TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

thehappycow One of my all-time favorite movies. Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman create magic in this movie. They play two people who have experienced their share of disappointment and humiliation, really. Both have been passed-over in life and those around them look down on them and ignore them for whatever reason. The acting is simply superb here. Emma and Dustin of course, but also the support cast, including Kathy Baker which is reason to watch enough. The scene in the Airport Bar where they have lunch is just priceless, with Dustin entering by throwing down his luggage like he has absolutely nothing left in this world. The only problem with this movie is that it could have been longer, I would have loved to see their courtship. Honestly, I hope they married in that Airport Bar! Alone they have nothing, together they join the dance of life. Just a lovely film. Don't miss it.

Atrebor I am a big, big fan of Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson but after twice seen 30 to 35 minutes of this movie I really wondered 'what the hell am I looking at'. What possessed the producers to cut this movie, which had potential, into bits and leaving the audience wondering again 'what on earth is this movie about'? Great actors, always a pleasure to see them on screen but -and maybe it is me- this movie has head nor tail, although I confess I could not wait to see the tail. What a waste of talent. As I am required to write a minimum of 10 lines reviewing this movie, here we go. Wonderful acting, as always. Dramatically badly cutting. Rather nice music. Outstanding performances, as expected. Towards the end (and I had to see more in order to write this review) the movie gets funnier, I must confess. Still, I wish that the producers would have listened to the actors and thus made it a better movie. And in doing so the movie would have been distributed better than it has now. Shame on the producers.

rooprect I'm not really in the habit of investigating the astrological qualities of directors, but when I checked IMDb's bio for writer/director Joel Hopkins, I immediately noticed it says he's a Virgo. "Ahhh," I said knowingly and leaned back, sipping on a chalice of cherry kool aid which I pretended was the blood of my enemies. I'm a scorpio.The stereotypical male Virgo qualities read like a description of the main character and the film's tone in general: "Quiet, undemonstrative and introvert. Gentle, helpful and sympathetic by nature, the Virgo men often face criticism for being finicky as they are very particular about how they want things to be.""Last Chance Harvey" is a quiet, undemonstrative and introverted film with a gentleness and precise delivery. It's the story of a couple of "5th wheels" (played by Dustin Hoffman & Emma Thompson) who suffer the daily indignity of slowly realizing that they don't fit in anywhere. Dustin's character is a divorced, failed father who has been squeezed out of his family by a more capable new step father in the mix. He is a TV composer by trade, but his archaic, old school approach has become obsolete in light of the snappier, edgier kids taking over the industry. He doesn't seem to have any friends or any life at all. Emma plays a similar character; she has a job as a survey taker at the airport where every day she is ignored or brushed aside by the thousands of people with more important schedules. She's single, awkward, cynical, and is the kind of person who ends up on dates with men who don't notice when she leaves.The movie asks the question: do these people have what it takes to break out of their rut? Or will they forever be hopeless schleps feeling sorry for themselves and embracing obscurity? It's obvious what they should do, but will they do it? And that's the mystery that makes this an interesting and original romcom.Also there's the fact that there aren't a whole lot of romcoms about late-40 and 50-something characters, let alone with great actors like this, so that itself is a novelty.Another bonus is some very nice London scenery. Is it me, or do all romcoms happen in New York City or LA these days? London, there's a refreshing change. And it was nice (albeit a little unrealistic) to see bright, sunny days in every shot, really highlighting the urban charm.So, like the Virgo description, there's not a lot of flashy drama, pizazz, car chases and crazy hijinks in this film. The humor is low key and "British" (for example, an ongoing subplot is Emma's cloistered mother who is convinced that their new neighbor is a creepy serial killer, so she stands at the window staring at him all day). And the "conflict" in Dustin & Emma's relationship isn't any great plot twist but rather the simple question of whether they're so entrenched in misery that they'll sabotage their own chance for happiness.Dustin & Emma displayed a great on-screen chemistry, not unlike they briefly had (just 1 scene) in the excellent film "Stranger than Fiction" a few years earlier. In fact, after seeing this movie I had to google if they were an item in real life. Alas, apparently not.In the end it was nothing in particular that made this an enjoyable film, but rather it was all the little exceptional qualities like the ones I've mentioned that made this a winner. If you like this sort of stuff.If, on the other hand, you find yourself wanting a somewhat more spontaneous, impetuous, explosive movie to watch, check out an Aries director like Quentin Tarantino.

Hitchcoc This is not a terribly memorable movie; the plot has been done a thousand times. It hangs its hat on its stars and they do a nice job. Dustin Hoffman, the Last Chance in this film, puts in a nice performance as a man who has never been happy, even with moderate success. He is a burned out yes man who sees each day as a chore. HIs female counterpart has also given up on life, her youth past her. The thing is that submerged in them are two really interesting people who can have fun if they allow themselves. The first half of the movie is one uncomfortable scene after another as Hoffman tries without enthusiasm to be a positive force in his daughter's life after his wife has pretty much excluded him. It isn't that he doesn't deserve this treatment. He hasn't given much. Anyway, true love doesn't run smooth and when he meets Thompson, getting together requires a great deal of effort because of great baggage carried by the two of them Fate steps in as well and makes things even more difficult. All this said, it's still a charming film and worth a look.