Visitors Review

Acks King (2012-05-26 00:49)

A powerful tool in the war on terror

This is what we've been waiting for since 9/11. Crazies want humanrights for the terrorists and the government wants some quick intel,water boarding seems to be inhuman and hell some hardened terroristscan't be broken at all. Try locking them up in a cell with this movieplaying, I assure you. They will beg for mercy, they'll give up allthat they know, they will renounce their faith, heck they'll berehabilitated from that moment onwards. This movie will terrorize theterrorists themselves, what it will do to us ordinary humans isanybody's guess.If your an adrenaline junkie give it a go, but have your exitstrategies planned. Either of the actors is a tormentor all on theirown and when they come together, you'd rather choose a spinal tap overthis.

Larry (2012-05-25 15:55)

A good gentle fun story.

I love this movie. I seek movies that shine a light on believable people seeking grace while struggling with life. I don't want 3D, stupid violence or people characterized as either good or evil. I liked that as the characters struggled there were friends and family and unlikely strangers that came to their aid and inspired them. I appreciated how this movie modeled possible behaviors and choices if you were faced with the heartbreak of losing your job. I enjoyed the humor not being mean spirited. I liked the familiarity, friendship and mutual respect that led to the romance. Some of us think that is hot!

shawn_and (2012-05-23 02:29)

awful movie!

I cannot believe the reviews I am reading for this movie! I would havewalked out except I thought my friend was enjoying it, after leavingthe theater I found out she did not like it as much as I did. From thebeginning when Larry gets fired, it felt so stiff, acting andscreenplay was not done well. He goes off to college, big surprisehere! Meets young, hot girl who will change his appearance, and makehim better looking when he was fine the way he was. All this moviepromoted is what is wrong with America, change your looks to suiteveryone else, foreclose on your home instead of paying your bills,divorce your husband and as he is getting pulled over for DUI laugh athim, etc. Hello, Julia Roberts is an alcoholic in the film and yet sheand Hanks hook up and both of them have issues to work on, no chemistryat all between them. When they kissed it was so fake. It could havebeen so good, the right actors were there, loved the economicsprofessor, when he was on screen it was the only time I got a goodlaugh.

Nicholas Karpuk (2012-05-22 05:58)

How to Defeat Tom Hanks' Charm

I find myself wondering if Nia Vardalos ever listened to a man whodisagreed with her. This movie's dialog reeks of her odd sensibilities,the sort that manifest in terrible unsolicited advice and uproariouslaughter at anything resembling a Cathy comic strip. The height of this misappreciation for male behavior comes in a scenewhich should have had an intense amount of tension, with Julia Robertsand Bryan Cranston, both drunk, fighting in their car. Any moviewilling to have Bryan Cranston loudly proclaim his love for bigknockers has flown right off the rails. I would accuse the movie ofsexism, but then I realize most of the characters prove equallytwo-dimensional in their own special way.I didn't ask for much from this movie. I expected quirky characters andTom Hanks being affably charming. What I got were characters flippingfrom awkward and over the top. Vardalos and Hanks don't seem to have agrasp on what human being act or sound like. The sheer cluelessnessabout human nature grows more and more alienating as the movieprogresses.Hanks has made a good movie before. "That Thing You Do" was adelightful movie with heart and a good amount of insight on the natureof pop music. With that in mind, it's hard not to blame him as a badjudge of character for teaming up with Vardalos. I get that people weredelighted with a movie that addressed being big, fat, and in need of aGreek wedding, but that appears to be the extent of her skill set.Hanks needs to pick better collaborators.

w11062 (2012-05-22 11:43)

I recommend "Larry Crowne"

A nice movie. Not vulgar nor violent. Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts hadgood scenes together. The first 2/3 of the movie was uninteresting.Supporting characters were uninteresting. Final scenes were good. Niceending. A nice movie. Not vulgar nor violent. Tom Hanks and JuliaRoberts had good scenes together. The first 2/3 of the movie wasuninteresting. Supporting characters were uninteresting. Final sceneswere good. Nice ending.A nice movie. Not vulgar nor violent. Tom Hanksand Julia Roberts had good scenes together. The first 2/3 of the moviewas uninteresting. Supporting characters were uninteresting. Finalscenes were good. Nice ending.

