Genres

Visitors Review

Tony Heck 2012-05-24 00:46:10

A movie about 2 sets of parents, birth and adoptive fighting over a 7 year old boy. It will beak your heart. I say B

After 7 years in prison Rip Porter (Pepper) is released and comes hometo find out he has a son that was given up for adoption. He sets out toget him back. A father who never knew his son (Pepper) wants a chanceto raise him. The only father the boy has known (Hauser) fights to keephim. Due to a flaw in the prison system the adoption of the boy turnsout to be fraudulent and a fight begins. I have a feeling this kind ofthing really happens. This is not as good as I want it to be. It wasgood, but TV movie good, like a really good Lifetime movie. This movieis very emotional and you feel for the little boy the entire time andwish for his ordeal to be over. This is yet another movie with a lot ofpotential but also falls flat. It is a good movie just, again, couldhave been better. When you watch make sure you give your lady Kleenex.I give it a B.Would I watch again? - No

jumpingbum 2012-05-23 12:54:13

Why some people should NEVER have children

This movie tells me one thing: some people should NEVER have children.What I saw was a man who hit his wife, spent time in prison and isrewarded only for biology. A lie is a lie: that the Mother LIED whenshe signed LEGAL paperwork and then LIED in front of a judge? Sheshould have been put in jail. I was disappointed that the adoptiveFather offered money for his kid. Stupid for the rich guy to start afight. But there is a certain type of people who should NEVERreproduce. I realize it sounds like class snobbery and it probably is,but what I saw was a class of people acting like they were brought upby their parents to act.

Mary 2012-05-23 11:55:00

Wonderful!!

Four of drove 90 miles round-trip to see this movie, and we were not disappointed!The acting was perfect and the storyline was riveting! Not a boring moment - even the men loved it. There was no preaching in it, just a very believable, realistic story.Highly recommended!!

iamthorny 2012-05-23 05:19:55

Had profound effect on me and my wife...

Others can discuss the nuts and bolts and the philosophical questionsraised by this film. All I have to say is... by the end of this film my wife and I wererunning to our children with hugs, kisses, and tears a plenty. There are some moments in this film that are beyond poignant. One lineof dialog rates up there with the best I've ever heard in any film.Watch it and hurt for both sides and then realize the treasure andwonder that are your children. If you want something to loosely compare this to, I would have to gowith GONE BABY GONE. The only thing that could've made this one anybetter was Morgan Freeman. One film related note...Mira Sorvino... just wow.

Em 2012-05-22 06:11:43

Heartwrenching

This movie is beautiful. It's a story about a young boy who lives a idyllic life with his adoptive parents. They have a lush lifestyle, but he is not spoiled. His biological father, who is just getting out of prison, and his biological mother decide that they want to fight to get him back. The father never knew about him, and never signed the adoption papers. The courts take steps to return him to his biological parents. His adoptive parents try every avenue to keep him. You'll have to watch the movie to see what happens, but I highly recommend it. It's a real tear-jerker.

helgerahbek 2012-05-21 14:27:49

Warning: Watch something else

An absolute disaster of a movie. It might be the first time I watched amovie with a above 7* rating on IMDb, and found out it was absolutelyterrible. The actors overplay, the dialogue seems to be read out aloud,which is not good, when it contains some of the worst clichés in thehistory of film making.Besides that the story is so thin and, and you know what will happennext during the entire time.Besides that there is several loops in the story, that makes absolutelyno sense: How come Rip goes to jail in 7 years for broking Wendy's arm?How come they apparently haven't talked in that time, but still seemsto be in love when he comes out? Who calls theirhusband/wifes/girlfriends/etc for "Mom" and "Dad" as both couples do?Who spends time on a regular basis with people, that they assumely hateto be together with? And so on and so on.....Just a warning, so you, just like me, have to spend 1,5 hour of wastingyour life.

