Really wonderful movie. Captures the essence of what life was ...
599163
Really wonderful movie.  Captures the essence of what life was like for a single woman running a country in the 16th.  Who does one trust.  Mother was Ann Bolyn, sister is Mary Queen of Scots...
1662640
This movie was absolutely captivating. I would watch it again and again to keep expierencing the emotion. Everything was so realistic...not st all one of those cliche movies where you can tell it's being acted out. I felt as though I was watching these issues unfold in front of my face. Sad and heart breaking, but  extremely real and raw ending. For the people who were disappointed in the ending-- let's be realistic, everything does not always turn out flowers and rainbows like many other movies depict. And for that, I loved it even more.
4967399
This is not a religiously based movie even though it portrays  life/death, reincarnation, heaven/hell, and it does make mention of God. Mostly, it's a story of LOVE.
ROBIN WILLIAMS is absolutely BRILLIANT in this role. His performance is STELLAR. It is too bad he did not have more opportunity outside of comedy, because he is a VERY, VERY GOOD actor (versatile and intuitive). CUBA GOODING JR.(I think he is a great actor equally capable in drama/melodrama and comedy) is REALLY, REALLY GOOD in his role, as well (he has not appeared in movies nearly as often as he should have). ANNABELLA SCIORRA deftly holds her own with a performance that STUNNINGLY equals her costars performances. ENORMOUS PERFORMANCES by everyone in the movie. BREATHTAKING ACTING.
The movie is slow. It did not bother me (especially considering the exceptional acting, the EXQUISITE visuals, and the AMAZING SPECIAL EFFECTS (especially the depiction of HELL--off the chart GOOD). BUT others may find the pace annoying.
I read some of the other reviews and was saddened by some of the reviewers who let their religion get in the way of understanding THIS IS A MOVIE and THEREFORE A FANTASY. SO WHAT'S NEW THERE????
I do recommend this movie, but sparingly. It's not for everyone. I will share it selectively. The combination of the FANTASTIC special effects, BEAUTIFUL visuals, and, of course, the acting, the WONDERFUL performances, make this movie a real EXPERIENCE.
LIFE, AFTERLIFE, DEATH, REBIRTH, GUILT, DAMNATION, REDEMPTION, and LOVE----ALL IN YOUR OWN MIND.
588672
As soon as I saw the title for this movie, I knew it was going to be a great film.  It's really an exploration of Existentialism.  Whether we die from a meteor crashing into the Earth or we live out our lives in peace and good health - we all must eventually die.  So this film is really the sped-up version of the important responsible decisions and acts of genuine authenticity that we have to face in our lives.

There's two things you'll find interesting in this film.  One is how others around the central characters deal with their imminent demise.  There's nihilistic hedonism.  There's people who simply cannot process what's happening and just carry on with their now meaningless lives (that is, acting in "bad faith").  There's the anti-humanist, devout believer who's content in their prison cell - satisfied that the world is finally coming to an end.  There's people who commit shocking suicides, and those that hire someone else to put them out of their misery.  It's not exactly a comedy.  Like Dodge's friend's wife tells him, "You're not getting out of this one."

The second thing that you'll find interesting is how Dodge finds a type of "salvation" inside all this doom.  And I won't spoil that for you, but I'll just say that it's going to require an active, authentic decision on his part about how he wants to spend his last moments.

Also, thank-you so much to the film's writer(s) for not chickening out and giving this movie a fake, "Hollywood", happy ending.  I highly recommend this movie.  It will wake you up to life and its amazing possibilities.