Maeve T (2012-05-22 08:08)

Loved the movie but dismayed at fans' reaction

This is my first review here in IMDb and I felt I just had to defendthe movie esp Tom Hanks. I really felt bad that a couple had to tellhim in person they thought he did a bad job with it. I understand theneed for constructive criticism but there is a right time and place aswell as the right person for it.The movie was not at all too long or boring. It was beautifully fine.It was a feel-good movie and anyone who thought Hanks wanted it to besomething else was definitely bound to be disappointed. I even broughtmy teenage brother to watch it and he loved it - a huge thingconsidering he generally prefers to watch either action flicks or thecerebral stuff.

Braindead09 (2012-05-21 08:05)

Tom's Crowne

This is a difficult film to categorise.Tom Hanks and his co-writer have created a story that without givingaway the ending attempts to prove that happiness can be found in middleage, even when the capitalist system is determined to grind the workingman into the ground. Larry's aim is not to be rich and powerful but touse education as a shield in the future.The film has a nice indie look. The supporting cast would not havelooked out of place in a Ron Howard film from the mid 80s, it would notsurprise me if it was the Mr Mom, Gung Ho type of scenario that Hankstried to get. Like those times the world was gripped by recession andbullshit management practises that screwed up Larry's life.If it wasn't written and directed by a multi millionaire who has hadnot to worry about a career in decline, but was the creation of twoyoung first time writers and directors the reviews would be a lot morepositive.The Tom Petty/Jeff Lynne soundtrack works well and makes a change fromall that urban grime/rap that seems to pollute soundtracks.

LK (2012-05-20 10:45)

Basic and Predictable

If you've seen the previews, then you've seen the movie... no surprises. The "acting" is just Hanks being "Hanks" and Roberts playing herself too.

atwell-m-stacey (2012-05-20 06:16)

I actually got an IMDb account so that I can talk about how much I HATE THIS MOVIE!

SPOILERS************************(Even though there is nothing to spoil)First off, what is with everyone liking this movie? I was almostsubject to tears after realizing that people genuinely enjoyed thisvile, annoying abomination.What the devil happened in this movie? NOTHING! NOTHING NOTHING! Theonly reason why I didn't slip into a comma was because I washysterically laughing at how awful the acting, story or script was.That Snapping Moped gang that Tom Hanks is accepted in wasunforgettably brilliant. Oh wait, did I say brilliant I meant to sayridiculous.How was he liked by everyone in college to the point where I thoughtgirls were going to orgasm in the hallways just by looking at him? FEZmakes an appearance as FEZ with a leather jacket, facial hair andeven more homosexually charged than ever. Although in the movie he wasportrayed as a tough heterosexual snapping biker. What?I'll never go down the dairy section in the grocery aisles because I'mnow lactose intolerant from the pure cheese this movie stuffs down yourthroat. Or should I say French toast? HAHAHAHhahahhahah Tom Hanks wrotethat "funny" himself.I feel I am now subject to starting a cult following that willERADICATE this movie from earth. I sentence these two actors to havingto watch this movie on repeat for eternity however; they would probablylove that too much because they are extremely egotistical. Instead ofJulia and Tom being the leading roles they will both be replaced bythat Asian Economy instructor.

stavrosss (2012-05-19 15:38)

went home and saw Forrest Gump on DVD..