drpakmanrains 2012-05-19 08:27:23

Almost Docudrama Adoption Film

I never heard of this film until it came to my attention on Netflix andI watched it. It was an amazingly well balanced film, similar to somestories that were in the news a few years back, where an adopted childis sought by his biological parents years after an adoption was assumedpermanent, due to the father not having given legal consent. Readingthe credits, I learned it was based on a novel by Karen Kingsbury, andafter reading the other reviews here, learned it was released by aChristian company, which I was totally unaware of while watching thefilm. I am an agnostic, and lean toward atheism, but have loved someChristian films, like Treasures of the Snow, Fireproof, and To Save ALife. And while this barely touched on Faith, (Thankfully in mynon-religious opinion), those who decried the changes from the book,(which I haven't read, nor probably never will), struck me as notliking the film for the very reasons that made it so good. That is, notportraying the parties in obvious colors, not making the biologicalparents totally unfit, at least at first, after Pepper's release fromprison, and not portraying the adoptive parents as beyond fault, whichraised this above the typical lifetime movie, in my opinion. In fact,when Barry Pepper reverts to some of his abusive behaviors late in thefilm, I was a little disappointed, because I didn't want the film totake the easy way out. And in some real cases in Ohio, the childrenwere returned to the biological parents, which I think is veryunfortunate when the child has lived happily for many years with thecouple he or she knows as Mom and Dad. I wanted a happy ending, which Igot, but I didn't want it to look so one-sided that the deck lookedstacked. And as a non-believer, if a lot of Faith preaching is added,for me, it only detracts from the drama, and risks becoming corny andtrite. If the film were a little livelier or faster paced, I would havegiven it a 10, but if it were like those who described the book asbeing, I would have given it a 5 at best.

2012-05-18 22:54:54

Like Dandelion Dust (2009)

Get ready to get your heart strings ripped out. At least they'll besewn together good as new by the ending.An abusive man goes to jail and while there, his wife at home discoversshe's pregnant with his baby. Instead of aborting the baby or keepingit, she gives it away, fortuitously to incredibly caring, financiallycomfortable adoptive parents.Then there's an interruption. Apparently basic biology trumps goodparenting and a legal contract. Six years later, through a minortechnicality, the contract was deemed void upon the biological fatherrelease from jail. He returns to the biological mother, renews theirrelationship and eager to have an instant family. Of course thisentails tearing the boy from the only parents he's known. It should benoted that the biological father is excited to know he has a son but itmakes the viewer wonder if he would have been so enthusiastic about agirl. The biological parents are irresponsible; they're ignorant (which isn'ta crime) but also have anger and codependency issues that are so severethey quickly effect the child negatively: Actual bruises on the littleboy's body.The adoptive parents wind up taking matters into their own hands andrunning off to Haiti with their Christian neighbors who have a charityprogram there.They make the decision to give up contact with their other friends,relatives, to live in a strange new country essentially to protecttheir child.The scene where they separate from their Christian friends in Haiti isunderplayed and well done. Secretly they know they are not sayinggoodbye for the day but possibly forever, into hiding.Afterward, the Christian wife and husband have a private conversationchallenging their perspectives on faith and philosophy: She makes thedecision to report them to the Haitian authorities. He stronglydisagrees with that choice and tries to warn them.Apparently the Christian wife has more faith in biology and a stupidlaw than thinking for herself. Ironically, this winds up helpingeveryone become aware of the fact that the biological parents are ablatant failure which means the adoptive parents can regain custody andreturn to their homeland safely. However, this is only because theabuse is severe (the biological mother's face is black and blue and thesocial worker is persistent enough to witness it). Think about all theother cases where this doesn't happen.

stusskilla 2012-05-10 22:54:55

Amazing film

This movie hits very hard, I really don't care who you are this moviewill make you take notice, Mira Sorvino and Barry Pepper play adysfunctional couple who at the beginning of the film get in analtercation that ends Pepper in jail for 7 years, upon his release,Sorvino informs him that she gave his child up for adoption, He decidesto do all the right things to get his boy back, but the boy has a newfamily, and 2 parents who live for this boy, The story has many twistsand turns and gets better and better, The entire movie is wonderfullydirected, and the acting is sheer genius, Cole Hauser really steals theshow with an Oscar worthy performance, and Kate Levering is so good youcan feel her pain, I would recommend this movie a thousand times. Infact anyone who doesn't at least have to fight back a few tears fromthis movie may be a heartless grinch. The writer Karen Kingsbury reallywrote a gem here.

