Genres

Visitors Review

ConBug68 2012-05-25 09:11:10

COMPELLING POWERFUL MASTERPIECE

A film that is as remarkable and compelling as any you will see. It's leisurely paced, compelling,powerful, yet quiet and elegant in its story telling with performances that are all outstanding. Obviously this is fare for mature audiences but young people if they can sit still long enough and pay attention could enjoy this film as much. OVERALL A COMPELLING POWERFUL MASTERPIECE.

2012-05-24 20:45:58

Great Movie

This review is from: Hereafter [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) I'm not going to go into the plot or the story, as that has been done enough here already, and you can look in other places online for that as well. I will say that this is an amazing movie, both the story and cinematography. Clint Eastwood is an excellent director/producer, and with Steven Spielberg and Matt Damon thrown into the mix you have a recipe for success. I don't understand the disappointment so many felt towards this movie, but I highly recommend it. It's not a fast paced thriller or action packed movie, but a serious movie meant to be taken and slowly digested. Do yourself a favor and watch it. I watched the streaming version while I wait for the Bluray to arrive. I can't wait for it to get here so I can watch it in High Def again and see what I missed the first time.

2012-05-22 00:41:07

Not What I Expected

This review is from: Hereafter (DVD) I normally enjoy Matt Damon movies and was looking forward to this one. I can be a very forgiving viewer but this movie was boring. It had the excitement level of watching grass grow. There were a few interesting scenes, in the beginning, but after that - it was plain boring. I gave it two stars instead of one because Matt Damon tried his best but could not save this sinking ship of a movie.

2012-05-21 19:06:52

Is there really a hereafter?

This review is from: Hereafter (DVD) This movie spoke to me with the idea of where do we (might) go when we die. The three stories coming together as one at the end made it easier for me to understand what each person was going through either in their grief or search for the meaning of what they were going through. It is hard to fathom this unless you have gone through something similar in your own life. Each of the three main characters had to face rejection, either personally or in their business lives. Even the little boy felt he was rejected by his mother. Each wanted answers and I believe in the end they got what they wanted.I liked the way Eastwood wanted us to understand that death and dying isn't the end, but perhaps just another path. Very spiritual movie in my opinion and I really wish people would have accepted the ideas a bit better, since there are people who have gone through near death experiences for decades. I also like the fact that Eastwood explored something about death since he is 80 and perhaps is ready to let go of what is here on this side.

aschein81 2012-05-20 15:20:22

"Hereafter" is a tender, emotionally-charged, and thought-provoking exploration of death and humanity