One of the worst movies i've seen so far this year..me and my friendssuffered throughout the entire movie and regretted for choosing it inthe first place.Tom Hanks' name fooled us to watch the movie believingthat at least it would be a decent movie to watch.Julia Roberts was notup to the task either.We were trying to figure out why on earth thesetwo talented and Oscar winning actors decided to star in such amovie.It looked as if they were two washed up actors who tried to provethat they still ''have it''.I felt sorry for them who made a fool ofthemselves trying to make us laugh with some silly jokes and goofyfaces but failed tragically to do so... we went home and watchedForrest Gump for the fifth time just to regain our respect for TomHanks..

jhamman (2012-05-19 05:20)

Surprisingly Fun Movie to Watch!

I have to be in a rare mood to watch romantic comedies but I could notpass up the chance to see what I would consider both the King and Queenof ROM COMs on the screen together -- Hanks and Roberts. Although theyworked together in "Charlie Wilson's War", this film may be a first inthat they are in a romantic comedy opposite one another.This movie exceeded my expectations! It was an extremely fun experienceand the humorous pace was very consistent throughout. There were neverpredictable lapses that one comes to expect with a romantic comedy.Very cleaver humor throughout.I would have to say that it would have been hard for anyone other thanHanks and Roberts to pull off, because much of the humor wassituational and went deeper than cheap one-liners. The emotionalexpression displayed by two of the best actors in the business madethis movie work.Veterans may like this one as well, and not just for the theme about aNavy veteran coming to grips with life. There were two former MarineCorps Public Affairs Officers -- Dale Dye and Rob Riggle. Riggle wasonce again at the top of his game and it was refreshing to see Dye showhis range as an actor beyond military roles.The only negative comment I would make is the color seemed like it wasoff a bit. It may have been the effect they were aiming for or it couldhave been the theater I saw it in, but it seemed like what you wouldget in a 110 camera for those of us old enough to remember them.Also, Cedric the Entertainer seemed to be billed heavily butunderutilized.Overall, this was a sweet, engaging but most of all hilarious film. Iam not easily moved but I had to dab the corners of my eyes a few timesdue to inspiration vs. sadness.I highly recommended catching this film in the theaters because I thinkthis will develop a cult following. Trust me, you don't simply want toearmark this for when the DVD comes out or you will miss out on thechatter about this one.

esteban hernandez (2012-05-18 09:37)

Good to see once

The unemployment is a serious actual problem all over the developedindustrialised world, there are millions of young people unemployed andI thought that this film, although a comedy, will treat the problemsomehow. I was wrong as usual, the material touched slightly theproblem not of a young guy but of an old worker, well recognized wherehe used to work. Once fired the challenge for him was to study forgetting some knowledge, which, to be frankly, one never knows if itwill be useful for his future life and career. In this way the filmgoes smoothly with some funny scenes, and giving the chance of JuliaRoberts of doing something as a teacher, very susceptible to beimpressed with not very impressive Tom Hanks. At the end it finishes asa good fairy's story.

gradyharp (2012-05-17 10:35)

