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Directed by: Gabriele Muccino Starring: Will Smith, Thandie Newton, Jaden Smith One of Will Smith's more serious roles, I wasn't sure what to expect but was optimistic based on some pretty good trailers for the movie. You know the basic premise if you've seen the trailer. Chris Gardner (Smith) is struggling to make ends meet after his wife leaves him alone to support their son. His only source of income is selling bone density scanners that he regrettably invested in. He attempts to turn things around by striving for a single spot out of 20 competitors in an unpaid internship to become a stock broker. Rent troubles, eventually leading to Chris and his son becoming homeless, impede his goals as he tries desperately to stay afloat. Will Smith's performance is definitely the best part of the movie. He is very convincing and emotional as he portrays a smart (but bankrupt) young man trying to support himself and his son. I wasn't that impressed with Thandie Newton's acting but she had a minor role. Smith's son, who is also his real son, gives a decent performance. He's only 8 so no one is expecting much, but he acted well when he needed to. The main drawback of the movie is it seemed to drag on a little at times. It gets somewhat repetitive and slow about 2/3 into the film, but it picks up soon enough, I guess. It's a movie experience that will definitely swing you through some emotions as you watch the fight to make it out of the gutter. It's touching and uplifting at times, albeit somewhat predictable. All in all it was a solid movie, definitely fitting the season, and anyone with half a heart should enjoy it. RATING: 3.5 PROS: good performance from Will Smith, emotional, some good comedy as well CONS: predictable, a little too slow at times ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454921/ Deltron 3030 fucked around with this message at 03:33 on Nov 21, 2007 |
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Dec 17, 2006 22:56
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 01:16 |
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I thought this movie was excellent. I make effort to watch as many movies I can each month and this has been on my top watch list ever since the trailer hit the Apple website. I will definitely watch it again. It is a bit slow 2/3ish in but it picks up nicely and some parts are predictable but ultimately it's an awesome movie and like Crash it will leave you thinking not only about yourself but those around you and how they are living, what are they doing to make ends meet and how we all relate to one another. From the trailer alone I knew this would be a big hit and after seeing the movie I can affirm in its excellence and Will Smith's on-screen flexibility.
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Dec 18, 2006 02:54
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mrk posted:I thought this movie was excellent. I make effort to watch as many movies I can each month and this has been on my top watch list ever since the trailer hit the Apple website. I will definitely watch it again. Okay anyone thinking about this movie should know that it and Crash have NOTHING in common and I don't know why this person feels the need to compare the two. Pursuit of Happyness is a great little Sunday afternoon movie but it's not much you haven't seen or heard before. Work had to get ahead! It's not what you know sometimes, but who you know! The homeless are people too! It takes these conventional wisdom lessons of life and wraps them in a harmless, well meaning package presented with a smile by the very charasmatic Will Smith. Who by the way, is excellent here but isn't working from much of a script. It's not a must see so i'd say wait for it on DVD, and if some better films are checked out you can't go wrong with it. 3.5
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Dec 24, 2006 04:34
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not a review. (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST) Somebody fucked around with this message at 22:09 on Dec 25, 2006 |
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Dec 24, 2006 17:32
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I personally thought it was a decent concept yet the movie left me unsatisfied and even felt cliche. I'm not sure if it was the characters, or the dialogue, or just the way the movie was done in general yet something necessary was missing and the movie suffered because of it. 2/5
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Dec 26, 2006 05:32
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I happened to flip past Smith on Oprah a month or two ago, and watched her run several touching clips of this movie. My girlfriend started begging me to see it as soon as it opened at this point, but I don't really enjoy this sort of movie. She convinced me (surprised?) last night and we watched it. I was disappointed. I even found that one of the scenes that was a big tearjerker during the Oprah episode had some upbeat music played under it that stole its significance. 2/5.
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Dec 26, 2006 06:23
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3.5/5 Most of my points have pretty much been made already. It was a feel-good family flick, and it did that well. But yes, it seemed to drag on for a little bit and was a bit too predictable. Overall though, I enjoyed it. I won't see it in the theaters twice, but I can see myself renting it on DVD and watching it again. It almost made me cry like a bitch, also.
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Jan 8, 2007 17:21
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I'm disappointed this film isn't as popular as I'd hoped. Those who say this film was slow and predictable were probably expecting something different from what the film actually is. This is based on a real person, so it's like saying the movie 300 will be predictable. The events in the film are depressing, but there is always an underlying theme of hope there which might explain upbeat music during sad scenes. You pretty much know what's going to happen from the very beginning of the movie, but that's not what this film is about. This is a movie of a man determined to be a father to his son, even in the worst hardships. You go through the ups and downs of the characters with them and hopefully by the end, you're rooting for them. As for the slowness, this is due to the fact that it's real life. This is what people do every day to survive. There are no explosions or sex scenes, it's just a father and a son trying to get by. Not to mention, Will Smith's portrayal of Chris Gardner is fantastic. 4.5/5 Pros: Great acting performance by Will Smith, emotional Cons: Pretty depressing most of the movie
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Jan 10, 2007 06:20
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The movie was good, if a little slow at time and most points that I would make have already been made, but one thing about this movie just really disappointed me. I knew it was your basic movie about a man triumphing in the face of severe adversity, but there was practically ZERO payoff at the end.. 2 hours of struggle and then like 30 seconds of "well, he made it". I think an extra 5 minutes of them doing well would have ended the movie much better. I left the movie going "thats it?", it was pretty irritating.
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Jan 14, 2007 07:03
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Wow, the trailers really misrepresent this movie. From the TV you'd think this was a big cheerful movie about a guy who pulls himself up by his own bootstraps. Well, he does, but it's not cheerful at all. This movie felt, to me, like being run over by an SUV for two hours, then at the end a cute lady gets out of the SUV and gives you a big kiss before driving off. Sure, you just got a kiss from a pretty lady, but it wasn't worth getting run over for. Also, that damned bone scanner got stolen a little too often for me to give a poo poo. 3.5/5
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Jan 14, 2007 13:32
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 01:16 |
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This movie is seriously depressing. I teared up near the end where Chris gets the job and he's crying out of joy. I thought this was Will Smiths best performance by far. The kid was a natural too, he pretty much acted like a kid would. The music can lend to some pretty cheesy moments but don't let that deter you. Its a heartwarming sad movie that everyone should see. If you liked Rocky Balboa you'll love this. 4.0/5.0 pros: Great story, which is also true, good performances, teaches important lessons cons: sometimes a bit too cheesy, some lame jokes
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Jan 24, 2007 23:43
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