7-29-17 3rd viewing. Purchased it. I thought I knew too much for the film to do to me yet again what this did yet again to me. The book owned me completely. The film is quite different, but the thrills and sweet moments and philosophical asides like artworks around every corner of this well curated museum, enraptured me. It's amazing how far a film can stretch the scant use of obvious CGI and not have the likes of me wanting more. Forgive my sole gripe -- I unspoilingly announce is that Will Smith should not have been in this film Next viewing probably a while from now, but this is on rotation for sure. And, of course, read the book. It's the finest piece of writing in the last 50 years as far as I'm concerned, but I'm no longer well read, so try it...see if it grabs you with it charms so seldom found else-wise.

How in the world have I never heard of this movie?! I don't even recall it being in theatre. I stumbled across the title tonight while searching for something to assuage my boredom and took a chance on a $3 rental. I was blown away! The cinematography was phenomenal, the story line was poignant and bittersweet, and the premise was absolutely original. The acting was fantastic even down to the smallest parts. It took my breath away and made me cry and cheer for the good guys. It has a definite mixed spiritual undertonetone with mentions of angels/demons, reincarnation, etc. It will likely leave some viewers scratching their heads, but it was an incredible film worth the watch.

Winter's Tale is a totally magical love story! It is not your typical love story -- but love and magic are intertwined throughout the story.

The actors are part of the magic -- Colin Farrell is our lovable rogue, Jessica Brown Findlay his beloved, and Russell Crowe is their ominous opponent. Even the smallest roles are beautifully executed -- William Hurt, Jennifer Connelly, Graham Greene, Kevin Corrigan, Will Smith, Kevin Durand, and the incomparable Eva Marie Saint are all part of the magic that is this movie!

This is a great set-- DVD, Blu-Ray, and Ultra-violet. That makes it possible for me to watch it on any machine and in every room. A great set and an excellent price!

This was not at all what I expected, but in the end that's why I am giving it 4 stars instead of 3. I expected a rather traditional time-travel love story, but this is not what this movie turned out to be. So, points for that.

Points also for Russell Crowe being one of the most interesting, and well-played bad guys ever.

And if you don't read the entire cast list (and I urge you *not* to..because..) you will be so surprised at the cameo performance as Lucifer. At least I was.

That said, I'm not sure I really liked the ending - but I'm not sure that I didn't.

And all *that* said, this movie has something for everyone - romance and mush for those who like that, blood and fights for those who like that sort of thing, and good versus evil for everyone. EXCEPT - there is some intense violence and peril - I would *not* show this to a child who is under the age of 13, or maybe even a little older.

This movie has connections to the "magical realism" pioneered by the Mexican novel "100 years of Solitude". This gets to greater truths through deliberate distortion of reality.....The New York City shown is one that never existed--in the novel this movie from which the movie is derived, the detail is that the city is in an eternal winter. There is a direct conflict between the protagonists who stand for good and the antagonists who are actually Satan and his minions. The truth promoted by the movie is that within each of us is a miracle to be released.

Pretty good movie. Wished it had been a bit longer. Those of you who have read the book as well, does the movie stay pretty true to it? I haven't read the book yet, but I saw that it is quite long. My guess is they had to cut parts of the book out, and keep what they felt the most important parts were. Do the character's personalities match up with how they were in the book? I also heard the book was written in 1983, and that there were references to the Twin Towers in the book, and the movie was made about 30 years later, and sadly, the Twin Towers are no longer around, so obviously that had to be taken out of the movie. I usually have to watch a movie more then once, to really get the "feel," of it, so I usually like it better when I watch it again. Also, someone mentioned it doing poorly at the box office. It could have been the timing, also, (spoilers), while the guy and girl DO end up together, it just isn't in the way you'd think, obviously, maybe that had something to do with it. Think it's safe to say that he needed to perform his Miracle in order to get back to Beverly?credits roll, is supposed to be Peter and Beverly in the afterlife, finally together? I also wonder what Beverly's Father thought.....Think he knew what they were doing when she died? Wonder if he could have blamed Peter for her death in a way? Also, I wonder if the picture of the two of them together at the end, right before the credits roll, is supposed to be them together in Heaven? Also, When Peter was by Beverly's grave at the end of the movie, think he knew then it was his time to go be with her again?