Back to Point A

LARRY CROWNE is not a bad movie, it is simply an unremarkable movie.Seeing the opening credits read 'A Tom Hanks Production', and 'writtenby Tom Hanks (with Nia Vardalos)', 'directed by Tom Hanks', 'starringTom Hanks', with cameos by Rita Wilson (Mrs. Tom Hanks) and Chet Hanks(son of Tom Hanks), we know we are in for a 'Tom Hanks family outing'.So expect a feel good flick - and that is what is delivered. Not thatfeel good flicks are a bad thing - in this particular time we need moreof them. But LARRY CROWNE seems to candy coat the current major problemof economic disaster by making it funny. It's not.Larry Crowne is a happy-go-lucky top employee of a Walmart/Target/HomeDepot type store named UMart, voted best employee of the month ninetimes, and suddenly is laid off because he has no college educationthat would allow him to advance in the ranks of management of the hugemegapolis-everything store (Larry spent 20 years in the Navy as a cookinstead of going to college). Recently divorced, he owes money on hishouse (his discussion with the bank is in the person of Rita Wilson!),and he is unable to find work. Larry decides to enroll in the localcommunity college where he mets the pixie-like Talia (Gugu Mbatha-Raw,a sparkling personality on screen) and her boyfriend Dell Gordo (WilmerValderrama) and their little motor scooter gang (including GraceGummer, another of Meryl Streep's daughters). Talia takes Larry underher wing, dresses him like a college student and spiffs up his homewhile attending the same classes as Larry - Econ (with the weaselly DrMatsutani played to the hilt by George Takei), and Speech taught byMercedes (Mercy) Tainot (Julia Roberts) who is usually hungover, drinkstoo much in order to tolerate her useless husband (Bryan Cranston), andtries every trick to get out of teaching her disinterested students.Larry's developing new self (he has a job as a short order cook in adiner now) meets the change factor in his life - Mercy - who because ofhis kindness and gentlemanly ways attracts Mercy. That of courseprogresses into predictable situations. The other aspect of the film that is actually the most touching is therelationship between Larry and his neighbors Lamar (Cedric theEntertainer) and Bella (Taraji P. Henson) who are in a constant stateof yard sale: these two actors provides some of the finest scenes inthe film. Larry Crowne joins Talia and Dell Gordo in a motor scootergang, changes his appearance and outlook, and with the help of his newrelationship with Mercy he manages to come up happy. In the end thefilm (despite some good cameo roles) pretty much wastes Hanks andRoberts in an out of focus antidote to the current state of massunemployment. LARRY CROWNE tries hard but the bumbling big bird of anairplane just never makes it off the ground. Grady Harp

(2012-05-17 03:01)

Completely inoffensive and totally family friendly

"Larry Crowne" was made under the most congenial of circumstances. The film seems to exist because Tom Hanks (star, director, co-writer) wanted to make a film with all his friends. This sense of amiability transcends to the screen making "Larry Crowne" one of the most effortlessly fluffy and charming romantic comedies in a long while. Unfortunately, the basic premise of the film, a man who is forced to redefine himself late in life due to job cutbacks, is *so* timely that the endless cheese-ball attitude nearly kills any sociological resonance. But do know that the film is so harmless, so light on it's feet, so family friendly that you can literally take anyone you know to go see it. Should we expect more edge from Hanks? Sure. But like I said, he's just in this for the fun and so should you. Julia Roberts is the real star of this film though, stealing every single scene with her sassy and lightly misanthropic attitude. "Larry Crowne" is far from being a bad film, but it is a disappointingly light one. Still, it works in it's favor because general audiences can do so much worse. If you are looking to watch something with your whole family and not feel insulted in any way, "Larry Crowne" is your ticket.

Shankru_Spam_Begone (2012-05-16 00:47)

Courageous, but kinda irritating and immature, audiovisual essay

Sadly for Larry Crowne, I saw "Koyaanaqatsi", another R audiovisualmetaphorical essay, before this one.While I found "Koyaanaqatsi" so brilliant and fascinating that itinstantly went up to the top 10 of my favorite movies list, I didn'tcare that much for Larry Crowne.It's still a very interesting essay, and has the great merit to be thefirst cinematic attempt (that I know of) to "talk" without words *atall*(there are a bunch of movies out there that do this, actually, butonly in some scenes - like in "the Red shoes" or "2001")... but LarryCrowne can't compete with Koyaanaqatsi, that is not only much betterconceived and directed, but has a much more adequate musical score.Sorry guys, but this is no Philip Glass score, to my ears, it's simplyvery poor, almost sloppy. And it never goes along with the visualnarrative, it just plays like if it had nothing to do with the imagesshown, which I found very annoying. I think the guy had it 100% rightin "Candyman", though. Not so here.Larry Crowne is indeed a very interesting experience, and has of coursegorgeous cinematography and stunning images (and an incredible namethat I have to copy'n paste, LOL), but if you want the "real stuff", gofor Fricke's more mature and deeply moving masterpiece, "Koyaanaqatsi".

steve_ford53 (2012-05-15 16:05)

