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HEREAFTER
Hereafter (2010 movie)

A 2010 movie directed by Clint Eastwood.

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20 minutes too long - that's 'venti' over-long. I'll explain.

  • Oct 23, 2010
Exclusive to the Lunch Network
Rating:
+2
Screenwriter Blake Snyder talks about delivering on the "promise of the premise" in the story concept, and delivering the "fun and games" associated with a winning idea. A movie like Home Alone - about the kid left to defend his house from burglars while the family's away - is a great example of this. Hereafter is supposedly about the only genuine psychic in the world - wow, what a great concept - but it never fully capitalizes on the idea.

The other annoyance - and this may be a personal blip rather than anything particularly wrong with the film - is that the three storylines are so disjointed that it's like jumping from one movie to another. It's not just there are three characters - there are different nationalities and in different countries, with so little to connect them. The contrivance in the way they are thrown together feels over-manufactured and causes the movie to come to a crashing end, especially since the tone of each character's journey doesn't mix. It's weird since the film takes an hour to get started, and by the time it ends the story has a distance to go. The first hour could have been edited down to 15 minutes, and then another 20 minutes on the end might have rounded it out.

Although I know this is a ponderous and thoughtful drama about the unknown, it's also pretty dull. I checked my watch 3 times in the theater, and sucked the last drops of an Americano twice. There are scenes that go on way too long, and the better scenes don't go on long enough. Overall, it's 20 minutes too long - which is a whole new size up if you order coffee before the show. It's venti over-long. But it does have really good moments. The ever-good Matt Damon steals the show and Bryce Dallas Howard is great too. And the cookery class scenes were delicate and funny. But it has all the hallmarks of a script that never got a second draft - with some more work, it could have been so much better.

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July 10, 2011
This is only marginally the type of movie I would pay to see.
 
March 02, 2011
I think it's much better experienced when your full attention is not on the movie. These days, very few movies have my total attention, so i just leave them on the TV ;-) & at times multi-tasking if not writing the review even before the movie ends! That's the best way of keeping everything fresh! :D
March 02, 2011
Ha ha, yes that's so true. My brother told me he's started watching movies on the "x2" mode, so he can watch them twice as fast with everyone speaking in a high-pitched Mickey Mouse-style voice...
 
October 23, 2010
LOL! love that headline. I agree with you about the three stories being a little disjointed, the script definitely needed some polishing up. I liked it, and I can not really say that your review is wrong. Still a great review regardless of my 3.5 versus your 2. (but I know you use lunch's how much you liked and how much you disliked scale, so I know you still liked it. Our ratings are just a little different. Thanks for the great review!
October 23, 2010
Maybe I'm a little mean with 2 stars - I should probably up it to three. If it a different director, I'd probably go with 3.5 but I'm punishing ol' Clint from going from Gran Turino and Changling to this. Give me another vodka martini and I might switch it to four. Power to Damon though... he's always fun to watch.
October 23, 2010
LOL! seen INVICTUS?
October 23, 2010
I have *not* but now you remind me, I'll put it in the Netflix queue straight away. I think Clint may be picking scripts as an excuse for a round-the-world vacation. :-)
October 23, 2010
LOL!!
 