"Death. There. That's the topic for your next film, students. There'sjust one rule - none of the characters can be named Freddy Krueger,Michael Myers, the Jigsaw Killer, or Jason Voorhees. Also, you are notallowed to have any ghosts in the film. Your final product is duebefore the end of the semester. Best of luck!" One could easily imagine the collective gasps from a group offilmmakers after being given this instruction. "Wait, you mean we can'tjust scare and disgust people with explicit gore, deafening sounds, andgratuitous nudity like we always do? Talk about a challenge." In Clint Eastwood's tender and extremely intriguing "Hereafter",Eastwood and his writer Peter Morgan attempt to tackle some of thechallenging human questions and issues surrounding death and thepossibility of an afterlife. The film follows the individual stories of3 different people living in different countries - a factory worker inSan Francisco who has some degree of psychic ability to connect withthe dead (Matt Damon), a French television journalist who survives anear-death experience(Cecile de France), and a London boy living withhis drug-addicted mother whose twin brother has died in a tragicaccident (Frankie McLaren). Bryce Dallas Howard also has a supportingrole as a woman Damon's character meets and dates for a short period oftime. One of the great strengths of this film is how low key and quiet it is,as well as how slow-paced the storytelling is. While viewing it, youstart to absorb yourself in the characters and their dilemmas and notfocus on any kind of plot developments or gimmicks, as the story inchesever so forward at a snail's pace. In fact, if someone asked you totell you what happens in the movie, you would have a very hard timeexplaining that to them, as the movie is entirely based on characters'dilemmas and grief, without following any kind of typical linear orformulaic plot. It is a film that values patience, character growth ,and audience members with developed attention spans. It is also a filmthat is very grounded in reality and focused on characters generallyacting in ways that make logical sense, rather than in ways the plotdictates how they act. It would have been very easy for an inferiordirector or writer to take this delicate topic and allow it to get toodetached from reality and into the lands of heebie jeebies and Ouijaboards. However, in the hands of Eastwood, this material alwaysconnects with you on a human level. This is essentially an art-housefilm that explores characters and life's challenges, with some veryexpensive special effects in the first 10 minutes of the film to teaseyou into thinking that it's a thriller. It is also important to notethat it is neither pro-religion nor anti-religion. It is simplypro-human, and doesn't pretend like it knows what happens beyond thegrave. Damon's character can only sense that a loved one is connectingwith him, but he doesn't mention if that loved one is with Jesus,Allah, etc. - because the film isn't a thesis on religion. It's acharacter study of human grief in different parts of the world and howall people can relate to the difficulties and sadness surrounding thisissue.One of the interesting ideas I thought about while watching this filmis how various individuals and groups in the world try to profiteconomically or politically in some way off of people because of theseunknown questions surrounding the idea of death. There are a couple ofextremely subtle and nuanced references to religion, most notablyChristianity and Islam, and how they try to compete with each other totry to "sell themselves to you" to join their side on the path tosalvation - as well as a couple of scenes involving very obvious "fake"psychics who are simply taking wild guesses in their readings, yetpeople are still lined up to pay them. We also see a couple ofinstances of authors trying to sell books to make money off of thistopic, as well as Matt Damon's character's brother (played by Jay Mohr)repeatedly try to convince George (Damon) to get back into the businessof psychic readings because of the potential cash flow involved. Ofcourse, we can't forget how the movie industry also tries to profit offof the intrigue and wonder surrounding this topic, as is evident of myticket stub to this movie, as well as the $30 popcorn… The acting all around is very strong. Matt Damon gives a very solidperformance in a very understated manner. His character, George, doesnot take pride in his abilities, and just wants to crawl back under therock of normalcy in his community. He doesn't try to come across assmarter or more heroic than any other character in the film. He isextremely modest, and even somewhat shy. He looks down at the groundoften and speaks very softly. Likewise, Cecile de France and FrankieMcLaren also add a high degree of restraint to their performances aswell. Supposedly Eastwood hired McLaren (and his twin brother) based onthe fact that they both didn't have any acting experience, as he wasworried that they would be trained in typical child acting, where manychild actors often come across as over-acting. The talented veterancomedian Richard Kind also gives an extremely touching, dramaticperformance in his lone couple of scenes near the beginning of thefilm.

mtroum-2 2012-05-20 04:32:05

Excellent film exploring deep emotions and near-death experience

An emotional film (bring some hankies) exploring the love of childrenfor their mother, the loss of a loved one, and the near-deathexperiences of the two main characters. The acting is superb,particularly the young McLaren brothers and Cecile DeFrance. I applaudClint Eastwood for taking this risk and creating a solid piece withriveting emotions and a fantastic conclusion. The only leap of faiththat must be taken is the belief that George (Matt Damon) truly hasthis gift/curse since it is the thread that weaves through all hisrelationships. This is truly an enjoyable movie and adds to my beliefthat the greatness of a film is not in the critic's eyes but in yourown. This is the second sleeper movie of the week for me. The first onewas RED...a great, entertaining movie.

Sherazade 2012-05-18 22:30:24

There is nothing I did not like about this film...

