The Magic of Belle Isle

With all the crap coming out Hollywood these days, this is a feel good movie and if you really pay attention to the undertones, the movie lifts you up and is inspiring. The acting is fairly good, and Morgan F. as always has the right line to say at each moment.

If you are in the mood for a family gathering type movie with a happy ending, this is a one to watch.

The movie is inspirational and although the love innuendo between the two main characters can be thought by some to be distasteful, the real age of Monty is never revealed in the film so assumptions should not be made based on Morgan Freeman's real age.

While you must admit, Morgan Freeman is the type of actor who generally falls into the category of playing the same style for each of his films, he does it with solid style and the "Morgan Freeman-esque" on-screen persona we can all recognize from voice alone.

In this story, it was incredibly reminiscent of "High Crimes" (2002), a film directed by Carl Franklin where he also plays a character with a bit of a weakness for the booze, except of course, he was a lot older in this one. When Morgan Freeman plays a man with a weakness for alcohol, he still manages to appear so wise and commandeering of the role that you can't help but to admire him anyway.

As any other review will tell you, the story is very predictable although I personally feel that it's not a story about the ending and resolution, but one whose importance stems from the very journey itself. Sure, we all know what kind of movie this will be based off the film's introduction sequence alone, but you must let go of traditional Hollywood movies where the focus is all on the resolution, and appreciate every minute for what it's worth -- a series of small and magnificently written and directed dialog that all adds up and becomes the sum of the film, regardless of the overall picture you may have already deduced from the first 15 minutes.

Throughout this movie, I found myself to be smiling constantly even after I'd long stopped paying attention. When I saw the single mother and her children, I began wondering what sort of "chick flick" I'd gotten myself into, but Rob Reiner did it right (although he only seemed to have time for the bigger picture and had no choice but to neglect some smaller elements).

I only had two major complaints with this movie and neither contain spoilers, so feel free to read on.

First, the product placement was a bit on the absurd side. There is a scene that takes place in a small convenience store where way too many minutes are devoted to discussing certain snacks by name-brand, going so far as to have the cashier *slowly* hand over merchandise with the product labels even perfectly facing the camera, and even a bit where the cashier announces a certain cereal to be "gluten-free". As I watched Morgan Freeman recite a brand by name and borderline a slogan too, I had to wonder, "What are you doing, how can you say that with a smile on your face?" The other problem I had was with believability in Freeman's character. This is a rather pleasant, heart-felt story that'll leave you with warm fuzzies, although Freeman's character is introduced as an ornery and bitter man. So I thought, "Okay, there is going to be some character transformations in store, right?" Not quite. Despite a convincing performance as a cranky (but still Morgan Freeman type) character, we see that he flawlessly integrates himself into social situations as an overly warm, polite, and cheerful sort, even when supposedly drunk. It is almost as if the movie went from start to finish with no in-between, since Freeman was already charming as could be, despite being a cranky old sod.

But then again, this is Rob Reiner, and the goal is to get a wonderful story told as smoothly as possible, even if it means putting away some of the smaller details. Also as refreshing, is the PG rating. I'm really not used to seeing good, wholesome films like this, although it is still very guy-friendly. The ongoing dialog with the dog was absolutely brilliant.

While this is not a story about its end, but rather the smaller moments throughout the journey itself, I still found it unusually pleasant and fun to watch, and will not be forgetting it, but recommending it.. especially to the parents.

You've seen this before: broken person stuck in their ways is born again through a chance meeting and all who sees are uplifted. The difference here is the subtle elegance Freeman and Madsen bring to their respective roles. The film is still rather slight, with no real emerging crisis or antagonist to speak of, but these characters are inspiring, just as is the story's idyllic setting.

The Magic of Bell Island is a fantastic feel good movie especially for seniors.

Four of us attended and left in a great mood. The scenery and the sets were very realistic. The acting was brilliant, especially the children.

The film had many themes: Reality vs Imagination, Alcholism, Death of a spouse, Divorce, Bringing up children, Dog sitting, Baseball players problems, living with handicaps,and more.

I recommend this film for seniors, married couples, and families with children.

I wonder if the author went on to write for children, another positive talent that he didn't realize he had.

I started watching this film without to many expectations even for a family drama, but as the story stars to develop you can tell this is going somewhere special and is definitely worthy of your time. This is the story of a writer on his winter days that goes to an island to spent the summer and discover that not everything may be lost. Without getting into to many details I can tell you Morgan Freeman is amazing as always, he delivers a beautiful performance and the rest of the cast is good as well. The script is fantastic, you can imagine your self in those situations and feel for the characters. The photography and the music is perfect and everything together leaves you with a taste of "Life is beautiful" in your mouth.