1
More Hereafter (2010 movie) reviews
review by . October 21, 2010
posted in Movie Hype
3 ½ Stars: A Supernatural Drama About The Living And The Dead
I’ve always proclaimed that I have a fondness for movies directed by Clint Eastwood and I believe I've seen every movie directed by him. I like the way he develops his story and how he keeps a sense of simplicity when he frames his shots. Eastwood always goes for the first draft of any story; he went for the purity of Paul Higgins’ first story draft in “Million Dollar Baby” and I’ve read the same about the script of “Gran Torino” among his other …
review by . December 27, 2011
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
  There are essentially three very moving tales in this excellent film. Viewers hoping to learn about what happens to people after death, whether there is something or nothing, will be disappointed, because this is not the film's purpose. The hereafter is a backdrop to the three tales that Clint Eastwood directs and Matt Damon acts in very well.     One story is about the character played by Damon. He discovers that he has the ability to see and hear a dead relative …
review by . March 02, 2011
posted in Movie Hype
What is after death? Wrong question!
Hereafter is a movie I saw right after Sunset Limited. Both deal with death and human’s survival in the world. Hereafter is a movie that attempts to answer the question about life after death although its focus is on those who survived and their attachment to close people who had passed on.         Matt Damon is the psychic who gets his vibes from people through the sense of touch. He “hears” what the dead had to say to those who are seeking them. …
review by . October 26, 2010
posted in Movie Hype
Let's see this is my first review, so here goes.       Clint Eastwood -- high expectations, I think too high.   The opening scenes were heart pounding.  Man versus nature, no contest.  Visually I found the moving appealing.  But there  was a calmness/flatness that settled in after the Tsunami scene like the roller coaster ride was over, and it was.  I found myself getting exasperated with the plodding movement of the story.  Started …
review by . May 01, 2011
posted in Movie Hype
*** out of ****     "Hereafter" is being marketed as some sort of "Sixth Sense"-esque paranormal drama, although I assure you, it is far from one of those. It's a different venue for director Clint Eastwood, who is talented and skillful, and has made a film that matches the quality of the mass majority of his productions. This isn't a masterpiece, and it's not the best Eastwood directorial feature, but "Hereafter" is worth seeing in its own little ways, for its own little reasons.  &nb …
review by . October 30, 2010
HEREAFTER is an engrossing but frustrating film. My interest was held throughout, yet when it was all over, I was extremely disappointed in how little my interest added up to.    Directed by Clint Eastwood, HEREAFTER would appear to be exploring the old question "what happens to us after we die," but really it is a character study of a couple of folks who have very atypical experiences with death. Ultimately, it isn't terribly meaningful because it is NOT universal.    The …
review by . October 20, 2010
posted in Movie Hype
Many of us have a terrible tendency to pigeonhole filmmakers into the genres we think they're best suited for. When I first saw the trailer for "Hereafter," I, like much of the moviegoing public, was unpleasantly surprised at the thought of Clint Eastwood having directed a supernatural drama. Given his recent triumphs with films like "Mystic River," "Million Dollar Baby," "Changeling," "Gran Torino," and "Invictus," it just didn't …
review by . October 23, 2010
posted in Movie Hype
Clint's Near Death Experiment
HEREAFTER   Written by Peter Morgan   Directed by Clint Eastwood   Starring Matt Damon, Cecile de France, Bryce Dallas Howard and George McLaren       Billy: A life that is all about death is no life at all.       It’s no secret that Clint Eastwood is getting up there in years.  He has been churning out films on an almost yearly basis in the last decade as if he is trying to cram as much work as possible into …
Quick Tip by . April 13, 2011
posted in Movie Hype
While I liked the story and the themes being dealt with in Hereafter, I couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed with the screenplay which feels somewhat exploitative in the way it utilizes contemporary events such as the London subway terrorist bombings and the 2004 tsunami as well as the concept of mediums. I couldn't help but feel that I was watching a film that much like the spiritualist revival movement after WWI wanted to instill its viewers with hope and a belief in the afterlife, …
Quick Tip by . November 19, 2010
posted in Movie Hype
I did like this movie, not because it was such an amazing story but it was more the visual experience and the way the different story lines all connected at the end. It will not change your mind about your beliefs of the afterlife or lack of it, but was enjoyable and thought provoking.
see all Hereafter (2010 movie) reviews (11)
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About this movie

Wiki

  • Opened October 15, 2010 (Limited NY-LA-Toronto 10/15; Opens Wide 10/22) | Runtime:2 hr. 6 min.
  • PG-13
    Mature thematic elements including disturbing disaster and accident images, and for brief strong language
  • An American laborer (Matt Damon), a French journalist (Cécile de France) and a London schoolboy set out on a spiritual journey after death touches their lives in different ways.
  • Cast: Matt Damon, Cécile De France, Daniel McLaren, Jay Mohr, Bryce Dallas Howard
  • Director: Clint Eastwood
  • Genres: DramaSupernatural Drama
  • Poster art for "Hereafter"
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    Tags

    Movies, Drama Movies, Drama, Supernatural Thriller, Clint Eastwood Movies
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    Details

    Director: Clint Eastwood
    Genre: Drama
    Release Date: October 20, 2010 limited
    MPAA Rating: PG-13
    Screen Writer: Peter Morgan
    Runtime: 129 minutes
    Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
    see all (9)
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