...okay no wait, before I get carried away...I have to say that I didnot like the annoying character played by Bryce Dallas-Howard (I knowthat people like her exist in real life, there was nothing unrealisticabout the character or anything but she took away from the film IMHO)other than that this movie was perfect to me. Directed by one of myfavourite directors ever... Mr. Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven, MysticRiver, Changeling, Invictus) set circa 2005 and centering around theTsunami of 2004, the London Bombings of 2005 and a man (Matt Damon) whocan communicate with the recently departed. This is quite simply a filmabout death, the afterlife, near death experiences, loss, clairvoyanceand dealing with all of the above.

Steven B 2012-05-18 07:59:03

OMG Somebody just shoot me!

Okay, so I'm just a former grunt who doesn't get chick flicks but I do understand plots, content, and flow. This movie has none of these. It is slow tedious, and just plain BORING! One third in French subtitles (?!), one third in London, and, maybe one third in USA but based on the apartments I think the whole thing was shot in Europe it nonetheless ends up disjointed and ends up with some sort of artsey (silly) kiss that means diddly to most thinking people. If you are an insomniac and need the rest this movie is for you. If you want 2-3 minutes of great tsunami animation, then watch this then go out to the lobby and wait for your wife, date, or whomever. Qualifies as the worst movie of the decade.

andynaik 2012-05-16 21:01:19

Intriguing story, painfully slow execution

Hereafter is basically of story of unrelated people in different partsof the world that somehow come together after being connected to deathin some way. Very interesting story.However, the execution is pretty slow. First few minutes are reallyinteresting and may get the audience into believing that this may be aroller-coaster ride. Things kind of die down after that unfortunately,being centered on the various characters of the story. Things neverseem interesting in the mundane lives of the characters until the veryend where a hasty attempt of tying them together is made.It is not heavily flawed though and has an artistic side to it. Theconcept of death affecting the characters in some or the other way isintriguing and we get to see various perspectives. I personally thoughtthat the story could have been given more justice.Not the kind of fast-paced action movie expected from Eastwood but goodnonetheless and requires a bit of patience.

Coco Forsythe 2012-05-16 16:13:41

All in all, a disappointment from Mr Eastwood.

2012-05-15 21:15:43

so very bad

I love Matt Damon and I would listen to him read the phonebook, but this entire movie was off! There plot points that went nowhere and then everything get wrapped up in the most convoluted manner. The entire film watching process was painful and confusing.

2012-05-15 12:24:00

WHAT THE DICKENS WAS THIS?

The movie runs with a plot and two subplots. Our main character, Matt Damon is schizophrenic who doesn't take his medicine. He talks to dead people through psychic readings. He is also obsessed with Charles Dickens and his readings and advice seem to come from Dickens' novels. His first reading involves a man who has lost his wife. He is to remarry. This is similar to the "David Copperfield" book he listens to. His second reading involves a bad father/daughter relationship. Later we see "Little Dorrit" displayed in London. Dickens lived with his wife's sister, which at the time was classified as incest.His third reading involved twins, a tool which Dickens over frequently used in his books.One of the subplots involves a French news reporter who had an NDE in the opening tsunami scene. She believes her NDE was real because other people have a similar experience, ignoring all the science on brain functions during the NDE. She believes there is a media conspiracy against all this "scientific" data that points to an afterlife. The French tell her to go sell her story to the Americans.The third story involves a young boy in London who lost his twin brother and has a hard time coping with life. He leaves his foster home to find a real psychic.The acting was good and we knew at sometime these stories would somehow intersect. The problem was the movie made us wait way to long for it to happen, using valuable time building character in the most mundane ways. When the movie finally climaxes, when the three subplots come together, they don't come together with a bang, but rather a bust. The movie ends at the point it should start. The soundtrack was really bad. The movie is designed to make us believe there really is an afterlife, but religion does not enter into it.

Joe Williams 2012-05-12 19:48:56

[Eastwood's] first boring film.

