Foster

What a beautiful film! I've just seen it on youtube, it was uploaded yesterday, apparently I've been the second person to stay until the sixth and last part. I hope it stays there for a long time so people can find it and enjoy it as much as I did! Toni Collette and Ioan Gruffudd make an adorable couple, and although both the boy and the surroundings are just almost too quaint to be true (houses, streets, the home, the factory, the shop), the film never feels too unrealistic. Well, there are places like this in Britain and thankfully so. I loved the acting, especially of little Eli played by Maurice Cole, but also of aforementioned grown-ups and Richard E Grant, who I hadn't seen in years. Still as good as he always was. As it was mentioned before by someone, yes, two or three lines in the film were a tiny bit odd, but looking at the whole film they really don't matter.As a viewer you feel how much everybody enjoyed making this film and I certainly enjoyed watching it. I hope it soon will come out on DVD in Europe as well (not only in Australia!) so that more people can see it. Everybody involved in this film: Well done!

In this day and age it is becoming increasingly difficult to find movies that I can show to my 99-year-old mother. If there is the least bit of profanity or gratuitous violence, she just won't watch any more! So it was wonderful to see "Foster" and I look forward to inviting Ma to come and see it.

What an amazing little actor is Maurice Cole! Unfortunately, there is almost nothing about him on IMDb - not even his birthdate and so I am still wondering if, as the plot says, he was actually just seven years old when Foster was shot. If he was, then he is amazing! His clear and accurate pronunciation of some quite long and technical words would, I should imagine, put him into the child prodigy category. The only reason we won't see a lot more of him is if his parents decide that that don't want him to fall into the many traps that seem to await child stars.

The story is lovely - just nice people doing nice things and attempting to cope with life's challenges and setbacks. The only reservation that I had about the whole movie was the selection of Toni Collette as Zooey. I would love to have seen Sandra Bullock in that role! And why did an Aussie actress have a sort of Scottish accent? Her mother didn't and the film wasn't set in Scotland (as far as I could tell), her husband had his own natural very slight Welsh accent so that was, to me, a distraction because, rather than give the story my whole attention, I found myself wondering about that.

Nevertheless, a delightful film that will please Ma and my grandchildren equally.

I should mention that even though the movie had a title related to Christmas when I saw it, it's not really about Christmas. The holiday does come near the end, though. And Zooey and Alec learn a lot from Eli.

Maurice Cole is outstanding. There is no way he is seven years old. He comes across as a short adult and shows a lot of intelligence and appeal.

Toni Collette is quite appealing, and when she does smile, it's a very nice smile. But she doesn't smile a lot.

The other lead actors do quite well also. In fact, everyone does. Even the employee at Legoland Amusement Park who is only there for the paycheck and cares nothing about his job.

It's a very worthwhile effort.

The story centres around a couple who apply for a foster adoption. However, the very next morning after their application, a seven year old boy comes up to their doorstep, all dressed up in a suit, tie and top hat, with all the legal documents in hand. This is an extremely interesting idea and the film does justice to this innovative premise.The scenes in the film following the strange arrival of the child are worth watching. The way the couple reacts and adjusts to this unique child is both heartwarming and humorous. Truly wonderful.

Newman's simple and well plotted narrative, his effective screenplay and the talented mix of actors (its got Toni Collette) all come together to tell this interesting tale. Come and watch the story unfold.

Mood: Comfort Movie with a good serving of wonder and warmth

I found this on Sky and despite the title which is irrelevant and does nothing to draw any attention to the film, I looked up the title on here and decided to give it a go, despite mixed reviews. I watched it with my teenage son and we both loved it. It was funny and poignant and a little bit of a mystery ;) I liked all the characters, especially Eli! What a delightful little oddity he is. Sure it is reminiscent of other movies such as "It's a wonderful life" and it is somewhat predictable, but that didn't detract from it at all for me. It made me cry but on the whole it's a tender experience that leaves you with a very warm glow along with the end credits. It should be re-titled as simply "Eli" Whoever called it "Foster" was having a very bad day! It's not going to be everyone's taste but sensitive souls like myself will no doubt appreciate where it is coming from.