shelz 2012-05-10 16:25:28

Wonderful Movie

As a successfully adoptive parent and after having gone thru something simlar 10 years ago in the state of Ohio, and losing 2 little girls back to their abusive mother I had to see this movie. It's obvious it was not a big budget movie but all the actors involved did a wonderful job in portraying the kind of anguish that a parent, biological or adoptive, can relate to what everyone was feeling.I cried thru most of the movie .. I look forward to being able to get it on DVD at some point. Excellent job.

napierslogs 2012-05-06 03:18:19

More like a novel than a film

When the father is an alcoholic abuser and the mother can't stick upfor herself, there's always hope that the son will get to a betterhome. "Like Dandelion Dust" explores that hope and the powers ofwealth, love and family.The strength of the film lies in its story-telling. The characters wereall painted extremely realistically and even sympathetically, and everyscene in the film advanced the plot. Written by Oscar-nominated writerStephen J. Rivele and Michael Lachance, it certainly comes across as afilm driven by the writing. But no matter how interesting the storywas, they couldn't completely keep my attention. When we have grittyscenes, we get drab shots. The story really wasn't brought to life."Like Dandelion Dust" is less like a film and more like a novel. Andunsurprisingly, it is a novel with the same name by Karen Kingsbury. AsI have just learned, Kingsbury is known as a Christian novelist.Although religion is an element in this film, it's presented in a verysubtle, questioning way. See "Like Dandelion Dust" because it's anovel, not because it's a Christian novel.Follow my blog Napierslogs' Movie Expositions athttp://napierslogs.blogspot.com

margotsaites 2012-05-05 15:25:54

High Emotions - Uncomfortable scenes - Wonderfully executed

There were so many things to like about this movie and so many talkingpoints.While the movie was a little too stereo typed for my liking, stereotypes exist for a reason.I thought the Porter side of the story was extremely well done. WendyPorter played the abused wife brilliantly, acting as abused andbattered women often do. I was perplexed as to why Wendy would want her biological son to livewith her though. Perhaps the fact that her husband wanted the boyinfluenced her. After all, what is in the best interest of the child?What they went through with the boy, and their experiences was so welldone it was very difficult to watch.The Campbell's were the boy's adoptive parents and they were portrayedas such the perfect family, that you couldn't help but want the boy tostay with them. I found the way they acted, especially the way HollyCampbell reacted was a little too unrealistic but then again, I'venever been in the position of potentially losing my child.This is a powerful movie. Definitely one to stir the emotions.

Nat Williams 2012-05-02 04:34:08

A potent movie that tugs at our emotions

After watching this powerful movie, I asked aloud why it wasn'tnominated for any awards. It was only after I checked further that Idiscovered why: It is the product of a Christian movie productioncompany and had limited distribution. The fact that I didn't know that,in itself, is a testament to the greatness of this movie. I'm a grownman who is usually not very emotional, but this movie had my tear ductsworking overtime. I can't say enough about the cast, the script, thedirection, the music and everything else. The story, about two sets ofparents on the opposite ends of society, successfully avoids clichésand provides a realistic and painfully emotional story. This is a tourde force that came in completely under the radar. I highly recommendit.

Nocgirl72 2012-05-01 19:57:05

Realistic tear-jerker

I just watched this movie and had a hard time keeping a dry eye. Thesad truth is there are cases similar to this going on in family courteveryday..maybe not as extreme as this one (most kids are less than 6years old) but fights between bio parents, foster parents and adoptiveparents go on every day. This is an adoptive parents nightmare. Ithought the performances by all were solid and very believable. The kidthat played Joey is so cute and a good little actor. I really do notunderstand how people can bash this movie. They must not be adults, orparents for that matter. The subject matter is very surreal and let metell you, I would have done the EXACT same thing as the adoptiveparents did in this movie.

trey-866-847510 2012-04-30 04:52:50

See it if you can find it!