John Beifuss 2012-05-12 06:42:28

The problematic concept keeps 'Hereafter' earthbound, but the film contains four sequences that affirm Eastwood's mastery, including the opening tsunami, which is not only spectacular but somehow intimate, thanks to the focus on the character of Marie...

Wilver Dornell 2012-05-11 13:21:32

I should of taken the kids to see Jackass 3D

This says it all: When the movie was over I turned to my wife and said "I should of taken the kids to see Jackass 3D!"The movie starts great with a beautiful women in a great resort and a terrible tradegy. The beautiful french girl has a near death experience after being caught in a Tsunami. What should of happened next, is she should of died and so should the movie. I expected an insightful look into the hereafter and I got nothing. Oh, I got a man who would rather be a fork lift operator (who can afford to live on Nob Hill?)than a person who can answer the greatest and most enduring question man has ever had....What happens when we die? Matt Damon's character (who is now a laid off fork lift operator and can afford a trip to London)and meets independently to two people who really want his help. I could go on and on, but I won't waste your time or mine; oh, and don't waste your money.

jeromec-2 2012-05-11 02:57:59

Thoughtful beautiful; an astonishing movie

I would have thought that one had to be over (say) 50 to understandthis movie. What I've found is that it is unpredictable. There is nopattern: some people like it; some don't. I don't think anyone isindifferent, but I could be wrong.I read two "Hereafter" reviews. One (Roger Ebert) gave it 4 out of 4.Another hated it and I doubt he would have given it 1 out of 4. Both, Ithink, saw different movies.My wife was disappointed as well, whereas I cannot say how much I likedit.If you expected a commentary on the hereafter, or enlightenment, orviews about it, don't go. That's not what it was about. It is not adocumentary.This is not a typical Clint Eastwood movie either. It is not plotdriven. It is not exactly character or theme driven either. That doesnot mean it isn't "true." It just means you have to watch carefully.I cannot think of another Eastwood movie like it. Parts maybe. Somecharacters we've seen before. Bryce Dallas Howard has a remarkablecameo (as Melanie -- the girl in the cooking class) that has to remindus of an early Eastwood, "Breezy." Eastwood has a gift for creatingwomen that are attractive, likable and deep even though they appear tobe ditzy.Because I've said that the plot is not consequential in this, a quicksummary can't hurt. The movie centers around four people (most peoplesay three) who have something to say about the hereafter. One is aFrench broadcaster who tries to recapture her life after experiencing anear death experience. She finds it futile, and begins to explore whatis now important to her.One is a psychic who looks upon his "gift" as a curse. He tries to takesimple pleasures in life, but ultimately he is driven to use his gift"for the benefit of people." who desperately "need to know." The thirdis a pre-teen who would give anything to make contact with his twinbrother. He is driven by nothing else. He is so silent so determinedand so discerning in his search. Ultimately he has more wisdom than theadults around him.The fourth is Melanie, who can't stand the truth. She is even moretroubled by it than George is, if that's possible. Her gaiety fadeswhen she discovers that George really can see what has happened to her:she is never able to face him again and another much neededrelationship that he desperately wants self-destructs.There is one thing that could be considered a spoiler and that is theending. It seems that love, in Eastwood's estimation, overcomesdifficulties and we are left with the impression that George can touchwithout having a person's entire life disclosed to him. Personally, Ibelieve it, but by then I'm willing to concede anything.

Krisp8888 2012-05-09 20:25:24

An excellent film only a few flaws short of a Masterpiece.

