Ismael Zuniga Is actually a really good movie, not your nowadays mainstream Hollywood movie; but is really something for an specific audience. Luke Wilson, that's more than enough said. The humour comes from the type of guy that he is. I believe that with a different actor could've been more of a drama, or your religious type of movie. Either way, the movie will give you something to think about. Another point of view, not every person has an easy life, and the way that people like this deals with those strong emotions. I strongly recommend it for the "rainy days" or anyone going a bit crazy. I'll help at least a bit.

bobbymeizer This is a slickly-produced movingly-scored well-acted piece of sappy sentimental crap. Avoiding any real consideration of the fundamental issues in these kinds of pareidolic manifestations (if you look that word up you'll find that it refers to the ability of human beings to see patterns in random phenomena, you know, like the images you can see in clouds), this movie instead goes for the easy cheap shot. It's real blood, it's unexplainable, it must be a miracle. Everyone is healed, and the guy gets the girl (and her cute kid) to boot. There was actually a good idea for a movie hiding in there somewhere, a movie that explored the psychological dimensions of spiritual experience while avoiding simplistic and unrealistic "Hollywood" endings. But no, that is not this movie. If you have a critical thinking bone in your body, avoid this film.(a footnote: when I was twelve my parents had the shower in the kids' bathroom re-tiled. I discovered that right at my height was a tile which had a pattern where you could very clearly see the face and head of Albert Einstein. I was so taken by this that I showed it to a number of people, and they could see it too. These were machine-made tiles with a swirling random pattern. The makers of this movie might have concluded that this said something about the sanctity of a great scientist. What it did for me was cultivate an awareness of and an interest in the phenomenon of pareidolia.)

napierslogs Henry Poole is here, but to him, only for awhile. Luke Wilson in a very mature and refined role plays Henry Poole, a character who has given up on the future—in every sense of it. He just wants to be left alone. But that becomes increasingly difficult when a devout Christian neighbour thinks a water stain on his wall is actually the face of Christ.For the most part, the turns from there are comical. The passion his neighbours have in their faith contrasted with his resolute atheism are played up perfectly without offending either. His internal struggles of living a meaningless life are put on hold as he struggles with remaining in solitary but still being cordial towards his well-meaning neighbours who insist on trespassing, vandalizing, and gardening in his backyard. As his neighbours attempt to change his beliefs, he needs to start readjusting his views of life and the future.There are some serious (at least to him) resolutions that Henry Poole has to come to. The fairly simple journey the film takes, and the rather profound journey that Henry must take, are slow, thoughtful, and meaningful. "Henry Poole is Here" doesn't have to be viewed as a religion vs. atheism debate, because that's not what it is at all. It's just a character study."Henry Poole is Here" got a limited release having been marketed as a religious film but then failing to win over that audience. It's DVD release still didn't get the audience it deserved. I was elated to find it playing on "Saturday Night at the Movies" on TV as this was a character that has stayed with me for two years. On repeat viewing, it was easy to see why. Henry Poole will be with me for many more.

muaddib-20 All right, so I freely admit being that horrid creature, a European socialist, and actually even a long standing militant atheist. Whilst enjoying my free health benefits, never to be achieved in the USA, thanks to the health insurance lobbies and to many Republicans and some corrupt Democrat, I found this movie very good and not a religious propaganda one. The Devil's Advocate, now, trying to affirm the Devil as a real entity (and in the US, he is of course incarnate into a lawyer) that was probably paid for truly by Vatican funds, but this, no... This is a movie about living in the present (if anything this is Zen, not at all Catholic, the basic tenet of Catholics being: suffer now, get a prize later..), about how even misguided people may have positive feelings, how death in a predominantly Protestant culture like the contemporary USA is something people are unable to deal with, how the "good neighbourhood" tradition and customs may occasionally appear empty of meaning. It may make you think and perhaps cry (I did both). Well done!