One of the best movies with one of the most bizarre releases I've everseen. In the Dallas area it is currently playing in one mall theaterfor only two shows a day, one in the morning and one in the earlyafternoon.I can't comprehend how such a good movie gets so little theaterdistribution. The six main characters are as multi-dimensional as fictional moviecharacters get. They act like real people would in real situations.While there are a few times when the camera lingers too long foremotional effect, everything about this production is top rate. If it is being shunned due to its Christian origins, that is a shame.The few references to Christianity are really only there to advance theplot.I was a little surprised to realize at the end that I had just watcheda great movie without any profanity or skin. It is still not a film forchildren because of its theme and some domestic violence.If anybody knows, please post why this film is not enjoying widerdistribution. This is a Blind Side caliber movie without near thepreachiness.

Kim Ellsworth 2012-04-29 17:17:14

Touching story about a very REAL issue

This is one of those movies that you go see with a friend - leave hubby or boyfriend home - and be ready to dab your tears! Anyone who has struggled to have children and considered adoption has faced or considered all of the issues that go with it. This is a touching story that brings all of that together. To dive deeper and grasp the characters better, read the book! (Most books are better than their movies and this one is no different.)

maria r 2012-04-27 10:06:46

Like Dandelion Dust

This was a difficult subject matter for anyone involved with adoptions no matter which side of the issue you may be on. I enjoyed the ending especially when the birth mother (and father) realized that they couldn't parent their son. I felt horrible for the boy being thrown into a life he had no idea existed. Barry Pepper......ahhhh! What an actor. I didn't know him until this movie. His character was so stretched to limit on emotions but with the underlying heart of a very believable and loving husband and father.

jenniferk16 2012-04-26 20:35:29

Not what I expected....

I read the book and was anticipating the movie. I didn't expect it tobe exactly like the book, but I felt the movie missed the markentirely. I almost bought the movie for $23 at the bookstore, I was sosure I would like it. I'm so glad I rented it at Redbox for $1! This ISa faith based book, so I didn't realize the movie could be made andignore the primary theme of the book. I think the acting was quitedecent overall, and the movie was fairly well made. My complaintdoesn't really lie with that. It's just so much of the book is missing,made to fit the movie, and the only barely there elements of faith areto support the character attempt to "run off" with the child. In no waydoes it make people of faith look good, just the opposite. They lookrather stupid and involved. I just didn't get it. I'm very verydisappointed with Karen Kingsbury. I would never have sold my bookrights to a film maker if they were going to leave out the entire pointof the movie. Sorry, I just didn't care for it. The book was far betterat grabbing my attention and pulling me in. Yawn.

markandkarenfitz 2012-04-23 16:02:40

beyond reproach

This is one of the best films I have ever seen. It is so well acted,that it is difficult to see the film itself separate from the acting;if that makes sense. Barry Pepper and Mira Sorveno are stunning intheir representation of a flawed soul and the wonderful woman who loveshim. I could not love Mira more. She is utterly beautiful in hertotally natural manifestation here.The strongest element of this film is the dichotomy between this lesssuccessful couple and their rivals, a very wealthy couple. The latterseem so one-dimensional by comparison. It fed my bias against theprivileged. But by the end I took an arc.Really nice work too by the young boy in the film. Barry Pepper is aninspiration to young actors with great talent who might despairthinking there isn't room in the industry for character actors still.

johnpatd-967-26758 2012-04-22 22:39:01

anti Christian movie from a famous Christian novel

Based upon a famous Christian novel. this film completely perverts theChristian elements of the novel Although well acted, the film makes theChristian sister of the heroine both stupid and rash. The plot deviceat the end of novel that shows how God is in control is completelyignored by the filmmakers. This film will infuriate any Christians whoread the book. Despite good acting from Barry Pepper and Mira Sorvino,the Christian message of the novel: God is in control; is completelyignored. After watching the film, I went and read through the novelbecause I could not understand how his was considered a Christian film.Well IT IS NOT. If anything it's anti-Christian film. If you see thisjunk, read the novel, or a least the last half of the book and you willsee what I am talking about.