This is by far the best movie I have seen in quite some time (sinceBrothers - starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey McGuire, and NataliePortman). This film is only a few flaws short of being considered aMasterpiece, in my book.Minor Spoilers may follow. Not worthy of the Contains Spoiler box.There is nothing in this review you will not find out by looking at thesynopsis or viewing the trailer.The plot is very unique, as it does not follow normal storytellingprocedure. Similar ways of storytelling have been done before, yet Ifeel this film perfected the trend.This is a film that is advertised to be about the after-life, and whileit is the primary theme of the film(And the source of the title), thefilm is more about the characters touched by death, and less about thesupernatural aspect of it.The film contains three primary story lines.The first is of a reporter named Marie. Marie is played by Cécile DeFrance, who gives a superb performance. Marie's life is turned upsidedown when she barely survives a major tsunami. She in fact dies for ashort period of time, and has a vision better known as a Near DeathExperience. She becomes convinced of an after-life of some sort, andher journey of discovery, causes her life to fall apart.The second story line is about a psychic named George. George is playedby Matt Damon, who I also felt gave a wonderful performance. I haveseen Damon in numerous films, and you can see his aging, in his hair,face, and his performance! This storyline seems to be the center of thefilm, the anchor that holds the film together. George is blessed with agift he considers to be a curse. George has the ability to speak withthose who have passed away from this life. He feels this keeps him fromliving a normal life, and in his effort to run away from the his gift,he finds himself bitter and lonely.The third storyline is of a boy named Marcus. Marcus is played by twinsFrankie and George McLaren. I personally felt this performance to bevery disappointing considering the otherwise very strong acting. Ifound the children's acting to be extremely unbelievable, and it madeit very difficult for me to take such a tragic storyline, seriously.Marcus and his twin brother, Jason, live a hard life with an alcoholicmother. Marcus's life is shattered when his twin brother is killed in atragic accident, and he is left alone, desperate to find answers.The film spends less time on the supernatural aspect of the after-life,communicating with the dead, etc., and more time on the charactersinvolved. The story-line's alternate, and much of the film focuses on thedifferent characters. What happens, how they are affected, and everylittle event that pushes them closer to the intersecting of theirlives. It spends a lot of time on character development, while keepingthe film interesting, compelling, and very entertaining. I never foundmyself bored in what could have been a very dull two and a half hours,had it been done the wrong way. The characters were developed sodeeply, that I truly cared for every little thing that went on,something very difficult for a film to do in such a short period oftime. The character's lives eventually intersect, and they help eachother in ways they never could have imagined.The opening sequence of the Tsunami contained some of the best specialeffects I have ever seen of a disaster on screen. That scene alonemakes it a must-see on the big screen.The other issue I had with Here After, is that the ending was notawful, but with Two and a half hours of lead up, I expected a strongerconclusion, with greater closure. It left the audiences to infer, whichafter this sort of film, I want a conclusion that leaves me withoutquestions, an ending that leaves me breathless. The ending wasadequate, but it left much to be desired. While it was not ideal, it isno reason to let this film remain unseen.Overall, I loved this film. I felt it beautifully portrayed the livesof three people touched by death, and their journey to one another. Itleft the concept of an after-life for ones own interpretation, and itgave much to think about, to dwell on, long after the end credits roll.Here After is Beautiful. The pace is perfect. The acting issuperb(though the McLaren twins performance fell short), And this filmis like I previously stated, a few flaws short of being a masterpiece.I would recommend this film to anybody wanting to experience anintelligent film, for one with a mature mind. If you are looking for afilm with action, thrills, and chills, this may not be for you. But ifyou want a beautiful film about mortality, this is a must-see.-Kristopher

2012-05-09 03:11:26

PEOPLE SEEM TO LOVE THIS OR HATE IT...

I loved it. It is a quiet, meditative and lovingly made film. I won't reiterate what other reviews have said. I have just re-watched this and find that I actually liked it better the second time around. In a culture where so much of our popular entertainment is in your face, hits you over the head or is just plain imbecilic, something like this is such a welcome relief. My advice...go along for the ride and just savor it and appreciate what the characters are doing. They are just looking for justification and answers...the same as any of us. They are not embittered, they are not hateful. I guess, if anything, they are hopeful. Good for them.

