The Magic of Belle Isle (2012) Reviews

• .Depressed writer goes to cabin and learns to live and write again.

  rsvidor2012-07-12

  The Magic of Bell Island is a fantastic feel good movie especially for seniors. Four of us attended and left in a great mood. The scenery and the sets were very realistic. The acting was brilliant, especially the children. The film had many themes: Reality vs Imagination, Alcholism, Death of a spouse, Divorce, Bringing up children, Dog sitting, Baseball players problems, living with handicaps,and more. I recommend this film for seniors, married couples, and families with children. I wonder if the author went on to write for children, another positive talent that he didn't realize he had.

• A great family movie about finding yourself again. Great acting and excellent message. I recommend this. I say A.

  cosmo_tiger2012-08-01

  "It don't happen often but sometimes we do bring out the best in each other." After the death of his wife famous writer Monte Wildhorn (Freeman) stops writing and takes up drinking. He moves into a lake house to escape everyone and relax. After meeting his neighbor Charlotte O'Neil (Madsen) and her daughters he begins to change the way he feels about life. One of the biggest problems I have with movies is that about 70% of them are so predictable that after ten minutes you know how it will end. Sometimes that affects how good a movie is and sometimes it doesn't matter. This movie is the later. After fifteen minutes I could have written the ending myself and it would have been identical to the way this one ended. All that said this is a great movie still and Morgan Freeman is about the only actor who can take a very ornery character and make you like him even at his worst. There are not many non-cartoon movies that are great for the whole family to watch. This is one of them. Rated PG but this is still something that you can put in with your kids and not have to worry about what they are seeing. This is a perfect example of how excellent a movie can be simply by using the best actors you can find and having a great idea. No special effects or nudity or swearing. What a strange idea. Overall, a superb family movie that I highly recommend. I give it an A.

• Pure Gold

  bob-rutzel-12012-11-10

  Wheelchair bound curmudgeon and heavy drinker Monte Wildhorn (Morgan Freeman), a writer of western stories house-sits for a friend in Belle Isle and softens considerably when he befriends single mother Charlotte O'Neil (Virginia Madsen) and her three children. I don't remember liking a movie as much as this one since THE ASTRONAUT FARMER. The cast were perfect. The dialogues were spot on and very entertaining. The banter between Monte and 9-year old Finnegan O'Neil (Emma Fuhrmann) was pure gold and proved to be the beginnings of Monte softening his outlook on life. I wished that banter never ended. Like I said Pure Gold. Kudos to the writers. This is indeed a feel good movie with a low key pacing and you never wanted it to end. For starters we see curmudgeon Monte be bam-boozled into reading an obituary for someone he "didn't know;" getting a side-kick in Carl (Ash Christian) a somewhat special needs person; giving aspirin to Ringo, the dog (that he renames Spot) with stiff hind quarters; and helping Finnegan learn to write stories. All this sets the stage for everything that follows. And, everything that follows shows growth of all characters. Sometimes like a big juicy cheeseburger you just "gotta have" you also "gotta see" a pure gold movie like this. (10/10) FYI: Virginia Madsen was also in the Astronaut Farmer. Violence: No. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: No. Rating: A

• Feel Good Movie

  ssienra2012-07-20

  With all the crap coming out Hollywood these days, this is a feel good movie and if you really pay attention to the undertones, the movie lifts you up and is inspiring. The acting is fairly good, and Morgan F. as always has the right line to say at each moment. If you are in the mood for a family gathering type movie with a happy ending, this is a one to watch. The movie is inspirational and although the love innuendo between the two main characters can be thought by some to be distasteful, the real age of Monty is never revealed in the film so assumptions should not be made based on Morgan Freeman's real age.

• Can't trust the critics on this one; the movie touched me

  JohnRayPeterson2012-10-05

  Can't trust the critics on this one; consulting my usual sources, I found unexpectedly low ratings. How could this be, I asked myself. Well, I found this, Morgan Freeman in a movie directed and co-written by Rob Reiner, was suspiciously slanted. Perhaps the story was grossly uninteresting or unappealing. I wondered; I certainly didn't think so when I read the storyline. After viewing the movie, I can assure that's not the case. It's a beautiful story, thanks to inspired writing, great dialogue and impeccable delivery by talented performers and not in the least by splendid directing. I'll grant one factor to critics, for their reason to underrate it; the ending is predictable. So what! Your favorite songs and books are some things you can listen to and read again, even if you know the outcome; that does not make it less good. If you want something unpredictable, watch 'The Skin I live In'. I was very surprised by that movie (one I liked for that reason), but I liked 'We Bought A Zoo' just as much, yet for the opposite reason; it is predictable, but the journey is the pleasure the movies provide the viewers, after all. Morgan Freeman is as good as he was in his Oscar wining performance. It takes talent to make you believe a character who is a Beethoven loving cowboy writer drunk, one who speaks like the best novelists of any period. Guys… you may want to write some lines his character delivers to Virginia Madsen's character Charlotte; they are the kind to woo any woman with a pulse. Two of Charlotte's girls are adorable, much like Maggie Elizabeth Jones was in 'We Bought a Zoo'; she was so good, it takes those two girls of Charlotte to give you that same charmed feeling, but you will feel it. Madsen was the perfect fit for the role of Charlotte; she can still use her eyes like a magnet to steel, and that's a good thing. I recommend the movie without hesitation and screw the critics.