Larry Crowne - just right

Tom Hanks (the title character) and Julia Roberts (Ms. Tainot) team upin this romantic comedy about a middle aged big box store employeewho's life is suddenly sent into a tailspin when the company he worksfor lays him off. The excuse he is given is because of his lack of acollege education he cannot advance in the company and therefore he isbeing let go. Not knowing exactly what to do now, he takes the cueabout his lack of education and enrolls at the local community college.Getting a reality check at a local gas station he notices a couple of"scooter" enthusiasts fill up their "rides" for about $3.00 while hislarge SUV gulps up $75+ of the precious liquid. He buys a used scooterfrom his neighbor Lamar (Cedric the Entertainer) and heads off for hisfirst day of college. He meets Talia (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) who attachesherself to Larry and is determined to turn Larry into a "cool" collegestudent through new clothes and her outlaw scooter gang.Larry starts out by almost missing his first speech class where Ms.Tainot is the professor - lucky for him and as it turns out for Ms.Tainot, he arrives in the "nick-of-time" so the class won't be canceledfor lack of student numbers.Rami Malek is pretty funny as Steve Dibiasi, one of Larry's classmates,and George Takei is very good as Dr. Matsutani, Larry's economicsprofessor.This is a formula romantic comedy which worked for me. I felt it hadjust the right amount of humor contrasted well with a few "real life"not tragic but sadder moments and held my interest throughout the 99minute run time. This film will not break any box office records and ifHanks and Roberts had not been in the lead roles it may not have workedas well as it did. I recommend this film - but you should probablyshoot for matinée pricing.

Greg Smith (2012-05-13 12:57)

Tom Hanks said "Hey Gang, let's put on a show!"

ONE LINE REVIEW : Tom Hanks said "Hey Gang, let's put on a show!"RATING : Wait for the Instant Download(Ratings: "See it in the theater", "Wait for the Instant Download","Don't Bother")NO SPOILERSTom Hanks starred in, directed, and co-wrote this film (with friend NiaVardalos "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"). It's the story of an incrediblylikable Larry Crowne (Hanks) who gets fired from his WalMart-type jobbecause he has no degree, and hence no future. He tries to refinancehis house but the banker (Hank's wife, Rita Wilson - who is still hot)turns him down cold. Larry enrolls in a local college where he takes apublic speaking course with teacher Mercedes (Mercy) Tainot (JuliaRoberts). Larry befriends young classmate Talia (the effervescent,fresh-faced Gugu Mbatha-Raw). Mercy is unhappily married to porn-surfing, self-published Dean Tainot (Bryan Cranston). She takes adisliking to Larry because she thinks he is dating Talia. And ourrelationships are now set.Larry makes friends with all the scooter-riding kids at school and theyin turn revamp him from a nerd into a quasi-cool guy. They feng-shuihis house, his hair, and his wardrobe. Larry is tops in in Dr.Matsutani's (George Takei) economics class. And he gets wisdom from hisneighbor (Cedric the Entertainer) who has a perpetual yard sale goingon.This is almost a text-book case of romantic comedy. Except that as aprotagonist, Larry is very non-descript. He has no apparent flaws. Hehas no strong desires. He seems to move haplessly through the filmletting all the swirl of the other characters just happen. And perhaps that is precisely what is happening. Tom Hanks is(arguably) the nicest guy in Hollywood. It's like we're looking in onTom Hanks breaking in a new crowd of up-and-comers by showing them theropes in the least-complicated movie of all time. In a lot of ways Ifelt like this was a call back to the old "Smoky and the Bandit" dayswhen Burt Reynolds would make a film by shooting home movies with hisbuddies and current girlfriend.Julia Roberts never disappoints. Her character is very thinly drawn butshe adds enough of that Julia Roberts charm to pull it off - thoseflirty smiles cast casually over the shoulder. But, sadly, she couldhave played any of a half-dozen characters from her impressive resumeand just dropped those performances into the middle of this film and noone would be the wiser. Hmm… maybe that's just what happened?This is a Nice Little Film. At my theater it was clearly the favoriteof the over-fifty crowd. There's not a lot of meat to it and the majorplot turns are easy to spot and not surprising. If you like Tom Hanksand Julia Roberts, you'll like this film. And George Takei is hilariousas the economics professor. But save the $10 ticket and just rent it athome. You'll get the same effect.