Robert Levin 2012-05-08 07:55:08

Long-winded, ponderous and without much in the way of compelling drama.

estebangonzalez10 2012-05-07 22:26:30

One of Eastwood's weakest efforts

¨If you are afraid about being on your own, don't be. You are not.¨ I'ma huge Clint Eastwood fan, but I have to admit that Hereafter is one ofhis weakest efforts. I expected a lot more from this movie which hadMatt Damon teaming up again with him after Invictus, and it also hadone of the best screenwriters working on the project. Peter Morgan haswritten screenplays for such great films as The Damned United,Frost/Nixon, The Queen, and The Last King of Scotland. Hereafter willdefinitely not rank among Eastwood, Damon, or Morgan's best work. Theyare all very talented at what they do, but sometimes things don't workout the way we expect them too. The movie begins with a lot of promise,but then it seems to drift all the way to the anticlimactic ending.Eastwood does take huge risks as a director, but this time it justdidn't work out for him like in his other projects. Hereafter tellsthree different stories about three characters that in some way oranother have to deal with death. It's not a bad film, I enjoyedHereafter, especially the first half of the film, but I just hoped thethree stories would have tied a little nicer than they actually did.The film lacked a climactic ending, and the most important sceneactually takes place in the opening five minutes. This is my leastfavorite Eastwood film of the last ten years, and he has made plenty ofthem (Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Iwo Jima, Flags of OurFathers, Changeling, Gran Torino, and Invictus). I still thinkEastwood, who is now 80 years old, is one of the brightest and finestdirectors in Hollywood so all his films are worth checking out. Hetries to leave an important underlying message in all of his films, andin Hereafter he tells us that there is more to life after death.The movie opens with a French journalist named Marie Lelay (played byCecile de France known for her role in the French horror film HighTension) who is on vacations in the eastern shores of Asia along withher boyfriend and producer Didier (Thierry Neuvic). While Marie is outon the streets buying some gifts for Didier's boys a tsunami takesplace destroying everything on its path. Marie is swept away by thewave only to be resurrected by some local fishermen. During theincident Marie experiences some sort of afterlife, but she can'texplain it very well. She decides to take some time off from her joband begin writing about her experience. The film then jumps to SanFrancisco where we are introduced to George (Matt Damon), a factoryworker who used to work as a psychic. He is a true psychic who cancommunicate with the dead, but for him it is a curse unlike what hisbrother Billy (Jay Mohr) thinks that it's a gift. Billy wants George tobecome a psychic again because he is really good at it, but Georgewants to stay away from that life because he has learned death isn'tfun to be around with. He spends his free time taking cooking lessonswhere he meets Melanie (Bryce Dallas Howard) and an interestingfriendship develops although his psychic abilities might get in theway. The third parallel story takes place in London and it centersaround Marcus and Jason (Frankie and George McLaren), twins who have totake care of their alcoholic and drug addict mother. One day Jasonsuffers an accident and dies leaving Marcus on his own desperatelytrying to find a way to communicate with him. The three storiescontinue to develop until they overlap with each other.Hereafter is a strong drama that really begins with a lot of promise,but as the movie continues to develop it starts to drag and the finalconnection between the three stories isn't as strong to make the waitworth your while. The best part of the film is the opening scene withthe tsunami. I liked the visuals, and the scene felt very real(especially after experiencing the recent tsunami in Japan and seeingall those real life images). Eastwood definitely hooks our attentionwith that opening, but then he loses us by the time we get to the finalact because there is no climax. There is a lot to learn about lifeafter death and this movie tries to explore it, but it doesn't get todelve in too deep. The movie barely touches the surface of it and itfocuses more on the drama and loneliness that each character goesthrough. By the end you feel like something was missing and that itcould have had a more powerful ending considering the subject matter.When it comes to movies about death, I personally prefer films likeMeet Joe Black, but I still don't think Hereafter was as bad as manypeople considered it to be. It still works as a character driven dramaand both Damon and De France give some strong performances. Eastwoodstill knows how to make good films, this one just isn't up to par withthe rest of his movies.http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/