WINTER'S TALE is a slightly hokey, but thoughtful, tale about love and miracles with gentle performances by Colin Farrell, Jessica Findlay Brown and Jennifer Connelly. Based on a novel by Mark Helprin, the story is about a man named Peter Lake, a thief with mysterious beginnings who falls in love with a woman whose house he sets out to rob. He's also accompanied by a flying white horse, and being pursued by his former employer, Pearly Soames, played with gusto by Russell Crowe. I would describe the plot a little more, but it's hard to go into too much detail without giving everything away. Suffice it to say, there's a lot of talk about light, stars, destiny and miracles. And also, if it wasn't already apparent from the get-go, this movie takes place in a fantastical version of reality in which angels and demons exist in human form, and seek to influence the world around them. I thought that the movie did a good job of establishing the fictional world in which this takes place, even though not everything is explained in great detail. Of course, not everything needs to be explained to death anyway, and I appreciate that this film didn't dwell too much on needless exposition. The film can be divided into two parts: one that takes place in 1916, and the second half in present-day. The setting doesn't change, but a select few characters exist in both time periods, for reasons best left for the viewer to find out on their own. At its heart this is a love story, and a fairly compelling one at that. Enough time is given to the development of the central relationship to make it feel believable, even though it begins quite surreptitiously. In general, I felt like the film was emotionally moving in all the right ways, and had a nice story arc. However, despite the good (yet unorthodox) story, there were a few things which let me down. First of all, Russell Crowe seemed miscast as the main villain. He chews the scenery in an awkward way, and puts on a ridiculous Irish accent. John Hurt also has a small role as Colin Farrell's girlfriend's father, and I felt like he gave a poor performance, or at least one that didn't live up to the good performances around him. And although not bad, per se, there was an unexpected cameo which kind of felt out of place. I went into this film knowing who it was, but it would be better for the viewer to go in without such knowledge. In terms of technical quality, the cinematography was decent, but nothing outstanding and the visual effects were also passable, although a little bit cheesy. I, however, did like the score and incidental music they used. It accentuated the material quite nicely and helped to punctuate emotional moments during the film. I also liked the song "Miracle" which played during the closing credits. Overall, I thought this was a decent directorial debut from Akiva Goldsman, who doesn't have the greatest record as a writer (and also wrote and produced this film). The magical realism was something fresh to me, and an antidote from lots of movies that try too hard to be "realistic." The story was something easy to get behind, even if it did resort to cliche at times. And despite the shortcomings, this is something I can recommend, if only because it tries hard enough to stand out.

Caveat: This is a guy's review of a would-be schmaltzy love story.

Ever read a book where you find out that the thing everyone was chasing is so over-the-top ridiculous, it ruined what had otherwise been a fun romp? I'm thinking of recent Dan Brown novels, and M. Night Shyamalan's The Village.

In this case, I do not blame the writer. The ending, while saccharine and a bit forced, felt true to the story, and I can see why some people found it deep and satisfying. Thanks to poor pacing, lack of development of what could've been some very interesting characters, and a particularly odd and distracting casting choice, I found the ending to be a major letdown.

The earlier parts of the movie present a mostly engaging tale of love and mystery that treads little new ground, but is well told. Jessica Brown Findlay is very fetching and believable as a young girl born into an affluent environment. Fans of Downton's Lady Sybil will find her character quite familiar. Colin Farrell's roguish protagonist is likeable enough. Russell Crowe played a good turn as the villain, but I was not crazy about his motives. We've all seen his "raíson d'etre" before. Without giving anything away that isn't learned in the opening dialog, we realize that much of the background should be taken on "faith". Crowe's character is presented as an unambiguously evil villain. When later scenes try to make him more relatable to us mere mortals, it feels either insincere or incomplete.

William Hurt is interesting, as always, but we've seen his character before, too.

The soundtrack and the cinematography steal nearly every scene, and the story, while inadequately told here, was poignant, if sappy. A young adult who has not yet encountered most of the themes here might find this movie to be beautiful and thought-provoking.

I wanted to like it, and I almost did. Maybe if they had stopped the movie suddenly after Colin Farrell wakes up and sees the scenes of our present, and rolled credits over the lovely score, it could've left us wanting more. Maybe it was really just too much of a story for this one movie.