Adrian Lim (2012-05-12 23:30)

Larry Crowne is like organic wholemeal ciabatta.

While I was scrolling through the different titles available thisweekend, I chanced upon "Larry Crowne". Looked it up on IMDb; not sogood - an average of 5/10. Scroll down further and voilà! Written byTom Hanks himself, gotta see it. And I'm glad I did.First, let me get the 'acting' part out of the way - It's good. Notmind-blowing, but most certainly good enough to be worth the US$9weekend price of a movie ticket here in Singapore. The actors were goodenough that I felt connected, and that's as good as it ever has to be.As for the plot - nothing jaw-droppingly complicated and twisted, butthen again neither was Forest Gump. And what a big success that movieproved to be. Don't expect character development to blow you away, butit did, at the very least, impress me.Of course, if you walk into the theater expecting "Harold & Kumar" or"Chuck & Larry" humor, you would most definitely be sorelydisappointed. Some others have criticized the film, saying that it had"cheap laughs" at best. Now that isn't necessarily true, because it alldepends on what your expectations are.So hear this - Larry Crowne isn't an all-out-LOL-fest, it's a wholesomefilm sprinkled with subtle, clever, and thoughtful humor.In my opinion, this film was an excellent cross-section representationof the sandwiched American Middle-class - too rich to qualify forwelfare, too poor to save any money. Most people (outside the UnitedStates) wouldn't know the America shown throughout this film - wherefolks are priced out of their own states, where they attend communitycolleges that aren't crazy over keg parties and crawling withbikini-straddling blonds, where students have to juggle work andschool, where they might have to choose the former over the latter toooften.Hollywood glamorizes the American lifestyle each and every chance itgets, and this film provides a rare glimpse into the real America wheremost people reside.All things considered, I would consider this film a feel-good movie,and there's much more to it than meets the eye. If you enjoyed ForestGump, you'd most likely enjoy this one - even if the feel-goodness setsin slightly more subtly.One final thing - I've never written a review for any movie before,ever. But I felt that the reviews here (as of 9th July 11) were doingLarry Crowne such injustice that I had to write this to balance it out.Cheers.

Mike (2012-05-10 03:07)

A perfect date movie for adults

I have read several reviews on this film and because of most of them I was hesitant about seeing it. But my wife was insistent about going so of we went. From the moment Tom Hanks hits the screen a sense of calm comes over you. He becomes Larry Crowne(aka Lance Corona). He is (again) a very like able guy. Trying to start over as a middle aged guy after he is let go at "UMART". The supporting cast does a nice job and although the plot doesn't have a lot of twists and turns, the movie does move along accordingly. Julia Roberts does a fine job although her character is a little annoying (not her falt I guess)and the ending seems wasted. This is no Sleepless or You've Got Mail but it does have its moments and for all its flaws it has one thing going for it... Larry Crowne!

dslav1927 (2012-05-09 07:33)

not what i expected

i watched this movie with my dad the other night, and we were bothextremely disappointed. there really is no plot to this movie, as itcontains a bunch of random scenes that are just thrown together. itsnot a comedy (we didn't laugh once), its not really a love storybecause they never fall in love, and its not really a drama because itsnot dramatic. i thot a tom hanks/julia robers movie would of been good,but this movie was horrible...one of the worst i have seen in a longtime. its actually more of a story about a guy who lost his job, and istrying to sift his way through life, than it is anything else. the onlyproblem is that nothing really happens in the movie. i don't know whatall the other people who gave it good reviews watched,but they didn'twatch larry crowne because it was NOT a good movie.