L'histoire épatante de M Fikry et autres trésors

I love Kunal Nayyar and Lucy Hale, so I was excited to see this movie. It was great to see Kunal in a more serious project. If you liked the book, the movie follows the book for the most part. The little girl, Maya is adorable. She was probably my favorite part of the movie. I loved watching her grow up.

The effects of the changing seasons in front of the bookstore added a nice touch. It was fun to see it take place in Massachusetts because I grew up there and recognized a lot of the scenes from Cape Cod. It was also nice to see more diversity in the cast, especially on Cape Cod. Overall this movie truly captured people coming together who love to read.

I have never left a review but felt compelled to do so when I saw the poor reviews from critics. Often times I don't agree with them and feel that they are trying to prove a point or be more critical. This did not have a "Hallmark" feel to it as the acting was far superior especially from the main character. The writing was good and it's a good story. That was an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours. The scenery/locations are nice as well. Yes there are no violent or violent sex scenes so if you're looking for that you will have to look elsewhere. But if you're looking for a good plot with some humor and warmth that leaves you with a pleasant feeling afterwards, you have found it.

The performance were all ultimately very good, but I found the first few scenes clumsy and I nearly abandoned it. It improved about 10 minutes in, and I'm glad I stayed with it because it was a nice movie with a tender story. All the leads were solid, but I must say I thought David Arquette was absolutely superb. It's worth watching. The scenery was beautiful, and the running scenes well-shot. I hadn't read the book, so I can't speak to whether it captured the author's tone, but since the author was a producer, is suspect that it was well-adapted. If you're looking for action and a fast pace, this isn't for you. If you enjoy a good story with relatable characters and a somewhat believable scenario, it's a good movie.

I just finished the book the other day and went immediately to the movie. Sadly, I was disappointed. The movie is just kind of ... there. It's slow. Nothing really happens, it just moves from event to event to event through the characters' lives.

It feels like a direct port of the book, for which it suffers. There are parts where the dialogue just does not land properly, at all. It really needed someone to have a better go at the screenplay. Having said that, you can also see where parts from the book have been snipped and shortened, which makes them feel that much more obvious and makes the whole thing feel choppy.

Ultimately it feels like a pet project, like somebody read the book, said "I'll option that", and just put it straight on screen. When people talk about great book-to-movie translations, that's not what they mean.

I loved seeing Kunal as a main character. As I'm recovering from hand surgery, I'm digging into movies I don't normally watch.

I will now seek out this book to read. I feel because it was in a movie setting I may have missed some little details from the book.

There was solid acting in this movie. I do have to say David Arquette did some brilliant acting. I loved Lucy Hale and Christina Hendricks, but their characters and the teenager's character were not really fleshed out.

If you are in need of tears and laughter, this is the story for you. Some reviews call it Hallmarkesque. It isn't quite the Hallmark story you're used to watching. There is more here. It probably would have done better in a limited series form, so that these actors could have had more time to move within these characters. All in all I gave this an 8/10. Critics didn't dig it, but the viewers did. That is the most important part of story telling. Does your audience engage? I did.