Platypuschow Hearts in Atlantis is another Stephen King adaptation I wasn't aware of, it stars Anthony Hopkins, David Morse, and the taken before his time Anton Yelchin.It tells the story of a small bullied boy, his father has passed away and his mother isn't fullfilling her duties as a parent. When a mysterious man appears in his life everything changes.I had no idea what to expect but was quickly gripped, it was standard King stuff from small town America to flashbacks of youth to that wonderful charm they all seem to have.The movie immediatly whispers sweet promises in your ear, you know something is coming and you'll expect it to be big! Sadly it doesn't entirely deliver, in fact I found the big "Revelation" very underwhelming. Don't get me wrong it was okay but not on the level I had expected.Hearts in Atlantis is a beautiful quaint little tale, but is not one of those big epic life changing experiences that occasionally cross our paths.The Good:Cast are on pointLooks and sounds wonderfulVery charmingThe Bad:The twist is very weakFeels like it should have been betterThings I Learnt From This Movie:Anthony Hopkins simply can do no wrong can he?

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU The title of this film refers to the title of a collection of novellas and short stories by Stephen King. This collection contains two novellas and three short stories with recurring characters: "Low Men in Yellow Coats," "Hearts in Atlantis," "Blind Willie," "Why We're in Vietnam," "Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling." The film only concerns the first and the last sections of this book. Ted Brautigan is an old man on the run who one day arrives in the house where a young boy Bobby Garfield lives with his mother. A relation is constructed between the two and it is this very theme of the friendship between an older man and a young boy whose father is dead that the film studies after Stephen King. It is a very pregnant and important theme in Stephen King. Children are always, in a way or another, the victims of the world, of grown-ups especially. Bobby is thus confronted to bullies and he learns how to confront them and defeat them. He is confronted with what might have become love with Carol after a first kiss if he had had the opportunity t-o stay around, but his mother moves away after having been molested, at least, by her own boss during a professional seminar away from home. When back she overreacts against Ted Brautigan accusing him of some crime he did not commit.Yet there is mystery behind Ted Brautigan because he is supposed to be "WANTED" by some low men in yellow coats and he is finally taken away soon after Bobby's mother return. And the betrayal of Ted by Bobby's mother who calls the low men to tell them about where they can find Ted Brautigan could have brought some complete different future to Bobby, but he does not go with Ted and remains with his mother. The film then is very short since we miss everything after that departure and before his return for the burial of his and Carol's friend John Sullivan. The end is even made kind of sentimental with Bobby re-visiting his old home and meeting Carol's daughter, Carol being dead, and he presents her with an old picture of Carol as an angel in some school play.The film misses what some see in the book: the fact that baby- boomers missed their historic challenge to produce a better world that is, instead, drowning under a heavy hurricane of consumer's goods. We are far from "love and peace = INFORMATION," as Carol used to state. Love has become self-centered satisfaction of hormonal impulses. Peace has become the crisscross pattern of simultaneous limited wars all over the world. And information has become the meaningless soup of being over-bombarded by a constant flow of undecipherable news, fake or not. Even the central theme of the friendship between an older man and a young boy is rather schematically reduced to something that is always seen as fishy, fuzzy, maybe false, definitely failed when ending with no hope, like in the book, no hope of Ted Brautigan being free again. That's a shame because such friendships are essential for the simple maturing of boys into responsible and strong adults, and the breaking of it meant for Bobby a ruined youth with two periods in juvenile detention facilities. I regret that mellowing of the book in this film.Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU

ikjirstin This is one of those films I must watch every year, because I find so much in it at each viewing. I still remember the first time, back in 2001 at the theater, when I heard it had something to do with a real CIA program, but it had me from the first scene, long before the espionage arrived. As a photojournalist myself, I was captivated by the opening scenes, so well-acted by David Morse. Like most Stephen King novels, the reality factor seems high, and each scene is important in moving the story forward. The young Mika Boorem was so me at that age, she was easily relatable, and Anton Yelchin was an actor beyond his years even then, as a boy. We all knew would continue as a fine actor, even Tony Hopkins. He is so missed.You can see this fine film for just $2.99. A great way to get started, but you will want to own it. One of those great ones to show friends who may have missed it.

LeonLouisRicci Subtle and Low Key Sentimental Thriller that combines Paranormal Underpinnings and Growing Up with a Distracted Mother. Enter Anthony Hopkins a "Strange" Visitor with a Dark Secret and Secret Agents on His trail.The Film is Wonderful the way it keeps the Thriller Aspects in the Background but Never Far from the Proceedings. Hopkins Relationship with Bobby (Anton Yelchin) is Warm, Edgy, and Heartwarming. Mika Boorman also has a Heartfelt Part as Bobby's First Girlfriend and is Radiant. Hope Davis as the Troubled Mother also Delivers the Goods as one of the Movie's Villains. The Excellent Performances lend Credence to the William Goldman's sometimes Vague Script. The Cinematography is also Outstanding.The Soundtrack is Typically Nostalgic with Top 40 Tunes Blasting Away to add some Spunk to the Gloomy Story. With so many Fine Ingredients the Movie Failed however to be Embraced by Critics and the Box-Office. It's one that shouldn't be missed even though it seemed to have been Thoroughly Missed by the Aforementioned.