P.S. ultimately, Existentialism is a failed philosophy, but that doesn't make it a bad one.  The last half of the 20th century was filled with European (Continental) philosophers explaining exactly *how* Existentialism is failed.  But I will leave that as an exercise to the truly curious and thoughtful.
4143667
This was a fabulous movie!  It provided a beautiful look at the relationship between three generations of women.  A great performance by Lily Tomlin and the entire cast including Laverne Cox from Orange is the New Black.  The tough topic of abortion was presented fairly and with class.
962991
This movie has got so much depth and emotion. The outcome is sad while being realistic . The acting is on point. Overall its so well done because you get to see the impact of  prioritising money over family. What a beautful movie. One of the great movies that we have.
3985312
Highly recommend it. Love the entire point of this movie. It creates awareness of where we are at in our life spiritually and where we can always go when we struggle.
2996996
Captivating. I watched the longer version and didn't want it to end.  This is by far the best portrayal of the life of Jesus in movie form that you will find. Only the words of Scripture used. Amazing. The quality of acting is good too.
2684233
Really enjoyed this movie. The acting is great, there are moments of real joy and the things everyone would like not to experience balanced by what we would all like to experience. The plot is well executed and without spoiling the ending, I loved it. A good watch!
1443096
Life of Pi....EXCELLENT. Great movie with introspective reflection of one's life, beliefs, and struggles with conflicting life decisions. Oh yea...there is a tiger in the mix. I liked this movie a lot!..highly recommend! Plus the ending is a great hmmm what do I think about it or what really happened twister. Watch to found out...you won't regret it.
3961411
this movie depicts very well the livings habits and hustory of people of this time period.

Excellent photography,  authenticity of costumes and settings of this time  period.
1818694
I really loved this movie.  Brenda Blethyn is one of my favorites, especially in her series, Vera.  Hillary Swank is great, and should have received better recognition for her work,especially in the movie, The Homesman.

Is it possible that this movie, Mary and Martha  received little attention because it deals with real life and really tough problems?The same could be said of the movie,  The Homesman.  It dealt with people's lives in truly difficult times and conditions.  Maybe we just fail to appreciate talent when it presents to us the gritty aspects of human existence.

The story of Mary and Martha allows us a close insight to the grief of personal loss, suffered by each of these two remarkable women.  None of us enjoy sorrow, or tragic loss of a young person.  Stories such as this help us somehow to understand such loss apart from our own heartaches.

 I am glad this story was based on a real Martha and her real son, Harry, who died of malaria while working with children in Africa.  I wish the Martha character had been given a more active part in the development of the story for television.  Time constraints have to be considered.

I recommend this movie for all,especially women.
2020120
This is the first time I've seen this movie and it's absolutely endearing. It's like getting a glimpse into the early 1900's and the way people lived in that era. The movie features a fine cast from Beau Bridges to Reese Witherspoon, all fantastic actors in the depiction of small community, family helping those less fortunate, romance between a young boy seeking college and his natural attraction to a deaf girl. A brother and sister help the illiterate deaf girl, played by Arquette, to learn to live among everyday people who accept her with a little help from a loving and generous family. The film teaches a lot of things but most importantly, how a family grows and develops a more loving, close-knit fabric of genuine family that had been lost when the daughter and son's mother died and the father had given up on life. The deaf Allie is wild, at first, until the brother/sister teach her to read and write. I watched her grow and grew a little bit more, myself. The brother gradually falls in love with a "new and improved" deaf Allie who will charm at times and break your heart at others. I'm very glad I found this movie on Amazon. I could not look away until it was all over. I wished to see more. I would give it more stars if available. If you do not enjoy this movie, then watch it again and it will become more clear, if you like to know some of the "older ways."
4200298
I thought this was a lovely movie that relied almost soley on great acting and dialogue. Nothing sappy or overdone but an authentic look at friendship, family, and love.

Highly recommended!
4514327
Absolutely wonderful movie.  You forget that it's actors playing roles from the get go.  As if you were taken back to the real story.
3732101
This is a wonderful movie - funny, uplifting and heartwarming. It follows a family through a year of changes/challenges and we loved the story layers. The soundtrack is pretty awesome as well. I first saw this on a plane trip, downloaded from itunes and couldn't stop thinking about it. Finally purchased from Amazon to watch with friends again and sure I'll watch again. Rare to find a movie like this today and the acting from all parties was superb.
3992324
Whenever there is a movie about the book, there are comments that so much stuff was left out, but the movie captures the most important parts of the book very well, and the acting is very natural and they do convey the agony of many "orphans" that were looking for parents or extended family in the UK. I did enjoy watching this movie, as it has very moving moments. Thanks!