority in their theater - most people at the showing I attended clapped and cheered at the end and many stayed to watch the credits roll - always a sign of a good, and touching, movie.

As for those people who claim that the story is "implausible".... they're probably the same people who think that silly IMPOSSIBLE fantasies like X-Men, King-Kong, Lord of the Rings, Spiderman, etc, etc were great movies. At least the characters and events in Lake House are believable, once the basic premise is accepted. Can't say that about drivel like X-Men.

See this film with someone you love. You'll both like this film.

This film is a masterpiece, pure and simple, on every level.... acting, cinematography, costume design, makeup, screenplay, music, directing, etc, etc. It's one of those rare films which transports you to a different time and place, and makes you believe, really believe that it's real (or could have been real). Unlike most one-dimensional movies, which either portray European settlers as good guys against savage barbarians, or Europeans as brutal conquerors and native people as noble saints; this film acknowledges the reality: there was savagery and nobility on both sides, but most of the time, it was real people on both sides who were each facing a "new world".

The scenery is beautiful, almost mystical. The acting is right-on, from the young actress who plays a native princess with passion, emotion, and joy; to the men who come to love her (each very different and brilliantly portrayed), to the reliable Christopher Plummer and August Schellenberg as tough but fair leaders of their people, to the array of actors in supporting roles.

Some reviewers have criticized the film for a lack of "plot" or "storyline". Sure, if you're looking for the next "Usual Suspects" or "Sixth Sense" with a surprise around every corner, then you'll be disappointed. If you're looking for car crashes and chainsaws and dismembered body parts in every other frame, then you'll be disappointed. If you're looking for gratuitous nudity and sex, you'll be disappointed. BUT, if you're seeking an epic story with gorgeous cinematography which delves into the thoughts, emotions, and actions of people who are interesting and who you REALLY care about over the course of years, then this is for you. The film reminded me of the best and most beloved of the epic romance/adventures of the past: Gone With The Wind, Doctor Zhivago, Out Of Africa, etc. This film will rank with, and possibly surpass, those classics.

This is a must-see. Rating: 10/10

This film is a brilliant expose of the incompetence and deceit of the present American administration. Redneck detractors heap abuse on Moore and the film, but the fact remains that this is a documentary, and images of Bush and his stooges lying and playing while the world burns, are accurate.

The images and examples of the shocking incompetence, inhumanity, and greed of Bush and company are too numerous to list here. However, one scene must be mentioned as an illustration of Bush's incompetence...... When the first plane hit the WTC, Bush was about to visit a public school in Florida and participate in a photo-op showing him reading with the children. Instead of canceling this blatant political show upon hearing about the tragic event, he went ahead and visited the school. It's pitiful to watch this stupid clueless man carrying on the charade at the school at the same time that thousands of Americans were being incinerated or jumping to their deaths in the most serious attack on the USA in 60 years. And then, an aide comes into the classroom where Bush is perched uncomfortably on a chair, and whispers in his ear that the second plane has hit the tower. Incredibly, Bush still carries on the his photo-op and shows no visible reaction to the news, other than a dazed, nervous, shifty-eyed expression. Here is the leader of the free world, paralyzed with indecision because his stooges are not there to tell him what to do. God help us if anyone launches a full scale attack on the USA during Bush's sleepwalking watch.

See this movie.

Mystic River starts with a gripping and dramatic scene, and this tone persists throughout most of the film. This is by no means an "enjoyable" film in the literal sense. It deals with troubling subjects such as pedophilia, murder, and revenge. However, for most of the film, the story is absorbing and believable, the acting is superlative, and the personalities and motivations of the major characters are well developed. About mid-way through the film, I was agreeing with most of the other reviewers who have praised the film and recommended it for Oscar consideration.

However, with the long, drawn-out, ant-climatic, and even dishonest ending; my assessment of the film crashed from "outstanding" to "mediocre". In the third-last scene, there is a horrifying moment when two of the characters are speaking, and the resolution of the murder and revenge plot-lines become clear to both. THIS is the true climax of the film, and it should have ended there..... even the setting of this scene ties back to the start of the film. However, it appears that either the author of the book or the screenwriter was so pleased with his work, that he didn't want to see it end; because there are two totally superfluous scenes which not only add nothing to the story, but they also effect an unbelievable, depressing, and unexpected "morality shift" in two of the major characters. There is also a "side-story" throughout the film involving one of the major characters and his absent wife. This subplot is also somewhat resolved at the end, but the problem is, who cares? The subplot was one of the few weak points of the first part of the film, and focusing on it at the end simply degrades the whole experience.

Nice try Clint, but 10 minutes lopped off the end would have resulted in an outstanding, moving, and thought-provoking film.

As-is, it rates 6 out of 10.