Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Tockinit not horrible nor great

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

SimonJack "Extraordinary Measures" is a modern hero story about medical research to fight a rare disease. Only, the big heroes in this story aren't the doctors, scientists or researchers. Some ultimately have a hand in it, of course, but the heroes in this story are a mom and dad who want to save their children. The basis for the film is a 2009 book by Geeta Arnand, a Pulitzer Prize author and journalist who writes for the Wall Street Journal. "The Cure" is subtitled, "How a Father Raised $100 Million and Bucked the Medical Establishment in a Quest to Save His Children." It's about the efforts of John Crowley and his wife, Aileen, who fought to get the research done to develop a cure for Pompe's disease. Two of their three children had the rare disease. In the movie, John Crowley digs to find research on the disease. He travels from Oregon to Nebraska to meet the leading researcher in the field. He finds and challenges venture capitalists, and prods pharmaceutical interests. He sacrifices everything in the hope of finding a medicine that will keep his children alive beyond age nine. The movie screenplay creates a fictional character, Dr. Stonehill, who is a leading researcher on the disease. Sources say his character is based on one or two real life people who were involved in the story. Harrison Ford plays Dr. Stonehill. In a bonus documentary on the DVD of the movie, producer Michael Shamberg talks about Ford's role. Shamberg says, "He's rewritten the scientific language so it's completely accurate, and he will sound to real scientists like a real scientist. That's how methodical and serious an actor he is."The acting is excellent by all of the cast in this film. Three actors give superb performances. Brendan Fraser plays John Crowley, Keri Russell plays Aileen Crowley, and Meredith Droeger plays their daughter, Megan. At times, one wonders at John Crowley's restraint when faced with one roadblock after another. Fraser emotes the frustrations and angst yet keeps his calm and goes off to tackle the new problem. It's almost unbelievable that he wouldn't lose his cool at times. On the other hand, it's a mark of his love for his family and dogged determination to work within the system to get results to save the lives of his children.This film reminds one of "Lorenzo's Oil" of 1992. Except that, in this case, the disease has handicapped the children, so that the parents have more restraints and pressures. "Lorenzo's Oil" received widespread acclaim from critics, and received two Academy Awards nominations. However, it didn't even recover one-third of its $30 million budget in the U.S. box office. Nearly two decades later, "Extraordinary Measures" fared somewhat the same - even a little worse. Some top critics praised it but the larger media-dominated field rated the film low. It received no Oscar nominations. Yet, the lead performances were as good or better than those that were nominated for 2010 awards. It recovered just over a third of its $31 million budget in its U.S. box office, and only half in its worldwide gross. One wonders at the low appeal of such films with audiences since the late 20th century. Are people no longer interested in these types of uplifting, positive stories? Are people no longer moved by struggles to overcome challenges for life? Is society moving away from life, hope, sacrifice, work and love? Let's hope not. Let's hope that the obvious shift in film output from Hollywood is not a harbinger of society today - or that of the near future.Here's a favorite line from the movie. John Crowley has told a business friend of his plan to quit his job to work full time to try to find a cure for his kids. The friend tries to talk him out of it. Crowley says, "Hey, you're right! This is crazy. I'm chasing the wind. But I can't just sit around and wait for my kids to die."

Prismark10 Extraordinary Measures is supposedly based on true events. Like the 1992 film, Lorenzo's Oil it is the story of two parents in a relentless search for a cure. In this case children suffering from Pompe's disease.Brendan Fraser plays the dad who gives up a well paid executive job in order to develop a possible cure.Harrison Ford is the doctor who has done cutting edge research but needs to turn that research into a substantive cure.In their way is the search for finance which leads them to the arms of the pharmaceutical companies who have alternative agendas one of them being the search for the bottom line. The almighty dollar.Fraser does well as the doting dad who fears time for his son and daughter is running out, ably supported by Keri Russell who plays the mum.Ford on the other hand is again on the well trodden road as the sourpuss, the hard to get along maverick researcher. He really brings nothing new to the table as the grouch which he has been playing for many years nowThe biggest problem is that the film is just a big budget movie of the week with bigger stars. The script rather jogs along, Fraser seeks out Ford, Ford is sceptical and hard hearted, he mellows. Then once they hook up with the big pharmaceutical companies, they fall out as Ford is not a team player and then reunite as the drug trials start.The biggest stars of the film are the children who play the sufferers of Pompe's disease who bring home their plight more than the script does.

dierregi I do not find movie about sick children entertaining, Even less so, if based on a real story of suffering. I stumbled upon this movie on TV and thinking it was a thriller I started watching it. Big mistake. Turned out, it was the "fictional" version of the story of a rich guy with two children, sick with a rare genetic disease and his efforts to save them. Very noble in the intent, but noble intents do not necessarily make good movies. If anything, this is a very manipulative one, in between the fine line dividing inspirational and delusional. A documentary would have been more appropriate. Brendan Fraser never looked puffier.

jack_face The movie itself really wasn't bad at all. It's not a tearjerker. It's a drama through and through with some well placed laughs that made it more authentic and enjoyable. No special effects of any kind. Just strictly acting and plot with minimal twists. Minimal meaning they aren't so hardcore that you're shocked and surprised but when they happen, they're well placed and make sense. Looks like this is based on a book too but I forgot the title and author. They did show it in the beginning credits. Brendan Fraser's acting was about what you can expect. Yet it matched the tone of the rest of the flick. Nor was he in the best shape he's ever been in. He's got a little potbelly that's clearly visible along with some extra chin. Old man Harrison Ford's in better shape than him.If you're a sci-fi fan, you'll get a couple of treats here. Jared Harris from Fringe does a horrible American accent as a corporate exec. And Courtney Vance from FlashForward plays the parent of a Pompe kid. Never heard of Pompe disease till seeing this movie. Like many inherited diseases, my proposal is to just stop the gene. If you know you're genetically predispositioned to produce certain negative traits when having kids, then don't have any. Harrison Ford does a lot of yelling here but his rational, human side always shines through. The movie title basically describes what Fraser is willing to do to save his and other kids with the disease. It's emotional and shows what the human spirit is capable of when confronted with adversity. Some people just give up. This movie shows what can happen when you don't and I like that message because I promote it whenever possible. It's a very positive movie. Good for families. Not at all unrealistic.Since you don't get much bang for your buck, I wouldn't recommend paying for it unless you got nothing better to do because, really, it has the production values of a TV movie. It is CBS Films after all. It's not a bad movie but you're better off waiting on DVD or for it to broadcast on HBO or regular TV which is where it'll end up eventually. Anyone could have played the roles in this movie and the script and directing isn't spectacular but since they went with big name actors, that's about the only reason it got released in theaters. I give it 6.5 out of 10 stars. Not bad at all, worth seeing, but not worth going out of your way to see. If you manage to catch it, then hey, good for you. You won't be disappointed.