Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

gmrheart This movie started out really good. Then it just got so confusing and didn't make a lot of sense. For example, who called her on the phone? Was it just her brother playing a trick on her? I couldn't tell. And what was up with the time capsule? And who was at the door at the end? As good an actress as chloe is, even her facial expressions were very confusing. And why did she seem so confused when jenna finally "saw the light" and thought her mom was going to return? Why? She was the one who got her to believe it in the first place? And did the puppy die? And since her daughter was with her when she bought it, how did she not know her mom had a puppy in a box? Just too many questions. Too many loose ends to make any sense.

lamu9-1 The writers, director and actors collectively are so far in their heads with in depth 'intellectualism" and over thinking the story that their heads are up their bums and they can't see the trees for the forest. Unfortunately, this descent into mania will suck out and never return 1 hour and 45 minutes of your lifespan. A time which you will deeply regret. You simply want to write letters to all persons involved in the making of this production to rectify the loss of your time and money spent so poorly on this 'creative' endeavor. You will want to ask "And the point was, what exactly?" It's not even a poignant look at the way people react to death. It had that opportunity, but spoiled it with excessive and random acts of silliness, illogical conversations and odd human pairings.

brent0509-933-777627 I am highly confused by the Critics and scathing Audience reviews. This was a solid "A", for me, and a very well made film, with brilliantly acted characters, most especially, Jena Malone and Chloë Sevigny. Yes, this is not a movie for all but what movie is? It is a rather chilly, dark, lovely, and hypnotic piece of work and had quite a few unexpected scenes that were unfolding in front of me and kept me completely interested and invested in the characters in the film. If you like a Dramatic film, with a side of Psychological Semi-Thriller/Chiller, give this film a chance. I don't understand how most people who wrote reviews for this movie didn't get or understand it, as it was very clear to me and it also leaves you with quite a few possibilities on how you (the viewer) can leave to your own devices. The main plot is about three Siblings, who have lost their Mother, and how they, individually, cope and grieve shortly afterward. Like a well done movie, this one was gorgeously shot, has a haunting and hypnotic Score, by Owen Pallett, and truly captures the mood throughout. I could not say enough positive things about this movie! I watched it with a friend, who is 19 years older than myself, and likes the classics, like "Citizen Kane", etc., and was unsure of what he would think of this film. He loved it also and it made a great conversation piece, between us, for the rest of the evening. M. Blash, I think you did an outstanding job and was rather touched, moved, involved, and inspired by your Creation! A true gem!Grade: A

naq-1 A talented newcomer on the scene has utilized the language of film to demonstrate a sophisticated and engrossing portrait of a family falling into dysfunction, yet struggling to hold themselves together. Unable to deal with the passing of her mother, a young woman named Emma, hears a voice on the phone telling her to wait, "they will return." Of course, this is something that she interprets as a sign that her mother will return from the dead. Why not? It seems perfectly reasonable. Oddly enough, her sister Angela, incredulous at first, reluctantly goes along with the fantasy. That starts the mystery -- why would two such upper class twits allow themselves to believe in this modern fairy tale? Once you buy the concept, and are willing to suspend your disbelief, you become lulled in by the sumptuous images, the endless wandering through the woods, and odd behavior by otherwise normal people. The cinematography is outstanding for a low-budget project such as this, with stunning shots of a wildfire (apparently it was shot sometime during a massive fire in Oregon), and the shots of the planes flying over, dropping long clouds of pinkish fire retardant are strangely beautiful.Chloe Sevigny as Emma performs exactly as expected, she sells the idea wholeheartedly. Jena Malone, as the sister supposedly with her head together, is less believable, but does manage to convey the baffling contrast between someone who doesn't for a moment believe in the idea of resurrection, yet is willing to give in for the sake of keeping her sister happy. She develops an outside interest in a man-boy named Ben, who has a poet's soul, but who cannot seem to penetrate whatever barriers she has constructed (we never find out exactly why).There are a couple of minor subplots, one of which involves a younger brother and one of the other neighbor boys, but it is given short shrift and then tossed on the back burner, which is a shame, since it would have added some much needed interest outside of the two main characters.There is also some professional work done by a young girl named Lana Green, who has a small but dynamic role as Emma's daughter, and should be a leading actress in another 10 years.Overall, a few plot lines get lost, and some of the lines make no sense whatsoever, but the beautiful shots more than make up for the shortcomings.