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Movies / On DVD / Henry Poole Is Here
Henry Poole Is Here

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Henry Poole Is Here (2008)

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Reviews Counted:84

Fresh:32

Rotten:52

Average Rating:5/10

Consensus: Full of Hallmark-truisms and pop songs presented with strained significance, this comic foible intends less to convert than to preach to the choir.

Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

Genre: Comedies

US Box Office: $1,749,146

Synopsis: For a man who seems to be living a perfect life--comfortable, engaged, full of opportunity--the discovery in a routine doctor's checkup that all is not well prompts Henry Poole to flee. He finds... For a man who seems to be living a perfect life--comfortable, engaged, full of opportunity--the discovery in a routine doctor's checkup that all is not well prompts Henry Poole to flee. He finds himself alone in a new house and a new place, somewhere where perhaps he can try to escape the fate that he has been dealt. It's a house in a working-class suburb with neighbors who welcome him, or at least try to; he finds them rather unattractive, frankly, but fine for his purposes. But life won't let him alone. His neighbors' intrusions, the discovery of a "miracle" on a backyard wall, and the attentions of a little girl with a tape recorder disrupt whatever hopes he had for hiding out. Director Mark Pellington revisits Sundance (Going All the Way played at the 1997 Festival) with a very personal work about devastation and the need to find yourself. Inspired by Pellington's own loss, Henry Poole Is Here is a work that is soul searching in the best sense of the word. Poignant, yet acerbic and funny, it tells us about faith, the vagaries of life and death, and personal salvation. Powered by a resonant performance from the remarkable Luke Wilson, Henry Poole Is Here is full of small moments and meanings that make it a memorable film. -- © Sundance Film Festival [More]

Starring: Luke Wilson, George Lopez, Cheryl Hines, Radha Mitchell

Starring: Luke Wilson, George Lopez, Cheryl Hines, Radha Mitchell, Adriana Barraza

Director: Mark Pellington

Director: Mark Pellington
Screenwriter: Albert Torres
Studio: Overture Films

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Reviews for Henry Poole Is Here

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21 - 40 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
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The further the characters venture into the mystic, the more the movie itself seems to dissipate.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment 1 Comment
08/22/08
Jason Anderson
Jason Anderson
Globe and Mail

At times you feel as if you should raise your arms and shout "Hallelujah" or "Amen!"

Full Review Source: Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN) | comment Comment
08/21/08
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

Faith-themed dramedy has heavy themes, drinking.

Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | comment Comment
08/21/08
S. Jhoanna Robledo
S. Jhoanna Robledo
Common Sense Media

Sometimes funny and sometimes tender-verging-on-rubbery.

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/21/08
Jonathan Kiefer
Jonathan Kiefer
Sacramento News & Review

You can feel the filmmakers' manipulation at every turn, yet there's a melancholy and life-is-a-gift spirit that still conveys.

Full Review Source: Let's Not Listen | comment Comment
08/20/08
Tricia Olszewski
Tricia Olszewski
Let's Not Listen

This film really and truly moved me.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment 1 Comment
08/18/08
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A charming break-out for Luke Wilson but not the role that provides him with the dynamics we want. Touching with the right amount of mystery. Great family viewing but no thrills.

Full Review Source: Monsters and Critics | comment Comment
08/18/08
Ron Wilkinson
Ron Wilkinson
Monsters and Critics

With characters named Esperanza, Dawn and Patience that signal Deeper Meaning, Henry Poole Is Here traffics in the kind of inspirational kitsch that only a true believer could swallow.

comment Comment
08/18/08
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Sober discussions give way to a clumsily handled finale that doesn't stand a prayer of satisfying most discerning viewers.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
08/16/08
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

Hope and faith, by their very nature, are issues that need to be handled with question marks. And yet, Henry Poole Is Here features nothing but ham-fisted periods.

Full Review Source: Movie Retriever | comment 1 Comment
08/16/08
Brian Tallerico
Brian Tallerico
Movie Retriever

Director Mark Pellington neatly underplays the more maudlin touches of rookie Albert Torres' script and draws a richly complex performance from the usually bland Wilson.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
08/15/08
Sean Means
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

It's like a pushy neighbor who keeps inviting you to church and won't take no for an answer.

Full Review Source: Fresno Bee | comment Comment
08/15/08
Donald Munro
Donald Munro
Fresno Bee

Occasionally vacuous.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
08/15/08
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A quiet, graceful drama that sneaks up on you.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
08/15/08
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Henry Poole may be cynical, but Pellington never allows his movie to be.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
08/15/08
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

Every so often there's a tabloid news story about the Virgin Mary seen in a piece of toast or Mother Teresa on a tortilla, and most of us equate them with Elvis sightings. This film is for the rest.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
08/15/08
Marc Mohan
Marc Mohan
Oregonian

For a mildly quirky comedy-drama, Henry Poole Is Here has some surprising philosophical heft.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
08/15/08
Rafer Guzman
Rafer Guzman
Newsday

An easy film to surrender to.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
08/15/08
Graham Killeen
Graham Killeen
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Gooey, ponderous, and maudlin. It's less a tale of religious rebirth than a faith-based Hallmark card.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
08/15/08
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly

Henry Poole is Here is one of those average guy-miracle stories that are supposed to make you feel good, but instead it just makes you feel used, and used rather badly.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
08/15/08
Tom Long
Tom Long
Detroit News
 
 
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