Considering the casting, you would think that this movie would have turned out decently. Instead, it ended up being a circus of corny cliches and bad one-liners.

However, no matter how horrible the script and contrived the acting, I have to give it props for entertaining me for two hours and putting an interesting twist on the situation. At least I never saw it coming. Maybe it was just me.

I don’t question Halle’s acting abilities, I do however, question her ability to select the movies she will perform in.

Faustus’ situation in the play is relatable to almost everyone, both religious and non-religious alike. Great writing, in the Elizabethian tradition, though difficult to read. I see why this is a classic.

Now to write a paper on how Faustus fits the archetype of an overeacher. Fun!

But finally one with good acting! Ledger’s performance left me quite saddened. He died at his peak. I want to see what else he might have been able to do after this!

All the characters seemed very well developed, and though there were a lot of things going on they still managed to put it in a senseical order.

I hope Hollywood keeps up this new tradition of comic book movies with good acting. Iron Man and The Dark Knight are my shining becons of hope.

I enjoyed the take on the Maori tribe. I never knew about them and learning about some of their history and culture through this movie was quite nice.

For a family film it dealt with some very deep-seeded and serious issues. The main character was unfortunate enough to feel unwanted and unloved, and though she triumphed in the end it took lots of leaps and bounds to get there. It might be a little heavy for a child, but maybe they need to learn that some people are bad off early.

It was beautifully filmed. Kudos to the director of photography.

It is hard to truly capture the mind and image of an authentically strong female character. If I hadn’t known the writer was male, I wouldn’t have been able to tell.

His observations of relationships, both between boyfriend and girlfriend, husband and wife, mother and daughter, father and daughter, and sister to sister, are blunt and viewed through delightfully discriminating eyes. I appreciate that in a book. It’s incredibly character driven, so if you are into plot-driven novels this is not the best pick for you.

I highly recommend it though if you are looking for a quick and unique read.

If it hadn’t been for the cheap ending, I would have given this movie five stars.

The story and the acting was spot on. I did think they could have done a better job tieing the main plot and the subplot together, but I could deal with that. They made you care about the characters and their state of being. They built you up and built you up, and then you get to the end and then…

Nothing.

The ending to the molester sub-plot was interesting, but the end to the affair was a deus ex machina if I ever saw one. If they were intending it to be symbolic they did a very bad job of it. Falling off a skateboard knocks you out of an affair? Okay. Whatever.

I read this for a banned book reading project two years ago. My teacher recommended it to me and I’ve worshipped her for it ever since. A brillant, brillant work that everyone should read (along with 1984.) The characters and the crafting of the entire (and potentially realtistic) world sucked me in. The ending gave me chills. It is no wonder that this book is a dystopian classic!

This book should be a part of every high school circulum. If you plan on majoring in political science in college or at least plan on being an informed member of society, you should read this book.

Though a plot-driven book is not really my style, I really did enjoy this novel from a political stand point. Big Brother is really something to think about, as well as the brain-washing and censorship. It can happen. And I think Orwell really gives the reader a realistic perspective into what could happen if the government is given too much power. Though this was written in the 40’s, you can’t tell. This book is timeless.

As erika has stated, this book is written beautifully without all the wordiness many talented authors get tangled in.

I love the portrait the author created of Vermeer. Selfish but a visionary. I also thought he portrayed the naivety and mousey nature of Griet very well. Lots of showing, not telling, and I enjoy that in a novel.

The attraction between the Greit and Vermeer is very vivid, especially when you think about the relationship between an artist and his model. It has implications when you think about it. Every relationship between the characters in this book was detailed and complex.

An imaginative story to pair with one of Vermeer’s most well-known painting. A great plot with great characters without the length of say, a Phillipa Gregory novel.

I read the book and adored it, so I was looking forward to the movie. I never got the chance to see it in the theater so when I found out it was on Comcast OnDemand I was anxious to put forward the money and watch it. Dear Lord, I wish I hadn’t wasted my money.

Let’s begin with the casting, the one thing I was worried about when I saw the trailers. Anne Boleyn is a well-known female in the history of England, and perhaps the most famous of Henry VIII’s six wives. Gregory’s portrayal showed her as a woman of unending ambition, ruthlessness, and seduction. The casting of Anne in the series the Tudors was quite on the mark and I was expecting to see another actress in the tradition of Natalie Dormer. But no. Instead I recieved another Natalie, much to my despair. Miss Portman and Anne Boleyn are polar opposites of one another and unfortunately I do not believe that she is talented enough (at least right now) to break out of her “I’m the victimized woman” role she seems to be consistantly trapped in. She proved me right in this movie. Instead of being tactful and teasing she was whiny and half-heartedly demanding. She did not play her character well at all and I think this was poor casting on the behalf of the director.

As for the relationship between the sisters, well, they completely botched that as well. The entire story was supposed to be centered around Mary and Anne’s rivalry for the King. However, throughout the movie they were fairly supportive of one another and the only hint of hatred they seemed to have for one another was when Mary told her family of the marriage to Henry Percy, and even then that anger didn’t seem to last long. They cut out many of the events that would share their rivalry, such as Anne’s forced adoption of Mary’s son.

The events of the story were completely butchered. I understand that considering how long the book was there is a need to annotate some of the events but they would pass through time very quickly without any notice. If I hadn’t read the book I would have been very confused and wouldn’t have known what the hell was going on. They (of course) changed the fact the Anne and George produced a deformed child bred of incest. This was one of the most interesting parts of the story to me and also contributed to the development of Anne’s character. Then again they didn’t seem to care much about development. They completely changed the mother’s character, and left George underdeveloped. As a matter of fact almost all the characters, even the main three, were underdeveloped. William Stafford was barely in the movie and seemed to disappear and reappear at random.

At least the movie was pretty, but I’ll never forgive them for turning one of my favorite novels into a Lifetime t.v special.