at least you tried…but hopefully you read the book first. i absolutely loved the book, and absolutely hated the movie. yes, there were some mildly amusing scenes, and some awesome shots, but overall, the most important, thought-provoking, heart-wrenching, amusing, devastating…best parts from the book were nowhere to be found in the movie, because they can only be expressed through foer’s brilliant prose and poetry. i don’t recommend this movie.

This film was absolutely hilarious but also had lots of depth. It was riveting to see the countryside, how American everything was for the young people and how traditional it was at their destination. The question “is the war over?” was heartbreaking but at the same time you have to wonder why anyone would cut themself off from the world like that. But to live in fear for decades! “Alex” made the movie, and Elijah Wood was stunning. How can anyone be that blank? What it’s hard for someone who doesn’t act to realize is that everything the actor is thinking is picked up by the camera and to be so totally expressionless… it can only be accomplished by someone who has mastered the art of acting, actors struggle for years to master the skill. All in all this was a fun rigid search.

I liked this, much more than I expected to—as long as I didn’t think of it as being an interpretation of the book, but as its own entity. Alex and his grandfather were astonishing; the scene where Alex, in a paroxysm of insecurity, cuffs Sammy Davis Jr. Jr and Grandfather throws Alex to the ground was where the entire film turned its tone around for me and the eccentricity retreated to the background in favor of real emotional depth.

The major let-down was Elijah Wood, who consistently seems to mistake furrowing his brow in pained confusion for acting. I thought his performance was a terrible blot on an otherwise well-crafted movie.

This movie is “premium.”

I love the characters in this movie. Eugene Hutz, who plays the leading Ukranian “Alex” really makes it. He comes across as a naive, vain, yet very caring individual who speaks charmingly broken English. He uses words like “premium” instead of good or great, “distressed” instead of scared and “illuminated” rather than clear or understood.

The grandfather, Boris Leskin, is a gritty old man who considers himself blind, even though he’s not, and has a “seeing eye dog,” Sammy Davis Jr. Jr., which is really just a derranged mutt. The grandfather discovers his humanity throughout the course of the movie, as he’s reminded of a time during WWII when he played a role in the Jewish persecution.

Of course there’s Elijah Wood’s entirely innocent American character, which completes this odd mix of personalities. Together, they embark on a “rigid search” to find the woman that helped his family escape persecution.

Overall, a very entertaining and touching movie, thanks to the unique characters in it.

This movie was BORING. They left out the best parts of the book!! Alex was just as I pictured, and I thought the cinematography was purty, but otherwise, bleh. Read the book but skip the movie.